Today’s competitive landscape requires business communities in the heavy equipment industry to become more agile, innovative, and digitally connected.
Annata was recently chosen by a leading equipment supplier for businesses in mining, forestry, transport and power system industries based in Australia and New Zealand to assist in its digital transformation efforts by modernizing its legacy systems while remaining critical to its day-to-day operations. The group represents premium global brands in the heavy equipment industry and with more than 950 highly skilled employees and a network of over 50 locations in both Australia and New Zealand, the group remains an integral and high-value partner within the industries it serves.
In October 2018, the group was looking to implement a new strategic plan after evaluating their existing business processes in an outdated system with 76 functionality gaps and issues. They were working on an existing platform that was not suitable for the diverse types of businesses they were operating. The existing (with its extensive customization) proved to be costly and unsuitable for the varying types of businesses operating in The old business processes and applications were also not able to deliver optimized customer experience just by evaluating the time it took to complete certain tasks.
Instead of relying on its incumbent system and redundant processes, the new strategic plan revolved around having an out-of-the box solution that runs in the cloud to deliver exceptional customer value and drive its digital transformation initiatives. Scalability and agility were at the forefront of the new strategic plan and the group needed to implement and complete the project at a tight deadline.
The organization had chosen Microsoft Dynamics 365 to replace its existing ERP system, primarily for its comprehensive out-of-the-box capabilities and as a cloud-based system, Dynamics 365 proved to be the best fit and a close match between the old and new systems. They chose the Annata 365 Finance & Operations business solution to streamline all its financial, transport, and logistics and support systems while Annata 365 For Sales was chosen to manage the sales and support of dealers of the group heavy machinery brands.
In any business, it is critical that all its business processes and data are tracked and monitored in real time. The implementation of Annata 365 For Finance & Operations allowed the organization to better track and monitor its device production while gaining efficiency in its inventory management processes. The challenge of replacing the existing systems prioritized in minimizing lead times, reducing unwanted delays, and having the visibility in tracking all its key business operations data in one place.
Having a fully extensible solution tailor made for the heavy machinery industry, Annata was able to assist the organization in managing its device lifecycle value chain, from factory gate to end of useful life. The Implementation of Annata’s systems saw warehouse processes reduce from 1.5 hours to just 25 minutes and this allowed the business to save time and deliver exceptional customer experience.
The cloud-based system based on the Windows Azure platform provided them with better access to its business data and allowed a rapid deployment that supported the organization’s digital transformation, innovation, and growth plans. Annata’s-of-the-box solutions allowed them to minimize customizations and implement a quicker go-to-market strategy with the new system going live in just 114 days after its launch.
Across industries, organizations are accelerating digital transformation processes for long-term growth and profitability. The key component is replacing legacy tools and infrastructure with modern technology. By moving to cloud-based options, businesses can rely on managed services, rather than their own IT equipment and staff – making it more cost-effective for businesses to operate. In addition to updating technology, it’s crucial to focus efforts on incorporating technology into new and existing products because customers expect products to be connected and improved with new functionality.
About Annata
With over 20 years of experience as an independent solution provider (ISV) for the Automotive and Equipment industries, Annata provides solutions built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 business application platform. Annata 365 is a next-generation unified technology solution that helps manufacturers, distributors, dealers, rental companies and fleet operators overcoming the industry disruption and challenges. Annata helps businesses in transforming existing operations and processes to adapt to and embrace new opportunities through technologies like IoT, ML (Machine Learning), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and cloud-based services. By collaborating with the teams at Microsoft, Annata maintains a strong expertise on the Microsoft platform and continues to provide innovative solutions, strong services, and unparalleled value to our customers.
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