How to Improve your Resource Management

  • 11 June 2015
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Successful companies put in extra time and effort to plan their resources for multiple projects. Resources can be anything from raw materials needed to finish the project, strength of team-members in numbers, finances or even time dedicated per project. Optimum resource management is one of the biggest challenges faced by companies of all sizes.

Most assume that it wouldn’t be too difficult to allocate resources for a current project. Doing a careful analysis of project’s requirements usually reveal all the requirement of resources. SAP B1 partners say that the tricky part comes in when resources have to be allotted for potential projects that are in the pipeline. When the projects get a go-ahead, two situations may present themselves:

a) There are few resources available for all approved projects, forcing the company fall behind deadlines, commitments and deliverables. They do not meet the requirements of clients, further jeopardizing the relations.

b) There are too many resources lying around, getting ‘wasted’ due to under-utilization. Idle employees getting paid when they are between projects, expensive resources gathering dust and billable hours being squandered on futile discussions are some ways resources are usually misused.

Being in either of the two situations would mean considerable wastage of resources, pushing back project schedules. One way to avoid coming face-to-face with them is by having a complete overview of all available resources across the entire organization. Do not keep an eye on the resources of only current projects but also the potential ones that are in the pipeline, regardless their chances of getting approved or not. Being prepared is the key here.

In addition, there are other ways that helps in improving a company’s resource management with SAP. Some of them include:

–  Active involvement of Senior management

In most cases, the project leads are responsible for understanding and outlining the resource needs. When each department know what they require, it shouldn’t be too difficult to manage the resources. Right? Several SAP B1 partners would furiously shake their heads. When the senior management steps in, immediate changes can be observed in the organization. They tend to focus on the main task, make quick decisions, and eliminate superfluous and long dialogues. They can make firm decisions when project leads may have wavering answers, stretching decisions unnecessarily. When the contribution and evaluations come from top down, efficient management can be done. Transparency is also achieved in communicating the same.

–  Simplifying the process

A thorough analysis is undeniably required;it does not mean that you complicate the process by an information overload. Simplify resource management by eliminating excessively detailed plans and over-analyzing. Simplicity promotes flexibility and allows uniformity without any hassles. Implementing SAP Project management greatly helps with proper resource planning and better outcomes.

–  Encourage participation of the employees

No matter how many hours you spent carefully on mapping the resources, it is the employees that have to work with them. They might have a better suggestion on how to use a particular resource, say SAP Business One for manufacturing, that might have escaped your attention or figure out a way to work with limited resources. Allowing employees to participate would be quite beneficial for both them and the company. When everyone’s on the same page and the chances of getting unexpected surprises diminish, the overall outcome will be enhanced. Resources will be utilized more efficiently

Resource management is an integral part of project management. The solution lends a helping hand in optimizing your resources well so that you are never stuck in an unpleasant situation pertaining to resources. Once they are managed well, the rest follows smoothly. Organizations may start projects from scratch or make improvements/customizations on already existing projects. Resources would be required accordingly. For example, as a part of customization you may consider SAP Business One add ons implementation for manufacturing or re-design an entire process for a manufacturing unit; either cases require different types and quantity of resources. Taking one step at a time is crucial. Do not rush and you will observe successful results.

Nidhi Batra

About the author

Nidhi Batra is a marketing and brand communication professional with 10 years of experience working in the dynamic B2B marketing environment. She strategizes, writes, reviews a variety of content for demand generation and sales support activities. Having a Master’s in English from Delhi University, she knows how to navigate her readers on insightful journeys with her SAP published blogs and thought leadership content.