Technology: Dynamics 365 Business Central, Power BI, Woo Commerce Integration
Industry: Furniture Manufacturer
Handling Complex Manufacturing & Distribution processes with Business Central & Bizmaxus
About Client
Client is a manufacturer of highly adjustable office furniture, White Boards and parts to supply OEM manufacturers. The company prides itself on table, metal, and Assembly solutions and provides exceptional reliability to its customers with a 100% on-time delivery rate.
Challenge
This consistently high level of execution is not easy. Client relies upon a responsive, full-featured ERP system to make it all come together. To manage that system, client has established an all-star development team in-house.
The company first implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV roughly seven years ago with another partner. However, after meeting Bizmaxus at the Dynamics Community Seminar, they decided to re-evaluate their needs.
Bizmaxus conducted a fit analysis with Client to determine exactly what the company needed for its ERP system. One of the most significant opportunities identified was for Client’s internal team to receive more development training on Microsoft Dynamics so they could address more support items in-house, instead of relying on a partner for day-to-day issues. They wanted to move toward only consulting with a partner on major or strategic concerns.
In addition to a focus on training Client’s developers, Bizmaxus’s fit analysis identified several gaps between what Client wanted from their software and where it was at the time.
• Shipping needed a significant upgrade. Skids of products were being delayed frequently, causing Client’s team a lot of headaches to get them moving again.
• The existing reporting capabilities were not meeting the company leadership’s expectations. Client prides itself on being data-driven, so the team wanted the best data possible in an accessible format.
• To stay ahead of the technology curve, the company wanted to upgrade its system to Business Central, but it needed the right partner.
After meeting with Bizmaxus ’s senior leadership team and weighing their options, Client decided that a partnership with Bizmaxus would be the best way to meet its goals and equip its team to support users in the future.
Solution
An Bizmaxus project team led by Mukesh Mittal took on Client’s upgrade project. They knew from the start that they needed to be in close communication with Client’s team on each step so they would be as ready as possible to offer support on their own in the future.
Perhaps because of this focus on training the team, Mukesh noted afterward that Client was one of the easiest projects he has worked on from a timing and communication perspective. “If every go-live is like Client’s, I’ll be a very happy project manager.”
Client’s system was upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, going live in December 2020. This upgrade involved a significant reworking of customizations that worked in the older NAV install but either did not work in Business Central or were superseded by new features. The upgrade was a great opportunity to re-evaluate all the modifications that had been done previously to determine if they were still necessary. In many cases, they were not.
To bring everything Microsoft together, Bizmaxus became Client’s Cloud Solutions Provider and offered them their Microsoft Office licensing at a significant discount compared to the company’s previous provider.
Results Achieved
Today, Client is live with its new Business Central system. Because the company took the time to train people in advance and prepare for the switch, it has been a relatively smooth transition.
For shipping, the delays they experienced previously sending skids out are gone. They are operating far more efficiently, and in fact, estimate that labor costs associated with their products have been reduced by 30%.
On the reporting front, today they can go to any production center and easily find all the orders that are due for the day, view all sales entered, see how much is shipped each day, and more.
Finally, because Client’s team worked so closely with Bizmaxus and completed much of the work and support on their own as a result, the entire project came in under budget. Not only that, but Client will save in the long run because it can support users without incurring billable hours.
Moving Forward With Confidence
When asked about Bizmaxus ’s level of support both in implementing the upgrade and helping with any issue that has come up since, Client could not be more pleased. “Whenever you call, you get a solution quickly or get in touch with the right person that can help.”
Client’s View About Us
“My life is so much easier. Because I run all the technology for the business from the internet to phone to software solutions, to know I have a team in Bizmaxus that I can call on 24/7 if something comes up that we can’t solve ourselves means I can sleep a lot sounder at night.”
