Camgrain innovates with Microsoft
Dynamics and Columbus

Following their Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementation, Camgrain embraces the benefit of a streamlined supply chain.

Camgrain is changing the grain storage, logistics and processing market - guaranteeing the quality of the product before it even arrives with the customer.

At harvest we work 24/7 bringing the grain from the fields to the stores. The rest of the year we operate along the lines of a combination grain merchant and haulage business.

Challenges

• Legacy systems were no longer capable of meeting rapid growth goals
• Complex operational requirements for grain handling
• Operates in a very time-pressured environment and required an implementation with minimal disruption
• Desire for continual development and 
  innovation

Value Added

• Enabled mobility, introducing SMS message handling to communicate with drivers
• Enhanced testing and grading process, boosting efficiency Improved visibility right back to the harvest, improving product quality
• Streamlined business operations with one single source of information Intuitive user experience, minimising risk associated with the change

Taking the first steps towards business growth

Having established that their legacy systems were no longer capable of meeting the growth plans of the business, Camgrain evaluated the market for suitable alternatives.

The initial ‘long list’ included industry specific offerings and it soon became clear that proprietary grain handling systems followed traditional standard industry processes and did not have the flexibility to meet or keep pace with the innovative processes adopted by Camgrain.

Camgrain deemed Microsoft Dynamics NAV as the right solution for them due to the unique combination of functional fit for finance, operations and flexibility in a standard, widely supported platform.

Partnering for success

Camgrain chose to partner with Columbus due to our industry experience, clear understanding of business need and ability to define and develop simple solutions where required.

"We needed a system that followed the business processes which gave us our unique service offer."

A new way to do business

Driven by the tight timescales of their seasonality, Camgrain adopted a standard waterfall model for implementation. This involved formal functional scoping, then solution build and delivery against the initial scope. The system was developed in one phase with testing before rollout, ensuring it was successfully developed and delivered on time.

After the successful implementation, Camgrain wanted to extend and improve the system, building-in additional automation and a new control environment. This second phase benefitted from Camgrain’s better understanding of how NAV could meet their needs and for this phase Camgrain adopted an agile approach.

Working with an agile process was extremely beneficial as Camgrain ensured their key priorities were worked on first while maintaining strict control over budget. It also meant less disruption when the system was updated as each time it was a small, manageable change rather than large changes all in one go. Phase Two was delivered before harvest and under budget.

Looking to the future

Camgrain’s quest for innovation and efficiencies drive them to continually assess and tweak the NAV solution. Their next project investigates using Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services in Azure to assist with efficient route planning.

Top three reasons why Camgrain is future ready with Microsoft Dynamics NAV

• It’s an all in all supported solution
• Continued commitment and investment from Microsoft
• Meets business needs from custom sales order process through to job planning.

About Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software meets the needs of mid-market companies. This is achieved by streamlining finance, operations, manufacturing, and supply chain processes, allowing businesses to better utilize existing assets.

The solution offers rich standard functionality and the ability to be developed further to meet bespoke requirements.

"Using the Agile approach we were able to pick what needed doing, select priorities, create a mini scope document, tweak minor changes at handover and send through release with documentation without issue."