TL;DR: Only about 25% to 45% of EPM and ERP-style implementations fully meet their original goals (Gartner, cited in Rand Group, 2025). The software usually isn't the deciding factor. The partner is. This checklist covers what's actually worth checking before you sign: certifications, industry fit, methodology, and what support looks like after go-live.
Picking Anaplan is the easy decision. The one that actually shapes your project, whether it wraps up on schedule or drags into a second year, is who implements it.
Anaplan itself is a safe bet at this point. Over 2,800 companies use it, including half of the world's 20 most valuable companies and 48% of the Fortune 50 (Anaplan, anaplan.com/customers, 2026). Gartner named it a Leader in its 2025 Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, alongside Oracle, SAP, and Workday (Anaplan, Dec 2025). So the platform bet is a reasonable one. The bigger open question is who's going to build it for you.
Why does the implementation partner matter this much?
Gartner research, cited by implementation advisory firm Rand Group, puts the number of ERP and EPM-category projects that meet their stated goals somewhere between 25% and 45% (Rand Group, randgroup.com, 2025). That's a wide range, and the platform itself doesn't explain it. Anaplan's engine is the same for every customer. What differs is who's configuring the models, mapping the data, and training the finance team to actually use what's been built.
A related Boston Consulting Group survey of over 1,000 C-suite executives across 59 countries found roughly a third of large tech programs come in on time, on budget, and within scope, a third land somewhere in the middle, and a third fall well short (BCG, "Build for the Future," 2024). That middle group is the interesting one. Those are the projects where the difference between fine and great usually comes down to how much the implementation team actually understood the business, not just the software.
What's driving demand for Anaplan partners right now?
The connected planning software category is projected to grow from $1.32 billion in 2025 to $1.47 billion in 2026, reaching $2.11 billion by 2030 (ResearchAndMarkets.com, 2026). More companies are buying planning software every year, and most need outside help to get real value out of it once it's purchased.
Deloitte was named Global Anaplan Partner of the Year for the twelfth year running in the 2025-2026 awards (Anaplan Blog, 2025-2026). Twelve years is a long streak, and it tells you something: deep delivery expertise on this platform sits with a fairly small group of firms. When you're comparing Anaplan implementation partners , it's worth asking directly how long each one has been building on the platform, not just reselling licenses for it.
Why do finance teams still lean on spreadsheets after buying an EPM tool?
96% of FP&A professionals still use spreadsheets for planning, and 93% use them for reporting weekly or more often, even though 71% also use a dedicated EPM tool at least quarterly (Association for Financial Professionals, 2025 FP&A Benchmarking Survey, n=362). Buying the tool doesn't retire the spreadsheet habit by itself.
The same survey found 61% of respondents point to unreliable data as a top challenge, and 60% say the data they need is hard to access, even with EPM software already in place (AFP, 2025). Here's the part vendors rarely spell out: a planning platform is only as good as the data model and the change management underneath it, and that work sits almost entirely with the implementation partner. A partner who builds a clean model but skips training leaves you with a nicely configured tool that finance still routes around.
The buyer's checklist: what to actually look at
Most partner-selection advice stays pretty generic. Here's what we'd actually check before signing a statement of work.
• Certification of the people, not just the firm. Ask which consultants on your specific project team hold Anaplan Model Building or Solution Architect certifications, and how many live projects each has led start to finish.
• Experience in your industry. A team that's built workforce planning models for a manufacturer may not know the reporting quirks specific to insurance or financial services. Ask for reference clients in your sector and talk to them directly.
• A methodology you can actually picture. Have them walk you through the real project phases, discovery, model design, build, testing, go-live, with rough timelines for each at your scale.
• A plan for the weeks after go-live. Ask what happens once the model is live. Is there a hypercare period? Who does your finance team call if something breaks mid-close?
• Data and integration experience. Anaplan rarely runs on its own. Ask how they've handled integrations with your specific ERP, HRIS, or data warehouse before, based on real projects.
• Change management, not just model building. Given that 96% of FP&A teams still default to spreadsheets even with EPM tools in place (AFP, 2025), ask what training and adoption plan comes bundled with the build.
What good partner selection looks like in practice
A team working together on laptops during a software implementation project
One example that stuck with us involved a large insurance company managing FP&A across more than 200 branches and roughly 52,000 sales agents. Before their Anaplan rollout, budgeting and forecasting ran almost entirely through manual Excel consolidation, with recurring reconciliation issues across statutory, management, and regulatory reporting.
The team leading the rollout prioritized driver-based expense planning, top-down and bottom-up sales planning by branch and line of business, and integrated P&L, balance sheet, and solvency modeling, rather than just recreating the old spreadsheets inside a new tool. What came out of it was a working what-if scenario capability and one shared version of the numbers across statutory and management reporting. That's the actual point of an EPM platform. Faster spreadsheets was never really the goal.
What to plan for once you've picked a partner
Choosing the partner isn't the last decision point on the calendar. Among B2B software buyers generally, IT security review is the single biggest delay after a vendor is selected, cited by 39% of buyers overall and 50% of enterprise buyers specifically, ahead of budget approval at 32% and implementation planning at 25% (G2, 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, based on a survey of over 1,000 B2B buyers). Building these steps into your timeline up front, before contracts are signed, saves a lot of back-and-forth later.
"A partner who's done this before usually has answers on hand. One who hasn't will be learning your compliance process alongside you, in real time."
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose an Anaplan consulting partner?
Look at the certification level of the specific consultants on your project, not just the firm as a whole, ask for reference clients in your industry, and get a clear methodology and timeline in writing. With only 25% to 45% of ERP/EPM projects fully meeting their goals (Gartner, 2025), a structured evaluation matters more than picking the biggest name.
What's the difference between an Anaplan reseller and an Anaplan implementation partner?
A reseller sells Anaplan licenses. An implementation partner designs and builds the actual planning models, handles data integration, and manages user adoption. Some firms do both, so it's worth asking specifically who does the hands-on model building, not just who issues the invoice.
How long does a typical Anaplan implementation take?
It depends on scope. A single-module rollout, sales planning for example, can take 8 to 12 weeks, while a multi-module connected planning build across finance, sales, and supply chain often runs 4 to 6 months or longer. Ask any partner for a phase-by-phase timeline specific to your scope rather than an industry average.
What should I look for in Anaplan consulting companies specifically?
Beyond certifications, look for a documented post-go-live support model and real evidence of change management work, not just technical build experience. With 96% of FP&A teams still falling back on spreadsheets even after adopting EPM tools (AFP, 2025), the partners who get better results tend to be the ones planning for adoption from day one.
Where this leaves you
Two business partners shaking hands to confirm a consulting partnership agreement
Choosing Anaplan was the easy part. Choosing who builds it is the part that actually decides whether your rollout lands in the 25% to 45% that meets its goals, or somewhere short of that.
A short version of what to check before you sign: individual consultant certifications and project count, reference clients in your specific industry verified by an actual conversation, a documented methodology with a real timeline, and a defined plan for support and adoption after go-live.
GenXAI builds connected planning implementations on Anaplan across finance, sales, supply chain, and workforce planning for enterprise teams, backed by Anaplan Delivery Capability Recognition 2026. If you're comparing Anaplan implementation and consulting partners, see genxai.com/technology/anaplan for our approach and the kinds of engagements we typically run. If your planning process still leans heavily on annual budgets, our piece on turning an annual budget into a rolling forecast is a reasonable next read. And if EPM as a category is still an open question for your team, our enterprise performance management page (genxai.com/solutions/epm) lays out how the pieces fit together. Or just get in touch (genxai.com/contact-us) if you'd rather talk it through directly.