InterKey

Telephone Services Provider Cuts Accounting Time with Business Management Solution

“Before we deployed Microsoft Dynamics AX, it took us nearly a month to close accounts at the end of a financial period. Now that we no longer have to request information…It takes just three days.”

Dr. Ahmad Alsolaim, Vice President of Corporate Development, Interkey Company for Communication and Computer

Interkey Company for Communication and Computer was founded in 1999, providing telecommunications services in Saudi Arabia. It owns a number of affiliate companies, including vehicle enhancement. The company wanted to modernise finance and inventory management. It deployed Microsoft Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning (ERP) software in the holding company and six of its affiliates. Now, accounting is faster, decision-making is easier, and inventory is better managed.

Business Needs

Interkey oversees a number of businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including a telecommunications company, a vehicle enhancement factory, and building materials provider. Interkey is a growing organisation, and as it added companies to its portfolio, it became difficult to manage them efficiently. Although the company had changed, its internal finance processes had not. Most finance data was still stored on spreadsheets or paper-based

journals, and transactions were completed manually.

Dr. Ahmad Alsolaim, Vice President of Corporate Development, Interkey, says: “It was an old-fashioned way to work, and managers found it difficult to get an overview of the profitability of the group. They had to request information from the different companies, which was manually delivered on paper, and then consolidated. We could only do this twice a year, because it took so long.” Standard accounting processes were also slow. “Every time finance data was changed, the spreadsheets had to be triple-checked by different employees to ensure no error had occurred,” says Dr. Alsolaim.

Finance wasn’t the only department limited by manual processes. Interkey didn’t have a formal inventory management system in its vehicle manufacturing business, and this left the company open to theft. “We had no way of knowing if stock levels were correct. Employees would purchase expensive parts that were already in stock, and materials could be ordered and stolen without us knowing until it was too late,” says Dr. Alsolaim.

Interkey wanted to deploy an ERP solution to manage finance and inventory, but knew that it would come with risks. Dr. Alsolaim says: “Employees were used to working on paper, so deploying an electronic solution would be an enormous cultural change for them. What’s more, many employees speak Arabic. We needed a solution that was available in Arabic and easy to use for employees that didn’t have any experience in using IT.”

Solution

In November 2009, Interkey engaged with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Columbus IT to implement an ERP solution across all its companies. After considering a number of systems, including a Sage solution, the organisation chose to deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX software. “Our lines of business are diverse, and Microsoft Dynamics AX was flexible enough to work across them all,” says Dr. Alsolaim. “Microsoft and Columbus IT also offered to localise the system to Arabic, which was one of our key requirements.”

Interkey and Columbus IT established a centralised store for financial information, and data from all of the companies that Interkey owns feeds into this depository. The workflows for all financial processes are automated, and the database is updated in real time. If an employee needs to approve a process, they are notified by e-mail. “Employees access the system through a Web application. Information can be entered, or used, anywhere—not just from our offices and manufacturing plants,” says Dr. Alsolaim

The company has a single view of all financial information, and uses this for reporting and analysis. Dr. Alsolaim says: “We use five preconfigured report templates, included with Microsoft Dynamics AX, to examine the financial situation across all organisations. And, using the reporting tools in Microsoft Dynamics AX, we can receive insight into specific projects.”

Inventory is also managed within Microsoft Dynamics AX. “We can see how many spare parts are used in particular vehicles. This information helps us plan future parts orders, and track how much stock we have,” says Dr. Alsolaim. “Microsoft Dynamics AX gives us tight control over our purchasing processes, which helps us monitor what parts are coming into the factory and what parts are going out.”

To help ease the transition from paper to electronic processes, Columbus IT and Microsoft provided training for key employees. The system went live in March 2010.

Benefits

Since deploying Microsoft Dynamics AX, Interkey managers can see crucial financial information, such as profitability, at any time. End-period accounting processes take three days instead of a month, and inventory is easier to manage.

· Managers have more insight. Dr. Alsolaim says: “Managers can see the profitability of each business in seconds, with just a few clicks of the mouse. This means they can now make informed decisions based on reliable, real-time financial data.”

· Accounting processes are faster. “Before we deployed Microsoft Dynamics AX, it took us nearly a month to close accounts at the end of a financial period. Now that we no longer have to request information, and triple-check it for errors, it takes just three days,” says Dr. Alsolaim.

· Employee workload has been reduced. Only 50 per cent of company accountants are needed to manage individual financial processes, which frees personnel to focus on other tasks.

· Inventory is easier to manage. Employees can now see exactly how much stock the company has at any time. They also have greater insight into how stock is used. Dr. Alsolaim says: “By drilling down with the reporting tools, we can find crucial information—for example, how much inventory is needed for specific projects.”

· Inventory is more secure. “We have workflows in place to protect against theft and fraud. It is impossible for new parts to be requested without a purchase order that’s approved by a manager,” says Dr. Alsolaim.

· Business units are run more efficiently. “We were nervous that employees would struggle to adapt to an ERP system, but people have embraced it,” says Dr. Alsolaim. “It’s changed the way we work. The Chief Executive Officer is confident that he can delegate tasks to unit managers, because they have the data they need to manage their divisions. Everyone seems energised and that’s very encouraging.”

Customer: Interkey