Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O Implementation Helps a Candle Manufacturer Unify Siloed Departments and Accelerate Business Performance

Business Need

The candle manufacturer produces a variety of candles, fragrances, and essential oils and has a dynamic consumption of raw materials. With several departments involved in manufacturing products, including research and development, art and design, packaging development, production, fulfillment, sales and marketing, customer service, and warehousing, collaboration was becoming difficult. Legacy systems like SysPRO and a bunch of peripheral applications with limitations in functionality and reporting further impacted operational efficiency.

Therefore, the manufacturer was looking for a unified ERP system that would integrate all the departments and legacy systems into one umbrella as well as transform complex processes. They needed this ERP to:

• Generate consumption formula for raw material requirement
• Plan deliveries based on shopfloor capacity
• Offer simple drag-and-drop functionalities to reschedule productions and deliveries
• Enable efficient forecasts for planning and optimizing the supply chain cycle
• Help in managing shipment load based on product weight and dimension
• Optimize transportation cost
• Manage varying shipment rates from carrier services to auto-print labels
• Help shippers and packers by generating accurate dispatch reports
• Integrate with their EDI partner to generate different EDI documents and also with different marketplace applications like Bradwise, Pharos, Shopify, etc., to receive orders
• Deliver point-in-time reports to drive accurate and timely decisions

To standardize processes throughout the organization, get complete visibility into operations, and reduce costs, Synoptek recommended implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O at the main site and using it as a global template to roll out the platform to various other plant locations.

Solution and Approach

Synoptek conducted a detailed requirement study via comprehensive workshops, elaborate team meetings, and roundtable discussions. We understood overall processes and business scenarios through regular conversations with stakeholders and business process leaders. We studied various legacy systems that handled different functionalities, which involved:

• A deep analysis of the current environment to understand if it can be converted into D365 F&O functionality.
• Identification of issues/risks that could occur during the implementation phase and appropriate actions to avoid them.
• Creation of a document that captured all business requirements, reports, and enhancements for the new ERP system.

Once all business scenarios were understood and reports were gathered, the team recommended a Waterfall rollout strategy where a Global Template would be created for the entity. Implementation phases included:

Solution Designing

Synoptek analyzed the requirements and recommended solutions which were further shared for review with business process owners. At the same time, requirements were discussed for approval.

Configuration and Development

The solution was configured, and all the gaps identified were developed by the technical team. Sanity and smoke testing were also carried out for errors and logs.

Testing

Business processes were tested by functional and QA teams, after which they were handed over to the manufacturer for testing. Synoptek shared videos and training documents to streamline the testing process.

Test Script

A flexible Excel script was prepared where scenarios were dynamically created and tested. By tracking them, we were able to receive the statistical status of overall business processes and their function after successful integration.

Deployment

The Dynamics 365 solution was then deployed to the golden configuration environment, where Synoptek ran several parallel processes with existing legacy systems to verify results. Business solution template, Excel test script, and data migration Excel were used as Global Templates for overall implementation.

Data Migration

Data was migrated to the new ERP system using DMF and Excel Add-In.

Business Results

As a growing manufacturer with several distinct departments, the D365 F&O implementation helped in

• Replacing all legacy systems with one integrated solution and operating the business as one unit
• Fulfilling all business processes and reporting needs
• Quick resolution of system issues and accelerated business performance
• Achieving the highest value out of the D365FO investment via highly dedicated support services