As December 2025 draws to a close, small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) face a critical task: planning for 2026. This isn’t just about creating a budget—it’s about aligning operational strategies with financial realities to thrive in an unpredictable economy. The old way of planning—static spreadsheets and guesswork—won’t cut it anymore.
Operations and Financial Planning: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Operational decisions—such as inventory management, supplier contracts, and staffing—directly impact cash flow and profitability. Yet many businesses treat these as separate exercises. In reality, integrating operations planning with financial forecasting ensures every strategic move is backed by data and aligned with long-term goals.
For example:
- Expanding production capacity? Model the financial impact on working capital.
- Adjusting supplier terms? Understand how it affects cash flow and margins.
- Delaying a key hire? Assess the effect on service levels and revenue targets.
This holistic approach transforms planning from reactive to proactive.
Why a choosing the right business partner/advisor is critical?
Traditional budgeting often fails because it’s backward-looking and the forward-looking view is derived by adding a percentage growth to the baseline. The correct partner can help by:
- Aligning supply chain decisions with financial goals.
- Taking a bottom-up approach to building what the future picture looks like.
- Identifying operational risks that could derail budgets.
- Ensuring alignment between Strategic, Tactical and Operational focus areas.
- Better decision making to allocate scarce resources.
This combination improves both accuracy and agility, helping businesses respond to market changes faster.
The Bottom Line
2026 will reward businesses that plan with precision and agility. By linking operations and financial planning—and leveraging the correct analytical tools alongside strategic advisory expertise—you can move beyond guesswork and position your business for sustainable growth.
What specific challenges are you facing in your supply chain operations? Maybe I can offer some tailored advice!
Let’s Take Your Business Further. Ask me how.
Dr Kenneth Moodley LinkedIn
