Veidekke faced outdated, fragmented ERP systems that limited financial oversight and project management.
It unified 25 companies on Microsoft Dynamics 365, standardizing finance, sales, and procurement processes.
Veidekke achieved improved reporting, increased profitability, and reduced manual work through automation and digitization.
Veidekke is one of Scandinavia's largest contractors. In addition to managing a range of building and civil engineering projects, the company also maintains roads and produces asphalt and aggregates. A publicly listed company on the Oslo Stock Exchange with more than 8,100 employees, Veidekke has a presence across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
To support a digital transformation initiative and fuel growth, Veidekke Norway moved from an outdated, disparate ERP environment to a unified financial and accounting system based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, and Dynamics 365 Sales. The company now has a standardized solution for financial operations, sales, and procurement, which has helped digitize data, increase profitability, improve reporting, and drive growth.
“Using Dynamics 365, we have achieved one of our main business objectives: modernizing an outdated, fragmented system landscape for finance and accounting.”
Jan Einar Årøe, IT Manager, Veidekke
Founded in 1936, Veidekke is the largest construction and civil engineering company in Norway and the fourth largest in Scandinavia. The company builds and maintains roads, tunnels, bridges, and houses across Scandinavia and produces crushed stone, gravel, and asphalt. Veidekke’s mission—“creating value through cooperation”—is deeply embedded in its approach to project development and stakeholder engagement in the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry.
In early 2019, Veidekke embarked on a digital transformation initiative to modernize its operations in support of its growth strategy. The initiative was designed to address challenges with its legacy ERP systems, which included an aging IBS on-premises ERP solution. “We had outdated and fragmented solutions for finance and accounting, so we did not have a holistic approach to the financial management of construction projects. Also, the IBS solution was no longer going to be supported because the main supplier closed operations in Norway,” says Jan Einar Årøe, IT Manager at Veidekke.
The company’s ambition to increase profitability through improved project oversight was also constrained by the limitations of its existing software tools. The complexity of integrating effective project estimation and control tools further complicated the digital transformation journey. “We wanted to have all our companies on a common financial platform, with digitized financial reporting and project management,” Årøe says.
To modernize its operations, Veidekke implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain Management, and Sales at 25 companies within Veidekke Norway, including Veidekke ASA, Veidekke Industri AS, and Veidekke Entreprenør AS, as well as additional subsidiaries. The Dynamics 365 solution covers construction, civil engineering and infrastructure, asphalt, and gravel and crushed stone business areas. The new solution introduced standardized accounting structures and harmonized financial processes across business units. Key modules include Finance, Fixed Assets, Financial Reporting, Demand Planning, Procurement, and Project Control. The solution also integrates with third-party tools such as e-Con CPQ (configure, price, and quote) for asphalt configuration, pricing, and quoting. Additionally, Veidekke integrated its custom-built project creation and management tool with Dynamics 365.
With Dynamics 365, Veidekke has a modern solution to manage all financial and accounting data across business entities. The company now has a solid, stable core platform that enables digitization and rapid development of specialized applications and systems. “Using Dynamics 365, we have achieved one of our main business objectives: modernizing an outdated, fragmented system landscape for finance and accounting,” says Årøe.
Veidekke also expects to increase profitability, another key objective of the move to Dynamics 365. “Higher profitability is one of our business goals, and we expect to achieve that by carrying out profitable construction projects with lower structural costs,” Årøe says.
“Higher profitability is one of our business goals, and we expect to achieve that by carrying out profitable construction projects with lower structural costs.”
Jan Einar Årøe, IT Manager, Veidekke
Veidekke also standardized processes and procedures with Dynamics 365, taking the first step toward bringing all the company’s business units onto one common finance and accounting platform and creating operational and management synergies. Eventually, the remaining subsidiaries will be phased into the new solution. “By standardizing on a common ERP platform with Dynamics 365, we are seeing measurable improvements in financial transparency while also introducing automation that reduces manual processes related to onboarding new companies, internal transparency, accounting, and reporting,” says Årøe.
The organization has also improved its reporting capabilities with Dynamics 365, Power BI, and Microsoft Fabric, increasing reporting accuracy and giving leaders the ability to quickly visualize updated financials. “Managers use the report center or self-service access to continuously update financial reports, reducing the burden on our finance and accounting teams and reducing the need for customizations,” says Årøe.
“By standardizing on a common ERP platform with Dynamics 365, we are seeing measurable improvements in financial transparency while also introducing automation that reduces manual processes related to onboarding new companies, internal transparency, accounting, and reporting.”
Jan Einar Årøe, IT Manager, Veidekke
Veidekke mitigated risk by removing unsupported software and moving to Dynamics 365. Even before the implementation, the company made sure to reduce the risk associated with the move by conducting comprehensive risk and cost analysis for the project. “This was a major transformation project, so we knew we had to approach it the right way in terms of risk management. Our internal steering board worked closely with partners and Microsoft, which was important to the success of the project,” Årøe says. “To achieve a consensus on the implementation cost with an accurate budget, it was crucial to conduct an uncertainty analysis aiming for approximately 70% certainty to stay within the budget. Doing the cost calculation and staying on budget was an essential part of this work.”
Frequent and early communication was also an important part of mitigating project risk. “Each time we went live with a business unit, it was a large and complex process,” says Årøe. “We communicated early in the process with the business about our goals and expectations, which made things smoother overall.”
Next, Veidekke plans to expand the Dynamics 365 implementation to its Danish operations. This expansion will unify the enterprise under a single ERP platform, further enhancing cross-border collaboration and financial oversight.
The company is also exploring advanced project estimation and control tools to replace legacy systems and support its goal of increasing profitability through better project execution. “The transition to Dynamics 365 has been incredibly smooth. It’s given us a solid foundation to build on, and we’re excited about the potential for even greater integration and control,” says Årøe.
“The transition to Dynamics 365 has been incredibly smooth. It’s given us a solid foundation to build on, and we’re excited about the potential for even greater integration and control.”
Jan Einar Årøe, IT Manager, Veidekke
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