Oberthur Cash Protection adopts Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM to harmonise its processes, modernise its management and optimise the management of its commercial activities and the follow-up of its customer relations

The French manufacturer of anti-theft banknote neutralisation systems (SANBB), whose business was hampered by solutions developed internally and empirically, decided to adopt market software packages. By opting for Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM, the company chose a long-term solution capable of supporting its growth and providing the visibility it needed to manage its performance.

Testimonial

When IT tools become such a headache that they take precedence over the service they are supposed to provide, it is time to wipe the slate clean. With this in mind, Oberthur Cash Protection decided to abandon its existing development in favour of an ERP and CRM system on the market. This was a major change for the company, which also wanted to take the opportunity to review its processes and improve its performance.

The need: to gain flexibility and reliability
Oberthur Cash Protection is a pioneer in the manufacture of intelligent cash protection systems and security solutions for cash transport, ATMs and retail outlets worldwide. It is also the inventor of one of the first intelligent banknote neutralisation systems (IBNS), whose ink renders stolen notes unusable. The 66-strong company devotes one third of its resources to research and development to maintain its technological lead, and another third to after-sales service to manage the installed base. " We need efficient IT tools to monitor our customers' equipment - over 60,000 systemsexplains Jamal Chourak, Management Controller. At the same time, they must be flexible enough to allow us to integrate the three to four new products we release each year ".

The company's tools, developed internally as needs arose, gradually became a pile of functions without coherence. As a result, they slowed down activities and were sometimes even a source of error. " We were spending far too much time trying to figure out what the software did. The departure of someone who had knowledge of the software tools often left us in the lurchcontinues Jamal Chourak. Integrating a new product into the system sometimes took us months. We needed clarity, data reliability, consistent processes and above all responsiveness ".

" We are more efficient at all levels. For example, we have saved 2 to 3 days on invoicing, simply by making the information more available and more accessible ".
Jamal Chourak, Controller

The solution: Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM
Oberthur Cash Protection therefore launched a call for tenders for a solution covering production and purchasing monitoring, stock management, sales and customer service administration and commercial management. The company worked with several integrators on different solutions on the market before selecting Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM, implemented by partner Jalix Services, an ERP and CRM specialist.

Accustomed to Microsoft environments (office automation and servers), Oberthur Cash Protection has favoured consistency, but not only, as Yann Marques, the company's IT Manager, explains: " Of course, the excellent ergonomics and integration with our existing system played a role in our choice, but Dynamics CRM was also the most effective solution for monitoring the installed base of equipment, particularly in terms of managing the lifecycle of the material ".

The implementation took about ten months, during which time Oberthur Cash Protection worked as much on its organisation as on the actual implementation. " We took advantage of the project to structure ourselves and modernise the company's operations by exploiting the expertise present in Microsoft's solutions "says Yann Marques. Four of the ten months were devoted to workshops with key users to clearly identify the expectations of each department.

In order to optimise the reliability of its processes and data, the company has chosen an architecture based on a single database. Potentially bidirectional, the connector between Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM only works in one direction at Oberthur Cash Protection for reasons clearly identified by the CIO: " we wanted to avoid the trap of duplicating the same customer in both environments and thus finding ourselves once again faced with problems of inconsistency. This is why the CRM is subject to the ERP, any creation in the latter automatically giving rise to an update in the CRM system ".

Benefits: better management of the activity, organisational gains
The project, which was completed a few months ago, has satisfied all Oberthur Cash Protection employees, especially the mobile technicians, who now have access to the information they need in the field and can update their fleet monitoring by connecting to the system remotely. " Previously, they had to send paper reports by mailsays Jamal Chourak. This means that we are now much more responsive, with technicians and customer service working hand in hand. We are also more efficient at all levels. For example, we have saved 2 to 3 days on invoicing, simply because today the information is available and easily accessible ".

Oberthur Cash Protection also no longer wastes time tracking down opaque movements to try to understand their nature. The company has also gained in flexibility: its new products are integrated into the system in real time, with no need to change the existing system. " In short, the IT tool has regained its place as a support tool, enabling us to industrialise our management to achieve better steering of the company "concludes Jamal Chourak

Management controller

Issue

  • Replace the existing in-house management system with a market ERP and CRM system, including a review of existing processes to modernise them
  • Having a sufficiently flexible system, capable of adapting to the pace of change in society
  • Make data more reliable with clear processes and gain visibility on steering.

Benefits

  • Harmonisation of processes
  • Time savings on invoicing
  • Uniqueness and centralisation of information
  • Optimisation of the monitoring of the installed base of equipment
  • Scalability of the solution