More than 20 staff can now use Microsoft Navision, which was specifically customised to more efficiently manage the 40 annual expeditions Antarctica New Zealand organises to Scott Base through its science research, education and artist programmes.

Installed at Antarctica New Zealand's headquarters in Christchurch by Ernst & Young, the Navision solution can be accessed remotely (via Citrix MetaFrame and satellite connection) by staff located at Scott Base.

Dene Robinson, Financial Controller, Antarctica New Zealand, says that the Institute's decision to implement Microsoft Navision was part of its long-term IT strategy to provide the organisation with an integrated yet flexible business solution that catered for its core business requirements.

"Previously, we had multiple disparate systems to handle our financial and business requirements," he says. "The lack of integration caused a number of inefficiencies, particularly the duplication of information. The data was also maintained by individual departments and was not easily accessible to all staff across the organisation.

"We decided to adopt Microsoft Navision because it was an integrated, enterprise-wide solution, which delivered the usability, connectivity and flexibility we needed, and was supported by a very experienced partner, Ernst & Young."

Antarctica New Zealand implemented Microsoft Navision, which runs on a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 platform, in two stages, with the final phase of the project now complete. Robinson says Ernst & Young worked closely with Antarctica New Zealand over a period of eight months to customise the solution to handle its unique event management requirements.

"Our Antarctic Programme facilitates more than 400 people to Scott Base every year during the summer period," he says, "from scientists through to artists and writers.  Microsoft Navision will allow us to efficiently manage all the event requirements, from organising the accommodation, equipment, transport and logistics through to scheduling group activities at Scott Base.

"Previously, we used a number of stand-alone spreadsheets and the information was not integrated. Now that all this data is captured with Microsoft Navision, we will be able to save a significant amount of time through reduced data entry and the information will be visible to everyone in the organisation, rather than just individual departments." Robinson says as the solution is available remotely, staff at Scott Base will be able to access information in real time and manage their business activities as normal.

The first part of the project, the financial management series, was deployed in November last year and Robinson says the new functionality has already resulted in an estimated 30% time saving for accounting staff.

"The information within Microsoft Navision is centralised and easily accessible. We've significantly reduced the data entry process for our sales orders, invoices and payments and can access company reports online for the first time.
"Previously, it was difficult to report on activities across the whole organisation where as now the information is transparent. The budget approval process was also customised to meet our unique sales order requirements."

Microsoft Business Solutions Partner Group Manager David Guy, says that Antarctica New Zealand's decision to adopt Microsoft Navision is a great win for the division and demonstrates how easily the application can be customised to meet unique organisational requirements.

"Ernst & Young worked closely with Antarctica New Zealand to ensure that Microsoft Navision mapped to their business needs," he says. "Microsoft Business Solutions' applications are very flexible and the underlying architecture allows our partners to easily modify modules to help customers achieve business success."

For further information contact:
Anne Frith
09 362 5865
askdynnz@microsoft.com
Microsoft New Zealand
PO Box 8070, Symonds Street, Auckland

July 2003

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