TDG implement Asta Teamplan to manage their IT project portfolio
Overview
When leading Supply Chain management supplier TDG decided to bring their IT activity in-house, they realised they would need a system to manage their extensive portfolio of activities. |
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They chose to implement project portfolio and resource management solution Asta Teamplan as it gives them the wider visibility of projects, progress and resources that the new remit required.
Background
TDG operates from 120 sites across Europe and provides specialist logistics services for many major blue chip companies including Kimberly-Clark, Corus, Salisburys’s and Tesco.
Based in Trafford Park, Manchester, TDG’s IT department provides a wide range of services that support all areas of the business. In addition to managing and delivering IT projects, activities also include application support for the central warehouse and transport management systems, managing third party service providers, supporting the technical infrastructure and supporting all corporate applications.
The need
Nigel Rouch, Senior Project Manager, TDG |
Previously TDG outsourced almost all of their IT activity however this work was brought in-house in August 2005. The change led to a huge increase in the workload of the IT department and to rapid growth of the team, which has expanded from 8 people to 60, including 11 project managers. When planning to bring their IT activity in-house, TDG realised that they would need a system to manage their extensive portfolio of activities. |
Previously they used Microsoft Project which was adequate for producing individual plans but did not provide the wider visibility of projects, progress and resources that the new remit required.
The main requirement was for a project management system that allowed the IT department to capture the time spent on each activity accurately and forecast resource requirements.
The solution
TDG’s IT department uses Asta Teamplan to log and manage all of their projects.
Nigel Rouch, Senior Project Manager, advised that they chose Asta Teamplan as “it gave us everything we wanted, including timesheet functionality, while also meeting our budget”.
A key priority for the department is to understand the true costs of each project. To achieve this goal a two-step implementation of the system was adopted. The first phase has been for all members of the project office team to record time spent on activities in Asta Teamplan. As the timesheets are web-based, the team can complete and submit them from any TDG site, so the system is always up-to-date.
TDG can now see clearly and accurately the project team resource costs of each activity. Asta Teamplan has been effective in enabling them to control costs, however the solution is definitely not seen as just an accounting tool, rather as an information tool.
The IT department has now progressed to the second phase of the implementation whereby people who are not part of the project office team also capture the time spent on activities. This will give TDG complete visibility of the total cost of each activity.
Nigel has found that the way they use Asta Teamplan has changed and evolved from their initial plans, based on their learning experiences through the implementation process.
| For example, initially the team spent a lot of time creating projects down to the smallest detail but this took a lot of time and they didn’t need that level of information. They have now reduced the depth of project details so they still get the information they require, but spend less time planning activities. |  |
The benefits of Asta Teamplan
TDG are now enjoying the benefits of the system as they can see quickly and accurately the costs of each project. Nigel says “we just wouldn’t be able to get this information without Asta Teamplan.”
As a result of having clear visibility of the resourcing costs of projects, the team at TDG is now much more aware about the cost implications of activities and are also much more focused on estimating time accurately, and then sticking to it.
Nigel adds “Asta Teamplan gives us the ability to see what we’re working on and who is doing it – we have one version of the truth”.
Using the system means that the information on each project is provided in a standardised format, which enables TDG to compare projects and learn from past experiences more easily.
The future
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Under Nigel’s guidance, TDG will continue to expand their use of the solution in a sensible, steady way. The next priority will be to use the system to forecast accurately the time required for projects which they will do by referencing the wealth of accurate information they now have on previous activities. |
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As Nigel says “we are building up a portfolio of information that is very powerful”.
Nigel also plans to create his own custom reports to get even more information from the system.
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