4-page Case Study - Posted 11/21/2006
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Jersey Post Makes its Stamp as One of the Most Efficient Postal Services in the World
Jersey Post is renowned as a pioneer in postal services, but was restricted by a system that relied heavily on the pen and paper method of accounting. Jersey Post wanted an integrated accounting system that would ease it into new commercial ways of working, while achieving the huge shift to becoming an incorporated company. Microsoft® Dynamics™ GP was chosen for its customisable business modules which allowed Jersey Post to make this shift in stages. Seven years later, Microsoft Dynamics GP has completely transformed Jersey Post’s accounting function into a technically savvy part of the organisation, with the ability to streamline the vast amounts of data coming in on a daily basis, and exploit technological advances to achieve new levels of customer satisfaction.
Situation
With a history dating back to 1794 and now handling over 80 million items per year, Jersey Post compares favorably with a number of other postal administrations of greater geographical area and population than Jersey, but with fewer postal requirements and less sophisticated services. Innovations in recent times also include that of early 1996, when Jersey Post became one of the first post offices worldwide to sell stamps on the Internet.
Jersey Post was becoming increasingly frustrated with the cumbersome and limited accounting system it had inherited from the state of Jersey. Louise Read, Group Financial Accountant at Jersey Post remember this well. She says, “We were using an old-fashioned system which gave us very basic information. If you ran a report it took 24 hours to get the information back, and all our orders were processed manually. We needed to move Jersey Post from being a dusty States department to being a proper commercial business," she explains.
With a necessity to split Jersey Post from operating as one business into 10 separate business units, where every part of the business needed to be accountable to the regulatory authority, Jersey Post knew that the change to operating as a commercially minded company was going to be a radical overhaul.
Solution
One of Jersey Post's requirements was that the new system could be adopted in stages, realising the move from the pen-and-paper method straight to a fully integrated accounting package could be a huge culture shock to the staff, which would put a strain on the organisation in terms of the amount of training required.
There were a number of other packages that were considered but when put to the test with a scoping exercise and presentations, Microsoft® Dynamics™ GP and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Advantage Business Systems came out on top for Jersey Post.
Read explains the reason behind the decision: "What Microsoft Dynamics GP gave us was the ability to implement on a module-by-module basis. This meant we were able to ease the staff into new ways of working by introducing the basic accounting modules of sales order processing and purchase order processing, while providing the building blocks for general ledger and other upgrades."
Jersey Post overhauled its back office systems in 1997 to use Microsoft Dynamics GP and the next major implementation, which took place following a period of prototyping, began in November 2000 with the first phase going live in March 2001. The roll out of Microsoft Dynamics GP has continued ever since, with functionality added as the business has expanded.
Since January 2005, Jersey Post has operated with the new divided structure of 10 separate business units in preparation for becoming an incorporated company, which is scheduled to happen in January 2006. The business divisions include a pick-and-pack e-service, a fulfillment service arm and a mail housing operation, all of which have been supported by the upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 8.0, which was implemented at the same time.
Read believes this move could not have happened without the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP and the support of Advantage Business Systems. "The business has expanded beyond all recognition into markets which are very different from the
typical postal service. We would not have had control over the business expansion if we hadn't had a proper system in place and a company which understands our business so well."
She continues: "I have to admit at first I was concerned that our main accounting package was supported by a company that had no presence on the Island of Jersey. I am an accountant, not an IT person and it always worries me that if I have a problem that it would take 24 hours to send someone out to help me. But this has never been an issue with Advantage Business Systems. The support desk is fantastic, they know our business like the back of their hand, and when there is a big upgrade they are on site more than necessary."
With the recent upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 8.0, lead consultant Robin Knight at Advantage Business Systems was on site for three months to oversee the connection of four external computing systems into Microsoft Dynamics GP, using Microsoft Dynamics GP Integration Manager and Microsoft BizTalk® Server. This involved careful scheduling to ensure the systems were in tune with one another, necessary for a smooth implementation. The upgrade was implemented over a weekend and went live on January 1, 2005 as planned.
Benefits
Jersey Post has experienced a significant rise in productivity thanks to the installation of Microsoft Dynamics GP and, perhaps as importantly, the way it has been implemented.
Read explains: "Before Microsoft Dynamics GP we had sale ledger clerks and purchase ledger clerks inputting into this great dustbin of information. Now each of the clerks is multi-skilled and responsible for one or more of the business units. This obviously has huge benefit in terms of when people are away on holiday or off sick, but more importantly the technology has enabled staff to develop new levels of efficiency.
"This is largely due to the look and feel being so like Microsoft Outlook®, but there are many other usability enhancements such as the ease of navigation, the ability to customise the users' workspace better, meaning that if you crash yourself out of a company record you can unlock yourself instead of having to call the help desk. One of the many areas where information no longer has to be re-keyed is the link between the information of mail received from customers and what to bill them, this alone has saved Jersey Post one day a week."
The evidence of the boost to productivity is clear. In 2001, 69.7 million mail items were processed and delivered locally or to mainland United Kingdom. In 2004, Jersey Post processed 80.8 million items, which is an increase of approximately 3.7 million items a year.
Looking forward, Jersey Post is confident it is ready for the move to becoming an incorporated company in January 2006, and is already making further plans to enhance its management information structure, including successfully piloting Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM within the sales department.
"Microsoft Dynamics GP has freed us to be able to think more commercially about our business, and offer our customers a more complete service," says Read. "Aside from being able to demonstrate the results of the different services, the easy access to shared information has enabled us to have a much clearer view of our customers.
"We are able to exploit cross-selling opportunities and think more creatively about offering new or enhanced services. For example we offer our customers e-mail services, and they are now able to track and trace their parcels online. We have developed a unique service called Pro Mail, which provides tailor-made, quality mailing services such as statement production, marketing mailings, notifications, and regular billings."
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.
For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to:
www.microsoft.com/dynamics
For More Information
For further information about Microsoft products and services please visit www.microsoft.com/uk or call 0870 60 10 100*.
For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom contact: 0870 50 30 400*.
*Lines are open 8am-6pm Monday to Friday. Please note Numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges please contact your telecoms provider.
For more information about Advantage Business Systems products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.advantage.co.uk
For more information about Jersey Post products and services, call 01534 616590 or visit the Web site at:
www.jerseypost.com
© This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published November 2006
