Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central in an SME

Context of the project

Our client wanted to have a platform 100% in the cloud and accessible to all of its departments in order to control its supply chain and control its finances in real time. For more than 10 years, he had been using Sage software, installed on a local server which he accessed through very slow VPN connections. However, this software has never evolved into a more efficient version adapted to new needs. In addition, as part of the various projects carried out by our client, he frequently encountered the following problems :

• A lack of a global view of all the orders linked to the same project
• A lack of real-time visibility of the progress of the project (planning, allocation of resources, deliveries, services, etc.) both at the production level and at the financial level. Consequently, teams spend a lot of time in internal meetings or with customers.
• Laborious manual invoicing, source of errors or omissions.
• The energy-intensive preparation of Excel files.

In addition, the company has difficulty managing and invoicing maintenance contracts as well as “as a service” subscriptions on a monthly basis that vary from month to month.

Challenges faced

During the project, we had to meet the following challenges with our client:

• Adaptation and optimization of business processes before transposition to the new Microsoft Business Central ERP platform
• Restructuring of historical company data before export and automated processing
• The implementation of a smooth migration of the company to the new system: definition of project phases, compatible with the organization and the availability of employees, in order to offer a gradual transition to the new system
• The involvement, support and training of financial and production teams throughout the project

Our approach

Our approach is based on an agile methodology consisting of subdividing the project into distinct phases. Our client was thus able to gradually benefit from new functionalities and returns on investment without interruption of service.

Impact of the project

As soon as MS Business Central was put into service, our client was able to take advantage of an always up-to-date management system and the following benefits :

• Real-time visibility of project progress. This offers the project manager the possibility of proactively renegotiating any changes to the budget or deadlines. This leads to a simplification of the invoicing process and a significant reduction in payment times.
• Automated business processes and increased productivity of users performing higher value-added tasks
• Improved customer experience thanks to a simplified work process leading to fruitful collaboration between the different teams that are more autonomous, motivated and creative
• Support for decision-making thanks to the many reports generated by Business Intelligence and viewable from a smartphone