Implementation of an IT program for project and portfolio management at Phytopharm Klęka.

Phytopharm Klęka is a pharmaceutical company with great traditions, operating on the market since 1949. The company is part of the holding company the nature network®, which is a world leader in efficient, safe and innovative market activities in the field of obtaining plant raw materials and then refining them into the highest quality intermediates and finished products, as well as in laboratory, consulting and distribution services. Currently, Phytopharm Klęka is a modern pharmaceutical company, producing active substances and plant extracts for the production of medicines and dietary supplements, as well as finished products, created primarily on the basis of ingredients of natural origin.

Implementation context

The company’s dynamic growth and maintenance of its leadership position in selected segments of the pharmaceutical market, requires the organization to undertake continuous development activities. These activities, both in the area of innovation and development of new products, development of production infrastructure, as well as changes in business processes, are carried out mostly through projects. The company launches a number of complex as well as smaller projects every year, all the time striving to improve the efficiency of their implementation. Phytopharm Klęka has a project management office in its structure, which from the beginning implements project management standards in the company and strengthens the culture of project work. Project managers at Phytopharm Klęka regularly participate in training courses to expand their knowledge and competencies. Prior to 2021, the PMO developed tools to support project management on the basis of available office tool packages. However, the steadily increasing number and complexity of the projects implemented from year to year caused Phytopharm Klęka to recognize the need to implement a professional system to support the management of projects and project portfolios. The company’s requirements for such a system were primarily the integrity and completeness of the solution in terms of having all the necessary functionalities and modules for managing a single project, the intuitiveness and user-friendliness of the system’s interface, and the ability to transparently report the status of the company’s project portfolio to management. As a consequence of the analysis, comparison, testing process, the choice fell on the FlexiProject system.

Build a strong project management culture using FlexiProject project and portfolio management software

The implementation of the system, along with user training, was smoothly carried out in the first half of 2021. At Phytopharm Klęka, project teams are currently using the FlexiProject system for project planning and execution. Based on the methodology of continuous and systematic improvement, the FlexiProject system is gradually being used more and more. Where it makes business sense, project templates are created to standardize the execution of projects of a repetitive nature. Due to the high transparency and intuitiveness of the user interface, employees are increasingly willing to use the system, and it is now used on a daily basis by a wide range of users in the company. FlexiProject has significantly improved the reporting of the current status of projects in the organization by the project management office to the company’s management. The ability to conveniently create various types of reports directly in the program, as well as the functionality of automatic project reviews, comes with a great deal of help. Automatic project reviews are used in regular meetings of project managers, the project management office and company board members. Using FlexiProject software, the company ties its strategic goals to projects in order to achieve a high degree of efficiency in implementing the company’s strategy. Strategic project management is also supported by effective project portfolio management. Using the philosophy of continuous improvement, Phytopharm Klęka is constantly developing, increasing the effectiveness of project management and strengthening its “project culture” while using FlexiProject. FlexiProject, on the other hand, strives to understand Phytopharm Klęka’s emerging problems and needs in project management and, in response, designs pragmatic solutions in the system and systematically implements them.