How Play AV Transformed Its Service Organization with Business Central and Field Service
Play AV is a leading Belgian specialist in audiovisual solutions, offering services such as the sale, rental, and installation of professional audiovisual systems, LED walls, conference solutions, and digital signage. As a fast-growing organization, the company found itself at a crossroads: continue working with its outdated ERP environment or opt for a modern platform that could grow alongside its ambitions.
CEO Vic Hoste explains how Play AV conducted a thorough evaluation of alternatives such as Odoo, but ultimately chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Field Service as an integrated end-to-end solution.
During "Think Tech, Speak Human" on May 28 in Ghent Let's hear from him about how that decision came about and what the process entailed in practice.
The Challenges Facing a Rapidly Evolving Audiovisual Player
1. More complex services and a growing range of services
Play AV not only provides audiovisual installations, but also rental services, maintenance, support, and project-based implementations—a wide range of services that requires thorough operational planning.
2. Fragmentation of data and processes
Play AV could no longer support its rapid growth with NAV. Information was scattered across various applications, making it difficult to scale planning, inventory management, and project tracking. This is a common problem that Business Central solves by consolidating all operational processes into a single, integrated ERP platform.
3. Service organization that needs real-time insight
Because Play AV performs service calls, installations, and support assignments on a daily basis, they needed a solution that seamlessly connects scheduling, dispatching, technicians, equipment, and customer communication—exactly what Dynamics 365 Field Service is designed to do. According to Microsoft, Field Service makes it possible to optimize service calls, scheduling, remote assistance, and customer communication through a single platform.
Why Play AV Chose Business Central and Field Service
A platform that is scalable and grows with your business
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a robust, future-proof ERP foundation that centralizes operational processes—from CRM to finance, from inventory management to project administration. It supports growing manufacturing, distribution, and service companies.
Integration Between ERP and Service Processes
The deciding factor was the tight integration between Business Central and Field Service. As a result, Play AV can:
- Track material usage in real time
- Automatically link interventions to projects
- Assign technicians based on availability and expertise
- Automate Billing After Service Calls
- Follow up with customers more quickly and consistently
Better control thanks to centralized data
By consolidating all data into a single environment, Play AV now has full visibility into scheduling, profitability, inventory, and service quality. That was no longer feasible with NAV.
The Process: From Decision to Implementation
1. Evaluation of Alternatives
According to Vic Hoste, Odoo was thoroughly evaluated, but Business Central offered greater maturity, better integration with Microsoft 365 tools, and a broader ecosystem of add-ons and extensions—all of which are crucial for a rapidly evolving audiovisual company.
2. Migration and Adoption
During the implementation process, the migration from NAV to Business Central took place step by step. Thanks to the cloud environment, Play AV was able to modernize processes more quickly, train users, and roll out integrations with planning tools and document management systems.
3. Field Service in Action
With Field Service, technicians gained mobile access to work orders, documentation, parts, and schedules. This resulted in:
- fewer errors during procedures
- faster reporting
- automatic tracking of work hours and usage
- higher customer satisfaction
The solution seamlessly meets the need for predictability, efficiency, and reliability in audiovisual services.
The impact on teams, efficiency, and customer satisfaction
More Efficient Planning
Dispatchers can now decide more quickly and intelligently which technician should handle which service call—thanks to real-time insight into availability, location, and expertise.
Better collaboration between teams
Sales, operations, warehousing, and service now operate in the same environment, so information is no longer fragmented.
Higher customer satisfaction
With more predictable scheduling, accurate follow-up, and faster service delivery, customers notice the improvement right away.
Improved Reporting
By using Business Central as a central data hub, Play AV gained insights into profitability, workload, contract performance, and material consumption—insights that are crucial for further growth.
The Most Important Lessons from Vic Hoste
- Invest in a timely manner – Waiting until systems actually crash hinders growth.
- Choose a platform, not a tool – Microsoft's strength lies in the integration between apps.
- Focus on adoption – Technology only works when teams understand and embrace it.
- Automate Smartly – By eliminating manual steps, you create room for better customer service.
Attend this session at Think Tech Speak Human
Would you like to hear Vic Hoste talk in person about the practical aspects of the process and how Play AV transformed its service organization? Then this session is a must-see at Think Tech, Speak Human.
