Implementation of SAP PPM at Wien Energie

Optimize Budget Control and Liquidity Planning with Project Forecasts

According to a PwC study (14th PwC Global Power Utilities Survey, 2015), more than a third of European utility companies believe that their business models urgently need to be adjusted. Almost all participants expect significant market changes by 2030. This means that companies in the energy sector have to scrutinize their existing business areas. On the other hand, opportunities and risks for large investment projects, such as in renewable energies, should be weighed up in good time in order to push forward the right projects and align them with the company's strategic goals.

At the Austrian energy provider Wien Energie, the focus is on e-mobility, decentralized electricity generation and energy services. In order to identify opportunities in good time, the company needed an overview of all project proposals and ongoing projects. The energy supplier also wanted portfolio management to select projects and thus contribute to the strategic achievement of goals within the company. That is why Wien Energie decided to introduce SAP® Portfolio and Project Management (SAP PPM).

 

"The proprietary system from Wien Energie had, so to speak, reached the end of life - it no longer offered the required range of functions. In addition, we no longer received support from the supplier at the time. We wanted to achieve more transparency about all projects and to contain the numerous Excel lists. Overall, we wanted an electronic workflow, such as the approval of project applications, "says Marcus Paulus, Head of the Project Management Office at Wien Energie.

End of life of the proprietary IT system - no transparency

At Wien Energie, the project team decided on a mixture of prototypical and classic implementation methods. First, a working prototype was set up. The key users were able to work intensively on this during an introductory workshop. This had the advantage that the employees got an impression of the new system very early on. The necessary adjustments could be made in a targeted manner. After the workshops, the specifications were finalized, implemented, the system tested and put into production.

30 percent less time spent in the pre-project phase, more precise budgets

The project was finally successfully completed in the specified period of one year. Wien Energie today benefits from significantly improved project and portfolio management for all projects in the overall portfolio. Questions like "Are we initiating and starting the right projects?" can now be answered faster:

 

"We now have a professional tool that on the one hand supports me excellently in my tasks as head of the PMO at Wien Energie. On the other hand, the approximately 120 project managers are now able to better plan and monitor individual projects. We are now coming overall faster to the actual projects because, thanks to the system support, we can reduce our lead times by 30 percent before making an investment decision, "says Marcus Paulus.

 

With SAP PPM, Wien Energie now has a basis and the technical prerequisites to drive the right projects forward and align them with the strategic goals of the energy supplier. In this way, large investment volumes can be controlled more precisely and macroeconomic changes can be reacted to more quickly and more effectively.

Inforgrafik SAP PPM Implementierung bei Wien Energie