IBP is a management discipline before it is a technology project

Alain Matar argues that planning software cannot make Sales and Operations agree on one number or force executives to own decisions. He cites a previous operational transformation that reduced inventory from nine months to four weeks across 120 branches, attributing the result primarily to a disciplined monthly cycle rather than software alone.

The reported result should remain tied to his specific experience. The broader lesson is that process cadence, decision rights and behavioral accountability should be established before system implementation; otherwise, technology may accelerate poor decisions.