Α Third Party Project Management can pay off significantly

13.3.2017

In many cases castings purchasing is directly connected to a project which has to be implemented within next months or years. It is also usual that more parties are involved in a purchase than what it is obvious (buyer and supplier – foundry).

The additional parties can be the end customer – user of the equipment, inspection companies, suppliers of parts which are integrated in the casting which the foundry delivers, machine shops which machine the castings etc.

When a project involves more than 2 parties, there is a strong possibility that the buyers cannot manage themselves the whole project using exclusively their own organization. Especially when the cast parts which will be purchased during the project are not standard recurring parts, the success of the project can be at high risk.

In cases like the above mentioned, incorporating an experienced third party to run the Project Management may be  a one way direction for the success of the project. Of course the third party should have the respective qualifications in order to manage the project successfully. Some of the required qualifications are mentioned below:

• Remarkable experience in casting field and more specifically in parts similar to project’s castings
• Very good knowledge of castings related specifications and more importantly specifications which will be used in the project
• Proven ability to manage demanding projects and to solve complicated problems
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• Proactive approach and good ability to prepare comprehensive and up to date reports
• Most importantly, the third party Project Manager has to be target oriented and accept the ownership of the project management.

The third party who will have the above qualifications will be able to ensure the alignment of all parties in the project. Alignment in a project is essential when many parties are involved and provides a good progress feeling, good communication and saves important time during all project stages.

Alignment is at risk when project management is done by buyer’s employees. Very often the project manager – buyer’s employee is not objective since his basic point of view is not neutral and he operates looking after his companies short term interest. This approach could be very harmful for the project because it can create friction between the parties and block the project.

Using a third party to manage the casting related project can create important value through professional and objective attitude, target oriented approach and full responsibility acceptance.