CASE STUDY | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES | DYNAMICS 365 ERP
Powering Better Vision: Envision Africa’s Climb to New Heights with Decision Inc. and Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
Market-leading surgical ophthalmic distributor, Envision Africa, embraces the future with next-gen ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics 365. This solution not only enables streamlined financial, supply chain and production reporting but sets the right foundation for future innovations.
Solution overview
Industry
Medical Distributor
Solution
Decision Inc. implemented Microsoft’s Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system: Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, replacing all Envision Africa’s legacy systems with a single, cloud-based solution.
Location
South Africa
Client
Envision Africa (EA) is a surgical ophthalmic distributor based in Johannesburg, South Africa with an ethos that rings true to our South African belief of Ubuntu.
Requirement
EA faced significant challenges in managing its financial and operational processes, relying heavily on manual methods and disparate legacy systems for financial management, production processes, and data capture.
Top Benefit
EA now has a single, unified system that allows them to track all their financial, supply chain, sales, and operational processes in a single place.
The Client
Envision Africa (EA) is a surgical ophthalmic distributor based in Johannesburg, South Africa with an ethos that rings true to our South African belief of Ubuntu.
They are dedicated to caring and embody the phrase – TOGETHER WE RESTORE SIGHT. TOGETHER WE ENABLE VISION.
Not only are they the exclusive distributor of Oertli surgical platforms in sub-Saharan Africa, but their mission is to enable the best surgical outcomes in cataract, retina, and glaucoma surgery by providing the best-in-class products and services to all relevant stakeholders.
However, like any ambitious business or climber aiming for higher peaks, EA faced barriers that their legacy systems couldn’t overcome.
THE ASCENT: ENVISION’S CHALLENGES
Every ambitious company dreams of reaching new heights, but the path to the summit is rarely smooth. For EA there were significant challenges in managing its financial and operational processes, relying heavily on manual methods and disparate legacy systems for financial management, production processes, and data capture.
This outdated approach resulted in a multitude of business issues, impeding the company’s scalability and hindering its growth potential. Notably, operational processes and reports were predominantly handled manually using applications such as Excel, leading to operational inefficiencies and stock control issues. Owing to their commitment to client centricity, EA recognised the need and decided to embark on an ERP implementation journey to address their operational roadblocks.
Recognising the potential benefits of unified finance, supply chain, and sales processes housed within a single, cloud-based ERP system, EA aimed to streamline its operations and enhance client centricity.
The decision to implement an ERP wasn’t just about solving today’s inefficiencies—it was about future-proofing their business for long-term success. However, they knew the journey wouldn’t be easy. ERP implementations can feel like scaling a mountain—demanding preparation, resilience, and the right partners to guide the way.
The company identified Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations as the technology platform that would meet their requirements.
EA approached Decision Inc. to perform this implementation, specifying that it incorporates the following:
Product and Price Management.
Procurement (including Purchase Orders, Purchas Requisitions etc.).
Sales Management
Financial Management (General Ledger, Budgets, Foreign Currency, Reporting etc.).
Quotation and Order Management
Inventory Management
Manufacturing (Bill of Materials, Product Costing, Job Scheduling etc.)
Asset Management (Locations, asset lists, work orders etc.)
THE CLIMB: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
As with any expedition, the climb came with its share of obstacles. EA’s journey to ERP success was no exception. As the team set their sights on the summit, they encountered hurdles that tested their determination and resilience:
– Business Operation Interruptions: Although not ideal, it is common for companies to experience a disruption in production due to data take-on. The project was well managed, and the team is professional, easy to work with, and has a comprehensive and diverse skill set. However, the project was not without any issues; data take-on was one of the biggest issues, with our production being impacted by this following the project go-live, states William Wright, Chief Operating Officer of Envision Africa.
The reality is that an ERP implementation is, and always has been, a big step and risk for any company. Failure rates of these projects are very high. There is still a lot of work to be done, but all else being equal, I am quite satisfied with the project.
-William Wright, Chief Operating Officer.
– Steep Learning Curves: Adopting new systems required employees to step out of their comfort zones and embrace unfamiliar processes. Patience and targeted training were key to building confidence and ensuring user adoption.
– Unforgiving Deadlines: With tight go-live dates looming, the pressure was on to align timelines across multiple departments. Meticulous planning and proactive communication became the foundation for keeping the project on schedule.
Working with the Envision Team was a pleasure. As with every project implementation, there are valuable lessons we have taken away. We always emphasise the importance of data accuracy during the onboarding process, recognising that this is a common challenge and requires significant attention.
An ERP solution like D365 Finance & Operations is designed to incorporate controls and segregation of duties, which divides processes into distinct steps. This can be challenging for companies with staff who work across various functions, making it seem more labor-intensive. Despite this, we view the project as a success, providing insights that will better enable us for future projects.
– Karen Sewbhujan, Principal ERP Consultant at Decision Inc. South Africa
The Gear for success: The Solution
A successful climb requires the right equipment, tailored to the unique conditions of the expedition. For EA, this meant choosing the right partner that understands their needs.
As the chosen solution implementation partner, Decision Inc. used its proven project methodology to deliver the solution within the agreed-upon budget, time, and scope.
Our team worked closely with key personnel from all areas of the business, including finance, supply chain, production and sales. The EA project sponsors were William Wright, the Chief Operating Officer, and Thorn du Preez, the IT manager. Collaboratively, Decision Inc. and EA ensured that all the right teams and individuals were equally informed throughout the implementation process. It was crucial that all key stakeholders of each operational area gave their input into the project and its deliverables and understood the relevance of each project deliverable, and its impact on the overall project completion.
I am incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and hard work throughout this project. Yes, there were bumps along the road to completion, but this is part of any project of this complexity. Successfully implementing this initiative on time and within budget is a testament to our collective commitment to excellence and innovation. This accomplishment not only meets our organisational goals but also sets a new standard for future projects.
Henk Fourie, Programme Director at Decision Inc.
PROJECT INITIATION PHASE
The initiation phase set up all the project structures and governance; its aim was to create a formal structure for the management of the project.
ANALYSIS AND BLUEPRINT PHASE
The Analysis & Blueprint Phase was undertaken to define, as a joint effort between EA and Decision Inc., the detailed business requirements, and to map these to the D365FO feature set. The two main deliverables of this phase was the requirements traceability matrix (RTM) which served as the project’s scope baseline, and the development inventory, which summarised all the custom developments that were required for the project.
DESIGN AND BUILD
The design and build phase was undertaken to perform the detailed design of the solution, configure all the functionality and business processes in D365FO, and perform the custom development that was agreed upon during the Analysis and Blueprint phase. Also, this phase included the migration of Envision Africa’s master and transactional data to the new system, as well as the functional testing of the system. Regular progress playbacks were held with the EA team to ensure alignment.
TEST AND TRAIN
During this phase, the Envision Africa super-users were trained on the new system. Afterwards, the EA users were required to perform testing on their own, in the form of User Acceptance Testing (UAT). Decision Inc. provided support for this.
DEPLOYMENT
The prepare the EA team for the system go-live. a “mock” go-live was performed to familiarise the EA with the go-live process. This, and the previous phases, culminated in a final cutover to the new system.
HYPERCARE
During hypercare, Decision Inc. consultants provided dedicated onsite support to the EA users. Issues were experienced with the stock data, which negatively impacted Envision’s production capabilities, but the onsite presence of the Decision Inc. team minimised the impact of this. Collaboratively, the teams managed to fix these issues during hypercare.
REACHING THE SUMMIT: The Benefits
The summit wasn’t just about implementing the ERP system—it was about transforming how Envision Africa operated. They now have a centralised ERP system that streamlines their financial, supply chain, production and sales processes. They have visibility into key business metrics and can improve efficiency and drive business growth.
Some of the key benefits of this implementation are:
SCALABILITY:
Because of the scalability of Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, EA now has the flexibility to scale resources up or down based on their business needs. EA expects rapid growth over the coming years, so they now can easily adapt to their business growth and unforeseen changes in the business landscape.
ACCESSIBILITY:
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operation’s cloud-based solutions can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, enabling remote work and facilitating collaboration among EA teams. This enhances productivity and allows EA employees to access critical business data and applications on the go, leading to faster decision-making and improved customer service.
AUTOMATIC UPDATES AND MAINTENANCE:
Decision Inc. manages all software updates and maintenance tasks on behalf on EA. This reduces the burden on the EA IT team and ensures that EA always has access to the latest features, security patches, and performance enhancements on offer from Microsoft.
ENHANCED SECURITY:
Microsoft invests heavily in security measures to protect customer data from unauthorised access, data breaches, and other cyber threats. EA now has access to theses and related solutions like advanced encryption protocols, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
IMPROVED DISASTER RECOVERY AND DATA BACKUP:
Envision Africa’s data was scattered across various strand-alone systems and applications. Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations offers built-in disaster recovery and data backup capabilities, ensuring business continuity in the event of hardware failures, natural disasters, or other disruptions. Data is securely stored in geographically dispersed data centers, reducing the risk of data loss and minimising downtime.
STANDARDISED PRODUCT NAMES AND NAMING CONVENTIONS:
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations requires products to use the same numbering and naming conventions company-wide. This offers EA better visibility regarding their products, across all their warehouses, and enhances collaboration between EA teams. Moreover, shared processes, and the localisation of master and transactional data provide greater efficiency in supplier management and procurement, with cost savings through bulk ordering and distribution between locations.
Overall, Envision Africa’s Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations solution provides EA with greater agility, cost savings, and scalability compared to their old, on-premises systems, making them a more productive enterprise. The comprehensive feature set, scalability, and integration capabilities make it a powerful way for EA to optimise its business operations. Specifically, a new level of consistency in the way processes are applied in delivering ophthalmic supplies across sub-Saharan countries.
Reflecting on the experience, yes, the journey definitely had its challenges. But reaching the summit has been worth it.
Our ERP system isn’t just software—it’s the foundation for the next stage of our growth. Growth that we are already building upon with a Lens Application that can assist us with smoother stock handling and orders. We truly look forward to more innovations that can ease our processes so we can continue putting our customers first.
– William Wright, Chief Operating Officer at Envision Africa
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About Decision Inc.
Decision Inc. is a global leader in information-driven transformation with a core focus on data, digital and performance intelligence.
Our expertise in technology and industry specialisations have enabled us to help companies around the world make better decisions faster. Our emphasis on local excellence and global scale enables us to bring clients best of breed technology solutions that enable significant improvement whilst leveraging our Global Research and Innovation teams to accelerate the time to insight.
Our local consulting teams are experts in the implementation, support, and execution of these solutions and work with our clients to deliver real results and improvement.