Renewa Ltd took control of various projects with a single system

“We now have up-to-date information in a single system, we get to follow the projects and the economy integrated package in real time and we are able to react to things at a much faster rate.” Rami, Chief Financial Officer, Renewa Ltd

Renewa Ltd, which provides energy production solutions for heat and power plants, deployed Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource Planning system at the beginning of the year.

At the turn of the year, two subsidiaries were merged with the parent company owned by venture capitalists and key personnel. All three companies had previously done their accounting and financial management separately. A need for a system that would gather all the information together arose.

“Our projects are worth several millions of euros, and we strive for future projects that reach tens of millions. We now have up-to-date information in a single system, we get to follow the projects and the economy integrated package in real time and we are able to react to things at a much faster rate.” says Rami Saario, Chief Financial Officer of Renewa Ltd.

Projects under control

Renewa Ltd’s business is completely project based. In a typical project, the customer orders, for example, a thermal plant. The offer discussion, planning and tendering stages will take about a year and the whole project implementation, depending on the scope of the project, between one and two years.

“Because we are in a very project natured business, we monitor our working capital very strictly. It is good to monitor each project with NAV, to see what’s going on”, Saario says.

Renewa Ltd uses an Enterprise Resource Planning system for financial management, project tracking, customer relationship management, as well as to record working hours and working time. Project tracking is included in NAV as a whole, as is the purchasing and inventory management related to the projects.
The system has about thirty power users. In addition, about twenty employees record their hours worked into the system via the web interface.

In the big projects of the company, more than half is sub-contracted, such as electrification, automation and construction works. Project managers and foremen do procurements with the help of the system. The system shows the purchase orders by project, how much money is already tied up in procurements and how many can still be expected.

“Without Enterprise Resource Planning system, it would be virtually impossible to keep track of what has happened in the project and what it still going happen in it. Now we can pretty accurately predict monthly if we will be able to maintain schedule, costs and other agreed objectives,” Saario says.

The system can be customized to fit

When Renewa Ltd was choosing Enterprise Resource Planning system, one of the criteria was that the companies are easy to transfer into the system as they are acquired, merged with, or divided.
Renewa Ltd is pleased with the new system. Saario believes it is important that the system can be customized to support the company’s business.

“We get synergy advantage from not having different software at different locations. Products by other suppliers can also be integrated into NAV; for example, in our case, the travel expense program Logium M2, Aditro Tiko document management system”, he says.

Renewa Ltd is an unusual company in the sense that it accounts POC of plant projects monthly. NAV calculations related to this were developed together with the system supplier Mavisystems.

“The POC should be done systematically and documented well also due to authorities. Monitoring economy is also important for the financiers and other stakeholders. It does give a better impression of the company.”

Internationalization as a goal

Renewa Ltd aims for growth and internationalization. We are still in the early stages, but the company has already sold their first projects abroad. The company does not yet have its own offices or subsidiaries abroad. The general economic situation in the world has slowed down the internationalization.

“NAV definately provides better opportunities and starting point for future plans. Now future projects of international clients are already input as a system, in which case market information can be tracked and analysed,” Saario says.

Renewa Ltd.’s next, bigger development step to be taken into NAV is planning of resources and workshop loads.

“When operations are expanded and new workshops may enter the Group, a tool for managing the workshop manufacturing of the Group is definitely needed”, Saario says.

Renewa – Local solutions, local fuels, local energy

Renewa Ltd offers sustainable local energy production solutions for heat and power plants that use bio based fuels. In our solution we combine innovative technology, strong project experience, as well as maintenance and life-cycle services. The pioneers of energy production have confidence in our products, which allow for the high usability and energy efficacy of the plants throughout their lifetime.

Microsoft products and technologies used in the solution:
• Microsoft Dynamics NAV

“Real-time data increases our performance”

Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas chose Mavisystems Ltd as the supplier of their Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system after extensive surveying. The most important reason for choosing Mavisystems was their expertise in the food industry and their effectiveness, which was necessary for completing the project in a relatively short time.

In the past, Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas had only used financial management software. With the help of the NAV Enterprise Resource Planning system, other functions could also be connected to the new system.

– ‘Wirvoitusjuomatehdas needed a comprehensive system solution that would cover all operations from product development up to the end customer feedback. Originally, we were considering a new software in the field of financial management, but with Mavisystems we ended up going with a more comprehensive system that serves us better,’ says Petri Aaltonen, the production manager of Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas.
The most important thing about the new system is a real-time data management. Every employee, both at the drinking factory in Laitila and in the sales office in Helsinki, gets the information at the same time.

– ‘With the help of the new system, reacting to different situations became faster and duplicate entries were minimized. We could optimize our inventory for both the incoming and outgoing goods. We will also introduce EDI-messages, which allow for easy transferring of information between us and our client companies’ systems. Therefore, we no longer have to send papers back and forth; instead, the data is transferred via electronic systems,’ Aaltonen says.

A system that addresses future needs

Wirvoitusjuomatehdas is introducing enterprise Resource Planning system as a part of Mepco Palkat payroll and human resource management system and Basware procure-to-pay system.
– ‘The key improvement is to the company’s operations and financial management as a whole. The information needed by staff and management can be accessed quickly and easily, which improves the whole operation process. At the same time, the system can scale to the needs of the future,’ Mavisystems CEO Timo Juhala says.

Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas was looking for a partner for a long time, because they wanted to be sure of the partner’s know-how in the field of food industry.

– ‘Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas is a significant, new client to Mavisystems and at the same time, a vote of confidence in our expertise with the food industry. In the future, we will continue to invest into the industry and we consider Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas to be an important partner to us for when we bring new, special characteristics of the food industry into Dynamics NAV,’ Juhala emphasizes.

Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas Ltd

Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas Ltd is a brewery in Laitila that makes beer, cider, long drinks and soft drinks. The company’s brands include Oiva ciders, Kukko beers, Kievari beers, Rainbow ciders, Brandy Long Drink, Wanhanajan Limonaadi soft drinks, Laitilan Pore Vesi sparkling water and Herra Hakkaraisen Limonaadi soft drinks.

www.laitilan.com

“It is hard to imagine our company without an Enterprise Resource Planning system.”

Haloila Ltd is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pallet wrapping equipment. Haloila’s factories are located in Masku and Kardzhali, Bulgaria. Haloila was founded more than 40 years ago and has manufactured more than 5000 Octopus-wrapping machines during its history. The machines are delivered to nearly 100 countries. Haloila is part of the international Signode Industrial Group, which is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial packaging products.

The partnership with Mavisystems began in 2006 when Haloila was looking for a new system provider for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV system. Mavisystems was chosen as a partner together with Enter SystemsSolution, who provided Haloila with the server solution. Mavisystems updated Haloila’s ERP system to a new version at the end of 2014.

Markku Ylinen, the Executive Vice President of Haloila Ltd, listed the company’s three most important features of the NAV enterprise resource planning system:

1. Introducing the new version

We started using the previous version of NAV in 2006, so it was already time to upgrade to the new version. NAV system’s development has been significant over the last few years. With the updated version, we have received new interfaces to different software. It also allows for development in the future. Functions such as e-invoicing, e-store and purchase invoices will work better with the Enterprise Resource Planning system. In the future, remote logging with, for example, a tablet will also become relevant.

2. An important part of our business

I do not believe that we could manage without enterprise Resource Planning system by now. It has everything: information on our manufactured machines, inventory, accounting and administration. It is difficult to imagine the time before the ERP-system was introduced. The Group is also interested in possible use of the NAV system currently used by us. NAV is not only the right size solution for us, but also allows us to manage reporting to the Group with it.

3. Used in all of our operations

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is used for all operations. NAV has proven to be a system that adapts to the needs and requirements of our business. It is used in management, production, maintenance, sales and inventory. The staff use the system on a daily basis. Our service staff around Europe also record maintenance information into the system themselves.

All the information in one system “NAV-system supports the development of our company in the future”

– The aim of the project was to replace the previous system which had come to the end of its life cycle. We chose
Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, because in addition to financial management, it also offered a tool for the development of production control process. Among other things, we wanted to improve reporting and access to information. ‘We opted for a system that will serve the development of our company in the coming years,’ FSP Manager Marja-Liisa Pyysalo stressed.

FSP NAV system includes sections of economy, such as accounting, accounts payable, reporting, and management of electronic invoices and purchase invoices. In addition, it is used to control projects and paint shop operations as well as procurements and storage.

– Now all the information can be found in a single system. A versatile search function is another strong aspect of the NAV system. In addition, access rights can be set for each user separately. Previously only employees in accounting used the Enterprise Resource Planning system, but the new system has about 50 users.

Project management is an important part of the new Enterprise Resource Planning system.

– A project can be scheduled, budgeted, and billed all in the same system. We have also created an interface between the NAV and working time monitoring program. It allows for working time data to be directly transferred to a specific project, Pyysalo says.

A precise project description is used

Mavisystems was chosen as the supplier of the Microsoft NAV system based on earlier references.
– Their references were impressive and they had previous experience in suppling Enterprise Resource Planning systems for manufacturing. We felt that Mavisystems is the right size partner for supplying an Enterprise Resource Planning system to us.

FSP divided the deployment of the system into two parts. The first phase of the deployment began at the turn of the year 2014 and the second phase was implemented half a year later.

– The professional consultants of Mavisystems have been an extremely important part of the deployment and success of the first phase. Cooperation has gone well. They used a precise project, work and delivery method description, which has made the project transparent and easy to understand, commends Marja-Liisa Pyysalo.

FSP – one of Europe’s leading companies in the field of surface treatment

FSP Finnish Steel Painting Ltd, founded in 1964, is one of European leaders in the field of surface treatment. FSP does surface treatments on various objects, including machines, ships, bridges, steel structures, and platforms. The company employs about 200 people, and the company had a turnover of approximately 25 million euros in 2013. The company has nearly 30 locations in Finland, Sweden, Poland and Estonia.
www.fspcorp.com

The products and technologies used in the solution:
• Microsoft Dynamics NAV
• Basware eOffice

An international business will benefit from NAV

The company is supposed to introduce the system to its subsidiaries at different parts of the world and to integrate it into the company’s CRM system.

Marinetek is an international company, which has operations in 45 countries and manufacturing in 12 countries. Marinetek has delivered more than 2000 ports to 35 countries. The company provides its customers with the expertise and turnkey services, such as, for example, the design, manufacturing and installation of ports, as well as the modernisation of old port. Marinetek has commercialised New Port marina concept, which offers a complete marina solution with all its services.

Marinetek and Mavisystems started cooperation at the end of the year 2011 and transition into the new update was made in the spring of 2012.

“The properties of NAV that are in use are offers, sales, delivery billing, production, procurement, financial management, purchase invoice processing, reporting, so a system that covers the whole company”, Marinetek controller Anne Sutela says.

“In addition, the new version of To-Increas project extension created a lot of new opportunities. For reporting, BI4Dynamics was acquired. In addition to these, we use the purchase invoice approval system ExFlow, which is integrated into the Navi,” Sutela continues.

BI4Dynamics is a business information management solution for Microsoft Dynamics software, which has been designed to bring efficiency into reporting and for analysing of business information. BI4Dynamics retrieves data directly from the company’s enterprise resource planning system’s different parts, taking advantage of information the that is always up-to-date.

In Finland, NAV is used by all Marinetek companies. The group currently has 17 companies using financial management. In the case of Sweden NAV2009 project has already begun and the new software will be to introduce by the end of 2012. The intention is that the introduction of the software will also be extended to other countries where the Marinetek have their own companies.

Titles under management

Marinetek has a rather wide product range. The company specialized in demanding ports and floating construction, from design to implementation. Products include small marinas, floating homes and villages, tide breakers and other floating special solutions. “The special aspect of our business is the size and duration of projects. A lot of goods are moved and the number of items is high. For example, in a Marina there can be 400-500 or even up to a thousand items. in NAV, close monitoring is required even for the smallest of items, what has reached their destination and when”, Sutela describes.

Another advantage of NAV is that it is international. “Our company operates widely all around the world. For the sake of smooth operation, it is useful, that every country uses the same system. The challenge is to find a good partner familiar with Microsoft Dynamics NAV in each country. In the future, we will try to keep connections in Finland, but have each country’s database separate from each other. This is sensible from operational point of view”, Sutela says.

A good partner offers options

“Mavisystems has proven to be a good partner for a company such as ours. The experts of Mavisystems know their applications areas thoroughly. I especially appreciate their ability to make suggestions and offer a variety of options. I feel that it is important that the supplier of the enterprise Resource Planning system offers their opinion while taking into account the customer’s business requirements. When your partner is a professional, you feel more confident with your decisions”, Sutela commends.

The deployment of NAV has gone well in Marinetek. “The biggest change was the user interface differences compared to the previous system. The terms were, however, already familiar to us, so learning the system has gone smoothly. We are at an interesting stage when NAV will be gradually introduced to our companies in other countries. Subsidiaries switching to the same system will facilitate the Group’s reporting”, Sutela thinks.

“Mavisystems delivered all that it promised”

At Deltamarin, the enterprise Resource Planning system is linked to all stages of work, and without it, operating would be difficult for the company, the financial manager Ulla Hagström says.

-Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a functional, versatile and has a good price-quality ratio for a group such as ours. It is also expandable, should our operations change of expand.

When Deltamarin moved to new Dynamics NAV 2015 system, the separate project management tool could be removed and purchase invoice processing could be introduced.
– The fact that the system has as few separate personalisation’s and additional components as possible allows for a smoother version change also in the future. It is important so that the enterprise Resource Planning system is kept up-to-date and security issues are in order, Hagström underlines.

A good fit for an international group

As a general rule, at Deltamarin NAV us used by approximately 10 people, but limited functions of it are used by as many as 230 people in different parts of the world. The NAV system also allows for global operation. For example, a NAV update is taking place also in the Polish company.

– We could not function without the NAV system, because it guides everything we do. We have not even had the time to take advantage of all of its features yet. It is our aim that we will be able to track all of the Group’s figures with NAV, Hagström says.

Understanding of the business is the most important thing

Hagström thinks that the system upgrade went smoothly, on schedule and on budget.
– It is a good thing that we have a knowledgeable partner nearby. It allows for further development. We have been very pleased with Mavisystems. Already in the first meeting I felt that they listened and understood our business.
– They made promises only when they had properly assessed our needs. That was important to us.

Deltamarin Ltd is a marine technology company that offers designing, consulting and building services. Their head office is located in Turku, Finland. The company and its joint ventures has about 400 employees all around Europe and Asia. www.deltamarin.com

The NAV is a suitable system for a group which includes a number of companies that have common inventories and maintenance functions. The companies will move to the new Dynamics NAV 2015 version at the turn of the year. The CEO of Hyxo and Päähöyry companies Timo Viitala listed the three most important features of the NAV Enterprise Resource Planning system for a company.

Less customisation in the new version

Our old version was from 2008, so it was time to renew the system. In the new version of the level of security is better and it has a number of improvements compared to the old one, such as project management tools. Service functions are also a working part of the system. Many tools that we use are now inbuilt in NAV 2015 version, while previously we had to get them as add-ons. This way, the number of customisations could also be reduced. That in turn will create cost savings, as well as to facilitate the use and maintenance.

Suitable for the Group’s different companies

Our Group consists of five different companies and Dynamics NAV 2015 system is used by approximately 50 people. The system covers all our operations: economics, orders, purchases, sales, logistics, inventory and maintenance. Our work would not be possible without an Enterprise Resource Planning system. The system also makes my work easier; I can get the financial reports I need directly from the system.

An expert partner

The Microsoft Dynamics NAV system is the perfect fit for a group our size. It allows us to monitor all of our operations. We are also pleased with our partner Mavisystems. Their expertise is constantly evolving and the change of version went smoothly. They are also familiar with the legislator requirements for the system.

Getting more out of operations control with the help of Business Intelligence solution

Huntteri database now supports sales and inventory management by supplying information with a click of a mouse and changing situations can be reacted to immediately.
“The greatest benefit is definitely the huge amount of time we save when we have access to reports on our computers at any time. This way, the latest entries can be analysed immediately.” Juho Huttunen, product manager, Huntteri Ltd.

The growing importer of sports equipment, Turku-based Ltd Huntteri Ab, needed a more versatile reporting to support its operations. The company has used the BI4Dynamics solution built for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource Planning system since the summer of 2010.

“Our goal was to get reports to support sales and procurements quickly and flexibly from the existing database. The special requirements of our business are related to the management of preseason sales. For example, traders order bicycles from us in advance, and the delivery is made significantly later”, says the product manager Juho Huttunen from Huntteri Ltd.

Things that contributed to the BI4Dynamics solution being chosen were affordable price and good compatibility with the rest of the Microsoft family.
“This was the most competitive option. Flexibility was important, the solution takes the needs of sales and inventory management into account. It has been built ready for NAV and we got it implemented quickly with minor modifications. The software works with Excel, so you do not have to install additional software or worry about separately updates”, Huttunen says.

More time for sales

Before the introduction of BI solutions, reports at Huntteri were periodically made in Excel manually using separate outputs. Now templates are created for the most important reports, after which they can be updated with the click of the mouse. The most important reports track sales per customer, salesperson, product group and product.

“Definitely the biggest measurable benefit is the immense amount of saved time when we can get the reports from our computer at any time. When you once sit down and think what reports you need and save them as a reporting template, the newest events can be analysed immediately. The use of the solution is relatively simple and the need for training low”, Huttunen says.

The saved time at Huntteri is used, for example, for the development of sales.
“Everyone can now focus on their tasks. Sales are enhanced, when sales performance tracking becomes easier. For example, in preseason sales, reports used to be made less frequently; now we can react to situation immediately”, Huttunen says.

Up-to-date analyses from the Enterprise Resource Planning system

The challenge Huntteri conquered is a familiar one to many companies: how to manage large quantities of data and analyse it efficiently. BI4Dynamics solution was implemented by Mavisystems Ltd, which also supplied the Enterprise Resource Planning system of Huntteri.
“At Huntteri, the data analysis and processing are carried out using the dicing. During the night, an already calculated analysis database is run from the Enterprise Resource Planning system, which allows for fast implementation of the important data regarding trends and changes”, Mavisystems Ltd CEO Timo Juhala says.

Next Huntteri plans to expand the use of BI4 solution to the other operations of the organization. Plans are in place for development of inventory and purchase reporting. Financial management reporting is to follow.

“You have to know how to ask the right questions from the BI system. Everyone’s own business determines the most important reports. For us there is still a lot of potential in this solution. It has already made it possible to use the existing information extremely well”, Juho Huttunen summarizes.

Ltd Huntteri Ab
Located in Turku, Ltd Huntteri Ab is an importing business in the field of sport. It was founded in 1994. In its main category, bicycles and bicycle supplies, Ltd Huntteri Ab is one of the leading companies in Finland. The brands the company represents include Felt, Mongoose and Madison, as well as accessory brands such as Abus, BBB, Basta and Zefal. The strengths of Ltd Huntteri Ab are a high quality and versatile product range, good service and good attitude to trading.

Microsoft products and technologies used in the solution:
SQL Server
Dynamics NAV Microsoft Office / Excel

Gavrielides was transferred to the NAV system

The company chose Mavisystems as their partner, because it had previous experience in implementing projects for the food industry. The commitment of the project staff in the implementation was also important.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV enterprise resource planning system is used for Gavrielides sales, production, logistics, financial and personnel management, as well as for financial reporting.
– With the system change we have also moved on to a new collection system at our warehouses. The warehouse personnel have tablets with bar code readers at their disposal. Information is sent to the system automatically, Gavrielides key account manager Thomas Maksimow says.

Requirements specific to food industry business were taken into account in the implementation.
– The solution covers, among other things, regulatory reporting as well as the Valvira authorization number handling, the handling of variable weight products, the consideration of best before dates of products in delivery control and batch tracing, Bror Öberg from Mavisystems lists.

All functions in one system

Gavrielides did not want a separate inventory management system, but a complete system, which adapts to all of the company’s operations.
– Almost everyone at our company uses the Enterprise Resource Planning system at their work. We constantly deed up-to-date information on orders, inventory and the company’s finances. We would not manage without a working system. NAV has the required features, Maksimow says.

Mavisystems was chosen as the partner of Gavrielides because the company had prior experience of operation management for the food industry.
– The implementation of the system has gone well with Mavisystems. They have expertise with our field, and it has been important to us, that the same people carry out the whole project from start to finish.

In the future, NAV-system will be extended to Gavrielides subsidiaries.
– In August or September time, two of our subsidiaries will implement the NAV system. We are also still making changes at the inventory side so that the collection would run as efficiently as possible. In the fall our salespersons will also be to use the system remotely. Then they will see up-to-date orders and inventory balances, Maksimow says.

Gavrielides Foods is a family company that has become known as a pioneering food importer of South and Central European food items. In addition, the company has active exporting to Sweden and Estonia. Gavrielides has been making Mediterranean food culture known to Finnish people ever since 1986. Customers in Finland include food trade centre shops, restaurants and wholesale, as well as other HoReCa clients and Alko. The subsidiary Ca-sa Välimeren Herkut manufactures marinated Mediterranean products such as marinated artichokes, garlic and olives. www.filos.fi