Tungsten Network, the global business transaction network, has evolved its project delivery function to a truly strategic professional services capability, by embedding Project Portfolio Office’s online project portfolio management (PPM) and collaboration application (PPO) into its operations.
Tungsten Network’s project team is called on to deliver external-facing projects to its enterprise clients across the globe. But before the adoption of PPO within the project management function, there was very little visibility into resource allocation and utilisation.
“With the PPO project management tool we have a crystal clear view of every aspect of a project, to understand exactly how efficiently we’re operating, and make real-time adjustments as needed,” says Tungsten’s Jo Harris, director of project management (EU & Asia). “This means we can become more focused on ensuring that we’re profitably serving the business, while also delivering projects to perfectly meet client needs.”
Harris adds that with new insights by the project management tool, the project teams have become more empowered and accountable for every single delivery phase, as they can now track performance against benchmarks and targets.
“This has allowed us to make a fundamental transition from being a delivery centre, towards a true professional services arm of the business.”
It’s also assisted with fairly appraising, incentivising and remunerating project managers – creating a dynamic work environment where all teams are running projects at the highest levels of efficiency and quality.
Recently, the Tungsten team further extended the value it is deriving from the project management tool, by integrating it into the Qlik reporting tool, providing high-level visual analytics and dashboards to show the performance of all projects in-flight.
“Executive and management teams can now instantly see how many projects we’re running globally, tracking the profitability at a project level. They can also filter the view by region, by industry vertical, or by each individual client – to measure profitability and success for all projects across each client environment,” notes Harris.
PPO’s ability to integrate into other enterprise systems was one of the core reasons for Tungsten’s selection of the product; and in the future she says they plan to integrate the project management tool into the firm’s billing engines, its Salesforce system used to manage prospects and quote for new business, and potentially other areas as well.
“As we continue to digitise our operations, having fluid and automated integration between our various systems is a key part of our technology strategy. PPO makes it very easy for us to securely pipe live data into other systems, unifying our operations and connecting various portfolios.”
With PPO’s project management tool in place, the project management team is now able to provide new client quotes with much greater accuracy, thus becoming more competitive with price-points, and still ensuring that each project is profitable.
“By looking at comparable projects, and seeing exactly how resources are used, we’re able to far more accurately predict the costs and timelines for similar projects in the future,” she adds.
“Ultimately, while our initial focus was on getting immediate value from PPO’s out-of-the-box functionality, we’re now spreading our wings and extending its functionality, customising it for our specific needs and seamlessly integrating it into our broader technology estate.”
Says Guy Jelley, CEO of Project Portfolio Office: “The involvement of Tungsten’s executive level in the rollout of PPO has been critical to the success of this implementation. It has been gratifying to see how, guided by management, the business transaction network has harnessed the benefits of PPO, taking the rollout from ‘out-of-the-box’ to one that meets the organisation’s specific needs.”
About Tungsten Corporation:
Tungsten Corporation (LSE: TUNG) aims to be the world’s most trusted business transaction network by using data intelligently to strengthen the global supply chain.
Tungsten Network is a secure global business transaction network that brings businesses and their suppliers closer together with unique technology that revolutionises invoice processing, maximises efficiency and improves cash flow. Delivering trusted connections and streamlined transactions, the network also provides users with real-time spend analysis and offers suppliers access to invoice financing through Tungsten Network Finance, a form of alternative finance for businesses.
Tungsten Network processes invoices for 67 percent of the FTSE 100 and 76 percent of the Fortune 500. It enables suppliers to submit tax compliant e-invoices in 48 countries, and last year processed transactions worth over £155bn for organisations such as Alliance Data, Cargill, Deutsche Lufthansa, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Mondelēz International, Henkel, IBM, Kellogg’s and the US Federal Government.
Trusted, passionate and proven, Tungsten is making the digitisation of global commerce between buyers and suppliers faster, easier and smarter.
