The Planning Function

Danone has long had an image as a "socially responsible company". Antoine Riboud, who was head of the company until 1996, cultivated a reputation as a "socially-oriented boss". The company, which is now managed by his son, Franck Riboud, has become a multinational corporation with the majority of its turnover and staff linked to operations outside France.

Group Danone uses an internal framework largely inspired by the COSO framework (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations) and by the framework proposed by the French Authority of Financial Markets.

Internal Control is a process implemented by the General management, managers and employees of a company aimed at providing reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting, the compliance with applicable laws and reglementations and, to a less extent, the efficiency of operations. .

The Group implemented as well a process of risk identification and ensures that appropriate action plans are in place to limit occurrence and operational and financial impact. Moreover, a set of procedures and best practices is circulated in Business Units. Their application contributes both to the improvement of the operational performance and to the effectiveness of internal control.

Moise Riboh, Director of Strategic Planning at Danone, believes that a forward thinking strategy relies on an intuitive "feel" for the organization's strengths and weaknesses and is an essential function of the management process. As companies change, it is the responsibility of managers to see that their own areas of responsibility remain on the same page with the rest of the organization, and this can only be done with advance planning. For an organization to be effective in a holistic sense, the separate departments must perform at similar levels.

The starting point for a strategic plan is to visualize the objectives of the company for the following years and to develop strategies in order to accomplish the desired results. It is essential to plan carefully the release of a new range of products, to predict the moves of the rivals, to analyze the entering on a new market and the challenges implied, to plan the budget allocation and the required personnel in order to not be affected by the rapid changes of the business environment. Predicting and analyzing the economic trends and competitors moves is extremely important and it should be performed previous to the development of the strategic plan.

While computers began as a tool which would assist workers in their performance, their role has now expanded to one which determines the working practices of its users. With this in mind, any strategic plan should consider the technology, which will be used in future