Heathrow Scientific transforms manufacturing and reduces order processing time 20% with Western Computer and Dynamics 365 Business Central

Innovative laboratory equipment manufacturer and distributor Heathrow Scientific (Heathrow) is meeting evolving customer needs with a digital transformation that reimagines operations for its product distributors. The company ships its laboratory equipment, ranging from centrifuges to test tube stands, to distributors worldwide for use in life sciences, clinical applications, and academic and government research.

After deploying Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Heathrow cut order processing times by an impressive 20% and reduced data repair times for one employee from three days to two hours.

The company previously relied on an on-premises solution for financial and business processes that required a managed data transfer process to other inventory and warehouse systems. This solution provided limited visibility into Heathrow’s overall operations, leading to longer data processing times.

And because the company data was stored on premises, a power outage at headquarters could shut down company operations worldwide.

Reducing order processing time by 20%

For IT teams, this situation contributed to long workdays. “With the previous system, I had to check in at 11∶00 PM every business day to see if orders had been properly closed,” says Nathan Johnson, Internal IT at Heathrow. “Otherwise, they would not show up in our daily reporting system on the day of the actual sale.”

Heathrow wanted to modernize its infrastructure with a cloud-based solution that would empower its employees to adapt to changing customer requirements. “We decided that the future was Dynamics 365 Business Central because that would help us to have a maintainable system,” says Johnson.

The company began an ambitious journey to migrate its finance and business operations to Dynamics 365 Business Central. With this digital transformation, Heathrow boosted efficiency by reducing order processing time by 20%.

To facilitate the migration, Heathrow turned to Microsoft partner Western Computer for its extensive expertise with Dynamics 365. “I felt like they heard us,” says Mohammad Khan, Senior Director of Operations and IT at Heathrow. “They took the time to understand what we do and what would work for us.”

Heathrow migrated data and modifications to Dynamics 365 Business Central with a mere 1.5 days of system downtime. The company integrated Business Central with its warehouse operations applications, improving overall visibility into business processes. The more unified data estate and the visualization tools in Power BI enable Heathrow to track key performance indicators including sales, revenue, order fulfillment, and delivery metrics.

Boosting security, resilience, and agility with the cloud

Heathrow’s digital transformation is improving the lives of its employees, eliminating late-night check-ins and increasing efficiency. “Before, a data glitch once caused me to spend three straight days rebuilding the data structure to get the reports working again,” says Johnson. “Now, if it happens, it takes me about two hours to fix the problem.”

The company’s move to Dynamics 365 Business Central has also bolstered its overall security and operational resilience. “Cybersecurity threats have always worried me: that we might have to restart the servers or reupload our data,” says Khan. “Being in the cloud literally takes that out of the equation for us, and I feel confident with the security of Microsoft products.”

Heathrow’s collaboration with Western Computer helps Heathrow to adapt to changing customer needs. Western Computer’s consultative, hands-on approach manifests in invested time up front to understand specific business requirements, giving Heathrow a competitive advantage in an ever-evolving landscape.

Transforming distribution for the digital era

As an innovator, Heathrow is always ready for the next big project. With its finance and business processes now consolidated in the cloud, the company is excited to continue refining its use of Dynamics 365 Business Central.

“I don’t think that any of these projects are ever easy, but our migration to Business Central has been successful; and it’s been successful because of the team that Heathrow has and the partner that Western Computer has been for us,” says Khan.

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