Digital technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) are being leveraged by many businesses today as it has been proven to reduce operational cost, increase quality and efficiency while leveraging on big data to make smarter decisions. In a world with these technologies in play, data becomes a precious commodity for any organization that plans to digitally transform its business to fit future demands.
For organizations that still rely on legacy systems to run their business processes, transitioning to new systems may seem like a farfetched dream. Many fear that migrating legacy systems to new solutions presents new challenges such as cost, locations, compatibility with new technologies, business interruptions and running the risk of shifting business outcomes. On the other hand, companies today realize the importance of technology in their businesses that makes them more agile in the ability to respond to market changes. Processing large amounts of business data helps companies to work smarter, save costs and serves customers efficiently.
Annata was recently chosen by an International company to assist in its digital transformation efforts by modernizing its legacy systems while remaining critical to its day-to-day operations. Based in the United States, the company manufactures, distributes and services marine engines while running an extensive distribution and service network all over the world with production facilities in all continents.
The organizations primary challenge was that it was running various solutions in different regions. This posed as a challenge with the compatibility of its systems in different regions. The business data collected was not unified, business processes were not integrated and employees were not able to sort out the different types to data from different operating regions.
The manufacturer wanted to set a new standard for quality and service in their business while unifying all its data under one solution. Annata began implementing Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations with the full suite of Annata solutions which includes the core of the Annata device management, lifecycle management, work order management and parts management. This enabled them to keep a clear focus throughout the full lifecycle of the engines and boats while running the service and after-sales processes in the same solution that would run completely in the cloud allowing the manufacturer to run their business processes efficiently and avoid heavy customization to support future upgrades.
Annata then set up the Annata Dealer Portal functionality that successfully integrated all of their Independent dealer networks through the Annata 365 dealer portal. The portal allows dealers to create, monitor and maintain transactions directly with the manufacturer. This allowed the organization to seamlessly streamline its processes keeping them maintained as the leading market position on customer service.
In addition to a proven business solution, the program management aimed at supporting the strategic project goals of reducing the number of solutions in place and the degree of customization. A “Center of Excellence“ (CoE) was established to provide the organization with best practices and to help the move of the organization to the next level of a maturity model. The CoE would manage and run the template project and its subsequent roll outs with the necessary number of internal resources.
Annata 365 for Dynamics
Annata 365 for Dynamics an end-to-end information technology solution for the Automotive and Equipment industry. Annata 365 solutions are deeply embedded in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ecosystem, provide functionality that helps manufacturers, distributors, dealers, rental companies and fleet operators to deal with the industry challenges and to transform their existing operations and processes to adapt to and embrace new opportunities through technologies like IoT, machine learning, and cloud-based services.
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