As a roll-up of acquired companies, Aspen Marketing

Transcription

1 Microsoft Customer Solution Case Study Aspen Marketing Services Unifies Their Company and Pays for New Software in Record Time Microsoft Dynamics SL Microsoft Dynamics SL is not just an accounting package; it is a business tool for our entire organization. Dennis Leary Vice President, Director of Operations Aspen Marketing Services As a roll-up of acquired companies, Aspen Marketing Services had five divisions operating independently on seven different general ledgers. They were experiencing a close of three to four weeks. When Patrick O Rahilly became CEO, he brought with him a determination to unify the O Rahilly felt a major step to a unified company was a unified accounting system; he set an aggressive schedule to implement one. O Rahilly hired Don Danner, CFO, with the direction to Get it in, make it work, stay under budget, and work with the philosophy of a unified A Microsoft reselling partner was selected to help identify the best solution to meet Aspen s needs. Microsoft Dynamics SL (formerly Solomon) was chosen for its strengths in accounting integration, inventory management, and project management. Another Microsoft partner was selected to implement the solution on an aggressive schedule. Aspen has reduced month close by 68 percent, reduced inventory by $500,000, and has improved both their management and visibility of projects. These improvements have helped the company increase profitability by seven percent in the past year; they expect payback from their new solution in nine to ten months. CUSTOMER PROFILE BUSINESS SITUATION SOLUTION BENEFITS As the fifth largest marketing services firm in the United States, Aspen Marketing Services provides integrated marketing services to over 100 clients. With headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, the company expects annual revenue to exceed $130 million in They have approximately 300 employees in eight locations and 100 full-time system users. As a roll-up of acquired companies, Aspen was operating as five independent divisions on seven different general ledgers; they had an extremely long close. When Patrick O Rahilly became CEO, he came determined to unify the company and felt that a unified accounting system was the key to doing so. O Rahilly set the course to secure a unified solution and unite the Aspen hired a Microsoft reselling partner to help identify the best solution to address their needs. Microsoft Dynamics SL was selected for its integrated accounting, inventory management, and project management capabilities. Another Microsoft partner was able to meet the aggressive implementation schedule Aspen adopted. Integrated, unified accounting system Consolidated reporting Faster close Improved decision making Inventory improvements Team building/time saving

2 Microsoft Dynamics SL provides us with the ability to manage the company in a timely manner instead of with information that is 30 days old. We used to have a gap in information. Now, we can actually see where the company is at day to day and month to month. Dennis Leary Vice President, Director of Operations Aspen Marketing Services Microsoft Dynamics SL Financial Management Project Management Supply Chain Management Analytics and Reporting Customization Tools Microsoft Windows Microsoft Office System Founded in 1986, Aspen Marketing Services is the fifth largest marketing services firm in the United States. The company focuses on providing integrated resources for direct response marketing programs. They offer services through direct marketing including: Branded products (items with company logos including pens, mugs, and wearables that are sold through their on-line store) Interactive services Promotions/premiums Events (mall/mobile marketing through the use of displays and tractor trailers) Strategic planning Company headquarters are located in West Chicago, Illinois; with regional offices located in Atlanta, Georgia; Boise, Idaho; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Tampa, Florida. The company also has sales offices in Dallas, Texas, and Birmingham, Alabama. Aspen serves over 100 clients across the United States; it has approximately 300 employees with 100 full-time users and another 100 users with access through web browsers. Annual revenues for 2003 are expected to exceed $130 million. As a roll-up of several acquired companies, they were operating seven different general ledgers. Consolidated reporting was done via spread sheets and a lot of elbow grease, says Don Danner, CFO. They were not operating as a unified Two major problems faced the company: An extremely long close (typically three to four weeks) and Each division operated with their own identity including discrete accounting systems. The individual platforms being used ranged from sort of okay to really old and outdated. Since each division operated in a cocoon, it was difficult to get information about other facets of the While the divergent solutions had been a perceived problem earlier, when Patrick O Rahilly became CEO of Aspen, he brought with him a new philosophy. O Rahilly was determined to have the company operate as one, unified company and he felt a major step to this philosophy was having the company operate on a unified accounting system. To ensure this would happen, O Rahilly hired Danner as the project s champion. O Rahilly s directive was clear, says Danner. He said, Get it in, make it work, stay under budget, and make sure it works with the company philosophy. Since Microsoft reselling partner had experience with both Microsoft and non- Microsoft products, they were hired by Aspen in a consulting capacity to help them identify the solution that would best meet their needs. Along the way to our final selection, we looked at a variety of solutions including SAP and JD Edwards, says Leary. We felt these solutions were cost ineffective and they would take too long to implement. They were also far too intricate for us to administer effectively on our own. Aspen wanted a solution they could administer themselves and one that could be implemented on an aggressive schedule, so they opted for Microsoft Dynamics SL. They knew this solution had strong

3 components for project accounting, distribution, and inventory management. In October 2002, Aspen set an aggressive implementation timeline: January 1-Financial Management, ASAP-Project Management, and April 1-Supply Chain Management. When their Microsoft implementation partner heard the aggressive schedule Aspen proposed, they gulped and rolled up their sleeves. While Aspen acknowledged they couldn t get the entire solution in place that quickly, they believed they could get percent of what they wanted accomplished and they were willing to tweak the solution as they went along and roll out the remainder in Phase 3. Aspen credits the flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics SL for allowing them to accomplish their flexible and aggressive implementation plan. Danner worked closely with Dennis Leary, Vice President and Director of Operations, to direct and coordinate the Microsoft Dynamics SL implementation within the When employees came to them with their individual questions about processes, Don and Dennis did an excellent job of keeping the big picture in focus, says Kathie Malkewicz. They heard everyone s concerns and asked us how this change would fit into the Aspen process. If it didn t fit into the big scheme, it didn t get in. When the company determined that a concern merited change, the employees became responsible to assure that the process added would work for the entire company, and not just for their division. Only solutions that worked for the entire company were added to the solution. previous contracts were not truly integrated across the many divisions of the Aspen now pitches the company as an integrated marketing company able to perform a complete bundle of services. Now, three or even four divisions work closely on fulfilling integrated contracts which, at times, are as large as several million dollars. Microsoft Project Accounting provides Aspen with improved management of the integrated contracts. This solution allows the company to accumulate costs until the completion of the contract and it identifies the portions of the contract that have reached completion. It allows scheduling of revenue and bills independent of each other and it automatically recognizes the amount revenue over time. Microsoft Project Accounting enables Aspen to track project costs against the contract and it provides visibility of these costs from every part of the Whether an employee is working on the contract from Tampa, Boise, or Detroit, they all have access to the same, real-time information. This software also provides easy access to information on profitability on individual projects or portions of projects. The Financial Management module has provided Aspen with centralized billing. With improved coordination and a common software solution, Aspen has eliminated inter-company billing. They have been able to focus on sales and operations in an unprecedented manner. Integration of financials with Positive Pay provides Aspen with additional anti-fraud protection which is appreciated by their insurance Previously, one division would contract with a client and then farm out some of the services to other divisions. The

4 Supportive of Company Philosophy Microsoft Dynamics SL supports the unified philosophy of Aspen Marketing Services. This software provides consolidated access and real-time visibility throughout the Microsoft Dynamics SL allows us to manage our company in a way that we really couldn t before, says Leary. Previously, we relied on each division to tell us how they were doing. With our new software, we have become all seeing and all knowing and it is changing the way we make decisions. People are now doing higher level activities, says Leary. Employees were previously consumed with data entry of transactions; they are now able to do light analysis and quality control functions. Consolidated Financials Consolidating financials has supported the philosophy of a totally integrated company as set forth by O Rahilly. With a unified accounting solution, the company is able to operate as one company rather than as several independent divisions within a This consolidation has saved time and helped build team spirit within the Before implementation, communication between offices was time consuming and difficult. We would be talking about diverse processes and documents, says Kathie Malkewicz, General Accounting Manager. Now that we have one platform, we can click onto the same screen to discuss and resolve issues quickly and effectively. When we operated as independent divisions, people had no need to communicate between offices, say Leary. Now, employees communicate with each other and they easily call up Chicago, Atlanta, or another location for answers to questions they have. Aspen appreciates the security of knowing that in the event of a disaster in one location, their company will still be able to be fully functional and to serve their clients from other locations. Real-time Reporting Employees throughout the organization can access information about inventory, projects, and financials. Real-time information has improved decision making and the ability to manage the Microsoft Dynamics SL provides us with the ability to manage the company in a timely manner instead of with information that is 30 days old, says Leary. We used to have a gap in information. Now, we can actually see where the company is at day to day and month to month. We can know where we are standing on a moment s notice. Faster close Prior to implementation, it took Aspen as long as three to four weeks to close. After implementing Microsoft Dynamics SL, Aspen is able to close 68 percent faster. Working Capital Reduction Aspen has been able to reduce their working capital needs by $4 million eliminating interest charges of $250,000 and reducing corporate cost by one percent for additional savings of $1.3 million. The company expects to have full payback from implementation costs within nine to ten months. Reduced Inventory Increased visibility and access to inventory has allowed Aspen to reduce inventory by $500,000. With visibility of inventory across all locations, any location can now access inventory from any other site.

5 Microsoft Business Solutions offers a wide range of integrated, end-to-end business applications and services designed to help small, mid-market and corporate businesses become more connected with customers, employees, partners and suppliers. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics SL, go to: or call Synergy Business Solutions at Software for the Agile Business For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) in the United States or (905) in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: For more information about Microsoft Dynamics SL, call Synergy Business Solutions at or visit Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft is either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Date Published: September2003