A global pharmaceutical company was investing over $1 billion annually in a complex portfolio of capital projects. Yet leaders suspected that schedule and cost performance weren’t as strong as they appeared—a concern shared by many organizations grappling with fragmented project data.
Transforming Project Data into Trusted Insights for a $1b Pharmaceutical Facilities Portfolio
The challenge
Fragmented Project Controls Data
As is often the case in large capital portfolios, the portfolio’s capital project data was scattered across multiple systems, defined inconsistently, and disconnected from the metrics executives needed to make confident decisions.
Without a trusted view of performance, leadership struggled to answer critical questions:
- Which projects were truly on track?
- Where were delays and overruns occurring?
- Which divisions carried the most risk and instability?
They needed a way to turn raw project controls data into actionable insights—fast.
“As portfolio managers, we had built a solid capture and visualization capability but lacked the ability to develop true insights.”
— Director, Project Portfolio – Process Excellence, Pharmaceutical Client
“As portfolio managers, we had built a solid capture and visualization capability but lacked the ability to develop true insights.”
— Director, Project Portfolio – Process Excellence, Pharmaceutical Client
Our Approach
Aligning Metrics, Processes, and People for Smarter Decisions
We worked hand-in-hand with the organization’s subject matter experts to surface the issues preventing clear, data-informed decisions at the portfolio level. A parallel initiative was already underway to consolidate systems and improve the underlying technology—but that transformation would take time.
Rather than wait, we focused on the quick wins: clarifying business definitions, aligning metrics to key decisions, and consolidating what data we could in the interim. These actions created immediate momentum while laying the groundwork for longer-term improvements. Here’s how we approached it:
Quick Wins
| What We Did | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|
| Standardized key milestone definitions across functions (e.g., “in service,” “project complete”) |
Enabled apples-to-apples comparisons of schedule and cost performance across the portfolio. |
| Created a temporary “single source of truth” by consolidating key data from multiple systems. | Gave leaders one place to view reliable data—months before permanent systems came online. |
| Flagged gaps and inconsistencies using the new standards. | Made it clear where data was missing or outdated, enabling teams to immediately improve data quality. |
| Worked backwards from executive decisions to define needed data, KPIs, and visuals. | Focused effort on what leaders needed to see—building trust and momentum without overengineering. |
Next Steps
With the Quick Wins in place, we began assessing the strength of the portfolio using the newly standardized data set. By analyzing five years of historical data alongside forward-looking forecasts, we delivered a clear, evidence-based view of where the portfolio was performing well—and where focused action was needed.
results & impact
Clearer Insights, Proactive Decisions, and Stronger Performance
The engagement delivered practical insights and lasting improvements:
- Pinpointed exactly where schedule overruns were consistently occurring, giving leaders a clear window to focus on risk analysis.
- Revealed which project ownership models delivered better results, allowing leadership to shift responsibility to the most effective groups.
- Showed that project tracking key milestones was more successful, prompting broader adoption of consistent reporting practices.
- Identified divisions with the highest risk and variability, enabling targeted interventions and smarter resource allocation.
- Delivered the company’s first executive-ready project controls dashboard, providing a reliable, consolidated view of performance and recommendations.
- Validated improvements over time, building leadership confidence and reinforcing a culture of data-driven project management.
For this pharmaceutical company, the engagement was about more than just cleaning up data. It gave leadership a trusted, sustainable reporting framework—one that empowers them to see project performance clearly, anticipate risks, and make confident, informed portfolio decisions.
Working with Persimmon Group as independent external experts, provided the confirmation of how our data capture could improve. More importantly, Persimmon clearly demonstrated what the data was telling us, what it could and could not tell us, and how we could develop our processes to drive real insights and continuous improvement to cost and schedule.
– Director, Project Portfolio – Process Excellence, Pharmaceutical Client
Why It Matters
Unlocking the Power of Strategic Intelligence
In a world where data analytics and project intelligence are increasingly critical to business success, Persimmon brings a unique combination of analytical rigor and practical experience. We don’t just analyze data—we help organizations turn insights into action. Our consultants understand that effective project intelligence requires both technical expertise and organizational wisdom.
By focusing on solutions that are both sophisticated and practical, we help clients build capabilities that deliver immediate results while enabling long-term success. It’s this balance of strategic thinking and tactical execution that makes Persimmon a trusted partner for organizations undertaking critical business initiatives.
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