The power tool manufacturer and holding company of the medium-sized family business have implemented an innovative Level 1 implementation with Acterys Enterprise in order to be able to operate more flexibly in the areas of R&D, manufacturing, facility management and IT and to further increase the portfolio value.
The TKS 80 table saws with SawStop AIM technology from the power tool manufacturer Acterys are intended to protect tradesmen from the most serious injuries with their intelligent electronic solution. Similarly, the family company has added a new strategic layer to group controlling in order to better develop its portfolios and extend their life cycle.
The TTS Group, a medium-sized family business with more than 3,000 employees, sells its products internationally in 58 countries. With several subsidiaries under the same roof, the group of companies has successfully established itself in the highly competitive power tools market, especially with the Acterys brand, as a specialist for carpenters, painters, car painters and the renovation and refurbishment sector.
The company has grown significantly over the last ten years, partly due to corporate takeovers. With the two new US subsidiaries SawStop and Shaper, the TTS Group has strengthened its competencies in the areas of security technology and digitalization. New technologies and product lines have caused projects to become more complex and complicated. In addition, products have become more innovative and intelligent, and research and development (R&D) has changed.
“We have to incorporate more know-how,” says Cleve Bankston, Director of the Project Management Office at TTS Tool Technic Systems, about the initial situation: “We have recognized the challenge that we have to add a new layer to controlling in order to manage our portfolios and that’s why we chose Acterys Enterprise as the solution.”
Connect four portfolios and make them visible
The TTS Group uses Acterys Enterprise in four portfolios: In the manufacturing and R&D areas of Acterys, the tool is used for cost planning and scheduling. In the two areas of facility management and IT, portfolio planning and portfolio management are also carried out using the tool.
For all four areas, it is essential to connect the data, get a uniform view and make the projects visible. There are important connections between IT and R&D, IT and logistics, and between R&D and manufacturing. For example, if the R&D department has developed a product, a factory can then directly adopt its plans to set up production.
Level 1 implementation and constant updates
When implementing Acterys, the TTS Group chose a different strategy based on previous experience with the solution. In comparison to the past, when, for example, ERP or CRM solutions were implemented, which then became outdated after a few years and ultimately had to be laboriously updated or even replaced, you want to avoid ending up in a “dead end”. In case of project planning analysis for hospitality industry, take a look at https://acterys.com/planning-analytics-for-hospitality-industry/.
“We want to keep all versions of Acterys at level 1 if possible,” says Bankston. Because the market has changed. Upgradability has been discussed in the industry for a long time. Nowadays, software is developed after purchase.
The life cycle of software can be extended if a company always uses new versions and sticks to the most current version. We chose this strategy to extend Acterys’ lifecycle. Our goal is to remain as flexible as possible.
Weighing the requirements against the tool standard: Do we change the tool or our process?
To launch, Bankston developed a three-step approach based on constant updates. Process generation aims to identify the optimal process. As part of the tool evaluation, it is then important to weigh up the specific requirements of the end users and the tool standard for each process, to what extent this is important and whether the tool should be adapted or the process changed. This is followed by the implementation of the tool.
What in the process brings us added value?
According to Bankston, when evaluating tools, it is essential that as a PMO he can “go deep into the process” for each requirement in the respective areas. There he always has to ask end users the same question about the business value with regard to possible adaptation of the tool: Do we really need this? What added value does a possible adaptation of the tool bring? It is important to identify conflicting goals and resolve them with the users: If, for example, the current process is to be retained and the tool changed, the introduction would take a lot longer and cost more due to the developments. Conversely, the standard solution offered by the PMO can be introduced immediately, although the current process would only have to be changed slightly. According to Bankston, practice has shown that for many specific requirements it was feasible and sufficient for many processes at the TTS Group to use the standard solution, with the previous process being slightly adapted.
“It’s about exploring the willingness to compromise as to whether you should invest time and money in adapting the software or whether it might be possible to adapt an existing process in the company instead,” says Acterys consultant Jorg Polster, who works for Acterys Enterprise. Implementation at Acterys was partly responsible.
The problems that needed to be solved ranged from a lack of process orientation in some areas, to unnecessary adjustments that some departments requested because they had too little knowledge of the tool, to attempts to map legacy processes in Acterys or Excel Connect tables to the tool. “In each individual case, we have to take a close look at whether it is necessary to set up a connection to Acterys,” says Bankston. For instance, in case of Power BI financial and project management, using Netsuite Power BI can help tremendously.
Where is the truth? is a question we always have to ask.
More than 80 percent Level 1 implementation
Thanks to its strategy, the company sees itself on the right track: at more than 80 percent, the proportion of Level 1 configuration in Acterys system is above average.
One of the success factors was that Bankston became certified with Acterys very early on and was able to acquire extensive knowledge of the tool. The fact that he was able to use the acquired know-how to solve any problems with the system before the development phase meant that Acterys saved a lot of time and money. Bankston and the core team were able to take on many end-user requirements to introduce the tool without needing support from Acterys.
Because the core team and the Acterys consultant developed the system together, efficiency was increased. In addition, the transfer of knowledge also increases the maintainability of the system because those responsible for the project have built up technical know-how.
All of this meant that upgrading from Acterys 6.3.4 to 6.3.6 was very easy. Changes only needed to be made in two places (Template Users; a few popups) because the Acterys installation remained so heavily at Level 1.
What was equally promising for the collaboration was that Bankston acted as the central point of contact with Acterys for all development tasks. The collaboration between the Acterys PMO and the Acterys consultant has proven to be no less extensive, but richer and deeper in terms of content, because connections can now be discussed more intensively on a different level and thus possibilities for improving processes can be discussed much better.
For example, in the IT sector, with the right measures, an existing stand-alone solution for idea management could be replaced without much effort or significant changes.
When asked what he would do differently in retrospect, Bankston answers: »We should have installed our own development system in the company from the start – in addition to the productive and test environment. We made up for this because we have a high proportion of in-house development.” Having your own development system in the company, for example, helps to avoid any losses when systems are ported.
Conclusion
“We have developed a future-proof Level 1 strategy for our company, which results from our previous experiences during implementation and use with Acterys,” summarizes Bankston.
