The implementation at North Trampoline is an example of the implementation of Business Central in a global distribution company. The implementation covered as many as 5 locations (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, UK USA). An additional challenge was that the contact between the customer (North Trampoline) and the supplier (EIP Dynamics) was only remote. Despite the challenges, it took just four months to implement a globally operating system. The implementation works started on 24.09.2021 and the customer started using the system on 17.01.2022.
Key information:
- The case study is about implementation of Dynamics 365 Business Central Online in a globally operating distribution company.
- Supported Locations: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom, United States.
- Implementation time: 4 months (from September 24, 2021 to January 17, 2022).
- Supported locations: Sweden (two companies), Norway, Denmark, UK, US.
- Number of users/licenses: 33 FULL Essentials users + 7 Team Member
- Integration with the payment platform: Klarna.
- Integration with three WMS applications: Ongoing, ServiceLine and Mintsoft (using API).
- Integration with sales platforms: Optimizely and Shopify.
Why did the client choose Dynamics 365 Business Central?
North Trampoline is a brand of Avero AB. The head office is located in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company produces trampolines. The company had its beginnings in 2004, then within a few years the company became the leading manufacturer of trampolines on the Scandinavian market. Using the experience gained, in 2012 a global brand known as North Trampoline was created. The brand is currently active in the European market, the United States and Australia.
The customer chose Dynamics 365 Business Central because they previously used a solution from the Microsoft family (Dynamics NAV 2015), for which support had ended. As a result, it was considered a good opportunity to rethink processes, review modifications made and needed, and clean up data. Besides, the company had experienced global growth, which naturally led to the need for a modern ERP system. Among other things, there was a need to integrate processes taking place in different markets (in different countries). Importantly, it was stressed each time that this was a re-implementation and not an upgrade. In other words, the implementation of Business Central was to be a completely new approach to the project and not just a transition to a new version of the system.
Elements that influenced the decision to implement:
- Support for the previously used system (Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015) has ended.
- The company recorded global growth, which naturally resulted in the need for a modern ERP system. Among other things, there was a need to integrate processes taking place on different markets (in different countries).
- The client wanted to automate some processes and gain more control over the data.
- The client wanted to use cloud-based solutions instead of on-premises.
“The main reasons for using a cloud-based solution were to gain operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve agility. The team made a great impression in our first meetings, they were knowledgeable and their english skills in the team was really good as well. Even though they came with lower costs compared to Swedish consultants they were still as good or even better. ” – Patrik Falenius (Global Accounting & Legal Entities Mgr at North Trampoline).
How was the implementation of the system?
In June 2021, a demo version of the system was presented. The analysis phase lasted from the beginning of July to the beginning of September. The implementation started on September 24, 2021, and the client started using the system in production on January 17, 2022. As a result, we managed to launch a globally working system in about 4 months!
What were the main implementation challenges (customer perspective)?
- Extremely short timeframe of the project (only 5 months).
- No additional resources were added to the organization so managing both the project and daily operations was challenging.
- Going live in 6 entities and 5 countries (UK,SE, NO,DE and US) in the same month.
- The UK team had no previous experience of an integrated ERP system.
- The UK team also had to alter a lot of their processes.
How was the implementation from the perspective of an EIP Dynamics consultant?
“Due to the fact that the client decided to implement Dynamics 365 Business Central in the Online version, there was no need to spend time on IT infrastructure management during the implementation. In addition, the online version of BC caused thath management of environments and users is simplified. Among other things, it is convenient to duplicate previously prepared modifications and interfaces in different databases relating to different locations.
Despite many advantages, it should also be noted that automatic updates in Business Central still require minor support from the Partner. In addition, users who switch from older versions of Dynamics NAV to a modern Web client usually need support or competent training.” – Mateusz Przybylski (Dynamics 365 BC Consultant).
How was the implementation from the perspective of the EIP Dynamics Project Manager?
“The implementation was 100% remote. This type of operation was associated with certain challenges. The key to success was trust and a partnership approach between the Customer and the Supplier. The implementation project was preceded by an analysis with the Customer, which transparently defined the scope of implementation. Careful analysis can distinguish at least a few elements that made the project successful, including: the involvement of project managers on both sides during the implementation work (they guarding the scope, budget and timeframe) and defining the necessary set of settings and interfaces needed for operational work (which meant that several functionalities were launched in February and March 2022). The fact that the implementation took place in the cloud was also significant. As a result, there were no access barriers/boundaries to the application.” – Karol Ślusarski (Project Manager w EIP Dynamics).
What are the main benefits of implementing the system (from the customer’s perspective)?
The main benefits indicated by North Trampoline are full integration with marketplace platforms and integration with the warehouse. In addition, the client emphasizes that Business Central is a solution that has a Swedish location – Swebase, thanks to which accounting is in line with local requirements. In response to the question about what business benefits North Trampoline has achieved thanks to the migration to the Dynamics 365 Business Central platform, North Trampoline representative Patrik Falenius lists the following elements:
- One business one system.
- Easier to harmonize and standardize cross countries.
- One finance and operations team to support all countries.
- Upgrade policy in place with seamless upgrades.
- Environment management.
- User management.
- Extensions technology.