A leading manufacturer of crane and lifting solutions, previously active primarily in the civilian market, aimed to participate in the bidding process for a major military tender. For this tender, products from different product lines needed to be technically advanced and adapted for a common military application.
Complexity Meets Time Pressure: Challenges of Integrated Development
The company faced the challenge of meeting the complex requirements of the tender on time and efficiently, despite development occurring across two different product lines. In particular, technical and organizational dependencies necessitated a level of collaboration and synchronization of development projects across product lines that had rarely been practiced before. Coordinating steering impulses were only partially possible due to insufficient governance structures. Finally, incomplete tender information and a lack of experience with military standards complicated reliable planning and created a high degree of uncertainty.
Structure and Coordination: How a Program Enables Cross-Project Alignment
3DSE Management Consultants supported the company by establishing an overarching program for the strategic steering of the involved development projects and for the sustainable consolidation of military development know-how. Central to this was the establishment of an overarching governance structure with clearly defined committees, roles, and decision-making processes. Through a holistic roadmap, projects could be synchronized, laying the foundation for timely development and industrialization. For operationalization, an agile working model was set up, allowing cross-project synergies to be identified and common program content to be developed within defined work packages. Additionally, low-threshold dialogue formats were initiated in the form of Communities of Practice to enable an open exchange and learning culture.
Through Collaboration to Efficiency: The Success of Integrated Program Management
The key success factor of the project was the establishment of an organizational framework for the holistic management of development activities. The newly created transparency regarding project status and resource deployment enabled management to steer the four involved projects in a targeted and consistent manner. Simultaneously, cross-project collaboration was significantly strengthened, and 12 technical synergy potentials were identified and realized. Thanks to the program initiated by 3DSE Management Consultants, the company increased its project efficiency by 20% and is now capable of successfully implementing the necessary development steps for competitive participation in the bidding process.
