Implementation of FlexiProject system at GLS Poland

About GLS

GLS Poland is one of the main providers of transportation services in Poland focused on providing the highest quality. The company is part of an international Group of companies. 50 branches allow GLS Poland to be close to Shippers and Receivers all over the country. The well-organized network enables fast and efficient delivery of parcels, usually on the next business day. Domestic express shipments are guaranteed to be delivered on the next business day by 12:00 pm or earlier, by 10:00 am (additional services on request), including deliveries on Saturdays.

A central sorting facility located in Strykow near Lodz serves as an international transshipment point. Thanks to it, the Polish network is connected to the pan-European network – daily shipments are organized to countries throughout Europe. All logistics processes are carried out in accordance with GLS standards ensuring high quality.

Implementation context

The dynamic development of GLS in recent years is related to the strong increase in market demand for efficient parcel delivery. The company, in order to compete victoriously in the market, has been implementing more and more organizational and technical projects involving more and more valuable resources in these projects. Working out processes and standards and building a project management culture, GLS designed various types of simple tools or documents on its own to manage projects better and better. However, the increasing number of projects forced the search for areas to increase efficiency, and it became clear that without a professional project and portfolio management software, this would not be fully possible. The requirements for such software were written down, and after analyzing several of the best solutions available on the market, FlexiProject software was selected. The choice of FlexiProject was determined primarily by the intuitiveness of the tool, its comprehensiveness and the high quality of the service provided by FlexiProject. GLS depended on a tool that would ensure that everything was in one place with easy access to information.

Course of implementation and benefits obtained

The implementation of the tool went very smoothly, which was mainly due to the Project Management Office staff. It quickly became clear that intensive training was unnecessary in order to be able to effectively use the various functions in the system. The support of the company’s Management Board also proved important. The PMO worked individually with each Project Leader (this is how the role of the project manager is defined in GLS), helping them to have a good understanding of how the software works and ensuring that they were comfortable with the subsequent independent work.

Today, virtually all projects are implemented using FlexiProject software, although Jira is used in parallel in IT projects. FlexiProject enables strategic project management, which Jira does not offer. GLS has constructed several project portfolios in FlexiProject that address different strategic goals the company wants to achieve. In the program, project teams mainly use the functionality of the project charter, schedule, Gantt chart, risks and deliverables. When starting a new project, risks from historical similar projects are reported in the system, with the goal of striving for more and more excellence. Meanwhile, the Project Management Office coordinates projects, builds project templates, uses the reports module, designs approval paths and organizes regular project reviews. Regular project reviews by project leaders with project sponsors are carried out using the automated project review module. After each review, the review format is archived and no further editing is possible, making it easy to return to it even after several months, as it is easily accessible in the system. FlexiProject is also used to present the status of projects at the international Group level. GLS is systematically developing its Project Management Office and strengthening its organizational culture. This also means increasing use of the range of functionalities available in FlexiProject. The company has chosen a “continuous improvement” philosophy in this regard, which is working out perfectly.