Even today, not every marketing service consists of digital services alone. Some physical marketing pieces are still required for companies to get the brands’ messaging out there.
When a one-stop shop for innovative signage and event marketing materials found that their current system didn’t match their objectives to move to the cloud, The TM Group guided them through implementing a cloud ERP solution that fits their business model without relying on too many third-party, add-on solutions.
The Challenge
Our client had been a long-time user of Microsoft Dynamics GP, but they hadn’t really tapped into all of its capabilities. Instead, they were often still entering data into spreadsheets that weren’t connected to their accounting system, causing them to invest countless hours in inefficient data entry and auditing reports.
Primarily, they were using GP’s accounting and back-office functionality as well as the order management module. They mostly used General Ledger for accounts payable and receivable. Since they’re not in a business where they utilize wholesale inventory but rather use it as part of more extensive offerings, including branding services, they were only employing a basic configuration for sales and inventory. They also weren’t using Microsoft Dynamics GP’s job costing functionality, nor were they leveraging its Manufacturing or Bill of Materials module.
Their management had already decided on a corporate-wide cloud initiative and a goal to improve their reporting capabilities. As a first step toward that cloud initiative, they had moved their CRM system to Salesforce.com. They also were using SmartConnect to integrate their invoicing data from Salesforce into their Microsoft Dynamics GP system. Now, they also wanted to move their on-premise accounting solution to the cloud, more specifically move from the Microsoft Dynamics GP on-premise ERP solution to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central cloud ERP solution.
The Solution
The client took advantage of a dual-license promotion for Microsoft Dynamics GP and Business Central, allowing them to test the waters before fully transitioning to Business Central. During that trial process, the TMG team offered guidance and support to guarantee Business Central’s functionality was aligned with their business requirements. Being happy with what they were seeing, they proceeded to transition to the Business Central solution with the guidance of The TM Group.
Now, instead of relying on a patch-work solution including numerous spreadsheets, they use Salesforce for sales and purchase order management. This Salesforce data is also seamlessly integrated with Business Central via Microsoft Power Automate. Once they were properly instructed, the client’s staff set up most of the integration within Business Central by themselves.
To ensure they gain maximum benefits from their new Business Central system and don’t turn back to external workarounds, the TMG team also trained them on Business Central’s table structures and showed them how they could better perform ad hoc reporting instead of building external spreadsheets.
The client also decided to add Solver to their solution for better financial reporting. TMG trained them on how to use this new tool. With a little help from the TMG business intelligence consulting team, the client’s staff has written their balance sheet, income statements and other reports, which they previously were doing manually.
Many functional improvements, however, didn’t even require third-party solutions like Solver. Streamlining their customer statement emailing process was easily streamlined, because the feature is native to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. When using Microsoft Dynamics GP, the equivalent statement functionality would have required them to use Word templates or additional third-party tools like Liaison Messenger.
With Business Central, the client can now send electronic statements easily. However, they still send invoices out of Salesforce and, using Power Automate, they import this data into Business Central for collections work and to analyze customer data.
To improve reporting capabilities, TMG’s developers added custom fields to the standard sales and purchase order tables in Business Central. This allows the client to capture additional business data elements tracked in Salesforce via Power Automate, allowing them to streamline reporting. Previously, they had to manually track this important business data in offline spreadsheets.
TMG’s development team also enhanced the native Business Central Excel reporting and oData Service capabilities to automatically display those new data elements. Now, the client can easily access and refresh the sales and purchase order information they need via Excel to better manage their processes.
As with any cloud-based solution, Business Central additionally makes support way easier than with their GP on-premise solution. When the TMG team needs to jump in to handle a support incident, they can even swiftly examine the database before calling the client back. All training and support can also be easily done through Microsoft Teams. Whether you look at the initial setup or regular support, these processes would have required extensive traveling and/or long periods of time waiting for remote access with their GP on-premise solution.
The Impact
From inventory management to customer relationship management, the switch has completely transformed our client’s entire business processes. The move to a cloud-based solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central improved their internal reporting capabilities and helped them identify opportunities for cost savings and future improvement.
And, thanks to their use of the oData feed, our client is getting up-to-date, system-generated reporting, which they otherwise would need to manually create over long hours in Excel spreadsheets. Since they’re reporting against the Business Central tables in Excel, they can refresh reports themselves without TMG’s support.
Conclusion
Thanks to the client’s implementation of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP cloud solution, they have better analytical reporting, gained greater staff efficiencies and The TM Group can also offer better ongoing remote support.
Their new business systems ultimately helped them use their extensive reporting to fine-tune their service offerings and become a more trusted business partner. This change wouldn’t have been possible without the flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, one of the most adaptable and reliable solutions on the market, and the expert guidance of The TM Group.
If you find yourself in a similar situation as our client, you might be ready to make the jump as well. Get in touch with the TM Group today and schedule an appointment with one of our expert consultants to learn how the right platform will streamline your business.
