Seeing an opportunity for corporate growth, TimberWest Forest Corporation wanted to replace its aging financial management system for a more solid platform.
Microsoft Dynamics was selected as the best system for its capacity in growth, time to value, and ability to handle multiple corporate entities and multiple currencies, as well as enabling the automation of business processes as the business grows.
“TimberWest chose NTT DATA because [of] their proven track record in managing Microsoft Dynamics AX projects. NTT DATA brought together a dedicated and knowledgeable team that we felt provided us with the best opportunity to complete the project successfully”
As Western Canada’s largest timber management company, TimberWest needed to replace its aging financial management system to set the stage for growth.
The company conducted a review of possible replacements for their existing system. Criteria for the replacement systems included the scalability to handle growth and multiple currencies, as well as the ability to deal with multiple entities. TimberWest resolved that Microsoft Dynamics AX would be the best system to meet the current and future requirements of the company.
“TimberWest chose NTT DATA because [of] their proven track record in managing Microsoft Dynamics AX projects. NTT DATA brought together a dedicated and knowledgeable team that we felt provided us with the best opportunity to complete the project successfully” stated Al Shirley, TimberWest IT Manager.
Microsoft Dynamics AX is a solution that provides enterprises a purpose-built foundation for resource planning. Its comprehensive capabilities include financial management, business intelligence and reporting, sales and marketing, procurement and sourcing, supply chain management, project management and accounting, human capital management, global risk and compliance, environmental sustainability and more.
Packaged in a single global solution that delivers rapid time to value, Microsoft Dynamics AX empowers teams to anticipate and embrace change so their businesses can thrive. This global nature of Microsoft Dynamics AX will enable the company to automate its future business processes, to avoid unnecessary complexity as the business grows. The joint NTT DATA/ TimberWest project team implemented the following Dynamics AX modules: general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, bank management, organizational administration, and system administration.
“The approach was to align TimberWest’s harmonized business processes with standard Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality so as to leverage existing, out-of-the-box functionality and minimize customization. NTT DATA utilized the Microsoft Dynamics SureStep methodology for its AX project tools, template, and guidelines as well as project and risk management,” stated the NTT DATA lead. “Our agile implementation approach, such as sprints and daily scrum meetings, further enhanced the effectiveness of our collaborative NTT DATA and TimberWest project team.”
With this solution, TimberWest has put itself into a situation where it will be able to accommodate any organization changes as the company continues to grow. “Users are reporting that Microsoft Dynamics AX is far more intuitive and they are finding it much easier to navigate compared to our previous ERP solution” said Mr Shirley. “As a result of this user acceptance we expect to start seeing useful gains in user productivity.”
*This case study was originally written by Sierra Systems Group Inc., which has become NTT DATA Services as of December 17, 2018.