GrainsConnect Canada
Seamless transition to new ERP solution spells success for grain supply chain company
Agriculture
As major distributors with unparalleled access to global markets, GrainsConnect Canada delivers western Canadian grain growers more choice, more competition, and more value for their grain.
GrainsConnect Canada prides itself on being easy to deal with and extremely efficient and offers a Canada-Asia Pacific network that benefits growers and their customers. To deliver on its promises, the company needed an accounting system that integrated with its operations and delivered real-time data for stronger decision making — and they needed it right away.
The challenge
GrainsConnect Canada’s existing accounting system, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, required the finance team to handle USD transactions manually and presented other challenges. It was also outdated and would soon no longer be supported. The company urgently needed to find a new solution. Unhappy with their service provider, they began to explore their options.
The finance team was already familiar with Microsoft products and wanted to capitalize on their existing expertise. They identified Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as a potential solution and began searching for a provider that could help them create a business case for the executive team.
Through an online search, the finance team found MNP Digital. Having previously dealt with a provider based in California, they liked that the firm had a local presence. Additionally, they appreciated MNP Digital’s strong platform knowledge, quick response time, and willingness to help them build a business case.
One thing that was very clear in our first meeting was that this was something that the whole team specialized in. They really went into depth about how they stay up to date with all the Microsoft products and really knew the whole Microsoft world.
– Daniel Shapka, Business Analyst, GrainsConnect Canada
The approach
The MNP Digital team consulted with GrainsConnect Canada’s finance team and confirmed that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central would help them achieve their goals. The platform would meet all of the company’s needs out of the box, but it could also be easily customized in the future if necessary.
Working collaboratively, the finance team and the MNP Digital team created the business case to present to the executive team to ensure there was buy-in and that everyone understood the benefits of the solution. The leadership team was confident that the cloud-based ERP could interface with their business-critical application, Agrosoft, as well as Solver, GrainsConnect’s financial planning and analysis service.
Throughout the implementation, the MNP Digital team met each week with the finance team to update them on progress and next steps. These meetings included members of the delivery and implementation team, giving the finance team the opportunity to ask questions, see what was happening with the ERP solution, and update MNP Digital on emerging needs.
MNP Digital also ensured that the finance team understood the integration process between the finance (Business Central) and operations (Agrosoft) systems. They delivered training as needed to ensure that the GrainsConnect finance team felt comfortable using the new solution and were able to meet their internal deadlines.
The result
GrainsConnect Canada has transitioned to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. As the software went live, MNP Digital is supporting the transition with user training and ensuring dashboards and data are being used effectively to support GrainsConnect’s business.
The transition has been considered a success. It went smoothly because of the GrainsConnect team’s commitment to the change and MNP’s Microsoft knowledge and guidance As a result, the finance team now has the information they need, when they need it — with USD transactions fully integrated.
MNP was very attentive to our needs and timelines to help make the upgrade a success.
– Leanne Bingleman, Controller, GrainsConnect Canada
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