The pharmaceutical landscape is complex due to stringent regulatory requirements, lengthy timelines, and increasing costs. Manual project management in the pharma industry results in inefficiencies as they are heavily dependent on manual data processing. As companies are scaling and project portfolios keep growing, redundant processes and lack of visibility and provision to use data various challenges hinder decision-making and growth.
Drug discovery to market approval, every step requires strategic management. Modern Project Portfolio Management (PPM) tools are useful to manage multiple projects and align them with the organization’s business goals. In this blog, we’ll learn about the limitations of traditional tools and understand the benefits of having PPM tools that improve overall outcomes and drive strategic goals.
The traditional methods of management have certain limitations that don’t pave way for strategic success and efficiency. The most common concerns being:
Data fragmentation through traditional sheets leads to inconsistent information, data silos, and improper allocation of resources. All these make it time consuming and dependent for stakeholders when they need to have an overview of the projects. Operating on incorrect data and outdated data often results in making misinformed decisions and missing out on opportunities.
In a dynamic industry like pharmaceuticals and R&D, shifting of projects is a norm. In such a scenario, dependency on traditional tools would only complicate the flow. For example, Excel takes a lot of time to showcase the project visibility, requiring more time to understand and prioritize the work. Such inefficiency often leads to over-commitment and under-delivery.
Many manual projects fail with traditional project management tools as individual efforts do not meet the goals of the management. These tools do not have a structured framework to integrate strategic objectives into planning and implementation, leading to the project’s misalignment with the organization’s strategy and vision. Lack of such strategic alignment wastes the company’s valuable resources and reduces the effectiveness of R&D segments.
Hence, adopting project portfolio management tools is the way to meet the overall objectives of the company.
Pharma Portfolio management software serves as a compass for pharmaceutical organizations, showing them the right way to successful outcomes through planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Projects are recognized and analyzed for their value in the first place. Project leaders prioritize the projects as per their contributions to short and long-term objectives. Planning is done meticulously to make sure of efficient resource allocation. This is the stage when careful evaluation of every project is done, so organizations can make the right decisions that meet the overall objectives.
This is the stage where projects’ movement begins, and they are constantly monitored for their progress. The implementation phase requires communication and interaction among the team to address the concerns. By being transparent throughout the process, teams can swiftly make changes and ensure that they are working towards a common goal.
The most pivotal phase of a project’s journey is evaluation, where the agenda is to make more and more improvements. Even if the project is successful, the cycle shouldn’t stop. Constant identification of areas of improvement needs to be figured out and experimented with for better experiences. Pharmaceutical companies should keep noting down the lessons learnt and refine strategies to strengthen the project’s ability towards effectiveness.
In pharmaceutical R&D, having a dedicated PPM tool offers a wide array of benefits for the organizational goal.
One of the major benefits of transitioning to a PPM tool is having the centralized overview of the organization’s projects. The 360-degree view offers real-time information of different projects’ statuses, resource allocation, and timelines – all from one platform. When the data is consolidated and available, it makes it easy for the decision makers to identify risks and gauge projects’ health. Such transparency promotes seamless collaboration, ensuring all the stakeholders are aligned with the project and portfolio performance. PPM tools can also break down data silos and help project managers prioritize initiatives as per the project’s impact.
PPM tools help integrate project goals to enable the project leaders to prioritize work as per the strategic objectives of the organization. This alignment makes sure that the resources are allocated based on the requirements, keeping in mind the impact and value of every project. This helps in
saving time by not pursuing projects that have an overall low impact, ensuring that the potential candidates are on high-priority projects. A clear view of the projects helps managers to concentrate on broader goals of the company for long-term success.
Another benefit One of the major reasons for adopting PPM tools is to have access to real-time data, which was not possible with spreadsheets. There are dynamic dashboards in PPM tools that offer analytics related to project metrics and KPIs. This helps organizations to keep track of progress and enable shifts based on the opportunities and risks foreseen. When insights are available in time, it helps decision makers to change their strategies as per the emerging challenges and changing conditions.
Pharma organizations need to make a strategic move by implementing a Pharma Portfolio Management tool that improves efficiency of every project and ensures their alignment with the company’s goals.
Organizations need to understand their goals and figure out the objectives that align well. Based on this research and analysis, a PPM tool can address challenges, improve projects’ visibility, foster collaboration, and enhance resource allocation. Hence, it is important to know the goals, so a right PPM solution is implemented.
Just having a PPM tool will not suffice. It is essential to have a technology partner who can provide insights into what’s best for the organization goals, offer training so everyone knows their common goal, and assist with customization and configuration. Such expertise is required in pharma R&D to address common concerns and streamline projects for the ultimate benefits.
The key stakeholders of the company, irrespective of any department, are required to get engaged early during the projects cycle. Whether it is R&D personnel, finance teams, or other projects’ managers, they need to understand and use the tool every day. They also need to put forth concerns and collect feedback and ensure if the PPM tool chosen is helping them or being a hurdle. If so, they need to ensure smooth performance by refining and maximizing the tool’s efficiency.
The task is not completed just when the tool is adopted. The cycle must function smoothly with constant support and training. There should be regular sessions for every stakeholder, so they understand the latest developments. With this, every risk hiccup can be addressed by any of the stakeholders, without the need to wait for someone who knows it all. It’s important to encourage. that culture to maximize the teams’ capabilities and strengthen them to adapt as per the project needs.
Adopting dedicated PPM tools overcomes plenty of the pharma industry’s challenges. It helps improve alignment with organization goals, provides real-time date analytics, and offers a centralized project overview. Pharma industries can not only improve project outcomes but also drive innovation.
