Mavenlink Announces First End-to-End Resource Management Solution for the Services Industry

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mavenlink, the software platform designed for the modern services organization and a Gartner Cool Vendor*, today announced a suite of major enhancements to its Resource Management capabilities, making it the first software application to effectively deliver end-to-end resource management throughout the entire services business lifecycle. By recognizing that resource management is a broad and iterative cycle, services organizations can more easily plan, confidently scale, and swiftly make adjustments that will increase profitability.

"Resource management is an incredibly complex challenge for the $3 trillion services industry today," said Ray Grainger, CEO and co-founder of Mavenlink, which recently raised an additional $39 million in funding from Goldman Sachs. "Profitability and success rely on effectively planning and managing resources through a high degree of change, including compressed delivery timelines, changes in project scopes, and the need to allocate individuals to work on multiple projects at any given time. We set out to solve this problem, and with the new capabilities we announced today, services firms will be able to plan, operate, and perform better."

A New Model for Resource Management
Most existing software applications approach resource management as fragmented steps in the services business lifecycle, typically early stage planning or staff scheduling. As a result, Resource Managers and Project Managers struggle to address ongoing changes in resource needs that affect project timelines, budgets, and profitability.

Mavenlink provides the first comprehensive solution to manage resources through the entire services business lifecycle, from sales commitment to project delivery and analysis. The new capabilities announced today address critical stages of resource management, including Estimate, Plan, Execute, Analyze & Optimize.

• Estimate. Occurring during sales process as a project is being scoped, the Estimate Phase is used to determine what resources will be necessary for successful project delivery, including the appropriate staffing models that will ensure profitability. To support the Estimate Phase, Mavenlink is announcing the following new features:
  • Project Templates
  • Role-Based Forecasting and Scheduling
  • Resource Requests and Approvals
• Plan. The Plan Phase is the process of moving resources from a pool to the project level. In this phase, the new project is almost a green light, but the phases, milestones, and resource demands are still in limbo. This is the opportunity to closely review the requirements and expectations of the project and assign resources based on skills, roles, and availabilities. To support the Plan Phase, Mavenlink is announcing the following new features:
  • Master Planning
  • Role and Skill Based Project Allocating
  • Visual Resource Planning
• Execute. The Execute Phase begins the moment that the project is won, the resources are scheduled, and a project plan is set into motion. The details of the project are now being perfected by the project manager—the work breakdown structure, subtasks, and task timelines. To support the Execute Phase, Mavenlink is announcing the following new features:
  • Project Resource Planner
  • Configurable Weekly Schedule View
  • Resource Change Management Workflow
• Analyze & Optimize. The Analyze & Optimize Phase is the process of using insights, data, and analytics to understand the success, utilization rates, and profitability of a project or client. This is the time to improve processes and templates based on the data revealed. To support the Analyze & Optimize Phase, Mavenlink is adding several new Resource Management reports to the robust Mavenlink Insights catalogue, including:
  • Projected vs Actual Utilization
  • Planned & Scheduled Availability 
  • Total Utilization by Role, Function, Region, and More
  • Daily Schedule for Billable vs Non-billable Scheduled Hours
  • Billable Capacity Forecasting

"One of the most important qualities of our new offering is its iterative approach that aligns with the realities of a services business, helping to create order in a process that's often chaotic today," continued Grainger. "By executing this cycle well, services firms have the ability to immediately improve utilization and profit margins."

Early Access Customers Report Immediate Returns
Mavenlink invited customers to implement new resource management capabilities in advance of general release. Early access customers reported increases in resource utilization, improvements to profitability, and the ability to make better hiring decisions based on incoming demand.

"Mavenlink is core to how we run our business, giving us the ability to better plan and truly understand where we stand," said Brent McLean, Chief Resource Planning and Production Officer at Paragon Consulting. "With Mavenlink's new resource management capabilities we can easily see everyone's schedule, and where we are over or under utilized. We also connected Salesforce to Mavenlink so we can estimate resource needs based on what's in the pipeline."

Availability
For more information about Mavenlink's new Resource Management capabilities, visit Mavenlink.com/Resource-Management.

SOURCE Mavenlink

Related Links

http://www.mavenlink.com