VP Head of Channels & Ecosystem, Rich Phillips, on partner planning for the year ahead

Partner Business Essentials:

Planning Makes Perfect

Rich Phillips, VP Head of Channels & Ecosystem, highlights the importance of investing time and energy now into business planning for 2022.

Partner Business Managers across SAP EMEA South are on standby to start working with partners on their plans for 2022.

Having undergone extensive finance training this year, PBMs are ready and equipped to support partners to develop in-depth plans that help to deliver SAP EMEA South’s aim to grow more than 50% over the next 12 months.

“Those partners who have PBMs can expect to hear from their manager any day to support them in developing thorough, meaningful business plans for the year ahead,” says Rich.

“But what we need partners to do is to share with us in more detail than before their financial status and key KPIs so that we can mutually develop business plans that can positively effect what’s important to our partners. We want to develop plans that help our partners accelerate their own plans whilst at the same time meeting SAPs growth objectives”

Rich said this would be a new approach to business planning but one that would deliver real results. “We really do need business planning to be a methodical process; we’re not looking for numbers to be thrown on a document – we need to know how they’re going to be met and whether partner businesses are financially capable of delivering them. ”

In response to partners who are open and transparent about their plans and can provide SAP with a true picture of how they aim to deliver against them, Rich adds that will allow SAP to ensure that it invests its resources to accelerate those partners where we have clear, defined mutual objectives.

“Partners who can offer up a really clear view of how they plan to grow are those for which SAP can prioritise its investments – whether that’s investment in time, in training, in whatever. But we can only help if we know how and where they need our help.” ■

Partner Business Managers will be in

touch to offer a collaborative approach to business planning. Alternatively, contact your PBM to arrange a time to get together and start planning.