Resource planning: what is it and how much of it do you need?

No matter how good you are plans - something is always. This impression is created quickly. Good resource planning cannot prevent this either, but it can make contingencies calculable. Software can help.

What are the resources of a company?

In order to carry out resource planning properly, one thing is needed above all: resources. A resource is any factor that contributes to the achievement of a goal. Order to fulfil. This includes workplace, machines and material. More essential for a good calculation of resources are employees and Working hours. Software can also be counted among the resources of a company.

What does resource planning mean?

Resource planning should answer the question of what is required to fulfill an order. As a rule, this specifies the time frame. Companies that work on a project basis need a long-term calculation, on which successful implementation may depend.

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How does resource planning work?

The function of a resource plan depends on how it is presented. Depending on requirements, resources can be calculated with different tools that enable different representations.

Depending on the metrics these can be displayed graphically or in a table, for example. When planning resources, a company must also take into account risk factors such as machine or employee breakdowns. Holiday or working hours, public holidays and overtime are also relevant. Resource planning also includes the definition of individual task areas and the distribution of tasks, depending on the resources. Depending on the size and Effort of the order is such a calculation very complex.

The presentation of the key figures should provide quick and easy information on when and where a resource was scheduled or is available. An overview should therefore also clearly show all orders and include time components. In this way, it can be quickly decided whether a company still has capacity to accept further orders or whether it needs additional resources. resources for them.

Resource planning is always only defined at a certain point. Especially for companies in the long term projects If you want to work in a team, you need a certain flexibility in terms of resource planning. Here, too, a good overview is necessary. This can lead to optimisation, which facilitates the processing of future orders.

Why is resource planning important?

During contract negotiations or sales talks, it often sounds as if the end product is responsible for the success of an order. However, the way to the goal is much more decisive for the result. It's not just about meeting deadlines, but also about the quality of a service. Resource planning is an essential part of a good one project management. The calculation of resources is the basis for making agreements and identifying danger zones in good time.

When do you need resource planning software?

In order to get an overview of the different factors, there are many possibilities for visualization and planning. Of course, such processes can also be entered in a table, such as Excel, represent.

Up to a certain point, resources can be calculated well with Excel. If the orders pile up and tasks are postponed as a result or in addition, it quickly becomes confusing. Resource planning at this stage is error-prone and, in addition to the increased workload, means that deadlines cannot be met or the quality of the service suffers because there are not enough resources. This can also be done with large Excel-Competence can occur, as the program was not developed for this purpose and can cause errors simply due to lack of synchronization when many employees are involved.

A software for resource planning or with an integration for it is specially designed for this process. Next to transparency Such a system uses the availability of the individual resources to create a schedule that calculates all deadlines in the context of the capacities. Tasks can also be easily created, adjusted or moved and assigned to the executors. In the event of an employee being absent, nothing is left behind, but available forces can be assigned. You can also see which employees still have time.

What makes good resource planning software?

Software solutions never work the same for everyone. However, almost every company needs resource planning. In many cases it also makes sense to choose a solution that is integrated into the system basis, since resource planning and project management eg condition.

In addition, good systems are now able to provide a good graphic representation, which simplifies quick understanding and brings together different components, such as e.g projects and working hours. Various software includes an integrated time tracking. This primarily enables capacity to be evaluated over the long term and resource allocation to be used sensibly.

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