On April 3, 2019, Lantmännen Maskin began its transition from on-premise to the cloud with Infor M3, and went live on January 9, 2023. During the later stages of the project, Lantmännen decided to focus on training their users as the solution brought about significant changes. By using Columbus' education package and test management, Lantmännen gained the necessary structure - a structure they continue to benefit from today.
Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and leading player in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy, and food in northern Europe. Within the Agriculture Division, Lantmännen Maskin had been using an on-premise M3 system since 2007, which had served them well. However, with increased growth and risk, they needed to modernize and upgrade their M3 system. In late 2018, Lantmännen Maskin embarked on a journey to the cloud, where, together with Infor, they conducted a brief feasibility study and chose M3 Cloud Edition Equipment. During the initial phase, the project was led by Infor, and in January 2021, Lantmännen Maskin decided to take over project management with an internal resource. Since May 2021, Louise Nilsson, CIO of the Agriculture Division at Lantmännen, has been leading the major project that would impact 800 Lantmännen Maskin users across Sweden.
When planning the education component of the project, Lantmännen chose to collaborate with Columbus for education packages and test management.
This was probably the smoothest go-live I've ever been a part of, despite involving so many users
– With extensive experience and expertise in the Infor M3 system, Columbus felt like a natural choice for us. Columbus provided the project with the calm and security we needed for the education component, as well as for the tests during our testing phases. They have senior consultants and the knowledge required for this project, and they can jump right into the project and know what to do. In the end, it's the knowledge and experience that you're acquiring, says Louise Nilsson.
Columbus Education Booster Kit
The education package included pre-made training materials for the basics of M3 CE that all employees had the opportunity to access. Columbus also created a structure in SharePoint that mirrored the project's process flows, making it easier to use the application because users could easily find what they were looking for in the system.
– We now have a process and structure to follow and a solid foundation of material that we can use and reuse for other projects in the future. We have many new hires, and the documents and files we created with Columbus are still heavily used during onboarding. It's an investment that continues to pay off, says Louise Nilsson.
– Now, we will continue to maintain, ensure quality, and update our materials and processes and ensure that they are used by everyone.
Happy Go-Live, Happy life!
For Lantmännen, the project of switching their business support system was an extensive process involving many employees from the beginning. The training was necessary to give users experience with the system before the launch, and testing was crucial to minimize issues. With the help of Columbus' extensive experience in successfully conducting testing work, a large number of tests were performed to ensure that the system was robust and secure.
– Columbus' consultants brought new energy to a project that had been active for a long time, and they created a much-needed structure for our testing. Knowing what needs to be tested and how extensive it should be can be a challenge, but Columbus supported us excellently. Together, we conducted approximately 16,000 tests, and during go-live, which took five days with a lot of data conversion and registration, the system felt secure and stable. I've experienced many go-lives, and I've been responsible for some of them myself, but this was probably the smoothest go-live I've ever been a part of, despite involving so many users, says Louise Nilsson, concluding:
– I would highly recommend Columbus to other companies. Choosing to engage Columbus was the right decision for us, and I am grateful for the expertise and experience they brought.
