A higherlevel of business management capabilities
History of implementation and use of Microsoft Dynamics NAV in IBCS Poland. Questions are answered by Jarosław Ćwikła, President of IBCS Poland.
History of implementation and use of Microsoft Dynamics NAV in IBCS Poland. Questions are answered by Jarosław Ćwikła, President of IBCS Poland.
IBCS Poland as part of IBCS Group, an international company specializing in the integration of logistics IT systems, has an impact on logistics, warehouse and sales processes in many large companies operating on the Polish market, such as Auchan Polska, DHL Express, Colgate Palmolive and many others, improving their daily functioning. Your IT projects focus on solutions using barcode readers or automatic identification of RFID data. Since 2009, IBCS Poland has benefited from the opportunities offered by Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0. Where did you decide to switch to a newer version?
We have been using Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 ERP for several years, the software has worked perfectly in our business and brought tangible benefits to the company. The efficiency of our operations has increased significantly, our resources are better used and most importantly, the quality of service of our customers has improved. However, aware that Microsoft's software is still being developed and improved intensively, we have decided to deploy a new version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. We are currently working on the 2016 version.
What specific features were missing in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0.?
IBCS Poland needed to improve certain elements of the system. We knew that MS NAV, thanks to its flexibility, is able to adapt to the individual needs of each customer. We have therefore asked NMI ERP to implement changes that improve the work in the sales department and in our service, as well as to eliminate the excess paper documentation and replace it with an electronic version. It was also important for us to have access to information and, above all, simple and easy-to-read reports from different areas of our company's operation. The interface, which was to be modernized and more convenient for users, also needed to be simpler. We wanted it to be more employee-friendly by introducing shortcuts, options, defined permissions, and dedicated views to make them easier to work with. Of course, we wanted any previous improvements to continue to work and be implemented into the new version of the system.
Such months of implementation processes can be risky for large enterprises. Did you have concerns about this?
Some concerns certainly were. The implementation of the new version of the system was quite complicated and required a lot of commitment from us, both at the stage of pre-implementation analysis, as well as the process of adapting functionality, data migration and the implementation itself. The implementation work lasted about nine months and included sales, purchasing, warehouse, aforementioned service, administration and financial management. In the end, the implementation of the new NAV version was a transition for us to the next level of ERP solutions. Leaving microsoft dynamics nav 5.0. functionality in place has allowed you to smoothly complete the deployment process without disrupting your current business. The upgrade went very smoothly.
The implementation of the new version of the system was quite complicated and required a lot of commitment from us. Fortunately, professionalism, commitment and consistent cooperation between IBCS Poland and NMI ERP teams allowed us to effectively achieve the intended goals.
Find out more about implementation more_horizI know that the upgrade also integrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which IBCS Poland also uses.
We have been using Microsoft Dynamics CRM since 2009. By updating the ERP system, we decided to integrate with CRM in parallel. They were connected using the Connector for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This solution, prepared especially for our company, made the work of our sales department very flexible. All information is updated on both systems, including customer cards, inventory cards, service items, projects, and delegations. The configuration phase of the data integration mechanism, including the preparation of integration maps, took into account the fact that many structures were significantly expanded in the implementation. Other benefits include a solution for handling an additional currency that can already be selected on order lines, combined with information about the sales price, date, and exchange rate table that appears on the order. Invoicing and documentation generation have also been improved. Another benefit is to improve the process of selling the kits that we have in our offer, which was previously very problematic for us.
What were the problems?
It is about grouping the inventory in the warehouse, as well as the customer's ordering process itself. The use of automatically generated rows within the system improves both processes. Until now, the resources dedicated to the kits have been distributed independently of each other in our warehouses. They are now placed for their intended purpose. Such an improvement in the field of in-stock logistics greatly simplified the process of generating sales orders, as it eliminated the need to create, slow down the work of orders of the compliment itself and generate more inventory cards. This change improved customer service, but also improved the work of warehouse employees. We gained time.
You also mentioned the changes made to the management of the service, which are so important in the activities of your company.
Yes, this module has been specially adapted to the needs of IBCS Poland. The company's service activities include warranty and post-warranty repairs of the delivered solutions. New extensions have been introduced on customer cards and inventory cards. The handling of price concessions was introduced on the basis of the available functionality of stock variants available in the NAV. Warehouse receipts have been streamlined by implementing a module that automates serial number issue and the creation of serial number cards. The system allows you to track the serial numbers of individual components in connection with service items. In addition, service item table support has been extended to include automatic item creation features when the shipment is posted. The same service items are "released", that is, when returns, the item is not deleted, but only the customer and warranty data is cleaned.
With this tool, we have gained a clear, readable and easily accessible picture of the health of our company.
Learn more about deployment more_horizYou said about the facilities that IBCS Poland customers, warehouse workers and traders have gained. Has Microsoft Dynamics NAV made it easier for business managers in a new way?
Working on the analytical module resulted in the implementation of simple and readable reports, as well as statements that are necessary in the daily work of each manager. Thanks to them, we can easily create the necessary business analyses and present them in various forms, tabular or graphic. With this tool, we have gained a clear, readable and easily accessible picture of the health of our company.
What are IBCS Poland's plans for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
IBCS Poland is constantly evolving. In the future, we anticipate further development of the system, certainly on the occasion of upgrad'ów we will introduce further extensions in our company. We are also considering the possibility of introducing native integration of Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM systems. In the long term, we want to meet our customers – by creating a B2B portal, enabling them to access orders and sales documents. We plan to link the portal to Dynamics NAV so that the order entered by the customer is visible in the system, and after approval by the sales department, the customer would see it as accepted for execution. We would also like to provide customers with an insight into the history of their orders and invoices along with their status.
For my part, that's it. I sincerely thank the Lord for your conversation.
I also thank you.
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