Have an Eye on Important Projects

In pharmaceutical companies, project business comprises much more than the mere development of medicaments. In order to make reliable decisions, management requires a transparent project portfolio. In the Dr. Willmar Schwabe corporate group, a new software generates a more clear overview of the numerous simultaneous business projects. The persons responsible have an eye on the status of each project and can focus more easily on those projects that are really important.

The Dr. Willmar Schwabe corporate group employs 1600 employees at three sites in Karlsruhe and its surroundings and produces herbal and homeopathic medicinal products. Schwabe plans an average of 300 simultaneously running projects for a period of about 12 months.

Using PLANTA since 2019

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Published in Digital Process Industry 1/2020

Problem Prior to Implementation of the New Software

Prior to the implementation of the new software, the company’s projects could only be outlined rudimentarily in the form of a SharePoint-list. The number of simultaneously running projects and the parallel loading of employees was not transparent. Information on project status, project period, and date of completion of each individual project were not easily accessible either.

Project approvals only existed in an informal manner. Status reports could only be accessed sporadically in the respective project document folders in PowerPoint. The previous tool landscape did not provide transparency and made decision making substantially harder. In order to be well prepared for future challenges, it was necessary to get better software assistance for the entire project portfolio.

Definition of Objectives

All company projects are to be readily accessible. The core roles (purchasers, project manager, project core team, steering board) should be able to monitor all relevant project information, like project core data, milestones, project phase, resources, at any time. They should also be able to read status reports directly in the project portfolio. During the quest for a suitable new software, no own solution was taken into consideration. Instead, three products which are currently on the market were tested. In December, Schwalbe decided in favor of PLANTA. The PLANTA project, PLANTA portfolio, PLANTA customizer, PLANTA link components were implemented. The existing rudimentary SharePoint-solution was replaced. The technical concept for the new software solution was drawn up by Schwabe themselves. It was turned into a technical solution with the help of a PLANTA consultant.

Rapid Software Implementation

The software was implemented expeditiously. Only 5 months passed from the definition of the problem up to the decision for PLANTA, and another 2.5 months passed until operation went live in March 2019.

150–200 employees were involved in the implementation phase. The competence team for implementation consisted of two employees from PMO and one employee from organization development. Feedback loops were carried out with 10 users.

The new software system is used in almost the entire corporate group: in the areas of finance, HR, quality, IT, purchasing, production, supply chain, infrastructure & technology. In planning, 50 project managers and 25 portfolio managers access the PLANTA software. Main milestones allow 300 stakeholders to see the current status of their project at one glance. A resource planning with a quite pragmatic approach is applied, which is primarily focused on the number of simultaneously running project proposals.

Adjustments Made to PLANTA Standard

To map company specific processes adequately, some adjustments have been made to the Standard system. Schwabe carried out half of the adjustments themselves, while the other half was carried out by PLANTA: Own project rolls and other project types have been defined, views have been changed and the calculation of the project phases has been solved by means of milestone fulfillment. A user data interface for reading a CSV file from SAP ERP has been created.

Benefit of Software Implementation

After the new system has been in operation for half a year, the benefit can be outlined as follows:

Adherence to schedule has been increased since the project status is more transparent now and it is monitored more consequently.
The number of simultaneously running projects has been reduced. The focus has increasingly and noticeably been placed on important projects.
Simultaneously running projects/project ideas with equal target area can be identified and synchronized earlier on.

Stefan Bolz (head of project management consulting) sums up the benefit as follows:

“The increased focus on projects of importance enhances the project situation, especially when it comes to adherence to schedule. The projects are now planned, approved, and launched more consciously. Positive side-effect: the project pipeline is transparent, questions on required resource provision in a 3‑year horizon can be posed.”

Short Portrait Dr. Willmar Schwabe

The Dr. Willmar Schwabe company is a global leader in research, development, and production of herbal medicinal products, called phytopharmaceuticals. Our innovative medicinal products are effective and well tolerated. The quality of our phytopharmaceuticals is at the highest level: From the natural raw materials up to the packaged medicament, at Dr. Willmar Schwabe everything comes from a single source.

Our medicinal products accompany medical therapy with scientifically substantiated information on the clinical picture or they support the recovery process by means of training programs. They help patients to help themselves or provide advice on desease specific healthcare provision. Dr. Willmar Schwabe places the patient in the center, so you can live a better life.