Asco Case Study: Dynamics AX implementation project turn around

Telefónica Tech delivers Dynamics AX implementation project turn around for Asco

Case Studies | 19 July 2017

ASCO is a leading international oilfield support services company providing logistics and supply base management services, primarily to the Offshore Oil and Gas industry.

ASCO generates a turnover of £540m and employs 2,000 people across the globe.

ASCO operates from 60 locations including 17 supply bases, across 7 countries, for hundreds of customers. This involves over 1,000 transactions each day across its various locations using a variety of IT systems.

The Challenge

Multiple systems and sources of data with limited sharing

ASCO is a wide and diverse business, with each operating hub offering a variety of services including quayside operations, transport and warehousing. There were many situations where information was not shared efficiently and each hub would use a different combination of operational front end systems and excel spreadsheets to manage day to day operations, customer invoicing and reporting.

ASCO historically used Open Accounts as its finance system but, as an expanding group, it had acquired a number of businesses in recent years. Many of these continued to use their existing systems, consequently, there was no single source of easily obtainable financial, invoicing and key operational data. Month end invoicing and accounting was a lengthy manual process with a high risk of error or omission due to the manipulation and sharing of many spreadsheets.

In 2014, along with new investors, there were a number of board level changes, including the appointment of a new Chief Executive. The new team set out an ambitious modernisation programme, enabled by a number of technology investments, to help drive efficiencies and improve performance. The programme encompassed both operational and financial systems.

As part of this programme, ASCO selected Microsoft Dynamics AX as its ERP to provide a central infrastructure to enable the company to facilitate the standardisation of processes and efficient management reporting across the group. They appointed a major systems integrator for the initial Dynamics AX design and deployment. However, as the project moved towards go live they realised they needed the flexible and cost effective support of a smaller local partner to help them achieve their business goals.

The Solution

Dynamics AX

ASCO required a partner with deep Dynamics AX knowledge as well as experience within the oil and gas service industry. Close geographic proximity during such an involved and strategic project was key. ASCO subsequently selected Telefónica Tech as its Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP partner in April 2015 to deliver the implementation and provide ongoing support of the Microsoft Dynamics AX solution.

“Telefónica Tech has a high level of knowledge of AX and the underlying technologies, coupled with real world experience of what is required to implement the system across our global business units. We have been very impressed with their professional approach and willingness to challenge and drive ASCO forward. This allowed us to move at a faster pace with higher business acceptance throughout the change process.”
Jim Titmuss, Group IT&S Director, ASCO

Telefónica Tech worked closely with ASCO and the Systems Integrator through the initial service transition period, and identified areas where the original solution design would not meet ASCO’s needs. With ASCO’s buy-in, Telefónica Tech embarked on a programme of testing, redesigning, reconfiguring and reworking customisations.

“Telefónica Tech really helped us turn things around on the project which enabled us to implement a system that met our go live needs.”
Scott Donald, Business systems controller, ASCO

Telefónica Tech provided support and advised on functionality and design improvements throughout the transition which enabled the commencement of go live roll outs across a number of smaller UK sites in early 2016. By the summer of that year the large UK business hubs went live, including interfaces to a suite of new front end operational systems (“ILMS”).

The overseas element of the go live project is ongoing throughout 2017 and Telefónica Tech is project managing this deployment. Telefónica Tech’s Technology Director continues to sit on the ASCO Digital Transformation Steering Group.

The Key Results

Improved decision making and efficiency

ASCO now has an enterprise system which meets its complex, evolving and international business needs and adds value across the business and to its customers.

Month-end accounting and reporting periods have been almost halfed and data quality and management information is improving each month. Further improvements are expected in 2018.

AP processing has been centralised and is now more efficient thanks to the introduction of an OCR system, integrated with Dynamics AX.

Similarly, automation in customer invoicing processes due to the direct interface with iLMS has significantly reduced processing time and improved accuracy.

Customer Quote

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“Having a partner that can work flexibly with us and who can help us evolve Dynamics to meet our changing goals and needs is very important. We felt Telefónica Tech ultimately ticked all of those boxes.”

James Hood

Head of IT and E-Learning, HFMA