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Pro Plaster teams up with Eclipse to reduce Financial Reporting time
Founded in 1993, Brisbane based Pro Plaster Products Australia Pty Ltd (Pro Plaster Products) is an Australian distributor of products to the plastering trade. It employs 16 staff and imports, manufactures, sources and develops products for its customers in the building industry.
Pro Plaster Products is an Australian exclusive distributor of Hamilton and Solid 4T Premium range of base cements and finishing compounds. The company also specialise in automatic tools with exclusive distribution agreements with prominent international tool manufacturers.
A new system for a better business management
Like many small/medium businesses Pro Plaster Products has limited IT budgets. Over the years this meant that its financial and reporting systems had become out of date. In its 12 years of operation, Pro Plaster Products had grown by 100% and had expanded from 6 staff, one warehouse and $5m turnover to 16 staff, four warehouses and $10m turnover. Its billing system had become more complex and it required more detailed management and reporting functions than its legacy system provided.
Carol Miller, Financial Controller at Pro Plaster Products, said, “Our old technology was archaic. With four warehouses our billing system had become difficult to manage. Also, reporting had become incredibly arduous, with some reports taking a whole day to complete because the system was slow and the information fragmented."
“Essentially, our old software could no longer provide us with the reporting and management information we required to maintain and grow the business. This is why we decided to invest in more comprehensive financials and billing integration system so that we could keep up with our expected future growth.”
Responding to business needs and cultural hurdles
In May 2004, Pro Plaster Products decided to overhaul its financial and reporting infrastructure. The business undertook a detailed research into its business needs. Based on these requirements seven companies were invited to respond to the tender.
Pro Plaster Products wanted to work with a company that had an office in Brisbane. Carol explains, “We wanted a company that understood our business and would take the time to work with us to meet our business requirements. It was also important that the integration partner we chose had a local presence so they would be available when we required support.”
During the tender process Pro Plaster Products also employed an external IT consultant to help with the decision making process. “I think this is a prudent move for companies of our size with limited IT expertise. As the Financial Controller I don’t have the knowledge or experience with complex IT systems to be able to fully understand the requirements let alone be able to evaluate which would be most appropriate for our business today and in the future. Having an expert partner in the process ensured we’d be making an educated decision.”
After the evaluation, Eclipse was chosen to spearhead the project. Carol said, “We chose Eclipse because its submission provided workable examples using Pro Plaster Products that demonstrated they best understood our business and IT needs. This really got Eclipse across the line for us. Eclipse - your implementation partner “It is very important to find an IT implementation partner that takes the time to understand your company and its culture. If the staff is going to be using the new programs we need to have their buy-in during the implementation if we’re to manage their acceptance and use of the new technology to maximise our ROI. “I and the rest of the team at Pro Plaster Products had an instant rapport with the Eclipse consultants. They were straight up and honest and we appreciated that they worked closely with us to ensure they understood our requirements and met our needs. They also knew the software inside out which meant we trusted their advice and suggestions.” Finding the right fit For the product, Pro Plaster Products selected Microsoft DynamicsTM NAV because it suited its business requirements and was compatible with its standard operating environment. Carol explains, “We chose Microsoft DynamicsTM NAV because it’s user-friendly and although usable out of the box it could also be heavily customised to meet our needs. It’s flexible enough to be modified and altered as we grow and our needs develop. “The fact that Dynamics NAV is a Microsoft product was appealing because it’s part of the biggest software company in the world. We felt a sense of security in selecting a Microsoft product because it ensures the product and the support will be available in the future, and this is a long term commitment for us.” One of the greatest challenges for Pro Plaster Products was to consider the skill set of its employees when choosing new software. Carol explains, “Many of our people have limited IT knowledge and experience. It was important that management had constant communication with employees to keep them informed of what changes were being made. It was therefore key that the staff were kept updated on the development of the project on a weekly basis. “Added benefit was that the software also integrates easily with other desktop features. This assists with user adoption and makes the new program less intimidating for new users. Overcoming any additional reticence, Eclipse helped us to make sure that staff was trained to use the new process ensuring we maximised our ROI.” Reducing financial reporting time from days to minutes Since going live on July 1st 2005, Pro Plaster Products has seen a dramatic improvement in the ability to manage the financial and reporting systems. Carol explains, “Our financial information is now less fragmented, easier to record and access, and our ability to pull together accurate reports has been transformed. Rebate reports, as an example, used to take a day to complete which we can now view within 10 minutes. “This transparency and real-time availability of information is vital to us and we anticipate further improvements in other areas such as inventory and account scheduler reporting, as Microsoft Navision becomes more established in our business. We couldn’t be more satisfied with our experience with Eclipse or with the performance of Microsoft DynamicsTM NAV.”
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