Strategic Planning in a Volatile Era: How EPM Drives Performance and Confidence in Real Estate and Capital-Intensive Industries

Global Business Trends: Why Strategic Planning Has Become Essential

Across industries and geographies, organizations operate in an environment defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and rapid change. Global inflationary pressures, fluctuating interest rates, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and shifting regulatory frameworks have fundamentally altered how companies plan and execute the Strategic Planning in a Volatile Era. Margins are tightening, capital is becoming more selective, and stakeholders are demanding higher transparency and accountability.

In this climate, traditional static planning approaches are no longer sufficient. Annual budgets prepared once a year and rarely revisited cannot keep pace with fast-moving market dynamics. Organizations must continuously recalibrate expectations, reassess development pipelines, and evaluate trade-offs between cost efficiency, growth, and risk. Without clear, real-time visibility into financial and operational drivers, decision-making becomes reactive and risky.

This challenge is particularly visible in asset-intensive industries such as real estate, construction, manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure. Rising material costs, longer project timelines, and tighter financing conditions require management teams to actively model different outcomes and understand the financial impact of each decision before committing capital. Strategic planning, therefore, is no longer a periodic exercise, it has become a core, ongoing management capability.

Why Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Matters More Than Ever

Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) provides the framework, processes, and technology that enable organizations to translate strategy into measurable results. At its core, EPM connects strategic objectives with financial and operational plans, allowing management to monitor performance, anticipate risks, and adapt quickly.

Modern EPM solutions go far beyond traditional budgeting tools. They enable:

• Integrated planning and forecasting, linking financial plans with operational drivers such as volumes, headcount, pricing, and capacity.

• Scenario and what-if modeling, allowing organizations to assess best-, base-, and worst-case outcomes in response to market shifts, cost increases, or regulatory changes.

• Real-time performance tracking, providing early warning signals when actual results deviate from plan.

• Data-driven decision-making, supported by a single, trusted source of truth across the organization.

In volatile markets, EPM empowers leaders to make informed adjustments to budgets, capital allocation, and risk assumptions in near real time, rather than reacting after the fact.

Industry Perspective: EPM in Real Estate, Construction, and Capital-Intensive Sectors

The real estate and construction sectors illustrate clearly why EPM has become indispensable. These industries face increasing pressure from rising material costs, especially for steel, fixtures, appliances, and imported components. Even modest increases in material prices can significantly erode project margins, particularly for developments already operating on tight returns.

EPM supports these industries through:

• Financial planning and forecasting: Modeling property revenues from rentals or sales, managing capital expenditures (CapEx), and evaluating investment feasibility under different cost and demand assumptions.

• Performance tracking: Monitoring occupancy rates, lease visibility, project profitability, and investor returns with up-to-date data.

• Risk management: Using scenario modeling to understand the impact of cost inflation, delays, interest rate changes, or policy shifts.

• Portfolio analysis and monitoring: Identifying underperforming assets and reallocating capital to maximize portfolio value.

• Operational efficiency: Automating reporting and workflows, reducing manual spreadsheet work, and improving data accuracy.

For example, a developer can use EPM to assess the financial viability of a new project by factoring in projected construction costs, financing assumptions, and expected rental income. A construction company can track project budgets, labor costs, and material deliveries to identify overruns early. Investors can evaluate portfolio performance and risk exposure, including sustainability and ESG considerations.

Global Adoption vs. Indonesia: Understanding the EPM Gap

Globally, EPM adoption has accelerated significantly. In mature markets such as Europe, North America, and parts of East Asia, EPM is widely recognized as a strategic management platform rather than merely a finance tool. Organizations increasingly integrate EPM with ERP, CRM, HCM, and data platforms to create a comprehensive digital representation of the business.

In Indonesia, however, a noticeable gap still exists. Many organizations continue to rely heavily on disconnected spreadsheets, manual consolidation processes, and siloed data. While Excel remains a powerful and familiar tool, excessive dependence on manual spreadsheets often leads to version control issues, limited scalability, and delayed insights.

Several factors contribute to this gap:

• Perception of EPM as complex or costly, rather than as an enabler of long-term value.

• Limited awareness of how modern EPM platforms have evolved to be more user-friendly and business-oriented.

• Focus on short-term operational execution, with less emphasis on integrated strategic and financial planning.

Nevertheless, this gap also represents a significant opportunity. As Indonesian companies grow in scale, face increased competition, and attract more sophisticated investors, the demand for transparency, agility, and data-driven planning is rising. EPM adoption is becoming a natural next step in organizational maturity.

Jedox: A Modern, Adaptable EPM Platform

Jedox is a leading global EPM software provider designed to address these challenges. Its philosophy is centered on simplicity, integration, and adaptability, making advanced planning and performance management accessible to both finance professionals and business users.

Key strengths of Jedox include:

Simple

• Excel-like interface and a native Excel 365 add-in, enabling fast user adoption.

• No-code and low-code capabilities that allow business users to build models, rules, and reports without heavy IT dependency.

• Self-service dashboards, drag-and-drop reporting, and ad-hoc analysis.

Integrated

• Bi-directional data integration from ERP, CRM, HCM, data lakes, and other enterprise systems.

• A single source of truth for management reporting, planning, budgeting, and forecasting.

• Alignment of strategic, financial, and operational plans into a consistent digital business model.

Adaptable

• Real-time planning in ever-changing markets.

• Unlimited scenario simulations and driver-based modeling.

• Flexible business logic that reflects how the organization actually operates.

With thousands of organizations worldwide using Jedox, the platform has proven its ability to deliver fast value, high project success rates, and investment security during periods of change.

A Note on JedoxAI: Looking Ahead

Jedox also incorporates advanced capabilities in Agentic AI, machine learning, and Generative AI, including large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP). JedoxAI is designed to understand business context, detect patterns, and provide explainable insights that mirror how organizations actually operate.

These capabilities can transform complexity into confident planning and performance management, enabling teams to act faster and with greater precision. However, in the Indonesian market, demand for AI-driven planning features is still emerging. For most organizations today, the immediate value lies in achieving integrated, reliable, and agile planning foundations, upon which AI capabilities can be gradually adopted in the future.

Local Expertise Matters: PT. Sazanka Henig Solusi

Successful EPM implementation is not only about software, it is about people, processes, and experience. PT. Sazanka Henig Solusi plays a critical role in helping Indonesian companies realize the full value of Jedox.

With deep expertise and hands-on experience in EPM across various industries, PT. Sazanka Henig Solusi supports organizations throughout the entire journey:

• EPM strategy and roadmap development

• System design and model architecture

• Implementation and integration with existing systems

• User training and change management

• Ongoing optimization and support

By combining global best practices with a strong understanding of local business realities, PT. Sazanka Henig Solusi helps bridge the gap between global EPM standards and Indonesian market needs.

Conclusion: Building Confidence Through Performance Management

In an era where uncertainty is the norm, organizations can no longer afford fragmented planning and delayed insights. Enterprise Performance Management has become a strategic necessity, enabling businesses to plan dynamically, manage risks proactively, and execute with confidence.

Jedox offers a powerful yet accessible EPM platform that aligns strategy, finance, and operations in a single, integrated environment. Supported by Jedox and future-ready AI capabilities, and implemented with the expertise of PT. Sazanka Henig Solusi, Indonesian companies are well-positioned to elevate their planning maturity and compete effectively on a global stage.

Strategic clarity, agility, and performance excellence are no longer optional. With the right EPM foundation, they are achievable.

Learn more about how Jedox EPM can transform your enterprise planning: www.jedox.com

For more information and consultation, contact our expert:

Hananto Pandu SE., S.Kom., Ak., CA., CPA., ASEAN CPA. - 0896 3626 1684

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Best Regards,

Yohannes Ekaputra Sananto SE. MSc.

yohannes.sananto@sazankahenig.com

Financial Product Consultant

PT Sazanka Henig Solusi