ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning systems) are the most complicated and diverse types of business software. Because they are dedicated to resource management, they must integrate with other more relevant solutions, such as PPM systems. Also, many ERP systems have PPM functionality/modules within them but are generally poor, which prompts a company to seek a better product. This article will cover the fundamentals of each tool’s limitations and important integration tips.
An ERP that has redundant data is useless.
Few businesses devote time planning information flows between ERP and their PPM system. As a result, multiple parallel processes have different outcomes whose origins are difficult to pinpoint. The complexities of a project’s cost structure, such as cost estimates, actual bills, calculated costs of internal and external hours, and reports, are not captured by the ERP.
From there, a decision is made: the PPM system, which is focused on generating revenue, should be the source of all information related to the organisation’s projects so that financial data from PPM projects “rules” over ERP and arguments are avoided.
This is a common scenario for ERP and project management software integration. To support a project’s activity solvency, it’s best to give the PPM system autonomy.
Five factors to consider when integrating ERP with a PPM system
Even though each company’s use cases and requirements are unique, there are specific, clear guidelines for effective ERP connection with a PPM system.
1. Allow each system to complete its task – Data integration should be limited to the bare minimum. It is not a good idea to create a much more complicated integration. However, keep four main goals in mind: reduce duplication of effort, avoid data divergence, increase openness, and promote collaboration.
2. Disseminate the required information – There can’t be any black boxes in a business setting. However, we know that informative noise can be loud with the volume of data shared even with perfect transparency, resulting in a significant productivity cost. As a result, it’s standard advice not to submit more project data to ERP than is required for administrative and financial control purposes.
3. Choose a flexible PPM – Many PPM systems deliver aggregated project cost information, making it challenging to allocate project costs to different components.
4. Allow your employees to choose their software – Delegating administration to ERP is the simplest way to combine ERP and PPM. At the same time, PPM manages all the project’s complexity and flexibility.
5. Encourage project cooperation and uniformity within ERP – Any technology integration process must address human and change management issues in addition to data integration. A PPM solution is defined by design procedures that provide ample working space for project specialists and communication and team collaboration tools. On the other hand, ERP is more likely to follow stricter, more standardised, and mandated protocols.
What aspects of a project is ERP responsible for?
It’s critical to know the corresponding regions and potential overlaps across different platforms before analysing the information systems and data flows that underpin a business environment.
At four points, the ERP administrative control layer interacts with projects: costs, human resources and payroll, supplier management, and customer relationship management.
It is critical to create automated flows from the portfolio management system to the ERP in all these domains, specifying the required granularity in each scenario and avoiding providing erroneous data, such as the projected cost.
What exactly can’t an ERP do?
The concept of an ERP as a company management machine used for any activity could put corporate initiatives at risk.
Here are four scenarios in which ERP fails to meet the operational requirements set forth by portfolio management software.
• Resource planning: While ERP can calculate and handle resource payments, only PPM gives you the freedom to plan resources and adjust to delivered work as it comes in.
• Project methodology: PPM technologies are designed to adapt to any project methodology. Its functional scope is also quite broad, encompassing, among other things, financial and effort data, risk planning and management, business goals, papers, and deliverables.
• Task management and team member access: Managing work materials from an ERP is difficult due to the limited number of project team members who have access to the environment and its collaborative features.
• Portfolio view: PPM systems provide pre-set project and portfolio indicators and metrics, as well as the ability to work with customised exportable reports, to provide a real-time picture of project progress. To get a similar perspective from an ERP, you’ll need a lot of configuration work and hundreds of hours of consulting time.
What is unique about a software platform like Execview is that we believe our product can function as a PPM and an ERP. This makes our solution unique as we provide a universal project management solution all on one platform.
To find out more, visit our product and solutions pages. To find out more about Execview’s capabilities, contact one of our experts, or e-mail us at in**@ex******.com.
