Projects rely on a wide range of resources that may be distributed across different companies within an organization. When a required resource type—such as structural engineers, survey crews, excavators, cranes, or specialized lifting equipment—is not available within the project company, the project may face delays, cost overruns, or quality risks. In these situations, the organization relies on other companies that can supply the required resource. Cross‑company resource allocation enables the project company to source appropriate resources from within the wider organization in a controlled, consistent, and compliant way.
Cross-company allocation depends on how resource groups, resource individuals, and companies are connected.
Resource groups define categories of resources—such as structural engineers, quantity surveyors, excavators, or cranes—and can be connected to multiple companies. When a project company plans demand for a specific resource group, the demand is tied to that group and to the companies connected to it. Only resources belonging to the group and connected to one of these companies can satisfy the planned demand.
Resource individuals may also be connected to more than one company and may serve different functions in each connection. For example, a resource may be connected to one company as a quantity surveyor and to another as a structural engineer. Even when a resource group is connected to several companies, not every resource within that group is available to each of those companies. Cross‑company resource allocation ensures that only resources that match both the required resource group and the appropriate company connection are considered for allocation.
This structure prevents accidental or unintended use of resources from companies that are not part of the intended supply structure. It ensures that project planning, company connections, and resource connections work together to support accurate and compliant allocation.
Cross‑company allocation also depends on sourcing relationships that define how resources can be shared between companies. These relationships are maintained in the Cross‑Company Resource Allocation page, where project company–resource company connections specify the resource companies a project company can obtain resources from, and the project companies a resource company can provide resources to. Each sourcing relationship links one project company with one resource company, and multiple relationship records can be created so that a project company can obtain resources from several resource companies and a resource company can provide resources to several project companies.
A resource from another company can be considered only when a sourcing relationship exists between the project company and that resource company. These connections indicate which companies may supply resources to the project company, but they do not determine whether a particular resource can be allocated. Allocation eligibility of a resource depends on additional factors, such as whether the project has planned the applicable resource group and whether the resource is connected to that group through a company included in both the sourcing relationship and the group’s company connections.
A resource can be allocated across companies only when all of the following conditions are met:
These conditions ensure that only resources that belong to the correct company–group combination can satisfy a given demand. They prevent allocation of resources that, although present in an allowed company, do not belong to the required resource group in that company. This keeps resource allocation aligned with planned demand and with the intended company and group structure.
A project in Company A requires a structural engineer to support a critical design phase. The Structural Engineers resource group is connected to Companies A, D, and E. The project in Company A creates demand against this group.
A resource is connected to Company C as a quantity surveyor and to Company E as a structural engineer. Company A is allowed, through the Cross-Company Resource Allocation setup, to allocate resources from both Company C and Company E.
Although Company A can allocate resources from Company C, the resource cannot satisfy the structural engineer demand via the Company C connection, because Company C is not connected to the Structural Engineers resource group. However, the resource can satisfy the demand through the Company E connection, because the resource belongs to the Structural Engineers resource group through Company E, which is one of the companies used for the planned demand.
This shows how cross‑company allocation uses both the sourcing relationships and the company–group combination for the planned demand to avoid incorrect or unintended resource use across companies.