Streamlining data: How Huntsman leveraged EPPM to manage capital projects

⇨ Effective capital project management requires clear definition of roles and responsibilities, improved communication, and integration of risk management practices.

⇨ Huntsman faced significant challenges with fragmented capital management and a lack of integration, which hindered its ability to make data-driven decisions until implementing an EPPM system.

⇨ The implementation of the EPPM Version 2.0 has streamlined project management for Huntsman, providing enhanced reporting capabilities and improved collaboration across the organization.

Capital projects and assets can be difficult for organizations to manage due to many challenges, including changing environments, interdependencies, budget overruns, stakeholder dynamics, regulatory changes, poor communication and a lack of attention to detail.

To counteract these issues, organizations can adopt strategies to improve capital project management. They include:

• Defining and communicating the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders
• Encouraging lateral flow of information to promote accountability and share project knowledge
• Integrating risk management practices such as enterprise portfolio and project management (EPPM)

Platinum DB Consulting, a SAP consulting and services partner, helps organizations take charge of their projects to enhance productivity and boost efficiency.

It recently helped Huntsman, a global chemicals company integrate its EPPM system to streamline its project management capabilities. Huntsman comprises three divisions including Polyurethanes, Advanced Materials and Performance Products. The company sought to enhance its reporting and governance capabilities, boost capital lifecycle clarity and improve performance management through this project.

Pain points

Prior to leveraging an EPPM, Huntsman experienced several challenges with its existing system. They included fragmented capital management and reporting, system complexity that required additional resources, lack of integration, lack of visibility, deprecated software and limited project learning.

These pain points stagnated the company’s ability to track the performance of projects and portfolios, impacting its ability to make data-driven decisions. Additionally, a lack of integration meant that Huntsman was faced with limited financial drill down.

The solution

Huntsman’s EPPM journey first began in 2013 when the company introduced a CII Project Process. A decade later the company introduced Version 2.0 which is live. Veritas, the Huntsman EPPM solution, now manages the company’s project through the Construction Industry Institute (CII) stage gates. The solution has automated workflow processes for gate and funding request approvals, which supports offline, direct approval via email.

The move to EPPM Version 2.0 brought many benefits to the company. They include:

• Single location for all project status including stage gate, key decisions, budget/forecast and documents
• Common tool and process for all capital projects for SAP and non-SAP sites
• Streamlined collaboration within the company
• Enhanced reporting capabilities for Capital Coordinators and the entire organization

In the future, Huntsman aims to continue using the EPPM support model to meet user needs, enhance the user experience and extend support for operations costs on capital projects and operation cost only projects. Additionally, the company plans for a SAP S/4HANA upgrade in the future.