Strategic Planning made easy by the use of AIM

摘要

Knowledge, which cannot be easily copied or replicated, is what gives a company an edge over competitors. But to maintain the edge a company must continually review, renew and assess what is required to stay ahead. This is true for commodity producers like market pulp producers as well as for speciality niche producers. But it is not always obvious what the best decisions are. Strategic planning is the general term used to cover the process of planning, capital allocation and higher level business decisions that will set the course of a company. Strategic planning is not always a well-understood area of business planning and often the concepts presented to the workforce seem vague. AIM stands for Asset Investment Management and is a software tool developed to assist in the decision making process. This paper will show how business drivers can be evaluated in a logical way, how options can be compared and the operation of an industrial entity can be optimised for maximum cashflow. The paper will be illustrated with examples from a range of pulp and paper mills. The objective of this paper is to explain the importance of strategic planning and using examples, to demonstrate one strategic planning tool called AIM.