The Province of North Brabant, one of the Netherlands' most dynamic regions, manages and administers an extensive portfolio of projects – from landscape management to cultural initiatives and critical infrastructure development – for the entire province. In order to execute these projects as effectively as possible, the province needed more comprehensive insight into and control over their projects. This led to a collaboration with Emixa to modernise their project management capabilities through SAP PPM implementation.
"For a long time, there has been a need within the Project Management Office (PMO) of the ICT Programme for automated support for our project and portfolio management processes. This is to replace the current Excel-based administration, with all its inefficiencies," says Paul Slotboom, Programme Manager at the Province of North Brabant.
The challenges were clear. The province needed better control over its project portfolio, more transparent planning, improved cost monitoring and increased visibility into budget utilisation. Excel sheets and manual processes were simply no longer able to cope with the growing complexity of their project portfolio.
The collaboration with Emixa did not start immediately with a full implementation. Instead, the project began with a Proof of Concept that demonstrated the capabilities of SAP PPM within the specific context of the public sector.
"Emixa first took us through the possibilities and limitations of the system via a Proof of Concept, and we agreed on a SMART assignment and scope," explains Slotboom.
A focused team of three Emixa PPM consultants guided both users and functional management through the system configuration. Adjustments were made to meet the specific requirements of the province, and close collaboration with the project team enabled the desired functionality to be successfully implemented.
What made this implementation successful? "An Agile approach that focused on flexibility and iterative delivery," says Slotboom.
The results speak for themselves. The Province of North Brabant has successfully replaced its Excel-based administration with SAP PPM, implementing both Project Systems (PS) and Portfolio and Project Management (PPM) modules.
This transformation now provides the province with real-time insights into project status, resource allocation and capacity management across its diverse portfolio. The transition from manual processes to integrated, data-driven project control represents a fundamental change in how the province manages its projects.
"Together, we have achieved an excellent result that the Province is very pleased with and has laid a solid foundation for gaining better control of our project portfolio," concludes Slotboom.
The go-live is not the end point, but the beginning of a new phase. Emixa continues to provide hypercare support to ensure smooth adoption and operation, while exploring further system improvements. The Province of North Brabant now has the digital foundation it needs to continuously improve its project execution and resource optimisation.
Ready for transformation? The successful implementation at the Province of North Brabant proves that it can be done. Contact Emixa today and discover how our PPM expertise can help your organisation achieve operational excellence with rapid implementation and sustainable results.