THE SITUATION

A deadline set in concrete seems a highly fitting analogy for the challenge set by Skills4Work, New Zealand's leading provider of training and workforce solutions for businesses and apprentices in sectors ranging from engineering to manufacturing.

Skills4work Incorporated came into being following a strategy to reorganise Competenz, Apprentice Training New Zealand and Careers Training New Zealand. The consolidation of three businesses into one posed a complete strategic rethink of the data management systems in place.

THE PAIN

A critical turnaround time of under four weeks to provide an entire Microsoft Dynamics NAV upgrade alongside rolling three organisations into one. Add public holidays as obstacles and 550 apprentices throughout New Zealand relying on receiving their pay packet, and you've got a very significant 'go live' date on 1 January 2007.

Microsoft Dynamics Upgrade Critical to Move Onto SQL Server

Terry Wood had previously completed a very successful system change onto Microsoft Dynamics NAV 3.6 from a DOS-based system, which held high risk and liability. "Moving forward it became apparent that an upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4 SP3 and the extra functionality it could deliver, as well as the Microsoft SQL technology platform, would be extremely advantageous for the future. On the advice of Intergen we made the critical decision to do the upgrade at the time we merged our three organisations. This turned out to be very sound advice, even though it would put our team under a lot of pressure."

Nailing the Deadline

Terry Wood says the turnaround time was phenomenal. "Normally a project like this would take four to six months to achieve, and Intergen turned it around in less than four weeks. They would be checking databases at midnight, and resourced the project right through the Christmas break. This dedication is, I believe, the norm for Intergen."

Intergen's Business Solutions General Manager Richard Jacobs says, "Skills4Work wanted a great result and committed resource and time to it. Many supplier companies might say 'we can do something but not right away.' In this instance we said, this is business-critical for our customer; we must do it now.  Intergen quickly engaged resources from right across the business, not just the Microsoft Dynamics NAV team."

On Time, On Budget, Measurable Result

Richard Jacobs describes the final result: "On time, on budget, measurable result." After considerable testing a 'go live' date of 1 January 2007 was met. "All our projects have a qualified PM to provide governance and risk mitigation. This is not an inexpensive resource but the outcome for the client is worth every cent."

Terry Wood comments on the ERP landscape. "You'll see most ERP projects don't actually make their development on time. Intergen did a very thorough job of evaluating and defining what was needed and doing it."

New Efficiencies

Meeting the complexity of the Apprentice Payroll on time was well within Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4's capabilities. Skills4Work pays the wages of over 550 apprentices in 300 companies throughout New Zealand. Time sheets arrive via fax and the permutations of different pay rates and scales poses an enormous task. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4's ability to reverse out journals is a significant enhancement, expected to save considerable time. Shorter, more concise routes have replaced multiple key processes. Wood believes major reporting processes will be easier, and moving to SQL 2005 will allow him to expand the dimensions and details for reporting in the future. The upgrade will also provide efficiencies throughout the business, including the management of fixed assets, resource management, general ledger and sales and purchasing processes.

THE GAIN

A short notice and date-critical upgrade to an existing Microsoft NAV platform, providing a robust business reporting and information platform with the functionality to support the reorganisation of Skills4Work.