Enterprise software packages often get wrapped in rather confusing buzzwords – ERP, CRM, DMS, CMS, HRM just to mention a few.

These abbreviations are often not very good indicators of what a software can actually do. So a buyer can be confused when searching for a software application to solve a particular problem.

ERP is one such broad term. Short for Enterprise Resource Planning software, ERP is a very wide umbrella which covers management of different resources like – cash, material, machinery etc.

What is ERP?

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is used for monitoring and managing the resources that are critical for business operations – e.g. cash or material inventory.

An ERP package does this by integrating core business processes and connecting them to a central database. So all transactions and flow of important resources is tracked in that central database.

Managers will then use this information captured on central database to get useful insights into the health of various business operations.

ERP in a project oriented set up

By definition, any ERP software is built for managing key resources and they are exceptionally good at that. Inbuilt workflows of an ERP package are undoubtedly very useful for monitoring and controlling cash, material items and even key human resources.

But when it comes to project execution, cash or material resources are not the only important things to track.

Any project is a time bound affair by definition. The planned timeline and actual rate of progress are always of great interest to the project managers.

But ERP packages are not often wired to track these time bound processes. Moreover, even if they CAN track a project or its activity, that is not their primary purpose.

So ERP may not be the best solution when it comes to time based progress tracking.

For example – project scheduling is not usually a part of traditional ERP solution. So different activities in ERP are missing a planned timeline. Tracking time based progress is obviously difficult in absence of a planned timeline.

But tracking time based progress can just be as important as tracking cash and materials, especially for infrastructure engineering & construction projects.

In case of any delay in construction activities on site, the construction crew will stay there. That will definitely lead to higher costs and possibly even cause some other projects to be delayed due to manpower constraints.

Projects in Engineering & Construction Industry

ERP tools are excellent for tracking cash, machinery and inventory, which indeed drive the core business for manufacturing.

Historically, manufacturing industry was the first to adopt and benefit from ERP software packages. From there, ERP went on to be used in other industries including E&C.

But the core business for E&C is planning and execution of infrastructure projects. Time tracking of critical project activities is an essential part of this. However, ERPs do not help the project managers much on this front.

Right from the beginning, ERP workflows evolved with a focus on tracking resources like cash, material, machinery etc. So even when ERP came to E&C, it served that limited function of tracking cash flow, material items etc.

Project Management Software

An Engineering & Construction firm needs to track critical project activities as much as it needs to monitor key resources.

Time based progress tracking of project activities can be easily done with a project management software.

Usually, a project management software offers following basic features –

• Define project scope of work (SOW)
• Create and manage project schedule
• Manage the progress of different project activities (from SOW)

Limitations of traditional project management software

Usually, any project management software focuses on time based progress tracking instead of tracking of resources – material and cash.

So a traditional project management software can only tell half the story (that of progress tracking) for how well a project is doing.

The other half of the story is hidden in cash flows, inventory and other resources that need to be tracked.

So what choice does an E&C project manager have?

A project management solution can be used for planning and progress tracking for an infrastructure project. These basic features of a project management tool are quite necessary for infrastructure project management.

Other things can be managed separately – using accounting software to manage cash flow; inventory management software or spreadsheets to track material items etc.

Often this is a preferred scenario in many E&C firms.

The only drawback with this kind of a scenario is the creation of disconnected silos for – progress tracking, cost control, inventory management etc.

A project manager has to take a lot of manual efforts to integrate this information.

WorkPack for holistic project management

WorkPack is a platform that connects different tools used for project execution on one single platform. For example – all project related documents, spreadsheets used in material or cost tracking, project related email communication get connected with the project schedule.

This interconnected platform can then provide a complete picture in terms of –

• Time based progress tracking
• Cash flow and cost control
• Material tracking
• Status and availability of important resources

This tightly integrated platform has already helped project managers across different verticals of the E&C industry.

Can your team can also benefit with WorkPack? Find out today by setting up a free WorkPack account for your team.

Let us know in case you need any help or if you would like to schedule an online demo for your team.