Taste the Difference in Planning: How Connected Planning Transformed The Duckhorn Portfolio

In the highly competitive and unpredictable wine and spirits industry, the traditional methods of business planning are no longer sufficient. Companies that fail to embrace agile, Connected Planning risk falling behind — unable to rapidly respond to shifting consumer demands, volatile supply chains, and financial pressures.

We recently sat down with The Duckhorn Portfolio to explore their story and how they revolutionized their business planning processes across supply chain, sales, finance, and workforce planning. Read through how Twelve Consulting Group and Anaplan enabled their success as industry planning leaders.

Why Connected Planning Matters in the Wine and Spirits Industry

Disconnected, siloed planning tools create inefficiencies, errors, and missed opportunities. In an industry like wine & spirits, where margins are tight, regulations complex, and market trends constantly shifting, the difference between thriving and merely surviving hinges on the agility and accuracy of planning systems.

The Duckhorn Portfolio recognized this early and turned to Twelve’s expertise in deploying Anaplan, a powerful connected planning solution.

Transforming Supply Chain Management

Duckhorn’s supply chain faces unique challenges — from weather-dependent grape yields to tracking inventory across multiple vintages. The company now leverages Anaplan to:

• Forecast daily supply and demand with precision

• Dynamically adjust harvest plans based on real-time data

• Seamlessly manage vintage-specific inventory, aging, bottling, and market release strategies

  
  

With Twelve’s guidance, Duckhorn integrated supply planning directly with financial targets and sales forecasts, enabling proactive and informed decision-making.

Elevating Sales Forecasting Accuracy

Duckhorn’s sales planning had to navigate the complexities of a three-tier distribution system while ensuring regulatory compliance and managing diverse sales channels.

Through Anaplan’s dimensional flexibility, Duckhorn:

• Achieved real-time sales forecasting by channel, brand, and vintage

• Enabled rapid scenario modeling and comparative analysis

• Improved alignment between sales forecasts and operational execution

Real-time dashboards replaced outdated month-end reports, drastically accelerating decision-making cycles.

Unified S&OP: The Foundation of Strategic Agility

Duckhorn implemented a robust Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process within Anaplan, combining inputs from sales, operations, and finance into a unified planning environment.

Key results include:

• Cohesive vintage-specific planning aligned to market demands

• Transparent cross-functional collaboration on a single, intuitive platform

• Rapid scenario testing, facilitating proactive adjustments rather than reactive scrambling

Precision Inventory Management

Inventory visibility is paramount in premium wines and spirits. Duckhorn achieved unparalleled inventory control by:

• Tracking detailed inventory across multiple dimensions—location, vintage, and product type

• Integrating inventory insights seamlessly into their S&OP processes

• Eliminating manual, error-prone reconciliation across Excel sheets

Real-time inventory management empowered Duckhorn to swiftly address stockouts and reduce unnecessary inventory holding costs.

Real-Time Financial Planning and Decision-Making

Duckhorn’s finance team transitioned from isolated spreadsheets to a unified Anaplan platform, gaining:

• Real-time scenario analysis across multiple budgeting and forecasting dimensions

• Automated Budget versus Actual (BvA) processes that highlight only meaningful variances

• Revenue Bridge Modeling (RBM) for deep insight into financial performance and forecast accuracy

This transformation reduced review cycles, increased accountability, and enhanced strategic agility.

Why Partner with Twelve Consulting Group and Anaplan?

Twelve's deep expertise in wine and spirits industry transformations and Anaplan implementations ensured Duckhorn’s customer success. By leveraging Twelve’s proven methodologies, industry insights, and technical proficiency, Duckhorn created a fully integrated, responsive planning environment.

Conclusion: Act Now, or Risk Falling Behind

Connected Planning isn’t merely beneficial — it’s essential. Duckhorn’s success story demonstrates that agility, responsiveness, and accuracy can transform a business, driving profitability and competitive advantage.

The question for your organization isn’t whether to adopt Connected Planning, but when. Delay could mean losing ground to competitors who already enjoy these advantages. Twelve and Anaplan are ready to guide you through your transformation.

Don’t let outdated planning processes hold you back. Contact Ryan Meehan today to begin your Connected Planning journey.