Scalable Project Data System for Food Processing Equipment
Overview
I led the build of a scalable project management and data workflow system for a food processing equipment manufacturer (systems valued at $3M+). The existing process relied on siloed information and ad hoc reporting, which made it hard to optimize workflows or generate reliable metrics. I owned the business case, vendor selection, solution design, rollout, and ongoing maintenance.
Problem
- Project data was fragmented across teams, creating a "black box" for process performance.
- Reporting was unclear and inconsistent, limiting decision making.
- Existing tooling was not scalable for growing program complexity.
Approach
- Secured leadership support with a 6 page business case outlining the ROI of upgrading data management.
- Interviewed stakeholders across manufacturing units to map required reports, outputs, and workflows.
- Evaluated Notion, Coda, Monday.com, ClickUp, and Asana; selected Coda for flexibility, speed to value, and pricing.
- Built custom workflows for multiple user types, with data sharing based on user roles.
- Implemented secure cloud access for mobile use (no VPN required).
- Wrote scripts and automations to connect ERP data into the system, then trained users and documented the workflow.
Results
- 100% adoption within the PM team; 600 users onboarded across 10 teams.
- Reporting time reduced by 1 to 2 days; reports now generated in minutes with no manual spreadsheet entry.
- 4 automated data pipelines to downstream departments.
- Centralized, secure cloud access eliminated VPN dependence while keeping data shared only as required.
Tech: Coda, ERP integrations, custom scripts/automations.