New Product Built on Business Management Technology ...



Overview

Country or Region: United States

Industry: Wine Industry

Customer Profile

Established in 1985 in the United States, Elypsis is one of the leading providers of vertical software solutions to the wine industry.

Business Situation

Elypsis wanted to build a more profitable, international business by building a vertical product for the wine industry, based on Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV.

Solution

Elypsis built a vertical product called e-Winery, an integrated software solution which builds on Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV.

Benefits

■ Ease of vertical product development

■ Increased customer focus

■ Increased revenues achieved

■ Faster and more profitable customer implementations

■ International expansion realised

| | |“We wanted a platform that let us to do what we wanted. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution is very flexible, giving access to source code…. It made it easy to build a leading vertical product for the wine industry.”

Jeremy Grant, Vice President, Elypsis

| |

| | | |Elypsis is one of the United States’s leading providers of software solutions to the wine industry. |

| | | |It identified a business opportunity to build a vertical product for the industry, based on Microsoft|

| | | |Dynamics™ NAV, formerly Microsoft® Business Solutions–Navision®. Since its change to a vertical |

| | | |business strategy, Elypsis has boosted revenues by 50 per cent in two years. It has halved |

| | | |implementation times, resulting in reduced costs and increased profit. Elypsis’s product is operating|

| | | |in over 20 sites, and the organisation aims to extend this to more than 30 locations by 2006, through|

| | | |increased growth and international expansion. Elypsis’s WineClubManager® product received a 2005 |

| | | |Specialised Retail Solutions award as vertical winner from Vertical Systems Reseller magazine, a |

| | | |leading publication in the United States. This was based on technical achievement, business problem |

| | | |solved, and impact to end-user employees and consumers. |

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| | | |[pic] |

| | | | |

Situation

Elypsis was established in 1985 in the heart of the wine country of Napa Valley in the United States. As a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, it is one of the country’s leading providers of vertical software solutions to the wine industry. Elypsis started business as a reseller of business management technology with a horizontal approach. Elypsis wanted to build on its success by focusing its efforts on a specific industry.

Jeremy Grant, Vice President, Elypsis, says, “We wanted to increase the efficiency of our business. Projects were not as profitable as they should have been because we were spending too much time building knowledge of the industry that each customer operated in. We wanted to consolidate our efforts into one industry, which would allow us to focus on understanding our customers’ needs.”

Its location meant Elypsis spent a lot of time working with customers in the wine industry. It knew that many customers, who were working in a competitive environment, were dissatisfied with their technology solutions. They wanted a solution that could integrate all the business financial information easily and quickly. Naturally, cost was also a consideration.

Grant says, “We knew there was a need for an integrated product solution. However, we had to make a fundamental decision about how to address this opportunity in the market. We decided to find a technology platform on which we could build a solution, rather than build a product from the bottom up. This saves time and money, letting us focus our development efforts on building the best vertical product for the industry while letting Microsoft continue to enhance the Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV platform which we consider to be the best horizontal product period.”

Solution

Elypsis carried out an extensive review of business management technology platforms before deciding that the Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV software, formerly Microsoft Business Solutions–Navision®, was the best environment on which to develop its vertical product.

Grant says: “We wanted a platform that let us to do what we wanted. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution is very flexible, giving access to source code and offering the most rapid development environment we had come across. It made it easy to build a leading vertical product for the wine industry.”

It took two years of industry research and product development for the full version to be built. Elypsis’s completely integrated e-Winery software solution builds on the power of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It covers the full suite of financial and operations modules and manages the entire process from wine bottling through to distribution including warehouse integration. Elypsis also integrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Microsoft Retail Management System, allowing a winery to standardise on the Microsoft environment. The ease of customisation with Microsoft Dynamics NAV makes it possible to adapt the application for specific customer needs where needed.

Grant says, “There were no compatibility issues with the product, despite its breadth and level of customisation. The fact that Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a Microsoft platform adds to our value proposition. Customers know that the ongoing research and development from Microsoft helps them to take advantage of the latest technology updates as well as security developments.”

Elypsis has subsequently built an add-on module called WineClubManager®. This provides automatic Wine Club processing and list support within Microsoft Retail Management System, a point-of-sale (POS) and retail management application. Designed to increase productivity and profits, it integrated back office activities with the POS functions. Sales information can be held in one place as a result of the integration with Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This eliminates the need for multiple databases and reduces duplicate entry points, saving time and ensuring accuracy. It also allows for reporting that otherwise has to be done by querying multiple data sources.

Elypsis’ WineClubManager® received a 2005 Specialised Retail Solutions award as the vertical winner from Vertical Systems Reseller magazine, a leading publication in the United States. This was based on technical achievement, business problem solved, and impact to both end-user employees and consumers.

Benefits

Revenues Increased by 50 Per Cent in Two Years

Elypsis has grown its revenues by 50 per cent over the last two years. This is a direct result of its decision to develop a vertical business strategy. Elypsis believes it is vital to determine up front whether to sell the standard product or to modify for a vertical industry.

Grant says, “We chose the Microsoft [Dynamics] NAV methodology of building a vertical solution. Customers work with us because we know their business, and provide the right product.”

Elypsis has become an expert on the wine industry since taking a vertical market focus. It understands the issues and challenges its customers face. Grant says, “Customers often call to ask your opinions on what challenges face the industry as they start to look at you more as a trusted advisor than a technology sales and service organisation.”

Grant adds, “Being so vertically focused, you recognise that everyone is a little different. The ability to customise the Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution so rapidly makes it easy for us to modify our product for each unique need. There is a significant difference between a tailored and off-the-shelf package. Customers want the right fit, which helps us win business.”

Implementation Times Halved

Elypsis is seeing the benefits of a more focused business approach. Gaining increased knowledge of a vertical industry, combined with rolling out the same core product to every customer, means the implementation of projects is easier and quicker.

Risk is reduced with each new project because the solution has been proven time and time again. Working in a similar environment from one business to the next, it is only necessary to tailor the vertical solution to each customer’s needs.

Grant says, “During an average project, we used to spend the majority of our time performing gap fit analysis and making technology modifications and report writing. With a product designed for the vertical market, these requirements are vastly reduced. Implementation times have halved on average. Less time equates to increased profits. This time can be spent securing and implementing additional sales.”

Elypsis plans to cut implementation times further by using Microsoft Dynamics NAV Rapid Implementation Methodology (RIM).

Grant says, “Saving on implementation times is a business priority. To achieve a higher volume of sales, we want to move to a fixed price model to reduce the perceived risk to our prospects. We can achieve this goal by using RIM, which will reduce implementation times by an additional 30 per cent. Knowing a project has a finite cost is key to ensuring future profitability and growth.”

Elypsis currently has over 20 winery customers worldwide, achieved over the last two years. It plans to add more than 30 new winery customers over the next fiscal year.

Vertical Knowledge Increases Partner Opportunity with the Latest Mobile Technologies

Having an in-depth knowledge of a vertical industry increases the opportunity to expand sales. In the wine industry, effective allocation—deciding where each case of wine is sold—is critical to retaining the right levels of volume in each location and thus securing premium pricing. Understanding this industry issue allows Elypsis to offer customers the latest mobile technologies, and provide new business opportunities for Elypsis.

Using the Microsoft Windows Mobile™ 2003 software for Pocket PCs, winery sales staff input the sales order during the customer meeting. The data integrates directly into the Microsoft Dynamics NAV system, which is updated immediately. A notification is then generated, ensuring the order is fulfilled. The Windows Mobile–based devices also allow for updating of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV fully integrated CRM granules.

Grant says, “Innovative use of technology increases the profile of our customers’ wines, building future sales and automating the ordering process. In the future, we plan to offer Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2004 to automate the entire operation from wine order through to product delivery. This process of streamlining activities saves customers time and money, so we know there is a ready market.”

Intellectual Property Provides Access to New Markets

Another benefit that Elypsis has discovered is the value of its intellectual property held within the product. It is able to sell the product indirectly via a network of partners. Elypsis has already partnered with South African and Australian companies to expand its customer market and remit internationally.

The South African partner provides a solution, which covers the wine process from grape-picking to wine bottling, vineyard management, and cellar management. Elypsis’s product focuses on the process after bottling, resulting in a mutual business opportunity. Elypsis co-licensed the product from its South African partner and built it inside its Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution. Being that the entire solution was built into one environment, there were many efficiencies in place.

Grant says, “With Microsoft Dynamics NAV we can write directly to the source code, reducing duplication of building data. Our product now covers the entire wine-making process. We have doubled our customer market opportunity and have a partner selling our product in Australia and South Africa, expanding our international capabilities.”

Microsoft Business Solutions

Microsoft Business Solutions offer integrated business applications and services that allow small and midsize organizations and divisions of large enterprises to connect employees, customers, and suppliers for improved efficiency. The financial management, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and analytics applications work with other Microsoft software, including the Microsoft Office System and the Microsoft Windows® operating system, to streamline processes across an entire organization. This gives businesses insight to respond rapidly, plan strategically, and execute quickly. Microsoft Business Solutions are delivered through a worldwide network of channel partners that provide specialized services and local support tailored to a company's needs.

For more information about Microsoft Business Solutions, go to:

businesssolutions

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| |Software and Services

■ Products

− Microsoft Dynamics NAV

− Microsoft Windows Mobile"! 2003 software for Pocket PCs

− Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 |Solutions

− Microsoft Retail Management System | |

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informatiomics NAV

Microsoft Windows Mobile™ 2003 software for Pocket PCs

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 |Solutions

Microsoft Retail Management System | |

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Navision, BizTalk, Windows, and Windows Mobile are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published November 2005 | | |

For More Information

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For more information about Elypsis products and services, visit the Web site at:



“We chose the Microsoft [Dynamics] NAV methodology of building a vertical solution. Customers work with us because we know their business, and provide the right product.”

Jeremy Grant, Vice President, Elypsis

| |

"We have doubled our customer market opportunity and have a partner selling our product in Australia and South Africa, expanding our international capabilities.”

Jeremy Grant, Vice President, Elypsis

| |

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