Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration
Success Story

Bata

Bata Ltd. is a global designer, manufacturer and retailer of fashion footwear and apparel. Bata is currently operating on five continents in over 30 countries.

Challenge

The challenge was around choosing the right market within Bata to move forward with in order to prove that the Axapta product was a good fit for the Bata environment. Bata needed to have success in a relatively short timeframe to generate momentum for a worldwide roll out of the Axapta platform and convince other Bata markets that it was time for change. Most Bata markets operate on internally developed applications however; the versions of the applications differ between markets. It was becoming increasingly difficult and costly to provide support on a global basis and develop the software applications to meet Bata’s ever-changing business needs.

Solution

Looking for an ERP system to run the Netherlands operations, Ideaca and Bata underwent an analysis and comparison of the Axapta product and the existing Bata legacy systems. Bata determined that Axapta provided superior functionality to their current systems and offered them a platform on which to grow. Bata moved forward with a license agreement for the Netherlands, proceeded with a local implementation and have successfully gone live with the Axapta system.

Another small division within Bata, Power Brands Ltd., was outgrowing the manual business processes in place. Ideaca assisted Bata in the implementation for Power Brands, providing project management and system design expertise. The Netherlands project is currently under review and when the business is ready; the Power Brands Axapta implementation will go live and will be the second installation within the Bata world.

Benefits

  • The Netherlands implementation offered Bata an ideal pilot case study to prove that the Axapta product is a good fit for the Bata organization. The Netherlands market is diverse enough to effectively test the various functional areas within the Axapta product key to Bata’s operations. The scope and the implementation time frame quickly gave Bata a pilot market to analyze and learn from.
  • The Power Brands implementation offered the centralized Bata IT department a chance to learn with hands-on experience about the software and the implementation methodology required for such a project. The IT department now has the confidence and knowledge to play a larger role and lead the future Axapta implementations around the world.