Seamless Pharmaceutical Project Management

Diverging processes, isolated data storage, and inconsistent responsibilities—that’s what project management looked like at Swiss CDMO Siegfried. Now, the pharmaceutical company Siegfried has harmonized its project management structures. Here’s what has changed following the introduction of project management software.

Siegfried AG, headquartered in Zofingen (Switzerland), is an internationally active company that offers services throughout the entire pharmaceutical life cycle (Custom Development and Manufacturing Organization – CDMO). The company, which has 13 locations worldwide, has grown rapidly in recent years and achieved sales of approximately CHF 1.3 billion in 2024. However, this growth was not accompanied by a corresponding harmonization of project management structures. Different processes, isolated data storage, and inconsistent responsibilities increasingly led to quality losses and, in some cases, inefficient collaboration—especially in projects across different locations.

The company’s top management therefore recognized the need to standardize project management across the entire company. The goal was to introduce a suitable software solution to:

• establish a uniform project management process,
• improve transparency and data quality,
• make knowledge centrally available,
• systematically record risks,
• document decisions in a traceable manner.

Software selection and project launch

After a structured evaluation phase, the pharmaceutical company opted for PLANTA Project, which was the only solution that met all the requirements for a central project management platform – the “single source of truth”. The decisive criteria were:

• Complete mapping of the new Siegfried project management process,
• Integration with MS Sharepoint as the specified document management system,
• Compatibility with the SAP financial system,
• Comprehensive reporting and portfolio evaluations,
• Clear mapping of project changes (scope change management),
• Recording of risks and opportunities within the projects.

A core team spent six months defining the new Siegfried project management process based on the PMBOK Guide from the Project Management Institute (PMBOK = Project Management Body of Knowledge) and linking it to existing processes within the company.

Areas of Application for the New Project Management Software at the Pharmaceutical Company Siegfried

1. Project structuring and planning

PLANTA accurately maps the project structure in accordance with the WBS logic specified in SAP. Projects are divided into main projects, subprojects (orders), and order items (tasks). Each of these levels is consistently reflected in SAP, ensuring seamless integration of financial data. Location-specific project templates enable fast and standardized project planning.

2. Uniform workflow

3. Project charter and team definition

Projects are created at the main project level in the project charter, where only basic project data is entered, such as project type, clinical trial phase, customer, etc. This information is inherited by all subprojects (i.e., each individual order) and is mainly used for later project portfolio evaluation in the software.

The team structure is systematically mapped—both the core team and extended team members—and can be traced back to the organization-specific departments.

4. Resource Management

PLANTA supported Siegfried in standardizing the departmental and resource structure. Despite location-specific differences, a common resource system with standardized departmental groups was established.

5. Time recording

6. Project progress reports

PLANTA allows automatic monthly reports to be generated directly from the system – including Gantt charts. These standardized reports replace the PowerPoint templates that were previously edited individually and enable uniform visual communication of the project status.

7. Multi-project reporting

Benefits and successes

The introduction of the new project management system has already had numerous positive effects at Siegfried:

• Harmonization: The software was a catalyst for company-wide standardization of processes, structures, and terminology.
• Transparency: Project statuses and data are accessible across locations and documented consistently.
• Increased efficiency: Templates, structured processes, and direct SAP links have reduced operational costs.
• Knowledge management: Decisions, risks, and project experiences are documented centrally.
• Future viability: The standardized database will also enable strategic portfolio analyses in the future, e.g., for evaluating product potential or prioritizing projects.

Challenges and Outlook

The introduction did not go without obstacles. Some old tools and processes were still in use because they had never been officially replaced. At the same time, MS Teams established itself as a project platform, which led to parallel working methods. The dynamic change in resource structures also requires ongoing maintenance or clear management guidelines.

Conclusion: More Than Just an IT Project

“The introduction of PLANTA Project was more than just an IT project for Siegfried AG—it was a company-wide change process.”