ARP - Advanced Planning and Project Automation for Microsoft Dynamics AX built on top of the standard Microsoft Dynamics AX project (I&II) module, and extends this module by replacing the project planning engine, and adding advanced project automation and resource management to manage standard AX projects.

ARP is fundamentally different from most other project solutions.  It has been shown that ARP is able to create a solution that goes deeper and offers a more complete set of features for resource intensive and project-centric businesses in industries such as Project centric manufacturers, Industrial equipment manufacturers, R&D companies and Engineering and Construction.

The add-on is the only system that supports giving project quotes directly based on complex WBS (work breakstructure) projects and at the same time combines all elements from costing, detailed tasks breakdown and material requirement and resourcing - taking the availability of staff/tools/equipment into account, in one single solution.

It is one of the fastest add-ons to produce results and this is shown when attempting to optimise the project sales cycle through WBS project assisted quotations.  It is then possible to produce within minutes precise quotes for customers, as these are based on project templates, and can even be used with imported MS Projects, both in terms of cost and delivery dates.  This takes what is already available with Projects and takes it so much further as it allows agreater reporting analysis that is very much needed within Dynamics AX.

The add-on has the given the end user an ability to work with flexibleresource and capacity planning for projects, by offering three levels of resource/capacity allocation: Finite, Capacity Levelling and Infinite. This enables better and more accurate short-term, mid-term and long-term planning.

Support for fully automated resourcing of projects, by offering resource skill matching and having role-based project staffing is available as well and this will in turn breed an increase in the efficiencies that can be achieved and the ROI that comes with that.

The add-on also works in an almost automated way with Project automation offering the unique ability to “run” your projects as workflow, providing amuch greater control over project execution and helps to maintain transparency.

This is coupled with the built-in project analytics.  This has been increased with such things as Earned Value; S-Curve and Critical Path analysis enables easy and frequent performance reviews of all ongoing projects.

There is an innate need to have some analytics experience to work with this add-on but once being at home with the way in which this works it is possible to develop it in a much faster way than has previously been available.