Advancing Accessibility and Visibility with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, CRM, and Power BI

CHALLENGES

Lack of User-Friendliness for Vision-Impaired Staff

VisionCorps was struggling with the functional and accessibility limitations of their former software solution and their previous vendor’s lack of staffing consistency and availability. According to Chuck Blair, VisionCorps CIO and VP of Technology, the organization’s previous ERP solution was not user-friendly, especially for vision-impaired staff.

“We needed information displayed in a certain way,” explained Blair. “When designing things for the visually impaired, screens need to be predictable in how information is displayed.”

The software presented challenges for many VisionCorps’ team members. Screen readers (software programs allowing blind or visually impaired users to read text on a computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display) could not make sense of the ERP screens’ pop-up windows and other visual elements.

“For you and me, we look at an icon on a screen and visually know what to click on. Whereas screen readers read everything verbatim on the screen, leaving users to tab and scroll through everything using a keyboard. It can be tricky to navigate fields in multiple columns, breakout windows, and widgets. It’s tough for a visually impaired user to make sense of something as complex as an ERP system.”

No Clear Sightline Into Business Performance Data

Blair shared that the former ERP solution also had operational drawbacks in addition to the accessibility deficits.

“Users across our organization faced many roadblocks to getting the information they needed,” said Blair.

Among those roadblocks:

• Users had to have the application installed on their computers.
• VisionCorps had to purchase a license for each individual to allow them access to the software.
• Users had to navigate the complex menus within the ERP system.

It also impeded leadership’s ability to assess performance and make timely decisions. “We didn’t have a lot of access to real-time data. We would manufacture things and then a week or so later, when someone got around to entering all the manufacturing records, then things would show up in the ERP,” Blair said.

Also, getting basic financial information was difficult because of the time lag between activity and reporting. Blair shared, “Inventory value was off a lot due to the drift between actual vs. reported levels. We needed to tighten the gap to gain financial clarity.”

Moreover, Blair said the system was costly to maintain because it was hardware-based and required its own server. It was the only premise-based software that VisionCorps still used, and the vendor support for the solution was starting to wane.

SOLUTIONS

Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, Dynamics 365 CRM for Sales, Power BI for Reports

“We had transitioned all else to the Microsoft cloud ecosystem,” Blair shared. “My main goals were to move our ERP functions into the cloud and enhance accessibility to make the software more inclusive.”

Blair, who knew of Cargas’s capabilities through working with them in the past at another company, initiated a consultation. From there, Cargas began implementing the changes VisionCorps needed in a phased approach.

In 2014, VisionCorps transitioned support of its CRM (Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales) to Cargas. Then in 2017, Cargas took over support of their existing ERP system. In 2020, Cargas replaced that premise-based ERP system with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Highlights of VisionCorps’ Solution Implemented by Cargas:

• Cloud-based software accessible in real-time to all users at all locations
• Sight-related improvements, enabling visually impaired users to navigate screens more easily.
• Organization-wide visibility of real-time data
• Customizations to accommodate unique data collection requirements
• Streamlined operations and enhanced financial reporting through Integrations with third-party software
• Local, responsive software support

BENEFITS

More Effective Management Thanks to Decompartmentalized Data Access

With a browser-based Microsoft solution for both ERP and CRM functions, VisionCorps has expanded the visibility and accessibility of real-time data across the organization. And with Cargas as its software vendor, the organization has a partner willing and able to create more tools and adaptations for vision accessibility.

Blair noted that with everything in the cloud, VisionCorps has experienced significant improvement in business processes and reporting capabilities. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has decompartmentalized data so that all departments can access it.

“Now any manager can get into the data they need via their login,” Blair explained. “They can see first-hand what sales are, who the customer contact is, and what is the status of orders. Before, they would have to ask our finance people to extract that information.”

With the move to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, VisionCorps gained valuable flexibility, making management possible from all locations. For example, the organization’s rehabilitation teams provide services in five counties. Because all cases are in the Microsoft cloud, they can use any device and get the information they need from wherever they are as long as they have an internet connection.

Cargas has helped (and continues to help) VisionCorps customize the software and implement integrations to meet their unique needs.

For example, VisionCorps needed custom fields to track specific attributes related to their government contract business. Also, Cargas implemented an integration with the organization’s warehouse management system for its manufacturing segment.

Cargas also completed financial software integrations, including a financial reports integration and a financial allocation software integration. “That allows us to spread out our costs over multiple departments,” Blair explained.

Improved User-Friendliness for Visually Impaired Team Members

According to Blair, a primary goal of the project was making the software accessible so that VisionCorps can create more white-collar jobs for people with vision impairment. “Seventy percent of people with vision impairments are either unemployed or underemployed.”
Cargas has made enhancements and customizations, providing more tools and features to expand vision accessibility within the software.

“Inherently, there weren’t a lot of accessibility features in the solution. Cargas sat down with our visually impaired users and configured their screens to their individual preferences,” shared Blair.

Also, Cargas customized the software with vision-related features that didn’t exist before, such as the ability to zoom into ERP and CRM screens.

Now, vision-impaired employees, including the company’s CEO, can access and see the data.

According to Blair, Business Central still has a way to go before it’s entirely screen reader-friendly. Cargas and VisionCorps are working together to design screens and reports so that screen readers can make sense of what’s displayed. They’re making progress toward the goal of giving visually impaired employees the means to use the system more intuitively.

With Cargas as their software partner, Blair feels confident that the solution will continue to evolve and help VisionCorps achieve its mission.

“The Cargas team is not only competent at what they do, but also they really put in the effort to make the software work for us. As an employee-owned company, everyone at Cargas is thoroughly invested in making the product good. They have gone above and beyond to understand our visually impaired users’ needs. And they take what they learn to inform what they do next.”

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