Question

Project Management - Best Practices?

  • 15 November 2021
  • 5 replies
  • 313 views

Userlevel 3

My client company manufactures large automation systems to dispense pharmaceutical products.  Mostly for large hospitals or mail-order delivery.  I see that 5-6 years ago they were using the Project Management module to manage these large build projects - some running 18 months or more with hundreds of sub-assemblies.  Now they seem to have lost the corporate knowledge of how to structure many jobs under one project and they struggle with Revenue Recognition.  I have been trying to explain the benefits they could get if they go back to structuring whole Projects rather than individual jobs.

I may need a sanity check but Project Management sure looks like the way to go in this environment.  Anyone else out there manufacturing for large projects like this and successfully using Epicor’s Project Management?  Any tips for explaining the benefits would be much appreciated.  I’m currently refreshing my memory by reading the user guide Project Management section.

Running Kinetic 2021.2.5 SaaS

Thanks,
-Todd C.


5 replies

Userlevel 4

Dear Todd, 

 

The principal benefits of the project module, as I recall, were about cost accounting.  To put orders, jobs, and manufacturing transactions under the umbrella of a project, meant that R&D efforts that were specific to a project (not generic R&D for the company as a whole) could be recognized as project cost for P&L purposes.

 

All best

..Monty.

Userlevel 3

Thanks Monty.  That’s what I thought.  Now to explain it to the client people.  Everything is design & make to order for them.  Every system is unique both in functions as well as physical layout so every project is differently organized.  I am currently exploring Milestones as they might relate to the Revenue Recognition issue and thus billing during the project.  On systems that could be millions of dollars getting paid is a hot topic. :wink:

 

-Todd

 

Userlevel 4

Yes, milestone reporting capability changed within 10.1 or within 10.2, don’t remember the version numbers exactly on this one.  It was always possible to recognize costs by project; however, in a minor version update, Epicor added the capability to recognize costs by project phase.

Userlevel 3

@todd caughey 

have you read the Epicor University project management course manual for your version ? -in my opinion- it is very good start.

 

Userlevel 3

Thanks Ali, I will check that out.

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