“Our legacy system was holding us back from a growth standpoint. It limited what we could do, was very slow from a processing standpoint, and required a lot of resources to get things done,” shared President and CEO Drew Weaver. “And when we learned that the system would no longer be supported, it was time to look into other options.”

According to Weaver, they wanted an employee-friendly, cloud-based solution that could scale as their company grows. They selected Business Central because of its capabilities and flexibility, and they knew Microsoft is an OEM that will continue to invest in and support its products.

“We interviewed three potential implementation partners, and Cargas quickly stood out as superior,” said Weaver. “The sales team demonstrated a firm understanding of what we do and how the solution could benefit us. The farther we got into it, the more my confidence was validated that Cargas knew exactly what our goals were, and they were going to do everything they could to deliver.”

Weaver explained that Cargas’s attention to risk mitigation throughout the project significantly contributed to a seamless cutover. Before the system went live, Cargas created a sandbox environment so Weaver Materiel’s team could test its features and workflows.

“We allocated resources and invested time in testing, giving Cargas input and feedback along the way.”

This ensured the solution was configured to align with Weaver Materiel’s processes and allowed the team to become comfortable with the system before going live.

After transitioning from the antiquated, premise-based IBM “green screen” system to Business Central, Weaver Materiel has improved operational efficiency and increased sales volume without adding human resources.

“It’s like having an anchor lifted. We didn’t realize how much our old system was a hindrance until we switched to Business Central, ” shared Weaver. “Everything flows much faster and more smoothly. From quoting and order entry to purchase orders and fulfillment, to shipping and invoicing, everything is at our fingertips without jumping back and forth between separate screens. The transaction speed is remarkable.”

In addition to the flexibility and speed advantages, Weaver also said the secure, cloud-based solution offers the peace of mind that business operations can continue in the event of an emergency at headquarters.

“You can log in from any computer anywhere and have full access to the solution.”

Weaver said Power BI has transformed the company’s ability to access, work with, and assess data.

“Power BI has been a huge asset, providing workable data that’s extremely robust and easy to export, adjust, and share,” he explained. “You can build a custom report and present real-time data on virtually anything quickly.”

Additionally, the company can trigger automatic email notifications to alert select staff when certain data thresholds are reached. For example, if outstanding invoices reach a specific dollar amount, the accounts receivable department receives an email prompting them to step up collection efforts. The ability to automate emails based on specific data points has enabled the company to manage inventory more effectively, improve cash flow, and grow revenue faster.

According to Weaver, other integrations, particularly the one between Business Central and the company’s bank, have also had a significant positive impact on the business. “We’ve been able to integrate our banking, so when we pay a vendor, the ACH or check payment is automatically posted to Business Central. We’re not duplicating effort.”

Weaver Materiel anticipates leveraging additional integrations to gain further efficiencies.