WHPacific Will Enhance Customer Relationships with Faster Decision-Making Capabilities
“We will gain much greater efficiencies in sharing and accessing data.The solution enables us to generate invoices faster and make quicker decisions when handling client projects.”
Marcus McGarity, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,WHPacific
When acquired by NANA in 2005, WHPacific adopted the corporate ERP system, DeltekCostpoint, which works effectively for managing large, long-term government projects. But the solution did not work as well for the shorter-term, mid-size contracts WHPacific manages for private and public sector clients. When Deltek announced a major upgrade to Costpoint, WHPacific took the opportunity to survey the market for a new, more comprehensive ERP solution that might better suit its needs.
“We wanted a solution that matched our business model,” saysVice President and Chief Financial Officer Marcus McGarity. “We also wanted to have a more complete solution that could consolidate the disparate systems we relied on for project management, financials, CRM, and human resources.”
WHPacific particularly wanted to integrate human resources information with CRM and project management because proposal and project costs are often based on staff qualifications. “Each department wanted a single, integrated and complete ERP system to improve business-process efficiency and enable faster decision-making,” McGarity says.
Decision Process Includes Input from All Key Operational Areas
To select the new ERP solution, McGarity assembled a team of operational managers from project management, human resources, accounting, IT, and marketing. Each department contributed to the requirements of the new ERP solution that would cover all information needs across the business.
“We knew the key technology providers that focused on our industry and created a short list of solutions,” McGarity says. “These included Microsoft Dynamics AX, Deltek Vision, and Axiom. We also decided to give the DeltekCostpoint upgrade version one more look.”
The WHPacific team evaluated all four solutions before narrowing the list to Microsoft Dynamics AX and Deltek Vision. The team then created a specific list of requirements and asked for in-depth demonstrations. That’s where Microsoft Dynamics AX truly set itself apart as the most effective ERP solution.
The solution was deployed by Systems Advisors Group, a Microsoft Dynamics Partner that focuses on delivering Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions for project-intensive organization. “It was critical to select a solution provider that could help us customize and configure the technology to support our established project management methodologies,” McGarity says. “We were impressed not only with the expertise Systems Advisors Group offered in Microsoft Dynamics AX, but also with their understanding of our business-process challenges.”
Enabling Quick Access to Information with One Central Database
Microsoft Dynamics AX also integrates seamlessly with existing applications such asMicrosoft Project, to ensure that all functional areas are operating from a single version of business data. “We will have one central database for maintaining accurate information rather than multiple databases that sometimes contain conflicting information,” McGarity says.
“We selected Microsoft Dynamics AX realizing it will play a key role in aligning the whole company with our ‘informationatyourfingertips’ concept,” McGarity says. “This will be a smooth transition—users are looking forward to the change. Convincing them of the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics AX might be the easiest sell of my career!”
Reducing Project Costs and Enhancing Customer Relationships
In the long run, McGarity expects to achieve return on the investment in Microsoft Dynamics AX throughsignificantly reduced project costs. Customer relationships will also improve—from prospecting to winning proposals, to starting projects and converting projects into revenue generation. “We will gain much greater efficiencies in sharing and accessing data,” McGarity explains. “The solution enables us to generate invoices faster and make quicker decisions when handling client projects.”
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