How agradblue gained clarity in project planning

Situation

agradblue is a sustainability consulting firm specializing in ESG services for the real estate sector. With around 100 employees across three national and international locations, the company manages projects ranging from a few weeks to several years. While most projects are fixed-price, others are billed hourly or tied to performance benchmarks. Given the diversity in scope and complexity, efficient planning and real-time monitoring are essential for success.

Challenge

Before implementing Aerion, agradblue faced several operational hurdles. Resource planning lacked transparency, making it impossible to analyze how many employees with specific skills were available at a given time. Capacity planning was not detailed enough, and there was no system to match staff skills with project requirements, which complicated allocation and forecasting.

Project managers also had little visibility into project budgets. Team members could not easily see how much of a fixed-price budget remained, which created extra effort and delayed decision-making. Billing was handled manually by one person using Excel and Word before transferring data to another system—an inefficient process that consumed valuable resources.

“We wanted a fully digital, integrated process that would also involve project managers.”

— Michael Schremmer, Head of Sustainability

Impact

With Aerion, agradblue achieved detailed, skill-based resource planning. Employees can now be tagged with qualifications, making it easy to see available resources when new projects come in. This granularity allows smarter allocations and ensures that the right people are assigned to the right projects.

Budget control has also been transformed. Project managers can track budgets in real time, react faster if risks emerge, and employees can easily monitor their billable hours. The system has created a cultural shift by linking performance targets to accurate time tracking—improving both motivation and transparency.

“Aerion gives us the tools to plan better, react faster, and make informed decisions that benefit both our team and our clients.”

— Michael Schremmer, Head of Sustainability

Onboarding Process

agradblue’s transition to Aerion was smooth, despite a tight schedule. From decision to go-live, the process—including data migration—took just two to three months. The Proof of Concept began in October, and the company successfully went live on January 1. Schremmer highlights the experience: “Many doubted we’d make the deadline, but with seamless onboarding and outstanding support from Aerion, we did it.”