From 70 to 320 users: the work management revolution from a world leader in the industrial sector
The challenge: orchestrating the performance of an international manufacturing group
MOTUL, the world leader in high-performance lubricants present in more than 30 countries, faced a major work management challenge: how to optimize the collaboration of more than 20 IT teams spread around the world while improving operational efficiency to meet the growing needs of the professions?
“Our main challenge was to break down the silos between teams, sites and functions. We needed a simple, intuitive and transversal tool, capable of supporting our ambitions on a global scale“, explain Nadège Baubant, PMO at MOTUL.
The problems identified:
IT side:
- Lack of structuring of incoming requests from the professions
- Lack of clear prioritization in the face of too many simultaneous projects
- Collaboration difficulties between SAP teams and infrastructure
- Urgent need for transversal visibility on resources and activities
Organizational side:
- Organizational silos hindering inter-team collaboration
- Non-standardized project monitoring process
- Lack of governance in the management of project portfolios
The solution: an approach combining work management consulting i.DO and the Asana tool
Faced with its complex challenges, MOTUL has launched a process of digital transformation initiated by the IT team, with a view to better governance andworkflow optimization. The objective was clear: to establish a work management platform capable of supporting the group’s ambitions on an international scale.
Why Asana?
After evaluating MS Project (too technical) and Azur DevOps (not very oriented to cross-functional management), the MOTUL team chose Asana for its ease of adoption:
- Intuitive tool accessible even without initial training
- Suitable for all types of projects: from simple to more complex
- Key Features: Wallets, Automations, Reusable Templates
i.DO support: the key to success
MOTUL quickly understood that the success of this transformation required expert support. The company called on work management specialists to structure the deployment and ensure effective adoption by all teams.
Manilo Manassero, Delivery Manager, Motul testifies:
“Support i.DO was decisive. Their experts helped us structure our transformation with concrete answers where we did not immediately see the solutions.”
The adoption strategy put in place was based on a progressive and pragmatic approach. The team deliberately chose not to impose strict project management from the start, preferring to let the teams take ownership of the tool independently. A network of key users with strong management involvement and a clear message: “If the project is not in Asana, it does not exist”. To support this increase in skills, monthly 30-minute webinars were organized around concrete themes, supplemented by targeted training sessions on automation and best practices.
Need to get to the point?
Download the condensed version of the case study to easily share it internally.
The results: a digital transformation that improves manufacturing productivity
An exceptional adoption
The impact of this workflow automation has proven to be far beyond initial expectations. In just a few months, MOTUL has witnessed exceptional adoption of its new work management platform, going from a pilot with 70 people to more than 320 active users today, a growth of more than 357%.
This expansion was not limited to the initial IT teams: the Marketing and Communication departments quickly joined the process, recognizing the need to structure their business processes.
Concrete operational gains
On the side ofoperational efficiency, the benefits have materialized concretely in the daily lives of the teams. The establishment of a automated capacity planning has revolutionized the management of IT priorities.
The Change Control Board, a critical process for change management, has become more efficient with faster and more structured triage and analysis of incoming requests. Decision-making has been accelerated thanks to the centralization of functionalities in a single tool, making it possible in particular to process comments directly in the tasks concerned.
Artificial intelligence at the service of work management
Artificial intelligence has also found its place in this transformation. MOTUL quickly adopted the capabilities ofAI for workflow automation to automate the generation of Status Updates. AI analysis now automatically synthesizes project data to provide information on its status, identify risks and extract key information from reporting.
The result is striking: a complete project sheet generated in less than 30 seconds, representing a considerable time saving for the teams.
Managers and management particularly appreciated the portfolio view which allows them to follow the status of all projects at a glance. This cross-functional visibility has considerably improved inter-team coordination, particularly between the Infrastructure and Applications teams.
As summarized Nadège Baubant : “The tool has clearly made it possible to break down silos and improve cross-functionality. We have gained in time, collaboration, transparency and accountability.”
Better productivity for all teams
Productivity gains are tangible and measurable. One of the collaborators reports to us a gain of 6 hours per week thanks to optimized workflows. The internal evaluation attributes a rating of 4 out of 5 for overall improvement in productivity in project management. The significant reduction in email exchanges, replaced by centralized communication in tasks, has also helped to streamline daily interactions.
Business impact: improving manufacturing performance through work management
“The tool has clearly made it possible to break down silos and improve cross-functionality. We have gained in time, collaboration, transparency and accountability“, summary Nadège Baubant.
The benefits of this digital transformation:
- Operational excellence: standardization of practices across the group
- Strengthened collaboration: end of operational silos
- Accelerated decision making: real-time visibility on all projects
- Structured governance: standardized processes and easier management
Future vision: AI at the service of manufacturing productivity
Manilo Manassero – Delivery Manager, Motul – shares his vision: “AI is a powerful optimization lever, but its integration must be guided by a clear business need. We were testing intelligent workflows enriched by AI to automate low value-added tasks.”
Next steps:
- Extension to all project contributors
- ROI optimization of licenses Asana
- Targeted integration of AI for business processes
