Company-wide automation at Bolier Machine Factory

Bolier Machine Factory in Dordrecht is the sales and service organization for MaK marine diesel engines in the Benelux, France, and several countries in North Africa. Bolier specializes in large diesel engines for marine propulsion and auxiliary power ranging from 1,020 to 16,000 kW. A statement by Jan Kreuze of Bolier Machine Factory regarding Microsoft Dynamics NAV (now Business Central):

A flexible solution that adapts to the organization’s needs. This flexibility was essential in selecting a new company-wide automation solution.

Jan Kreuze, IT Manager

A Lot of Duplicate Work Due to Island Automation

In the past, Bolier operated a siloed IT system. The various software packages did not communicate with one another, and data had to be entered multiple times. This resulted in a lot of duplicate work. “We wanted to get rid of that situation,” says Jan Kreuze, ICT and QA Manager at Bolier. “Our wish list was very simple: the accounting, financial administration, and parts sales administration just had to run smoothly. We wanted to be able to process all administrative tasks automatically, right up to invoicing, and preferably the technical administration as well.”

While searching for a new software package, Bolier received an invitation from a shipyard run by a friend to attend a demonstration of Microsoft Dynamics at our office. “We were so impressed that we made the decision very quickly. Dynamics is the only software package that you can tailor very flexibly to your own business processes. Alistar is familiar with the maritime sector, which made communication very easy. Alistar approached the project with determination and, with an excellent team, smoothed out all the bumps we encountered along the way.”

Microsoft Dynamics is the only software package that you can tailor very flexibly to your own business processes.

Additional Modules

The strength of Microsoft Dynamics NAV lies in its adaptability: it is possible to quickly build additional functionality on top of the standard modules. This enables Alistar to meet industry- or company-specific requirements. Alistar developed the “Normenbank” for Bolier, a kind of library of standard repair data organized by engine type. The Normenbank specifies which materials and how many labor hours are required, along with the corresponding price.

Field staff enter data about service work directly into the Alistar Service Manager. “This reduces the risk of errors. In the past, they would jot that information down on a scrap of paper, and the administrative staff would then type it up,” says Jan Kreuze. Using the Service Manager, Bolier records incoming parts and the work performed on them for each project. All incoming parts are labeled with a barcode, making it possible to track everything at any time. “We no longer lose parts, which saves a lot of time searching for them.”

Alistar has developed even more modules for Bolier. For example, the Field Service Manager is used to digitally record the service reports created by technicians, and the Warranty Manager is used to record warranty claims. It is also possible to send these digitally to the engine manufacturer, Caterpillar Motoren in Kiel.

"Sending Digital Purchase Orders" is another module developed specifically for Bolier. This feature ensures that a purchase order can be sent digitally to Caterpillar Motoren in Kiel, where it is processed. Bolier then receives a digital confirmation, which is imported into the system. Finally, the buyer receives a confirmation, and the confirmation is synchronized with the order.

Make adjustments more easily and respond quickly to developments

For Bolier, transparency is the biggest advantage of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. “We now produce clear reports for our shareholders. In the past, that happened only once a year. Now, with the click of a button, we can generate an overview of our financial status at any time—covering revenue and profit, as well as what’s going well and what isn’t. This makes it easier for us to make adjustments and respond quickly to developments. In the past, we sometimes missed opportunities due to a lack of the right information. Internally, we also have a better view of the results. Employees are pleased with the user-friendliness of Microsoft Dynamics NAV: we’ve been able to recreate almost all the paper reports we used to work with right within Microsoft Dynamics NAV. That’s very convenient for users.”

“We work more efficiently because every hour we’re idle costs money, and we can also bill clients faster.” Since there’s much less overlap in our work, Bolier can eliminate one full-time position. “We can now assign that employee to other activities, which improves the quality of our work. We’ve resolved a number of bottlenecks, which means we can now serve our customers much better. Our information is no longer stored in dusty archives but in the computer system. This allows us to do our work faster, which is exactly what our customers expect from us. With Microsoft Dynamics NAV, we can therefore improve our competitive position.”

Future

Looking ahead, Bolier sees opportunities to further expand its operations. “With Microsoft Dynamics NAV, we can easily integrate new business activities into our system. We’ve also just started to further automate our logistics with the support of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, including barcode scanning. This works quickly and accurately, because minimizing manual intervention keeps the risk of errors to a minimum.”

Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
You’ve read about why Machinefabriek Bolier chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly NAV) as its ERP system. Are you curious about the reasons why your organization might want to choose Business Central? Then download the free e-book | Dynamics 365 Business Central.