Efficiency is key when it comes to running a successful business. Organizations of all sizes commonly implement enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) to centralize and optimize business processes.

Businesses use ERP software to handle daily tasks such as HR, accounting, and project management. These systems help them with budgeting, and allow businesses to track project progress.

In this blog, we will go further to define what an ERP is, along with outlining its key benefits. 

We will also detail how project-based businesses can significantly benefit from integrating their ERP system with project management software to enhance their capabilities and drive project success. 

What is Enterprise Resource Planning Software?

Organizations have a tendency to operate in silos, with individual departments making decisions that may not align with the overall strategic goals of the company and relying on disconnected spreadsheets populated with outdated data. 

An ERP is put in place to manage day-to-day business processes such as finance, procurement, human resources and supply chain operations with one central database. 

Any data entered automatically updates across the whole system and is accessible to anyone who requires it. The main purpose of using enterprise resource planning software is to prevent data duplication and inaccuracies and increase overall efficiency by facilitating the seamless flow of information across departments. 

For example, SAP is a leading ERP provider with various modules covering aspects such as accounting, HR, production and CRM to streamline and standardize processes by destroying information silos, giving access to real-time insights and improving agility. 69% of organizations believe that having an ERP in place significantly impacts their competitiveness and 32% cite improved efficiency as a key reason for implementing an ERP system. 

The type of ERP you require will depend on your business functions and there are a range of large, well-established international ERP vendors to choose from including Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage. Organizations select the modules that matter most to them and can add or remove modules as needed. 

Examples of enterprise resource planning modules include:

• Finance and Accounting: Arguably the most popular of the modules, supporting businesses in tracking their accounts, managing purchase orders, financial reporting and reducing financial risk. 
• Human Resources: Handling employee data, recruitment processes and managing payroll. 
• Compliance and Risk Management: Ensures compliance with industry standards, and manages risk assessments, internal audits and reports. 

How Project Management Software can Enhance your ERP 

Although ERP systems offer basic project management features such as basic reporting and cost control, there are significant benefits to using a specialized project management system to enhance your ERP’s capabilities and drive project success. 

This is particularly applicable if you are in an industry dominated by complex project work, such as engineering and construction. At Proteus, most customers have ERP systems like Oracle, Bamboo, Workday, or Microsoft. Most Proteus customers previously used ERP systems alone to get a simple view of their business operations. However, they lacked the advanced features required to effectively manage a project from beginning to end. 

Benefits of implementing project management software alongside your ERP include:

• Industry-specific functionality: Different project management software solutions are tailored to specific sectors. For example, Proteus caters predominantly to engineering consultancies and operators in the energy sector with features such as bid decision-making, proposal writing and project controls measures such as VOWD and EVM. 
• Profitable margins: Proteus uses the approved costs stored within your ERP are used in pricing ensuring consistency, accuracy and improving profitability. 
• Improved visibility and project control: Project management software enables project teams to obtain a more granular and detailed view of projects and their progress across the whole project lifecycle. Proteus provides real-time data insights available on configurable dashboards and Gantt charts. 
• Minimized project risk: Access to real-time data and forecasts means that problems can be detected earlier and addressed quickly, ensuring your project remains on track. 
• Improved team collaboration: Project management software simplifies the sharing of documents, and reports and improves overall transparency and task management. Proteus pulls everything together into one place providing you with a single source of truth. 

Top Tips for Integrating PM Software and ERP Software

1. Compatibility: Select a software solution that is compatible with your existing ERP system, ensuring that data can flow seamlessly between the two with a simple integration process. Nowadays integration is incredibly simple as most organizations use cloud-based enterprise resource planning systems which are more flexible and are easily integrated through application programming interfaces (APIs). 
2. Select an appropriate project management software: To maximize project success, your software solution should meet your industry-specific needs therefore carefully examining the features and functionality available is imperative. Other key things to consider are pricing, customer support and customisation options. 
3. Providing training sessions to your team: With 27% of organizations reporting inadequate training is the top challenge during an ERP implementation, ensuring that your team is familiar and comfortable with both your ERP and project management systems is integral to make sure maximum efficiency is achieved. 
4. Choose cloud-based softwares: the cloud offers flexibility, scalability, and access to the latest technology without the need for heavy on-premises infrastructure. For project managers, this means reduced support time, quicker implementation, and the ability to adapt to changing project demands.
5. Opt for Next-Gen Technology Integration: Modern cloud-based ERP systems are embedded with advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, IoT, and blockchain. These tools provide deeper insights, automate processes, and open up new opportunities for innovation within your projects.

Conclusion 

In summary, ERP systems offer a unified platform that streamlines operations, enhances collaboration, and drives efficiency—key factors in successful project management. With real-time data and integrated processes, project managers can make informed decisions, improve resource management, and ultimately, deliver projects on time and within budget.

Even though ERP software has many functions, it usually needs to work with other systems to be fully effective. Integration with other software tools such as project software or Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM), or industry-specific solutions is crucial for many organizations to maximize efficiency, collaboration and visibility. 

If you run complex projects, integrating your ERP with project management software is invaluable. Proteus is a software-as-a-service solution and our project delivery module is specifically designed to meet the needs of project-based businesses and enhance their existing ERP capabilities.

About Proteus

Proteus is an end-to-end project management solution developed for the energy and engineering consulting industries. 

Proteus is industry-proven and enables consultancies to meet project demands across the full lifecycle, from proposal development to project delivery. Proteus helps its customers win more business, increase efficiencies, manage expenditures, and improve project controls.

Critical workflows, automation, and controls are integrated into Proteus. These include opportunity evaluation, proposal building, resource planning, budget tracking and forecasting, real-time multi-level restricted dashboards, and project performance analytics.

Third-party integrations and customised solutions allow Proteus’ users, which include C-suite, project leads, and engineers, to get the exact software solution needed for their business.

We offer a free onboarding consultation service to ensure your company account is set up to your company’s needs.

How to get Proteus

Proteus operates under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. We offer Enterprise packages and flexible pricing solutions: contact our team to learn more.We designed Proteus to be simple, and that means you can get up and running on Proteus without an IT team or support from a programmer. You will want to spend a bit of time configuring the admin console so that you have everything set up to suit your company structure, but it’s very intuitive and you don’t need a PhD in IT. However, we want you to get the best out of what is a brilliantly powerful tool, so don’t hesitate to ask for our support. We have a team of product experts who are ready to help you with the configuration process, so get in touch today by filling out the form below: