Duffill Watts Limited is a comprehensive professional consultancy service offering civil and structural engineering, survey, resource planning, architecture, environmental science and innovative waste treatment solutions through biotech subsidiary Waste Solutions.

Duffill Watts is a wholly owned subsidiary of international conglomerate Downer EDI. The company has more than 60 years of successful operation over a wide range of projects including buildings, industrial and tourism developments. Its services include investigation and project feasibility, and design and management of project implementation.

The challenge
Duffill Watts needed to automate its data handling and create an efficient and reliable system to handle complex time and cost recording and billing across numerous offices in New Zealand and overseas.

One of the major drivers of the system was the spectacular growth of the company, even during the period that the new system was being implemented. Rapid deployment was complicated by the acquisitions of two new companies during the planning phase, doubling the size of the installation.

Duffill Watts engaged Enabling, a Trans-Tasman specialist in the provision and support of business management applications, to deliver an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution based on Microsoft Dynamics AX, replacing a Microsoft Dynamics Nav (Navision) system with manual time sheeting.

The critical requirement was the need to improve time sheet handling and integrate time sheets into an ERP solution capable of automating the processing task by seamlessly moving data into Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and General Ledger.

Further efficiencies were expected from processing time sheets at a more granular branch level rather than centrally, for a reduction in man hours, and better local control over reporting.

“We had a legacy system that was no longer supporting the needs of the business or delivering the information that we needed in the time frames that we required,” says CFO Paul Chamberlain.

“We have stiff reporting requirements to comply with the needs of the publicly listed Downer corporation.”

The manual system had also created a host of other issues that were only becoming apparent as the company grew. In two years, the operation expanded through acquisitions from 200 people to 650 people.

“We had bottleneck processing issues, and the timely collection of time sheet information was a key issue,” says Chamberlain.

“We needed an online version of the time sheet, and a platform that would easily facilitate sharing of resources across the organisation.”

Multiple branch offices in New Zealand and overseas presented some unique problems. The legacy system was centralised and relatively inflexible, so decisions on cost allocation had to be made far from the “coal face”.

The solution
The Microsoft AX implementation put in place by Enabling provides an end-to-end integrated solution that uses the familiar Outlook platform to capture time and expense data, and features a web-based portal for efficient management, including billing and time approvals and process information.

It consolidates the diverse information from numerous branch offices and acquired companies into a single system offering a “single version of the truth.” It is no longer necessary to manually consolidate details from disparate systems, and reporting is accurate and based on real time data.

Information distribution is controlled from a central source and use is facilitated by a variety of familiar reporting methods including Microsoft Reporting Services, Integrated Excel reports and user-generated views.

The intricacies of billing and time tracking across numerous branches are solved through automated intercompany cross charging as employees and projects are moved between branches to give best fit and efficient use of available resources. Incorporated HR functionality has also eased the problems of growth as employees have grown from 200 to 650. Further company acquisitions are aided by use of standard templates and guides.

Overall, substantial savings have been realised by integrating the time sheet system into an effective ERP solution that seamlessly brings information together. Data ownership has been moved out to the branch level to provide further efficiencies and reduce the burden on the central administration team as the company expands.

The system put into place is also easy to use, reducing the time needed for training. Time and expense reporting is now through the familiar Microsoft Outlook platform rather than through terminal entry. This provides both flexibility and ease of use. It also reduces the licensing and training requirements for core systems to a limited number of administrative personnel.

The results
“The Dynamics AX system has improved the timeliness of information delivery as we have continued to expand, and it is has proven itself both robust and scalable,” says Chamberlain. “The solution has been in place for over a year, with incremental improvement along the way.”

A major issue is that Duffill Watts continues to expand. Each acquired company needs to be integrated into the system. Enabling has been kept busy, and the process has improved with practice. After a half dozen or so integrations, new companies can be added to the system with scarcely a hitch. The relationship with Enabling also continues to expand, as the company grows and the services required expand.

Original system goals have now been met, and a significant added development has been rolled out of the AX enterprise portal, based on Microsoft’s SharePoint Server, that provides timely delivery of critical information in an easily accessible format moulded to the needs of the decision makers.

“I’m very pleased that we made the transition, notwithstanding the fact that any change brings its share of challenges,” says Chamberlain.

“Although calculation of cost savings are not practical due to the numerous companies acquired during this time, I have no doubt that they have been achieved. Independent confirmation of the success of the system has recently been provided by the auditors who commented that they believed that without the new system we would not have survived our recent expansions and met our financial reporting commitments.”

The future
For the future, Enabling is continuing to aid the company in coping with continued acquisitions. By now, these have become almost standard procedure. In addition there is a gradual program of improvement which will keep staff busy for the next 12 months. One key element is a continued move toward a more collaborative environment, with expansion of the AX portal.

This fits in nicely with the company’s own activities in developing SharePoint-based Enterprise 2.0 capabilities for information sharing, such as a corporate wiki.

The overall strategy is aimed at gradual improvement and painless integration of new companies and business units, ensuring that the time sheet system and accounting processes continue to run efficiently, and the needs of decision makers continue to be well served.

For more information

Enabling
www.enabling.net
Ph 0800 ENABLING
(0800 36 22 54)

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