FRP Advisory Cuts Costs by 34% with Dynamics 365 CRM

FRP Advisory: Saving 34% over 3 years by switching to Dynamics 365

How FRP Advisory worked with Telefónica Tech to maximise long-term ROI with a unified, modern CRM platform

Professional Services | Business Applications Download PDF

About the customer

Clarity and confidence in times of change

FRP Advisory is a leading national business advisory firm known for its honest, clear, and considered approach, which delivers tangible results for clients. Specialising in restructuring, forensics, corporate finance, debt and financial advisory, FRP provides strategic solutions across a wide range of situations. Their five pillar services complement each other, leveraging experts from each area to ensure the best team is in place for every circumstance.

FRP works with businesses of all sizes, from multinational organisations to small enterprises, developing effective strategies tailored to each client’s needs. In 2024, FRP Advisory worked with Telefónica Tech Business Applications to deliver a modern, integrated, and flexible CRM solution on Dynamics 365.

The Challenge

Reimagining CRM: The need for a simplified approach

Through several years of complicated configurations, FRP’s existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, Salesforce, had come to no longer be meeting the needs across the group’s five service lines. This was leading to low engagement and a lack of output that hindered information sharing and efficiency. Furthermore, the architecture was not set up for performance reporting, meaning FRP had limited insights.

Thus, FRP found they had built up significant technical debt and needed a fresh CRM solution that more closely aligned with and simplified their ways of working.

With a diverse user base by the nature of FRP’s business, intuitiveness and usability was key. Being an acquisitive organisation, FRP has industry-specific complexities around sales and operations, and sought a technology partner that could grasp their ways of working and offer a unified solution.

Through demonstrating a deep understanding of FRP’s business and vision, as well as unmatched expertise in Microsoft Dynamics 365, Telefónica Tech was chosen by FRP to deliver their modern CRM solution.

Customer Quote

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“Our Telefónica Tech Project Manager did an excellent job of breaking down this large project into daily objectives, which kept us moving forward. We became a close team, working in collaboration with a real sense of camaraderie. Importantly, Telefónica Tech not only successfully delivered Dynamics 365 CRM but helped us learn—we can now be self-sufficient with a lot of tasks, while knowing the Telefónica Tech team are always on hand to assist when needed.”

Sarah Winder

Client Data & CRM Senior Manager, FRP Advisory

The Solution

Focusing on user engagement and long-term value

FRP decided on Telefónica Tech and Dynamics 365 after a methodological and impartial review of marketplace leaders. A funded in-person envisioning session enabled FRP and Telefónica Tech to identify challenges and aims from the outset, laying the foundations for a successful implementation and migration project. Over an aggressive 3-month timescale, Telefónica Tech delivered the in-scope solution on time and on budget.

First, a flexible licensing structure was key. With a wide range of users, not all staff require access to all features. Importantly, FRP was looking for long-term value, which Dynamics 365 could offer.

It was recognised the biggest challenge was going to be user adoption among an audience that had become apathetic to the value of CRM. However, through Dynamics 365’s intuitiveness and functionality FRP colleagues have been able to engage with the platform quickly, building back trust and delivering clear ROI.

From administrative roles to business development to senior executives, FRP’s diverse users are getting value from the new CRM solution. For example, alongside Dynamics 365 Sales, Telefónica Tech implemented Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys to replace Salesforce Account Engagement. This enables the marketing team to seamlessly run events, plan campaigns, and monitor engagement levels. Partners are tracking activities across the business and building up a view of performance insights, supporting them to develop and strengthen industry relationships.

By the nature of the advisory industry, anyone across FRP can bring in business, rather than relying on a traditional sales team. Now, users are able to log and track this information with ease and quickly understand what’s flowing through the organisation at any given time. Furthermore, FRP can also manage outgoing referrals to accountants and lawyers, maintaining reciprocal relationships.

The Solution

System integration and effective change management

A major strength of Dynamics 365 is its integration with the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem. This enables user uptake and ongoing engagement due to familiarity—for example, some of FRP’s users prefer to interact with Dynamics 365 directly within Outlook, where they are comfortable working.

In addition, Power BI dashboards are enabling immediate, embedded analytics and equipping leadership with meaningful insights into company performance. The embedded Dynamics 365 CRM Copilot is enabling FRP with AI-insights, with plans to configure Copilot Studio in the pipeline.

What’s more, by its nature, CRM is a rich repository of business information—and Dynamics 365 is able to easily share data with Microsoft Fabric, which FRP is investing in as an end-to-end intelligence platform.

It was important for FRP to get stakeholder buy-in across the enterprise by demonstrating the benefits of Dynamics 365 and making it as easy as possible to use. Therefore, a solid change management process has assisted in naturally boosting adoption: for example, FRP has established a champions network, regular new feature sessions, strong update communications, and a knowledge hub including on-demand training.

Due to this effective change management and the intuitiveness of the platform, FRP leadership were able to quickly pick up Dynamics 365 and offer top-down endorsement and advocation.

The Outcomes

A flexible CRM solution that maximises return on investment

34% cost saving over 3 years, inclusive of transition costs
Increased active license holders from 42% to 62%
Increased demand for licenses, going from 335 to 500 in the space of 6 months
Data quality improvements are delivering robust performance insights
Removed bottlenecks around email marketing
Strengthened FRP’s offering as a parent organisation

Having had their Dynamics 365 CRM from Telefónica Tech live for 6-months, FRP is receiving positive user feedback and has successfully changed CRM perceptions across the board.

FRP chose Telefónica Tech for our honest, collaborative approach and deep understanding of their requirements, enabling us to deliver a wholly fit-for-purpose solution. As explained by Yvonne Finlayson, Director of Business Transition and Projects at FRP, “Working with Telefónica Tech was a very positive experience. From the outset, Pre-Sales actively listened and took the time to understand our industry. For implementation we had an excellent, highly skilled team and their calm demeanour, strong technical expertise, and engaging communication style inspired confidence. They effectively managed the workload and relationships, addressing issues promptly and offering thoughtful solutions that added real value to the project.

“The team’s ability to actively listen, provide wise counsel, and guide us through tight deadlines made a potentially stressful process seamless and enjoyable. In addition, our inhouse team also significantly improved their knowledge. Telefónica Tech brought the right balance of professionalism and humour, and their problem-solving was instrumental in building trust. The project’s success was a testament to their dedication and skill, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Telefónica Tech for future collaborations.”

Customer Quote

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“Through becoming a collaborative team with FRP, Telefónica Tech delivered a painless switch from Salesforce to Dynamics 365. We now have a modern, easy-to-use CRM system that will help FRP continue to grow into the future. The Telefónica Tech team were instrumental in ensuring success—their understanding of all stakeholder perspectives and solid blend of soft and technical skills helped us feel like one team.”

Yvonne Finlayson

Director – Business Transition and Projects, FRP Advisory
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“Using the system has been smooth and intuitive. The information was introduced gradually during the onboarding process, which prevented overwhelm and supported the development of strong habits and a clear understanding of how the system functions within our operational workflows. Whenever I’ve had technical questions, they’ve been addressed promptly, and the reporting capabilities now give us valuable, clear insights into our business.”

Jenna Herlingshaw

Business Development Manager, FRP Advisory

Technologies used

Dynamics 365 CRM

Dynamics 365 is the flexible, AI-powered CRM platform that seamlessly integrates into your Microsoft environment. Telefónica Tech is one of the few Microsoft partners in the UK to support the entire Dynamics 365 suite, with extensive experience implementing successful solutions across Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Professional Services, the Public Sector and beyond.

Power BI

Power BI is the market-leading business intelligence tool from Microsoft, enabling organisations to analyse their data in real-time, visual, and interactive dashboards. With seamless integration throughout your Microsoft ecosystem, including Dynamics 365, Power BI facilitates a 360-degree view on business performance.