Does it ever feel like you’ve hit a brick wall between your project data and your ERP system?
Project data can literally get into the minutiae when tracking estimating activities, productivity, and resources; as well as when managing controls with data on percent complete, progress quantity, labor, equipment, etc. Yet on the ERP side, you are operating at a higher level – analyzing cost codes, accruals, cash flow, etc. How do you reconcile the gap in translation between the two critical systems?
To make matters worse, there are typically three principals who input data into the system of record: the owner, the EPCM, and the contractor. This will usually result in inefficiencies in four areas:
- Delays in reporting data
- Inaccurate data
- Summary/data misalignment
- ERP lacking productivity and or earned value data
The key question then becomes, “What level of detail makes most sense?”
Let’s make this easy, in 5 steps:
- Eliminate internal speculation with a consistent method of measurement (quantity or percent complete)
- Report on summary ERP – capture detail progress
- Open progress to vendor input on measurements
- Leverage the schedule for true EVM performance (SPI, CPI)
- Standardize the WBS for consistent current and historical measurement
Next, apply these principles to the common touch points in your ERP system: budget, time, receipts, progress, actual costs, and reconciliation.
This of course sounds great on paper, but how do you put it into practice? The assumption is that you are currently collecting data successfully – stay the course! There is no need to duplicate the information or force users to switch to a different system. The answer is to integrate the data so that your project and ERP systems are speaking the same language – and Hard Dollar is actually designed to do just that!
If you want to learn more about avoiding that brick wall between projects and ERP – listen to Hard Dollar VP, Ron Babich, address this during an online workshop or download the slides here.
