CASE STUDY

H E Stringer Flavours Ltd

Migration from Sage 50c Accounts & Sage 50 Manufacturing to Dynamics 365 Business Central

Who are H E Stringer Flavours Ltd

With over six decades of experience, HE Stringer Flavours Ltd is renowned for delivering speciailist taste solutions tailored to the unique needs of the food and drink industry.

Working closely with its customers, H E Stringer develops bespoke flavour profiles that meet customer specific requirements and market demands, whilst meeting the highest standards at all times.

The challenge

Having moved away from disparate systems in 2007, the company implemented Sage 50 Manufacturing alongside bespoke enhancements developed by Qi to meet their specific industry requirements.

What Prompted the move to a Modern, Scalable Solution?

Understanding the limitations and the need for a future-proof ERP solution, H E Stringer Flavours Ltd decided to move away from Sage 50 Manufacturing. The company sought a modern, scalable ERP system that could replace their Access bespoke system and support future developments.

Challenges for H E Stringer and the use of Sage Legacy Systems

Compatibility and Upgrade Issues

The legacy setup, while functional, presented several challenges:

Complex Upgrades: Upgrading Sage 50c Accounts Professional required not only the physical process of upgrading a server and client PCs but also ensuring that Sage 50 Manufacturing and bespoke Access enhancements were patched and upgraded in tandem to maintain compatibility.
Limited Scalability: The existing system could not support the company’s growth ambitions and future-proofing efforts, particularly as Sage 50 Manufacturing was discontinued.

The Industry Specific Challenge of changing Business Systems

H E Stringer Flavours Ltd needed their ERP system to meet specific industry requirements, replicating their bespoke which had been in use for over a decade and had required regular updates to meet industry requirements.

Hazardous Materials and Toxicology Reporting: Comprehensive reporting on hazardous materials and toxicology data was essential.
Detailed Financial, Inventory, and Purchasing Reports: Access to detailed and accurate reports across financial, inventory, and purchasing information was crucial.
Compliance in Sales Order Confirmations and Labelling: Customer sales order confirmations required a full product specification breakdown for compliance purposes, and compliant product labelling was vital.

The solution
Migration from Sage 50c Accounts & Sage 50 Manufacturing to Dynamics 365 Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium

Choosing Microsoft Dynamics Business Central

H E Stringer Flavours Ltd selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for its comprehensive features and secure, scalable platform. Key benefits of this move included:

Core Functionality of a Modern ERP: Business Central provided robust financial management, supply chain operations, and project management capabilities.
Scalability and Flexibility: The cloud-based solution ensured scalability and flexibility, accommodating the company’s growth and evolving needs.
Seamless Integration: Business Central’s seamless integration with other Microsoft products, such as Office 365, enhanced productivity and collaboration.
Automated Updates and Cloud Software: With automatic updates, the company no longer needed to manually upgrade systems, saving time and resources. Nor does Business Central rely on server hosting which alleviated hardware requirements moving forward.
Development and Compliance: the ability to develop Business Central ensured the solution would the company’s requirements for hazardous materials and toxicology data, detailed financial and inventory reports, and compliance in sales order confirmations and labelling.

The Process

Qi demonstrated the solution to the H E Stringer team and submitted a clear and transparent proposal with the commitment of a fully managed project delivered, on time and on budget.

Full Data Migration and Specific Development

Qi migrated Sage 50c Accounts and Sage 50 Manufacturing data in full using their specialist Qi toolkit, MigrateNow! and added further functionality to the core Business Central system using Microsoft extensions to develop the very specific reporting and product description requirements, essential to H E Stringer.

Managed, Logical Project with Planned Go Live

Following full training, data validation and a final data migration out of office hours for minimal disruption, staff arrived on Monday with Business Central as their new central system. GoLive support was included in the project cost ensuring the team had the reassurance of dedicated Qi support.

The outcome

System Reporting & Analysis capabilities provide welcome time savings

Inter-company trading is now achieved using the company hub tools within Business Central, allowing the senior management team to view information across multiple businesses.

Business Central functionality allows for enhanced product costings and costing updates. The comprehensive reporting and data analysis functionality returns valuable time back into the working day of the H E Stringer team which in turn enhances productivity.

By moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, H E Stringer Flavours Ltd has embraced a modern, scalable ERP solution that meets their specific industry requirements and supports their growth ambitions. With Qi’s expertise and support, the company is well-positioned to navigate the complexities of the modern business environment and continue delivering exceptional flavouring solutions to their customers.

We have worked with Qi Ltd since 2007 and they understand our business really well. Their recommendation to explore Business Central and what it could do for our business was the right one and as ever, the help and support we get from the Qi support team is excellent.