What is a project management ERP?
An ERP system needs to have a number of specific features if it is to make a real contribution to boosting business activity.
Among the most important are information accessibility,process automation and any functionality that facilitates interdepartmental collaboration.
If, for example, a company is about to develop and launch a new application, it will need to coordinate human resources from different sectors. From the development team, to design, to marketing.
To meet all these specific needs, the choice of an ERP specialized in project management becomes all the more interesting as it will enable you to manage your projects centrally - without having to deal with the hassles and malfunctions sometimes associated with the integration of several tools. We take stock.
What's an ERP for project management?
An ERP system for project management enables you to coordinate tasks, automate actions and manage processes more quickly and easily.
Beyond the technical aspects, this tool also enables the involvement of other areas of the company, which are essential for strategic objectives.
This is the case, for example, with project accounting and financial management, or resource management. The former is used to monitor budget compliance. The second, to corroborate adherence to schedules, coordinate performance evaluations, and adjust project schedules.
These are just two examples, but with the right ERP management system, you can go much further when it comes to improving a company's productivity and efficiency.
Is ERP really necessary for project management?
Such a tool can also be used to centralize relations with customers, external suppliers or any other key contact within the organization.
Relationships with customers, external suppliers or any other value group within the organization can be coordinated through this functionality in a much more agile, faster and error-free way. Hence its importance.
💡 Stafiz lets you include your external collaborators in the management of your project schedules. Dashboards, updated in real time, give you a more comprehensive view based on all data.
What are the key ERP functions for project management?
As mentioned above, project management ERP offers a wide range of functions, both from a micro and macro perspective.
While all these technical features are useful, they may not be necessary for your specific use.
To guide you, here's a list of important features to look for in ERP project management software. List and rank them according to your strategic objectives!
Financial functions
For optimum management, your ERP must be able to combine monitoring of project budget consumption with total company profitability.
This way, financial transactions such as invoicing, accounting closures and the allocation of resource or equipment acquisition costs are kept up to date. Avoid unpleasant surprises and hefty bills!
✏️ Examples of financial tracking functionalities for an erp: purchase orders, time tracking, forecast profitability, project progress tracking, cost management, customer billing management, external billing management.
Project planning features
They're at the heart of your needs!
These ERP project management features enable you to align resource management with a project's budget.
✏️ Examples of project planning functionalities for an erp: employee profile, skills management, allocation of resources to tasks, workload and availability monitoring, forecast workload, absence management, crm, time tracking, resource requirements management, recruitment monitoring.
Project management functions
You choose to use a project management ERP to keep track of your business as a whole - and make it easier to manage.
Certain functionalities are therefore essential for maintaining visibility over operational execution and project management, without confusing information.
✏️ Examples of erp project management functionalities: performance dashboards, multi-client and business unit project management, power bi, process automation, deviation alerts, reporting tools, access rights management.
What are the advantages of ERP for project management? Why choose this type of software?
ERP for project management offers specific advantages.
Better visibility and simplified management
With this type of tool, a project or team manager can easily visualize thereal state of the project at any time.
Progress, graphics, deadlines, costs... A global vision must enable permanent access to all types of information with a simple visual representation that promotes rapid understanding of the project's state of health, and speeds up decision-making to achieve objectives.
Information sharing must be cross-functional. It would be counter-productive to involve only project managers.
The human resources department is a good example of a party to integrate into information sharing. They can track absences, but also team productivity. This makes it possible to identify recruitment or training needs, for example.
Accounting departments are also good candidates, to check that the hours invested are budgeted in line with profitability requirements.
It's a multi-departmental feature that provides valuable, real-world information for improving all areas of the business.
Frequently asked questions :
Absolutely! Most ERP systems are designed to manage several projects in parallel. They allow you to monitor and analyze each project individually, while maintaining a global vision. You can monitor shared resources, identify scheduling conflicts, and optimize priorities according to your company's strategic objectives. This capability is particularly useful in service companies, where teams often work on several projects simultaneously.
How can an ERP system help you keep track of project budgets and deadlines?
This makes it easier to identify andanticipate opportunities for cost optimization.
With ERP, we don't just make it easier to achieve objectives. What's more, we can easily reorganize resources to further maximize the KPIs we've determined to be relevant.
💡 Practical example: imagine we've set ourselves the goal of completing the development of an application for mobile devices in three months.
A good ERP project management system will not only ensure that we achieve this goal. It will also enable us to quickly identify priority areas for improvement, so that we don't have to reduce this initial target any further.
By analyzing planning scenarios to obtain forecast profitability, mobilized resources can be released from their tasks earlier to devote them to other projects.
By identifying potential risks, corrective actions can be taken, such as :
- re-negotiate with the customer ;
- change the resource planning (reallocate tasks to more junior profiles);
- find ways to speed up projects that are lagging behind.
Discover project management with Stafiz
Efficient collaboration saves time
Another key advantage of ERP for project management is that it time-saving on process optimization.
No more need to manually fill in an activity report! No more dependence on multi-media communication to notify the completion of previous tasks so that the next ones can begin!
All these communications are centralized and automated, saving a lot of coordination time.
Everyone knows what needs to be done and when, because data is available to all project members at all times, in real time. The added bonus: automated notifications and alerts that facilitate coordination without wasting time.
Communication needs and time spent in meetings are considerably reduced. The quality of communication and can focus on the really relevant and strategic aspects, rather than on operational issues.
These advances are particularly useful when it comes to collaborate with other departments who, while not actively involved in the core development of a project, are essential to its profitability.
To take the example of application development, the finance and accounting teams are not involved in developing the code needed for the application to run smoothly. However, their contribution is essential to ensure cost control, which has a direct impact on profitability.
Another example: resource planning meetings are no longer a headache. There's no need to send emails to correct schedules, everything is centralized in a clear, simple view. This makes meetings faster and more efficient.
Greater employee and team satisfaction
All the above elements generate greater satisfaction among teams and employees.
They perceive that the company makes it easier for them to shine in functions that are truly essential. Their work is focused on high value-added tasks, and less on operational and administrative tasks - often seen as drudgery. The result is a much higher quality end product.
This has a very positive impact on working environment which, at the same time, generates greater production capacity on the part of the teams.
A better guarantee of quality
Employees can then concentrate on their tasks,delivering a higher-quality project, enabling thecompany to grow andimprove its churn rate.
Company growth that also enables professional development professional development that will facilitate the creation of career plans that meet the growth needs of talented employees.
At a time of talent crisis, when employees are demanding that the company meet certain needs, an ERP project management system is an excellent tool for reduce turnover within a company.
Discover resource planning with Stafiz
Who uses ERP for project management?
The benefits of ERP for project management are cross-functional. As a result, the entire company benefits from the advantages offered by this type of tool.
The operational team is no exception. They have a greater ability to direct, coordinate and optimize processes.
Thefinance and accounting team has complete, reliable, real-time control over key data such as costs and profitability via project KPIs .
Invoicing is made easier and cash flow can be optimized, thanks to the automatic invoicing reminders offered by this type of tool. What's more, all data can be imported into the accounting software with just a few clicks, further enhancing the relevant information provided by the ERP.
Another major beneficiary of ERP for project management: human resources. human resources. Effective working hours, profitability, balancing of any overloads, absences, performance, expense management... A multitude of operations are centralized and accessible.
This saves the HR department a considerable amount of time, which can be devoted to valuable issues such as improving the pace of training, reviewing incentives or ensuring an adequate career path for all employees.
These issues have a global impact on the company, improving productivity and positioning HR as a key department.
Finally, the senior management is the main beneficiary of this type of solution. All company processes become more efficient, optimal and measurable over time.
Frequently asked questions :
Yes, a project management ERP can replace tools such as Excel or Trello, because it centralizes all the information needed to manage projects: planning, budget, resources, performance monitoring, etc. Unlike these tools, which are often limited or fragmented, an ERP offers an overview and advanced functionalities such as real-time analysis, multi-project management and integration with other systems (invoicing, CRM, etc.). Unlike these tools, which are often limited or fragmented, an ERP offers an overview and advanced functionalities such as real-time analysis, multi-project management and integration with other systems (invoicing, CRM, etc.). This makes it particularly well suited to the complex needs of service companies.
It all depends on your business needs. A SaaS (cloud) solution is quick to deploy, accessible from anywhere, and more economical in the short term thanks to a subscription fee.
It's well suited to companies wishing to evolve with a standardized, regularly-updated solution. On the other hand, a customized ERP is ideal for companies with very specific needs, but requires a greater investment and longer deployment times. In most cases, SaaS solutions are ideally suited to service companies, thanks to their flexibility and scalability.
