Anaplan Connect Cape Town 2025 marked an important moment for the South African planning community. As Premier Sponsor, Venn Cubed was proud to help bring together leaders from Finance, Supply Chain and the broader enterprise planning world to explore what’s possible when organisations embrace connected planning powered by Anaplan.

Throughout the day, one message continued to resonate: speed, collaboration and the ability to pivot with confidence are becoming the new strategic imperatives.

Key reflections from the event

1. Anaplan innovation: turning agility into a competitive advantage

The opening keynote, led by Dayne Turbitt (Managing Director, EMEA, Anaplan) and Andrew Haas (Area Vice President, Anaplan), made it clear that scenario planning and rapid decision-making are no longer optional. Organisations need the capability to respond at the pace of change, not behind it.

This theme carried through to the live innovation session with Chris Marriott (VP, Product Management), where exciting demonstrations showcased how the AI-infused Anaplan platform continues to evolve. Attendees also got an early look into the future of enterprise planning as Emily Nicholls (VP, Supply Chain) introduced Anaplan’s new Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP) applications.

Together, these advancements reflect a powerful vision: a platform where people, data and intelligence are always connected, empowering teams to plan confidently and execute with precision.

2. Customer transformation: results that matter

Real customer impact was at the heart of this event. Speakers representing some of Africa’s most recognised organisations shared compelling outcomes achieved with Anaplan:

• Pepkor Speciality unified planning and stock management across seven leading retail brands, creating a Centre of Excellence that drives growth and rapid onboarding of new brands.
• Kamoa Copper replaced static planning with dynamic, real-time insight, strengthening accuracy and agility across mining operations.
• CVH Spirits achieved a 20% improvement in forecast accuracy within only 12 weeks following the Heineken acquisition, positioning the business for sustainable growth.
• Cassava Technologies transformed financial consolidation across 65 entities, enabling faster budgeting cycles and smarter decision-making.
• Mediclinic empowered teams across three regions with collaboration-focused planning and agile scenario modelling, reinforcing resilience in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.

These stories confirm what we see every day working with our clients: connected planning is a proven lever for operational excellence and strategic clarity.

3. Women in Planning: celebrating leadership and resilience

The Women in Planning Executive Breakfast opened the event with energy and inspiration, exploring working styles and collaboration through an engaging workshop. The standout moment came from keynote speaker Saray Khumalo, the first black African woman to summit Mount Everest, whose story of perseverance and shared success set the tone for the day. Her message landed beautifully in a room filled with trailblazers shaping the next chapter of planning leadership.