Getting ahead with customised solutions

The Economic Times (Delhi edition)
Established in 1964, BLA Group is a coal mining and metallurgical coke manufacturer with an annual turnover of around Rs 255 crore. It is also the first private sector company in India to receive an industrial license to manufacture metallurgical coke, using imported coking coal. BLA group is also one of the few private coal mining operators in India.

Identifying the problem

BLA Industries required an integrated approach for its production facilities in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to replace the distributed database approach implemented earlier. The company had invested in Navision software, prior to Navision's acquisition by Microsoft. BLA Industries Private Limited was experiencing certain problems with the earlier versions of Microsoft NAV, an integrated business management solution for small and mid-sized companies. Based on an analysis carried out on the existing implementation and its business process requirements, BLA Industries upgraded its system to Microsoft NAV version 4.0. Incorporated with improvised features, Microsoft NAV offered benefits such as online inventory valuation and improved fixed-asset management.

The solution implementation lacked certain features and was not mapping on business processes, thereby did not benefit the customer to the desired extent. There were several gaps that needed to be addressed. To sort out the issue, BLA appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, to conduct a post implementation review. The analysis revealed the following issues:

- For their consumables, the company used ‘first in, first out’ (FIFO) methodology; however, the valuations were not being reconciled correctly.

- Purchase procedures were not followed correctly; for example, authentication of indents was not carried out.

- The manufacturing module was not implemented in the company.

- Specific requirements such as coal mining were not customised.

Exploring solutions

On PwC’s recommendations, BLA invested in a fresh implementation of Microsoft Navision, and hence upgraded to MS Dynamics – NAV 4.0 from version 3.7, which has customised features to meet its business requirements. According to Anup Agarwalla, MD and President, BLA Industries, Microsoft Dynamics NAV was customised to meet the company’s specific requirements. It has also helped reduce costs and streamline the movement of goods. Two separate businesses, one at BLA Industries and the other at BLA Coke, were configured in the same way that Microsoft Dynamics NAV was adopted. As per BLA’s business process requirements, PwC customised the product for functions such as the movement of mined coal and monitoring of dumpers and trucks to manage this movement. It also created new modules to meet specific business requirements.

Reaping Benefits

Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 has rendered several benefits to BLA Industries. Now, inventory valuation is available online, and can be accessed remotely anytime. The fixed-asset management operation has improved with NAV 4.0, which has an additional feature that allows the capture of asset history dating back to 1980. The purchase process has improved significantly, and the product has also facilitated vehicle and goods movement. As a whole, NAV 4.0 has successfully overcome previous issues within the organisation, and has streamlined the business processes at BLA Industries to enhance asset management and improve efficiency.