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Why ProMTO?

You have to execute large numbers of projects in make-to-order (MTO) manufacturing and development simultaneously, keeping everything on time, on margin and on spec. To do that you need well-oiled processes, clear roles and large amounts of information. That’s how you’re able to fulfill the orders as expected and create a positive team experience.

However, most MTO companies lack the right process and the tools to professionally manage many different projects simultaneously.

That’s why we drew on our many years of experience with the make-to-order business and developed ProMTO: an efficient process to do exactly that.

And thanks to the management coaching we offer alongside, you can be sure that everything will run smoothly even when we’re no longer with you.

Our goal for you: quick successes, motivated teams, permanently higher return on sales (ROS).

Team acceptance

Build competency – Users access Big Data analytics as a cloud-based self-service, e.g. to ensure better on-time delivery ratios or achieve more accurate costing.

Save time

Reduced data administration effort: Efficient central project support minimizes the amount of data administration that project managers need to do.

Fast click navigation: Quickly toggle between projects, meeting lists and forecast reports, eliminating time-consuming uploads and refreshes.

Simplified communication: Switch to another language, e.g. your customer’s, in real time in any session.

Familiar design – Optimizer colors and logo can be adapted quickly and easily to your own corporate design.

Efficiency

Lean supply – Reduce procurement costs through bundling and use standardized project plans and defined project milestones to achieve more consistent production.

Efficient project meetings – See whether you’re on time, on margin and on spec and view cash collections for all ongoing projects on one A3 page.

No surprises – Get extrapolated progress and costs from the first to the last day of a project (plan/actual comparisons).

Precise forecasting – Deliver sales and earnings forecasts at the end of the month without any further preparation.

Architecture

Launch fast – In just two to five days, we’ll have all your current projects in the system and begin optimizing them.

Work fast – We use smart in-memory algorithms to optimize computing time on all available PCs. We’ll use your existing standard software for this purpose.

Service

Customizing – We work with you to adapt the Optimizer so that your project process runs efficiently.

Your own named contact – We provide you with technical support for the duration of your license.

Data migration service – After any updates, server failures, etc., we’ll support you in quickly getting your data reloaded.

Cloud space – On request, we can provide you with your own cloud space for the data transfer.

License transfer – If your team changes, we’ll transfer licenses from one employee to another for free.

Money back – You can terminate your use of ProMTO® before the end of the first usage period (12 months) and get back the unused portion of the license fee (pro rata).

FAQs

Effectiveness

Does ProMTO and a Project Workout Program actually pay off financially?

Yes, the superior cost effectiveness is the key reason for choosing ProMTO over competing products. Because ProMTO focuses simultaneously on your three drivers of success: delivery performance, ROS and multiple. An example by way of illustration: A machinery company with sales of 15 million euros and an ROS of 2.5 percent introduces ProMTO® through a Project Workout Program. After twelve months, sales and ROS have increased by 10 and 8 percent over their respective base values. The sales multiple is up 10 percent thanks to the Workout Program. Increase in margin: 1.3M €/year (factor of 4.6) Increase in enterprise value: 12.2M € (factor of 5.1) Workout support/software costs: 225K € Ratio of margin increase to costs: 6 to 1 Payback time after implementation: within 2 months

Are the Workout improvements sustainable?

Yes, the work in our Workout Programs is not done by consultants, but by us in collaboration with your employees, who increasingly identify with the Workout Program as time goes on. The role of IMPREOS is to support your individual employees in functional questions of agile multi-project management, to transfer our best practice into your team and to provide initial motivation and guidance for the entire project team on the shared Workout experience and its success. As soon as we’ve completed the short active Workout phase our gradual withdrawal from the project begins, so that your team members can start successfully applying the methods themselves while we’re still around. This helps to avoid the sudden cut-off that’s often felt when a team of consultants leaves the company. To keep your ROS at its new, higher level, the commitment of the Workout Team is not the only thing that’s needed after the Workout Program. Management focus needs to remain strong and the new processes have to be applied. Of course, we’ll also support you at regular intervals after the end of the project.

Does ProMTO replace our ERP system?

No. IMPREOS Optimizers provide additional optimizations that would not be possible without ProMTO. So our Optimizers are additive tools, not replacements. That is why they’re built for flexible adaptation and are simple and robust in design.

Product

How soon will ProMTO be ready for use in our company?

Very quickly. Assuming internal responsibilities are clarified and sufficient resources are in place, ProMTO can be controlling your ongoing project business within a few days. The lead time is longer if customizing is required that goes beyond necessary adjustments, e.g. if we need to take account of special project steps, very complex project costing structures, multi-user operation or two-tier sales structures.

Is there a minimum number of licenses? How many licenses do we need?

Yes, the minimum number of licenses is five. ProMTO is a team collaboration software: usually, one license is sufficient for one project-relevant department. In small companies, one user can normally even cover several functions. The following guidelines are realistic in our experience: Sales of 1–14M €/year: 1 license for every 1M € of team sales or 1 license for every 8–10 team members Sales of 15+M €/year: proportionately fewer licenses will be required. We will be happy to advise you.

Can we get more licenses? If so, how long is the licensing period?

Yes, you can obtain more licenses at the end or in the course of a licensing period. If you increase your number of licenses before the end of your first licensing period, the new licenses will run for a shorter period, ending on the same date as the original licenses. You can then extend all your licenses at the same time, for a year at a time.

What is the minimum term for license rental?

The minimum term is twelve months.

Will ProMTO be adapted to our layout and corporate design?

Yes, you can adapt ProMTO to your corporate design yourself. It’s quick and easy to do: simply upload your logo and enter the appropriate color values in the setup menu. We’ll also be happy to create special layouts for you on request.

Purchase

Can we test ProMTO for free?

Yes, you are welcome to have a no-obligation trial of ProMTO. Please contact us for details.

How can we cancel ProMTO?

You can cancel ProMTO by giving us three months’ notice to the end of your current licensing period. Otherwise, your ProMTO license agreements will automatically renew for another year.

When do we pay and what period do we pay for?

We’ll invoice you the cost of your 12 months’ use in advance.

Is it possible to purchase ProMTO on account?

Yes, you can pay for ProMTO securely and conveniently upon receipt of our invoice.

How do we pay for licenses purchased during the licensing year?

Extra licenses purchased during the year will be invoiced to you on a pro rata basis for the actual period of use in addition to the existing licenses.

Will we incur any other costs – apart from the cost of ProMTO?

Few to none. ProMTO is based on commercially available software components, so every user needs a license for Microsoft® Excel, which every computer workstation will normally have anyway. In order to use and further develop the dashboards within your company, you’ll need to purchase commercial analytics program licenses if you don’t already have them. For the Tableau® solution we use, these cost approx. 30 €/month plus VAT (for users) or approx. 60 €/month plus VAT (for 1–2 core users). We would be pleased to supply you with information about this without obligation.

Framework

Will our employees be trained? How does the best practice transfer happen?

ProMTO is introduced as part of a Project Workout Program, and your employees will be trained in it as a matter of course. Our practical Workout Programs aim to increase ROS by more than 10 percentage points, saving you the expense of a much more costly project with external consultants. We will be happy to talk to you about the typical process and duration of a Project Workout Program.

What internal human resources do we need to provide?

You’ll need to nominate a project administrator and a project controller. Normally these functions already exist. The efficiency gains achieved by ProMTO are essentially based on the fact that efficient central project administration eliminates the need for project managers to spend time on such tasks. Since ProMTO maps all relevant processes quickly and precisely, the project administrator and project controller also save time, which they too can then spend on other tasks.

What other requirements do we have to meet?

Management commitment A Project Workout Program is as rewarding as it is challenging for an organization. It therefore requires the support of the company’s management right from the start and the cooperation of the cross-disciplinary functions involved. Inclusion of IT The IT administrator should be involved in the Workout Team from the start. This will ensure that the Workout Team’s collaboration and the work with IMPREOS Analytics can be a success and your data remain secure within your IT structures.

Does it take longer to enter data with ProMTO? How much longer?

ProMTO is designed for fast, minimal data entry. As a rule, once a week each user checks one data field per active project (duration of his/her project step) and updates it. In our experience, it takes users 30 to 60 minutes per week to update all projects in this way (assuming 30–50 ongoing projects). The project administrator and the project controller, who work very closely with the team members, are responsible for all further data entry on delivery performance, margins, quality and cash collections. All necessary working and reporting documents are stored in ProMTO. In addition, a weekly scrum meeting takes place in the form of a project discussion between all functions, which lasts about two hours in the early stages and about one hour later (including preparation time).