Consistent order processing with Projektron BCS
User report from :em engineering methods
:em engineering methods AG, or :em AG for short, develops and communicates innovative product development methods and, as an integrator of IT systems in the product development process, has a comprehensive range of services for manufacturers, suppliers and engineering service providers. For the diverse tasks of project management and project execution - from planning to time recording to controlling - :em AG consistently uses Projektron BCS.
True to our philosophy "Know-how for your virtual product development", we offer our customers holistic solutions for the current challenges in engineering. With our four divisions Business Processes, CAD|CAE, Software and PDM|PLM, :em AG is a competent partner for the introduction, adaptation and application of information technology methods and systems in engineering. Our customers include well-known manufacturers in the automotive and supplier industry, in aerospace technology and in the field of mechanical and plant engineering.
We support our customers in a variety of different tasks in areas such as the optimization of cross-company processes, the use of knowledge-based design models or the consulting and introduction of product data management systems. We also offer our customers individual software solutions. In doing so, we rely on sustainable and reliable partnerships and long-term cooperation. As a partner of Dassault Systèmes, we have extensive specialized knowledge of the products CATIA and ENOVIA, among others, as well as comprehensive experience with the CAD system NX from Siemens PLM Software. We advise on system selection and introduction, make adjustments, create required templates, offer training and help with our specialist knowledge when special challenges have to be mastered. Close cooperation with universities and participation in research projects contribute to the company's innovative strength and future viability.
The foundation of :em AG in 2002 was followed by steady growth. In addition to permanent employees, we also have freelancers, graduands and working students. The work is exclusively project-related and takes place both at the location in Darmstadt and on-site at our customers.
Especially in the last years we have grown strongly. Therefore, our previous solutions for project management and time recording reached their limits. We also wanted to map all processes holistically in a software solution for project management in order to avoid multiple data transfers and manual multiple entries. We had very specific requirements, especially for time recording: Hours should also be able to be booked directly when working at the customer's site.
Because our employees are sometimes deployed in very sensitive areas of our customers' businesses, Internet connections are often prohibited for security reasons. Therefore, it also had to be possible to record times offline and transfer them to the system later The software also had to be able to map flexible working time models and integrate freelance and external employees. Before deciding on project management software, we compared various solutions. Projektron BCS proved to be the one that best met our requirements - and offered a very attractive price-performance ratio.
With BCS, our internal and external projects could be mapped 100 percent; the software adapted to us, not the other way around. Where necessary, Projektron was able to quickly modify the software according to our wishes - for example, in the area of rights assignment. Since we are closely involved in our customers' development projects and are ourselves active in the area of knowledge protection, this is a very sensitive area for us.
We were also impressed by Projektron's customer contact and willingness to discuss issues. Suggestions from users are taken seriously and are incorporated into new versions, and Projektron employees respond quickly and competently to questions.
In the meantime, we also use the ticket system based on the BCS model for our own support: In this way, we not only organize the processing of requests, but can also provide our customers with a precise breakdown of the work we have completed for them at the end of a billing period.
The acceptance of Projektron BCS was high among our employees right from the start. Admittedly, it takes a little time to get used to it - and you occasionally have to think about functions that you only use rarely. But the bottom line is that you get back the time you invested at the beginning several times over thanks to the greater overview.
Our employees now know on a daily basis which tasks are assigned to them. We can see exactly which parts of a project have already been completed and how much budget is still available. In the meantime, we use the Projektron software for our time recording and performance records, project management, resource planning including vacation and sickness management, as well as for invoicing and expense reporting.
Projektron BCS is a powerful tool. We are glad that we opted for the system. The changeover came at exactly the right time for us. Without BCS, we would not be able to fulfill our project management tasks in a reasonable time frame today.
