Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world. This makes sense, as this sustainable alternative to fossil fuels offers many advantages. Elicio understands this well. This ambitious energy producer is one of Belgium’s pioneers in onshore and offshore wind, which has allowed it to build up a great deal of expertise in a short period of time. Elicio has since become an international player, with a growing portfolio of wind farms in Belgium, France, Serbia, Spain, and Scotland.
Andries Teerlynck, Director of Sales, HR & IT at Elicio, gets right to the point: “We have expertise in virtually every aspect of renewable energy and build state-of-the-art, high-tech wind farms. In doing so, we take into account the impact on the surrounding area and the environment, as well as scientific advancements in the sector. One of our most successful projects is Norther. This offshore wind farm supplies electricity to about 400,000 households. With a total capacity of 370 megawatts, it has the largest generating capacity of any Belgian wind farm.”
Thanks to Alistar, we were able to transition more quickly to a paperless work environment. In addition, the new ERP system is scalable, so we can roll it out quickly in the other countries where we operate.
Andries Teerlynck, Director of Sales, HR & IT
An efficient solution that feels familiar
To manage its back office efficiently, Elicio collaborates with Alistar (formerly the GMI Group). Among other things, this made it possible to better align the company’s own digital processes. “Alistar migrated our ERP system to the new version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central,“ continues Vanessa Gilbert, Business Controller at Elicio.
“That was necessary because the existing system was outdated. Since Alistar had advised us before, they understand our needs better than anyone else, so it was an obvious choice to work with them again.” Elicio did, however, set a number of parameters as a prerequisite.
“We operate in three countries. That’s why it’s important to implement a high-performing, uniform system that’s accessible to everyone. That’s why we chose to build our new ERP solution around our master data management. In addition, it was also important to us that the implementation time be as short as possible and that the business applications integrate seamlessly with our familiar Microsoft environment,” concludes Vanessa.
Rapidly evolve into a paperless office
The GMI Group set to work within this framework. A key component of the solution was the integration of Continia Document Capture.
“”The financial administration of some 40 entities needed to be streamlined, and by providing software to accelerate or automate various administrative processes, Continia has been delivering added value to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central users for 25 years,” says Estel Deraeve, project manager at Alistar.
“The benefits of Continia are numerous. For example, it features a comprehensive approval workflow, and invoices and purchase orders are automatically linked, captured directly in the ERP system, and digitally archived.”
Easy to expand and versatile
This gave Elicio’s digital transformation a major boost. “The collaboration with Alistar was a huge success. Thanks to them, we were able to transition more quickly to a paperless work environment. On the other hand, the new ERP system is scalable, so we can quickly roll it out in the other countries where we operate. We’re certainly ambitious, and it’s a huge relief to know we can count on Alistar,” Andries continues.
Given that we are a rapidly expanding company that is increasingly focusing on other countries, our most important task in the coming years will be to successfully integrate these countries. We are counting on Alistar for that as well.
Meanwhile, the energy producer is exploring whether other tools can offer added value and whether they align with its overall growth strategy. “With Continia, for example, it’s possible to digitize expense reports. We believe that’s the logical next step in the ongoing digitization of our financial administration.”
