Envision Africa’s Climb to New Heights with Decision Inc. and a Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Implementation

01 · The Client

About Envision Africa

Envision Africa (EA) is a surgical ophthalmic distributor based in Johannesburg, South Africa, with an ethos rooted in the Ubuntu philosophy. They are dedicated to caring and embody the phrase: Together We Restore Sight. Together We Enable Vision.

As the exclusive distributor of Oertli surgical platforms in sub-Saharan Africa, their mission is to enable the best surgical outcomes in cataract, retina, and glaucoma surgery by providing best-in-class products and services. However, like any ambitious business aiming for higher peaks, EA faced barriers that their legacy systems could not overcome.

02 · The Challenge

The Ascent: Envision's Challenges

EA faced significant challenges in managing its financial and operational processes, relying heavily on manual methods and disparate legacy systems. Operational processes and reports were predominantly handled manually using Excel, leading to operational inefficiencies and stock control issues.

Manual financial management and data capture across disconnected legacy systems with no single source of truth
Operational inefficiencies and stock control issues caused by Excel-dependent processes
No unified visibility across finance, supply chain, production, and sales functions
Limited scalability to support the rapid growth EA anticipated over coming years
Disparate product naming conventions across warehouses, hindering collaboration and procurement efficiency

Recognising the potential benefits of unified processes within a single cloud-based ERP system, EA decided to embark on an ERP implementation journey and identified Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations as the platform to meet their requirements.

The Gear for Success: How Decision Inc. Delivered

As the chosen implementation partner, Decision Inc. used its proven project methodology to deliver the solution within the agreed-upon budget, time, and scope. Working closely with key personnel from finance, supply chain, production, and sales, the team ensured all stakeholders were equally informed and contributed meaningfully throughout every phase.

Project Initiation

Set up all project structures and governance, creating a formal framework for project management and stakeholder alignment from day one.

Analysis & Blueprint

Jointly defined detailed business requirements and mapped them to the D365FO feature set, producing the Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) and development inventory as the project's scope baseline.

Design & Build

Performed detailed solution design, configured all functionality and business processes in D365FO, completed custom development, and migrated Envision Africa's master and transactional data. Regular progress playbacks kept the EA team aligned throughout.

Test & Train

Super-users were trained on the new system, followed by User Acceptance Testing (UAT) conducted by EA users independently, with Decision Inc. providing dedicated support throughout.

Deployment

A "mock" go-live was performed to familiarise the EA team with the cutover process before the final system go-live, minimising disruption and building team confidence.

Hypercare

Decision Inc. consultants provided dedicated on-site support post go-live. Stock data issues were resolved collaboratively during this phase, with the on-site presence minimising operational impact.

The implementation covered Product and Price Management, Procurement, Sales Management, Financial Management (General Ledger, Budgets, Foreign Currency, Reporting), Quotation and Order Management, Inventory Management, Manufacturing (Bill of Materials, Product Costing, Job Scheduling), and Asset Management.

Reaching the Summit: The Benefits

Envision Africa now has a centralised ERP system that streamlines their financial, supply chain, production, and sales processes — with visibility into key business metrics, improved efficiency, and a platform ready for future innovation including a Lens Application for smoother stock handling and orders.

Scalability

Flexibility to scale resources up or down based on business needs. With rapid growth anticipated, EA can now adapt to unforeseen changes in the business landscape with ease.

Cloud ERP

Accessibility

Cloud-based access from anywhere — enabling remote work, faster decisions, and improved customer service on the go for all EA employees.

Enhanced Security

Advanced encryption, multifactor authentication, and regular security audits through Microsoft's enterprise-grade investment in data protection and compliance.

Automatic Updates

Decision Inc. manages all software updates and maintenance on behalf of EA — always on the latest features, security patches, and performance enhancements from Microsoft.

Disaster Recovery

Data securely stored across geographically dispersed Microsoft data centres — built-in business continuity ensuring minimal downtime risk regardless of disruptions.

Always On

Standardised Products

Unified naming conventions across all warehouses — greater visibility, improved procurement efficiency, and cost savings through bulk ordering and distribution.

Envision Africa's Climb to
New Heights with Dynamics 365

The Requirement

The Solution

The Impact

About Envision Africa

The Ascent: Envision's Challenges