LEROY Automation: Catalyzing the Growth and Transformation of a Technology Business

One of six companies in the AGÔN Electronics group, LEROY Automation designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains electronic systems for the rail, energy, and industrial sectors. With leading clients including Alstom, Siemens, and SNCF, the company operates under strict regulatory and technical requirements—demanding rigorous organization and full visibility into resources, costs, and priorities.

Since 2018, LEROY Automation has experienced sustained and significant growth. Within just five years, the company has grown from 50 to 90 employees and nearly doubled revenue. In 2024 alone, the company grew by an impressive 24%!

This momentum came with customer diversification and market expansion, imposing increased project and portfolio management (PPM) demands.

Led by Fabrice Carrara, the project team oversees the entire product life cycle, from tendering and customer development to mass production. It manages projects lasting 12 to 30 months, including industrialization and production launch, and supports more than 200,000 products—including around 15 solutions under maintenance in operational condition (MOC) with lifecycles of 30+ years.

Before 2019, project management relied primarily on MS Project and Excel—tools that had reached their limits as both team size and portfolio complexity increased. R&D workload planning and data consolidation consumed excessive time, while the lack of centralization hindered comprehensive overviews and reliable decision-making.

In 2019, LEROY Automation launched a structured initiative to select and roll out a PPM solution. After a thorough assessment (need analysis, demonstrations, evaluations) with input from all stakeholders, the firm chose ProjectAdvantage for its functional depth and adaptability.

With close support from partner firm ASI, particularly for training and data architecture, the tool was up and running in just six months.

The team implemented the solution gradually, in seven stages:

• Resource management and consolidated planning
• Gantt charts dedicated to product development
• Integration of project costs by linking Excel and accounting data to ProjectAdvantage
• Improved reliability of cost management
• Risk monitoring and management
• Action monitoring and management
• Financial consolidation at the portfolio level

ProjectAdvantage now gives LEROY Automation a comprehensive, cross-functional view of products and projects, reshaping the way the company manages its initiatives and business.

Financial Management

Cost tracking is now centralized and automated, drastically reducing processing time. Project managers now spend just 20 minutes monthly on updates; Margins and returns on investment are calculated by product or by project; Accounting data, including purchase requests, are imported automatically; Project managers use the forecasting module to estimate potential margins as early as the tender stage and build annual budgets using current project data.

Resource Management

The tool provides a detailed overview of available workload and capacity through tracking and integration with the HR systems that manage vacations and availability.

Portfolio Management

ProjectAdvantage allows managers to group projects by product line, cross-reference financial and resource KPIs, and consolidate reporting to management to support trade-off decisions. The project selection process has also been streamlined—with decision-support scenarios developed with the help of ASI.

• Faster decisions with streamlined efficiency: discussions and decisions are now based on reliable, shared data
• Prevention of unprofitable investments thanks to improved financial clarity
• Smooth absorption of growth without organizational strain
• Anticipated resource needs and improved coordination between teams
• Consolidated portfolio view enabling prioritization and strategic management

LEROY Automation continues to drive change to strengthen adoption and standardize usage across teams through:

• Ongoing educational training and support
• Development of advanced modules (action management, reporting)
• Extension of cost management to services and portfolios
• Evolution toward program management
• Customization of ProjectAdvantage reports to business needs

The company also plans to extend ProjectAdvantage to additional departments, reinforcing the solution's central role in its overall management ecosystem.