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Business transformation programme for an international development organisation

The project involved implementing a suite of Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications to consolidate an international development organisation's global network of offices onto a single unified platform.

Technical Architect•July 2022 - June 2024
Infographic showing key strategic drivers and project roadmap
High-level infographic showing key strategic drivers and project roadmap

Technologies Used

Dynamics 365 F&ODynamics 365 Finance & OperationsD365D365 Project OperationsD365 Human ResourcesD365 Customer EngagementCEBIBusiness IntelligenceDMFData Management FrameworkX++LogicAppsPower AutomatePower BIMicrosoft Power PlatformProject Management & AccountingAzureDataverse

Key Outcomes

  • •Standardisation of global best practices by ensuring consistency across all global functions and teams
  • •Creation of a single unified platform that allows staff to work in the same way regardless of their physical location, moving the business away from fragmented systems
  • •Enhanced financial and operational control through real-time reporting and strengthened financial controls, such as automated intercompany billing and accruals
  • •Significant reduction in reliance on manual Excel-based processes, eliminating the need for manual rekeying between applications through integrated workflows

Overview

The project involved the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications to consolidate an international development organisation's global network of offices onto a single unified platform. The primary driver for this project was the organisation's organic expansion over four decades, which had outpaced its existing systems and processes.

Technical Approach

The technical foundation of the solution was built on two primary platforms with a shared data layer:

  • Microsoft Azure: Hosts D365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (F&O), which handles the company's financial and operational core. The scope also included migrating and merging D365 Human Resources functionality directly into the F&O environment.

  • Power Platform: Incorporates D365 Customer Engagement (CE), Power Automate, and Dataverse to manage business-facing processes.

Key Components

  • Functional Enablers: Core focus areas were HR (organisational management), PMA (resource management, billing, and analytics), and Finance (financial controls, automation, and real-time reporting).
Category Key Modules & Functionality
Financials General Ledger, Budgeting, Fixed Assets, and tax localisations for multiple regions.
Operations Procurement & Sourcing, Purchase Ledger, and Sales Ledger.
Project Management Project Management and Accounting (PMA) and Expense Management, supporting timesheets and project-specific billing.
Bidding (CE) Management of the bidding lifecycle via Accounts, Leads, and Opportunities.
AP Automation Implementation of ExFlow (an ISV solution) to automate the entire supplier invoice process from OCR interpretation to final posting.
  • ISV and Third-Party Solutions: The scope included specific third-party tools to fill functionality gaps, such as ExFlow for Accounts Payable automation, Readsoft for OCR interpretation, and LaserNet FormPipe for managing diverse invoice templates.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Global compliance complexity. Operating across multiple countries required meeting diverse tax, banking, and customer-specific invoicing requirements. Solution: Implementation of a single global platform using Microsoft Dynamics 365 to ensure all staff work identically regardless of location, while maintaining compliance with local regulatory requirements.

Challenge: Legacy data quality and inactive users. Significant formatting issues, missing references, and a high volume of inactive user references (staff who had left the business) were present in legacy data. Solution: Iterative ETL cycles and a SQL staging database were used to catch issues early, with specific transformation rules applied to cleanse inactive user references.

Results

  • Successful Global HR Deployment: The D365 Human Resources application successfully went live across the entire Group.

  • Financial Data Reconciliation: General Ledger year-end balances and monthly movements were fully loaded, posted, and reconciled for all legal entities.

  • 100% Master Data Load: Data migration successfully achieved a 100% load rate for all master and reference data in scope, including countries, currencies, legal entities, practices, hubs, and project client groups.

  • Operational Automation: The project delivered automated intercompany billing and accruals for international offices, significantly reducing the manual effort previously required for Excel cashbook conversions.

  • Technical Infrastructure and Controls: A robust five-tier environment strategy (Production, Support, Pre-Prod, Test, and Development) was established to manage Microsoft's "One Version" service updates. Additionally, custom technical controls were implemented, including secure BACS payment file handling and automated Cost Price Adjustments via the Power Platform.

  • Standardised Global Working: The business successfully transitioned to a single global platform, ensuring consistent best practices across all functions and locations.

Tags

enterpriseintegrationazuredynamics-365