From Manual Resource Planning to Reliable Resource Management

Sulzer GmbH

High-Quality IT Services from A to Z

Sulzer GmbH has been providing IT consulting and future-ready solutions for complex industrial IT environments since 1978. With over 700 experts worldwide, the company supports businesses end to end in their digital transformations – from business analysis and data & AI to software development and IT infrastructure, as well as SAP and Infor transformations.

Since 2018, Sulzer has been strategically using artificial intelligence to optimize processes, improve data quality, and support well-informed decision-making. Sulzer stands for tailored solutions that integrate into existing processes and IT landscapes and deliver lasting value in day-to-day operations.

Sulzer’s Challenge

Resource Planning Without Real-Time Visibility

To manage its complex projectProjectA project is a time-limited undertaking with defined objectives and resources that delivers unique results and often includes complex tasks. business, Sulzer GmbH needs an up-to-date view of resource utilization. Information about which resourcesResourceResources are all the people, places and things that you need to complete projects. The most important resource? Employees, of course! are assigned to which projects, at what capacity, and for what period of time must be available at all times and accessible with as little effort as possible.

In practice, however, this requirement ran up against the limits of historically established structures. Over the years, Excel had become the solution for resource and capacity managementCapacity ManagementSynonym for → Capacity PlanningCapacity planning and management refers to the process of matching the “capacity supply” (employees, resources, skills, etc.) with the “capacity demands” (projects) of an organization. It is considered a part…. The resulting manual administration created several challenges in daily practice:

• Lack of transparency: Data was collected separately from day-to-day operations and therefore was not available until after the month-end closing. As a result, there was no reliable insight into current employee utilization, making proactive management impossible.
• High maintenance effort: Several employees were occupied with consolidating data, correcting errors, and filling in missing information.
• High risk of errors: The manual process was not only time-consuming, but also prone to data-entry errors.

Sulzer’s Solution

Up-to-Date Resource Planning with Meisterplan

Sulzer GmbH selected Meisterplan as its central tool for resourceResourceResources are all the people, places and things that you need to complete projects. The most important resource? Employees, of course! and capacity managementCapacity ManagementSynonym for → Capacity PlanningCapacity planning and management refers to the process of matching the “capacity supply” (employees, resources, skills, etc.) with the “capacity demands” (projects) of an organization. It is considered a part… in order to reduce administrative effort and create greater transparency across its projectProjectA project is a time-limited undertaking with defined objectives and resources that delivers unique results and often includes complex tasks. business.

Many of the tools on the market were primarily designed for project management. However, our main focus was clearly on resource management.

Markus Köster, Head of Delivery Unit Project Management & Agile, open_in_new

Sulzer GmbH

Rather than evaluating the tool only on paper, Sulzer GmbH opted for a practical approach to validation with a three-month proof of concept. During this phase, the software was configured to meet Sulzer’s requirements, operated with live data, and tested using specific real-world use cases from day-to-day operations. This meant that a fully functional system was already in place during the trial phase and could be rolled out once it received approval from management.

Seamless Integration into the Existing System Landscape

To reduce manual maintenance and respond more quickly to changes, Meisterplan was fully integrated into Sulzer GmbH’s existing system landscape. The data is automatically updated every morning from three central source systems:

• ERP system: Manages billing and provides project data for creating projects.
• SAP SuccessFactor: As the HR subsystem, it provides employee and master data for capacity planning.
• Time tracking: Transfers actual time worked and time tracking entries directly into the system.

As a result, all relevant project information in Meisterplan is always up to date and consistent, making it easy to answer one key question: Who is working on which project, when, and with how much capacity?

The resulting benefits are particularly evident in day-to-day operations:

When new customer requests come in, we can immediately see who is available and how we can deploy resource effectively. Rotations and rescheduling can also be mapped directly in the system.

Dr. Caroline Sauter, Director IT Services and Solutions Delivery Unit, open_in_new

Sulzer GmbH

Planning follows clearly defined time horizons: short-term planning for operational management of day-to-day activities, medium-term planning for flexible capacity management, and long-term planning for the strategic alignment of resources and skills.

Fast Transparency Through Clear Processes

Meisterplan’s successful integrationIntegrationAn integration is a virtual interface that connects different software programs and enables automated data exchange between them. This allows for more efficient processes, better planning, and consistent information. was also made possible through support from management. “The need for a central tool was recognized, and the decision to use Meisterplan was fully supported,” explains Caroline Sauter.

Initial concerns about permissions were also quickly resolved. Thanks to the flexible role and rights system, everyone now sees exactly the data relevant to them without making rights management overly granular.

Meisterplan was also explicitly designated as the central projectProjectA project is a time-limited undertaking with defined objectives and resources that delivers unique results and often includes complex tasks. hub.
“We manage our daily project business with Meisterplan and we always have an overview of the financial and capacity resourcesResourceResources are all the people, places and things that you need to complete projects. The most important resource? Employees, of course!,” says Markus Köster.

This is why Sulzer follows a simple rule: Meisterplan is where the truth lives. Continuous data maintenance improves data quality – and, in turn, confidence in the numbers.

Sulzer’s Conclusion

With Meisterplan, Sulzer GmbH has transformed its resource planning from a labor-intensive, error-prone process into a data-driven and manageable projectProjectA project is a time-limited undertaking with defined objectives and resources that delivers unique results and often includes complex tasks. environment.

Today, transparency is no longer a challenge. Instead, it provides the foundation for fast, informed decisions both in day-to-day operations and at the management level.

• Up-to-date, reliable utilization planning for project managers, team leads, and department heads.
• Flexible resource managementResource ManagementWhen it comes to resource management, the focus is on the optimal planning, coordination and monitoring of resources. The term “resources” includes things like employees, budgets, materials and time. when project demand fluctuates.
• Automatic visibility into key management KPIs, including total revenue, billable utilization, and planned-vs.-actual revenue.
• A single source of truth that keeps all stakeholders better informed.