SAP Functions in Detail SAP Solutions for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies Efficient Project Management Drive Project Success with SAP Business ByDesign The SAP Business ByDesign solution helps you optimize project management efficiency, transparency, and collaboration. It provides comprehensive functionality that supports end-to-end project management, giving project managers the tools and visibility required for efficient execution and ongoing control.
CONTENT ^ 4 Project Management Challenges ^ 7 Project Planning and Execution 7 Project Planning and Scheduling 8 Project Resource Management 8 Project Procurement 9 Time Recording 9 Assignments 9 Working Time 9 Time Confirmations and Payroll Processing 9 Expense Recording 9 Change Management 9 Project Invoicing ^10 Accounting for Projects 10 Project Accounting ^11 The Power of Integrated Project Management Functionality 11 Find Out More ^12 Quick Facts
Project Management Challenges The Need for an Integrated, End-to-End Process Successfully meeting today s business challenges requires effective project management. Whether you are creating a new product or launching a state-of-the-art marketing campaign, how well your organization manages projects, tracks costs, and identifies and addresses project-related issues can have a big impact on your bottom line. But if your company still relies on traditional, stand-alone project management applications, most likely you lack the endto-end process support you need to ensure success. If these applications are not integrated with other areas of your organization, such as financials and HR, you may experience serious gaps in visibility and information flow, which could reduce the productivity of your employees and make it difficult to run cost-effective projects. 4 SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management
As a result, you may be facing the following types of challenges: Projects run over budget without anyone knowing until the project is completed. Project managers do not have visibility into available resources, making it difficult to staff projects efficiently with the right people. The true costs of projects are never captured, so it s hard to plan for new initiatives. Project data is scattered across different applications and even handwritten notes rather than centralized which minimizes visibility for project managers and other key stakeholders and makes project reporting a costly, error-prone process. Inefficient manual processes such as rekeying time-sheet data into HR SAP Business ByDesign supports all types of projects, from basic cost collectors to sophisticated, fullscope projects in areas such as research, new product development, and marketing. or payroll systems tie up resources, increase the chance of payroll and contractor payment errors, and drive up overall costs. Project managers and others stakeholders lack transparency into projects, making it hard to access the information needed for fact-based decision making; for example, they can t identify when projects are running over budget in time to adjust project staffing and head off losses. These problems are all too familiar to most project management professionals. Stand-alone project management applications were never designed to Figure 1: SAP BusinessByDesign and Project Management What can be improved? How do I improve? What does SAP software enable? What can I achieve? #1 Maximize utilization of talents; innovate service portfolio; focus on profitable projects Centralize resource allocation; expand offers via contractors; increase project insight Planning and resource project management; integration with all areas; built-in analytics Operating metrics: Capacity utilization; number of new offerings; percentage of profitability per project Financial results: Revenues from projects; revenues from new offerings; project profitability #2 Reduce service delivery and project-related costs; improve operational efficiency Enhance project setup; optimize staffing; improve collaboration; increase transparency Support for end-toend processes and ad hoc collaboration Operating metrics: Number of projects finalized on time and within budget Financial results: Project profitability and costs overview; project cost by project and cost structure #3 Bill more quickly, accurately, and efficiently to collect customer payments earlier Automate and integrate time recording and billing; collaborate better with external parties Time and expense recording that is tightly integrated with procurement and financials Operating metrics: Operating costs for staffing, recording time and expenses, and billing Financial results: Days sales outstanding and cash flow SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management 5
meet the comprehensive needs of an entire organization. The execution and success of your projects have a far greater impact on your company than simply making it to the next milestone on time. That s why you need project management functionality that supports your organization from an end-to-end process perspective which requires that project management information flows automatically into processes used by other departments in your company. This integration is the key to enhancing efficiency, transparency, and collaboration at both project and corporate levels. Designed specifically for midsize companies, the SAP Business ByDesign solution is a complete and adaptable on-demand business solution. The powerful functionality supporting project management helps you optimize project management efficiency, transparency, and collaboration and supports all phases of project management (see Figure 1). Project managers are free to plan and structure projects in a manner that works best for them, and they have instant access to the tools and visibility they require for efficient execution and ongoing control. At the same time, the software helps you ensure that projects meet the needs of other departments and the overall enterprise for example, by making it easier to gather and report on project data. 6 SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management
Project Planning and Execution Supporting the Complete Project Lifecycle Figure 2: Covering the Complete Lifecycle Order Manage Fulfill Settle Create opportunity Create sales quote Create sales order Manage project Perform services Create time and expense confirmations Create invoice Collect payment Post to ledger Manage Define tasks phas es, and milestones Schedule timelines Plan work and create project cost estimation Staff project (internal and external) Procure Project management functionality in the SAP Business ByDesign solution supports the entire project lifecycle, from initiation and planning to execution and closing (see Figure 2). You can quickly access up-to-date information about projects and empower your project managers to make changes to them at any point in time. The software puts project The software puts project performance data at your fingertips and helps you control project tasks, costs, and schedules with minimal time and effort. performance data at your fingertips and helps you control project tasks, costs, and schedules with minimal time and effort. Project managers can use this information to provide you with accurate progress and cost data, as up-to-date reports are just a click away. Equally important, your project managers and you have visibility into project data and analytics to determine and monitor trends. For example, you can track the following: How project members are using their time on projects How long it takes employees to perform certain tasks Which tasks are taking more time than planned This insight helps your project managers anticipate potential project delays and then take proactive steps to avoid these problems. Project Planning and Scheduling SAP Business ByDesign supports all types of projects, from basic cost collectors to sophisticated, full-scope projects in areas such as research, newproduct development, and marketing. For added flexibility, your project managers can readily expand projects that are used solely for cost collection to meet more complex requirements. Project managers can plan and structure projects in any way that works best for them, including phases, tasks, milestones, and checklists as needed. The software gives them instant access to a variety of tools, including Gantt charts, work breakdown structures, and network diagrams, to graphically plan and represent projects. These interactive graphical views simplify project structuring, scheduling, and planning. Managers can select views based on their personal preferences and the type of activity they need to perform. To accelerate project planning, SAP Business ByDesign provides a variety of nonoperational projects or templates that help you implement a consistent methodology and standardize processes across projects. Your project managers can modify these templates as needed, as well as use an existing project as a template for a new project. They can consolidate data from past projects in order to better plan for new projects. Once planned, projects can be assigned to programs and departments within your organizational management hierarchy. SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management 7
Project Resource Management Support for resource management makes it easier for your project managers to staff projects, assign tasks, and track working times and task execution (see Figure 3). With online access to HR data, resource managers can search for both internal employees and external resources with the appropriate skills and assign them to projects. Once team members have been assigned to a project, the project manager can allocate members to the appropriate work packages. Project team members can access all project tasks for which they are responsible. Additionally, they can view and edit all work packages to which they have been assigned. Using automatically generated personalized time sheets based on each employee s task list, project managers and employees can track the time required to complete each task. Throughout the resource planning and staffing process, project managers can use built-in resource analytics to support staffing decisions as well as access instant overviews of project assignments and unstaffed project tasks. Team members can collaborate via shared document centers and automated workflows. Project Procurement Project management functions in SAP Business ByDesign are tightly integrated with purchasing. This integration enables your project managers to initiate and track the purchasing of goods and services including external resources directly within the project management work center, where they perform most of their tasks. For example, they can initiate purchase requests for any planned, time-based service. And integrated workflows keep them informed when, for example, shopping carts or invoices are posted to their project so that they can approve or reject them. This provides full transparency of costs and gives managers greater control in managing projects. SAP Business ByDesign consolidates information on all project-related purchase requests and orders and presents Figure 3: SAP BusinessByDesign and Resource Management What can be improved? How do I improve? What does SAP software enable? What can I achieve? #1 Increase revenues by selling more projects and by offering more services Centralize resource allocation processes; offer more services by using external resources Optimized skills usage; integration of third-party service agents to increase resources Operating metrics: More billable days per team member; higher customer satisfaction; broad service portfolio Financial results: Increased revenues from established and new clients #2 Boost profitability due to highly motivated professionals Evaluate and assign the most suitable resources (internal or external) to projects Linking of talent, demand, and availability; simplified recording of skills and experience Operating metrics: Higher rate of resource allocation; increased consultant satisfaction; reduced turnover Financial results: Increased profitability per client and per project #3 Streamline processes related to project staffing Equip project managers with better insight on availability based on existing assignments Central pool of internal and external talents searchable by skills and availability Operating metrics: Reduced time for planning and staffing per project Financial results: Lower actual project costs, including costs from subcontractors 8 SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management
the information in a structured overview so your project managers can view the entire document flow, as well as directly access the original documents. External resources can perform their time confirmations in the solution. Confirmation data is sent automatically to your purchasing clerk, who confirms that the purchased service is fulfilled and triggers invoice generation to the supplier. Time Recording With SAP Business ByDesign, time recording is integrated with project management functions, enabling your employees to efficiently record working times. Internal and external team members can record working times directly within projects, and project managers can set up an approval process for time records. Once working times are confirmed, they are used by the software to calculate and assign project costs and to track project progress. Both HR staff and project managers work from the same centralized data source eliminating the need to retype time-sheet data into payroll systems, including those of external payroll processing companies. The following sections describe how you can benefit when project management functions leverage personnel data maintained by your HR department. Assignments Project managers can assign project tasks to employees, and employees can view their assignments in a personalized work list. The software automatically generates personalized time sheets based on each employee s task list, enabling both your employees and you to track the time required to complete each task. Your employees can use the solution to confirm their time recordings for each task or service. Working Time External project-team members record working time in SAP Business ByDesign so your project managers always know who is working on what project. Line managers and project managers can confirm time for internal and external resources for tight project control. Time Confirmations and Payroll Processing Because of the integration between project management and HR functions within the solution, employee time confirmations are made available automatically for payroll processing. Expense Recording Project team members should spend their time meeting project objectives, not on routine administrative tasks. The solution enables team members to readily submit travel and other expenses, which can be allocated automatically to an overall project as well as individual project tasks. Without the need for additional handling, you can use expense data in subsequent processes including reimbursement, invoicing, and project cost and revenue management. You can flexibly assign expenses as a percentage of the overall expense report or by individual receipt. In addition, built-in compliance functionality supports adherence with country- and company-specific regulations and allows you to define approval cycles involving auditing clerks and managers. Change Management SAP Business ByDesign supports change management by helping your project managers accurately track subsequent changes to the original project plan or baseline. For example, they can analyze the actual, forecast, and baseline data such as cost, work, and schedule by project task. A project can have several previous baselines in addition to the active baseline. When required, project managers can make changes to project baselines and, if needed, route changes for management approval before activating them. The software also enables project managers to take snapshots that freeze a project at a certain point in time for documentation and deviation analysis. They can set up and schedule the time intervals for the snapshots individually by project type. Project Invoicing Take advantage of the integration of project management and financials when creating invoice requests for services delivered as part of a project. You can automatically create invoice requests based on sales-order and projectexpense data, which can include time sheets, expense reports, supplier invoices and credit memos, goods and services receipts, and goods issues and returns. When an invoice request is created, you can decide to invoice single items immediately, at a later time, or not at all if you are going to write them off completely. SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management 9
Accounting for Projects Enabling Effective Cost Management and Control Project managers and financial analysts need to manage and control project costs. The project accounting functionality in SAP Business ByDesign gives The project accounting functionality in SAP Business ByDesign gives your project managers and you detailed information regarding project costs information that supports decision making, helps control project spend, and equips everyone involved to proactively manage project performance. your project managers and you detailed information regarding project costs information that supports decision making, helps control project spend, and equips everyone involved to proactively manage project performance. The solution decouples project logistics data from financial data a significant innovation. This decoupling means that your project managers can focus on project management activities, such as planning and execution, while the finance department handles the financial aspects of a project. Both the project manager and the financial professional working on a project have access to current project data, giving them needed insight into costs, tasks, and schedules. Financial analysts have access to projects from their own work center for cost and revenue management; they can monitor existing projects. Project Accounting Financial integration of project management within SAP Business ByDesign addresses all aspects of project accounting and controlling. Your project managers and you can view reliable, up-to-date information about project-related costs incurred as a result of time recordings, travel expenses, and other cost-related postings to project tasks. Time recordings for both employees and external service providers can be tracked for each project. Within project accounting, project managers can post supplier invoices and record the consumption of materials for internal projects. The solution records the provision of internal services and enables the calculation of overheads for specific projects. Using built-in analytics, your project managers and you can analyze centralized project data to answer vital questions such as: What are the total actual costs for individual projects? What are the total actual costs for all of my projects? What are the original planned costs, the current planned costs, and actual costs and deviations by project element, service or product, account, or period? 10 SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management
The Power of Integrated Project Management Functionality Enabling Visibility and Data Sharing Across Departments Explore. See how SAP Business ByDesign can help you be a best-run business. Evaluate. Determine if software as a service (SaaS) is right for you. Experience. Learn to adapt SAP Business ByDesign to meet your changing business needs. Now you can realize the benefits of project management functionality that s integrated with other functional areas within your core business software. With SAP Business ByDesign, project managers and team members enter data only once, and it is available to the relevant functions. For example, worktime confirmations are posted simultaneously in a project task as actual and in financials as costs. Because data is available automatically to all departments, such as purchasing, HR, and financials, all areas of your company have reliable, up-to-date information and reports; greater visibility into project activities and costs; and more control over projects. This integration and the automation and transparency it enables is available only when you deploy the project management functionality in conjunction with other areas of SAP Business ByDesign. Find Out More To learn how SAP Business ByDesign can help you manage projects more effectively, contact your SAP representative or visit www.sap.com/solutions /sme/businessbydesign. SAP Functions in Detail Efficient Project Management 11
Quick facts www.sap.com/contactsap Summary The SAP Business ByDesign solution provides flexible, scalable support for project management and integrates with other core operations within your company, such as accounting, procurement, and project management. Business Challenges Lack of visibility into available resources for project staffing Extensive manual administration of project management activities that drives up costs Limited control over and visibility into projects for timely, fact-based decision making Key Features Project planning and scheduling Structure a project using interactive graphical views, plan project tasks, and assign team members Project resource management Staff projects, track working times and task execution, and leverage built-in analytics to support staffing decisions Project procurement Initiate and track the purchase of goods and services, including external resources, for cost transparency and greater control Time recording Record, review, and approve employee and third-party working times Project invoicing Take advantage of integrated project billing based on sales-order and project-expense data Project accounting Carry out all aspects of project accounting and controlling; view reliable, up-to-date information about project-related costs; and analyze data Business Benefits People-centric collaboration among employees, partners, and management thanks to multiple communication channels Increased transparency through access to reliable, accurate project data about project progress and deviations, actual consumption of resources, and red flag issues Efficient planning, tracking, and reporting of projects with a variety of graphical, interactive tools High degree of flexibility through support for all types of projects, from cost collectors that measure costs for corporate programs to sophisticated, full-scope projects For More Information To learn how SAP Business ByDesign can help you manage projects more effectively, contact your SAP representative or visit www.sap.com/solutions/sme/businessbydesign. 50 090 409 (10/02) 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, Clear Enterprise, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP France in the United States and in other countries. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies ( SAP Group ) for informational purposes only, without represen tation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.