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Datel Critical Path Management Efficiently Managing Critical Processes - Meeting the Challenge
In a fast paced and highly competitive environment companies must adapt to handle the pressure to reduce product to market lead times whilst excelling at product innovation.
To bring a new product to market can take various people from numerous departments, across different time zones. The need for these activities to be joined by new tools is essential for businesses to use information as a vital resource for competitive advantage.
Ultimately delivering the right product at the right time and the right price has never been so difficult. Being fully alert to critical events is essential. Business Process
Do you have an end-to-end view of the entire development, purchasing and delivery process?
Do you have early warnings when critical events are not being met?
Are all individuals fully aware of their responsibilities?
Many businesses are managing crucial events in their business processes using spreadsheets or adhoc databases. This results in a lack of integration between users, difficulty to establish where a particular process is up to, and no control. This lack of control results in poor communication internally and externally with suppliers leading to deadlines being missed. Not only does this have an affect on customer service levels, but also the small window of opportunity for a particular product has been missed resulting in unwanted stock, all having serious impact on a businesses bottom line.
Manage Critical Paths with Clarity and Precision
Datel Critical Path Management (CPM) efficiently manages events in your business processes whether it is managing the order, product or purchasing process. The system aligns the correct resources to a process, monitoring progress and performance throughout. Problems are identified enabling swift corrective action.
Datel CPM is a flexible system to fit your existing working practices providing visibility, insight and control which in turn provides the ability to reduce time and costs. Benefits
* Aids processes to be efficiently managed
* Up-to-date information on status as well as resource availability
* Leverages best practice by using a central repository of templates
* Continuous progress reporting
* Increase customer satisfaction as reduces late deliveries
* ROI by increasing employee productivity
* Promotes a change in culture – start to think why late?
* Respond to changes with greater agility* Provides greater visibility into reasons for delays
* Monitors progress enabling informed decision-making
* Integrates with main business systems
Features
Critical Path Creation
Critical Paths can be created for an order, product, sales order or any business process that requires management. Tasks and resources are created with timescales and due dates. A graphical tool is used to link the tasks into a path with a ‘critical’ end completion date.
A central repository of templates can be set-up for fast critical path set-up. Templates provide the ability to introduce standardisation of processes to deploy best practice. Specific instances of the template are then created reflecting details such as delivery date and product details.
The Datel Critical Path system enables the user to plan by start date or due date. If planning by due date the system will filter the tasks backwards to provide the date the process needs to begin. Coordination of Working Together
IT systems promote communication and the sharing of information, which in turn enhances internal teams to work together.
Datel Critical Path Management is no exception providing users with access to crucial data empowers individuals to take action. The library facility stores documents and emails related to the path for shared access.
Assigning Responsibilities
Responsibilities for tasks and individual critical paths are assigned to individuals or departments e.g. buyers, quality control. Individuals or teams are directed to tasks that need doing to ensure deadlines are met. Individuals have visibility of the impact of their tasks promoting accountability. If tasks are late escalation routes are defined for further management.
Automation of Tasks
Within the critical path the action facility automatically launches the relevant document or application required for that task to be complete - all in the same workspace.
Global Change
Critical Path enables changes to be made quickly, simply and globally. If a resource changes, or a change is made the supplier, or any other change that affects multiple areas of the Critical Path this facility enables the user to amend details quickly.
Quick Enquiries
The critical path enquiry enables users to interrogate the data quickly and simply. For example ‘show me all the paths for a particular customer’ to review progress, problems etc. From this screen the user can drill down to the individual tasks or to the individual’s calendar.
Powerful Management Control
The critical path dashboard aggregates information from across all critical paths and individual tasks to display vital statistics in a graphical view. Within this a user can drill down to the critical paths and then again to individual tasks. Key information is visible to aid decision-making and the setting of priorities.
Integration
Datel CPM integrates with the main business system through standard programming languages. This automates the critical path management process.
For example, when a user creates a PO in the businesses main business application it automatically creates a relevant critical path. The critical path is created using a template. The template applied is based on configurable criteria linked to the PO e.g. supplier, country, product type etc. If the PO has a date for delivery then the CP automatically plans backwards from this date.
Planning
The system provides the ability to forecast events for the next day, week or month to ensure tasks are prioritised correctly. Simply check how things will affect schedules e.g what if I change the delivery method to air?
Exception Management through Alerts
An alert can be for any issue or information that a user needs to be made aware of across the business. For example, an alert can be sent to inform a manager that a task is late.
On each individual path colour is used to quickly identify where there is a problem. The colour red is used to highlight a problem, amber is used where there could be a problem and green is used for all tasks that are ok. This simple method is highly effective in directing the users attention to areas that need managing. Collaboration
Suppliers can update the progress of an order providing instant visibility to everyone involved. For example, a user in China can log-on securely to a user interface in their local language and update the critical path.
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