Success Story

Gerry Weber, a leading German fashion industry company headquartered in Halle, faced a significant challenge. Extensive restructuring and the planning of new departments necessitated efficient coordination and execution of internal projects. Patrick Kühnast, Coordinator of Shared Services and Project Management Office (PMO) at Gerry Weber, recognized the need to find an appropriate solution to address these challenges.

Problem Statement

Initially, the PMO was established at Gerry Weber three years ago, and initially, projects were managed with Excel. However, this method quickly proved to be insufficient as it lacked structure and clarity. After about three quarters, the limits were reached. There was a lack of a central database, redundant information, and no clear overview of the status of individual projects. The PMO suffered from a lack of transparency and control, making decision-making difficult and impeding the overall project portfolio process.

Challenge

To improve this situation, Gerry Weber started searching for a suitable software solution. Various tools were considered and tested, and cost comparisons had to be taken into account for the decision. Eventually, Gerry Weber came across smenso, a project management software, through their service provider d.velop AG.

Decision-Making and Solution

Patrick Kühnast was impressed from the beginning by the flexibility and adaptability of smenso. The functions and workflows of Gerry Weber could be easily represented, whether they were agile or traditional projects. Another advantage was the seamless integration of smenso into the d.velop platform, allowing employees to switch between applications seamlessly.

The decision-making phase lasted approximately three months, as contracts had to be reviewed and presented to the board. However, the implementation of smenso went smoothly and quickly. With just a few clicks, the software was set up and tailored to Gerry Weber’s specific needs and requirements. The intensive and personalized support from the smenso team during the implementation process played a significant role in its success. Since the PMO was still in its early stages, processes could be simultaneously created and improved.

Kühnast also appreciates the continuous development of smenso, with regular additions of new features that further enhance project management. The support is also outstanding, providing quick solutions for any issues or customization needs that arise.

Currently, 128 employees at Gerry Weber use smenso, including four administrators. Additionally, 51 external individuals are involved in individual projects. Although the transition to collaborative work was initially challenging, employees were trained and made aware. Over time, they became accustomed to using smenso and now consider it an efficient tool that they enjoy using repeatedly, explained Kühnast.

smenso offers Gerry Weber significant flexibility and scalability as the user count can be increased as needed without any issues. This minimizes financial risk and allows for easy adaptation to changes. The time savings that smenso provides to Gerry Weber’s PMO are significant, as less manual effort is required for data maintenance, and the workload can be distributed across multiple shoulders.

Patrick Kühnast particularly praises the smenso team, which was always helpful and quickly found solutions to any questions that arose. The support also proved to be extremely responsive and competent. Smenso’s support is unparalleled and significantly contributes to smooth operations.

Overall, smenso has significantly improved project management at Gerry Weber. Through efficient planning, control, and project management, Gerry Weber can effectively coordinate its restructuring efforts and successfully establish new areas. smenso has proven to be a reliable solution and is still valued and used by Gerry Weber to successfully execute future projects.