See It to Believe It: Why Systems Can Come First, But Still Serve People
We often say that people and processes come first, and systems come second. That belief hasn’t changed. But when we talk about going live with a working demand planning setup in just 14 days, it can sound like a contradiction. How can systems appear that early if people truly come first?
The answer is simple: people need something real to engage with. Trust, involvement, and ownership don’t come from documents or workshops alone. They come from interaction.
Why Seeing Comes Before Believing
In practice, alignment doesn’t start with blueprints. It starts when teams can see how something behaves, what decisions it supports, and how it reacts in real situations. That’s why we start with a skeleton that works. Not a finished solution and not a polished end state, but a minimal structure that already runs and reflects real planning decisions. It allows people to interact with something tangible instead of debating abstractions.
This approach shifts the conversation from theory to practice, from assumptions to evidence, and from “what if” to “what happens when”.
Structure Enables Creativity, Not the Other Way Around
Planners are inherently creative. They solve complex problems every day. But creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs a base, a frame, something concrete to react to.
A working screen, even a simple one, gives teams a reference point. It enables feedback that actually matters: what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing, and what needs to change. That feedback is far more valuable than hypothetical discussions upfront. Structure doesn’t limit people; it unlocks them.
Start Simple, Then Build Together
The principle behind this approach is straightforward: start with a solid core that already covers what matters most.
Instead of designing every possible exception upfront, we focus on a core that already handles the majority of real planning needs. That core is usable from day one. The remaining complexity is built gradually, based on real usage and real feedback. This avoids over-investing in features that might never be used and keeps the solution grounded in reality.
How This Respects People, Process, and Systems
This way of working doesn’t reverse priorities; it aligns them. People are involved early because they can see and shape something real. Processes emerge naturally because they are tested in daily use rather than imagined in workshops. Systems evolve with purpose because they grow only when there is a clear reason to do so. Nothing is forced, and nothing is theoretical.
Why This Is Exactly What IBP in 14 Days Is About
Starting with a working system isn’t a contradiction to putting people first. It’s a shift in how people are brought into the journey. Show something real, let teams interact with it, and then grow it together.
That thinking is exactly what sits behind IBP in 14 Days. Instead of long projects and abstract designs, we bring a working SAP IBP setup to life quickly, using real data and real processes. Teams don’t have to imagine how planning could work; they experience how it does work. That early visibility creates trust, engagement, and clarity, allowing organizations to learn fast, adapt with confidence, and build the right planning capabilities together, step by step. That’s how 14 days can change everything.
