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Home / Insights / Case Study / Dynamics 365 for Finance Implementation Helps a Chemicals Supplier Improve Integration Between Warehouses and Boost Revenue by 15%
Operating for over a century, the leading single-source specialty chemical manufacturer and supplier acquired dozens of companies and grew from a $300 million company to a $1 billion company in just five years. But despite having undergone several major business and digital transformations, operations were carried out using a legacy version of Dynamics AX 2009. The frequent acquisitions resulted in manual supervision of operations and consolidation of data across multiple Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
Over 70% of the 11,000+ orders were put on hold due to information in different systems across countless warehouses which led to several roadblocks across mismatched inventory, SKUs, and customer/credit information. Although the supplier had authorized a 15-member team to work on these order holds every month, it was an additional, costly, and rather futile investment. Moreover, the integration of these newly acquired entities was also a big challenge in the non-supported AX 2009 environment.
Two pressing concerns emerged for the supplier to continue operating its flourishing business efficiently:
Resource constraints made it impossible for the supplier’s internal IT team to carry out a technology overhaul of this nature. To alleviate the pain of inventory consolidation across numerous warehouses and overcome the order hold challenge, the chemical supplier reached out to Synoptek.
To meet the requirement of the chemical supplier, Synoptek assigned a qualified team of Dynamics experts to build and implement a modern Microsoft-based ecosystem, consisting of Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Azure DevOps, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.
However, it was far from a smooth ride. As the project progressed, several challenges emerged: from discrepancies in the AX 2009 Master Data that had to be corrected to limitations in the Standard Data Entities that required the creation of Custom Entities. We understood, early on, that the interaction and commitment between business users and the ERP implementation partner team are very critical for the project. Therefore, we:
Once we had the necessary processes in place, we undertook the project in two phases:
In Phase 1, Synoptek focused on building the live integration bridge between Dynamics 365 Supply Chain and AX 2009 ERP, so the chemical supplier could streamline its chaotic warehouse operations. Key players were engaged who:
In phase 2, Synoptek focused on implementing procurement and finance within Dynamics 365 Finance and removing integration with AX 2009 ERP via code optimization. To do this successfully, we:
Leveraged several APIs and third-party integrations to for taxation, pricing, project management, AP automation, Material Requirements Planning, and currency conversion.
With Synoptek’s guidance and D365 implementation services, the chemicals supplier was able to achieve a Technology Platform Upgrade which enabled it to get rid of the obsolete WMS systems and leverage the benefits of a single, consolidated platform.
Since Synoptek helped in enhancing the order fulfillment process, the supplier could achieve several business benefits including:
As the chemical supplier grows organically and through frequent acquisitions, the robust Dynamics 365 foundation will better assist the business in doubling its growth and help it deliver on its quality, sustainability, and innovation mission.