Soumier’s 3 Questions that summarize all EPM challenges

On June 23, 2022, during Smart Morning, Soumier asked me exactly the right questions. These three inquiries alone summarize all the challenges companies face today in performance management.

“What is EPM compared to ERP?”

This first question was crucial. Too many companies still confuse these two approaches. I explained that ERP manages transactions – your daily flows, accounting, purchasing. But above this operational layer, there’s a huge gap.

EPM is precisely this missing intelligence. This ability to consolidate all your data to finally have a unified view of your activity. But my explanations raised an even deeper question: why does this gap still exist in 2025?

“Concretely, who uses this data?”

Soumier hit the nail on the head with this question. I started by mentioning management controllers, but quickly shifted to an observation close to my heart: finance departments look too much in the rear-view mirror.

The example of Parisian hoteliers during the relocated Champions League final perfectly illustrated my point. Some anticipated and multiplied their prices by 10, others stayed at 250 euros… The difference? The ability to integrate weak signals.

But this answer opened up an even broader issue that airtime didn’t allow me to fully explore.

“Are French companies up to date?”

This last question touched on a national challenge. My response was reassuring: yes, we’re progressing and we’re within European standards. From SNCF to Monsieur Bricolage, examples abound.

But behind this optimistic response lie more nuanced realities about the three maturity levels that companies must overcome. Levels I could only touch on during the broadcast.

What radio format doesn’t always allow…

These three questions from Soumier revealed the scope of the subject. How do you explain in a few minutes why some companies reduce their budgeting time from 4 months to 3 weeks? How do you detail the three pillars of our approach at Jedox? How do you concretely explain what “Excel chaos” is and why it paralyzes so many organizations?

The airtime was too short to delve into these crucial issues.

Are you running a company? Do you recognize yourself in these management and anticipation challenges? The complete answers to these three essential questions, as well as the concrete solutions we implement for our clients, are developed in the full video interview.

Because your ability to anticipate determines your future.