Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Pharmaceutical Research Company Improves Business Statistics And Business Control
Overview
Country or region:India
Industry:Pharmaceutical
Customer Profile
Established in 2004, LifeCell, in collaboration with CRYO-CELL International, USA facilitates the cryogenic preservation of stem cells at its facility in Chennai. The revenue of the company in 2005 – 2006 was U. S. $ 1.1 million.
Business Situation
The earlier accounting and financial systems did not integrate seamlessly and this led to duplication of records, inconsistent business information and inaccurate report generation.
Solution
Sonata Information Technology Limited, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, implemented Microsoft® Dynamics™AX® 3.0 at its Chennai head office.
Benefits
Informed decision making
Improved security
Reduced data entry
Improved business productivity by 30 percent / “With the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0, we have improved all our business functions. This has propelled our business productivity by 30 percent.”
Shankaran R, Finance Controller, LifeCell
Umbilical cord blood stem cell banking is now available in India. In order to spear-head its Indian operations, LifeCell wanted to evolve its business processes to keep pace with the rapid pace of the pharmaceutical industry.
With the implementation of Microsoft® Dynamics™AX 3.0 at its Chennai head office, LifeCell has been able to perform all its finance related activities, project planning, sales and inventory management as an integrated unit. Dynamics AX has streamlined operations, help meet safety standards as well increase the visibility of organizational information, thereby propelling productivity by 30 percent. It has empowered the management to take informed business decisions due to the availability of accurate information.
Situation
LifeCell's collaborator CRYO-CELL International Inc. is the world's largest and oldest cord stem cell bank. Established in 1992, CRYO-CELL provides high quality, superior value service to expectant parents. CRYO-CELL now has over 130,000 samples banked successfully.LifeCell aspires to become the world's largest umbilical cord blood stem cell bank in the next five years. The expected sales revenue of the company for 2006-2007 is U.S. $ 3.3 million.
LifeCell has set up a 21,000 square foot laboratory at the cost of INR 14 crore (U.S.$ 3.11 million) on the outskirts of Chennai. This world class facility helps LifeCell provide seamless service, from the collection of cord blood to harvesting and finally storage of the stem cells at -196° centigrade under liquid nitrogen.LifeCell has branch offices in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat, Chandigarh, Pune, Jaipur, Noida, Calicut, Trivandrum and Dubai.
Earlier, the Chennai head office was using Tally for accounting and a legacy FoxPro based inventory management solution. “Our users were unable to perform all the accounting functions, project planning, sales and inventory management on an integrated unit,” saysShankaran, Finance Controller, LifeCell.
He recalls, “Tally and FoxPro did not provide user connectivityand authentication and we could not set up user rights. Statutory localization such as tax deducted at source (TDS) was also not clearly defined.” The systems were used as silos within departments. Due to the lack of interoperability the finance and logistics operations rarely approved the back order status or inventory levels. He further adds, “Our financial and accounting systems did not integrate seamlessly. This led to the duplication of records and inconsistent business information which further resulted in inaccurate management information report generation.”
“It was imperative to have data consistency along with a complete information trail which we have achieved with Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0.”Shankaran R, Finance Controller, Lifecell
“We had no efficient set-up with the stem cell lab and our Chennai head office. Since our multi location franchises spread across India were not connected, we were in the process of implementing specific Customer Relationship Management (CRM) packages to suit our franchise business needs,” recalls Mr. Shankaran, Finance Controller, LifeCell.
Solution
The legacy applications used to manage transactions had severe limitations by way of connectivity and meeting the company’s growing IT demands. “We evaluated Tally ERP and Oracle, but finally decided to implement Microsoft® Dynamics™ AX3.0,” says Shankaran.
Sonata Information Technology Limited, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, implemented Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 at Lifecells’ Chennai headquarters. The project started in the first week of March 2006 with a pre implementation training followed by migration of the master databases. The pilot beganin early May was completed in the last week of June while the solution was completed by July 15, 2006.
Shankaran reiterates, “The approach was to map every business requirement on Dynamics AX 3.0. The finance, trade, trade agreements and logistics modules of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 were implemented. Further customizations were addressed in case of total failure to map typical requirements e.g. the storage plans and revenue amortization.”
Some of the customizations included:
Addition of cess as a field in the tax deducted at source (TDS) process
Calculation of TDS on the gross amount instead of the net amount
Providing for indentation feature to create a request for an item before a formal purchase order is issued
Providing for automatic calculation to meet local statutory requirements
Generation of statutory legal documents to comply with Indian laws
Incorporation of the Indian bank check format
Purchase orderquantity validation
Providing for a revenue apportioned report for one time customers
Providing for a register for cash, bank, payments and receipts
Providing for a list of invoice reminders for the standard and easy plans
Some of the unique requirements were also addressed during the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0. For example, the revenue amortization at Lifecell is generated from the storage service fees of the stem cell. There are several plans with varying payment options which are offered to the customers. In the case of payments made by a customer over the following years, it was set to be recognized as revenue for those years only. This business process was mapped and configured effectively through standard Dynamics AX.
Complex and varied product plans have been configured in the item master and the bill of material to fit into LifeCells’ business model. There are about 40-50 payment plans, which are handled and managed through the bill of material items. Each plan entailed various components like registration fees, storage fees, stem cell testing/processing fees, which were recorded separately. A comprehensive process to define each plan along with the corresponding bill of material items in each setup was undertaken.
The franchise management of LifeCell is heavily sponsored and supported in terms of infrastructure, commission, assets, expenses etc. It was critical to facilitate and encourage such franchisees to stimulate business. This underscored the need for an effective monitoring and accountability.
Benefits
The flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 has been effectively demonstrated since it has effectively mapped the unique business process model at LifeCell. “It was imperative to have data consistency along with a complete information trail which we have achieved with Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0,” reiterates Shankaran.
Informed Decision Making
The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 has ensured the flow of accurate business information within LifeCell. This has correspondingly enabled quicker and more informed decision-making Shankaran comments, “This has led to related benefits such as improved our debtors and collection management.”
Improved User Efficiency
Lifecell found it easy and simple to consolidate our business processes into Microsoft Dynamics AX. It has also made it easier for our employees to work with a familiar interface.
Improved security
The user role based field level security in Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 has been a key improvement. The legacy system used earlier did not allow Lifecell to create role based security.
Reduced Data Entry
With the seamless integration of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 with the third party CRM application has eliminated the need reenter data in different applications. The new solution has also automated report generation.
Improved Business Productivity By 30 Percent
Mr. Shankaran recalls, “Earlier our business processes were difficult to track and manage on a daily basis. With the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0, we have improved all our business functions. This has propelled our business productivity by 30 percent.”
Ease of Use
Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 is a user-friendly business solution, which empowers LifeCell users to obtain business information instantaneously.
About Sonata Software
Sonata Software Ltd. (Sonata) is a premier IT consulting and software services company headquartered in Bangalore. A U.S.$ 110 million company, it has offices in United States, UK, Germany and Singapore. A SEI CMM Level 5 company, its strength lies in leveraging innovation and a global onsite-offshore delivery model to provide the best return on investments for its clients. Some of its customers are Franklin Templeton, Deutsche Bank, Provimi and Gupta Technologies.
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systemsthat your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes, and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.
For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to: