Hawes points the way with projects management software

Corporate signs manufacturer Hawes Signs, which supplies the automotive, petroleum and retail sectors among others, is the first in the UK to purchase ERP software vendor infor: swan’s infor:Project company-wide ERP system aimed specifically at project-based manufacturers and plant engineers. The firm has purchased a 75-user system for its Northampton HQ to handle al of creating proposals, project planning, procurement, in-house manufacturing, installation and field service. Cost-collection and financial management of projects are both fully integrated. David Thorpe, Hawes’ financial director says, “The infor system offers in-depth functionality for every aspect of our business – project management, financial control, manufacturing, CRM and field service. We feel it will give us a major competitive advantage by providing clear visibility of project profitability.” infor:Project is a dedicated version of the infor:COM ERP system that allows projects to be built from standard elements, or with structures copied from other projects. It ahs several financial models and includes costs and profitability monitoring, with estimated, planned and actuals at every stage. An intelligent alerts agent monitors delivery dates, milestones and workflows for overdue actions. Links to MS-Project are also available. Scheduling is also included via infor’s graphical APS (advanced planning and scheduling) engine which is a core component of the main ERP system. So resource bottlenecks can be analysed across multiple projects.