Article GUARANTEES OF SUCCESSFUL INTRODUCTION was published in National Business journal.

National Business #11(37) November-December 2006

GUARANTEES OF SUCCESSFUL INTRODUCTION

At the most 20% of all projects to install ERP solutions meet the deadline and the initial budget. The root cause of the failure is insufficient qualification of consultants. In this light, extensive experience and high expert knowledge of SynConsult consulting company has a vantage point in the general negative trend.

According to IDC data, the IТ consulting market in Kazakhstan on average posts an annual 30% swell. It is notable that the number of consulting partners of Microsoft more than doubled over the same period of time. Representatives of the local office company indicate that SynConsult is a leading seller of Microsoft Dynamics NAV systems in Kazakhstan.

Members of a design team that introduced ERP in DUCAT set up the company jointly with Russia's BRN. Today, SynConsult team has more than 30 experts with vast managerial expert examination of installing Microsoft Dynamics NAV in Kazakhstan. In some degree it is confirmed by company's projects pipeline and the availability of its own localization of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. In addition to that, the company focuses on substandard problems of integrating Microsoft Dynamics NAV with banking systems Bank – Client, systems of electronic tax reporting, billing, records management systems for hotel and restaurant business and created a successful scheme for replication of databases for an automated data exchange between branches and head offices of companies.

Large-scale projects of SynConsult to install Microsoft Dynamics NAV in Chagala Group, DUCAT and MaxPetroleum strike the eye as they clinched substandard problems of integration and thoroughly refined on its own localization of system.

Shukhrat Latypaev, the Managing Partner of SynGroup, points out that top management of Chagala Group has grasped the importance of system implementation, when a need arose to handle management tasks of group's activities. In particular, owners suffered severe losses due to inefficient management of resources and fringe earning of its employees. The employed booking system developed on disembodied data sources for reporting (Excel, bookkeeping software, etc.) from various divisions in different cities also made a substantive problem. This necessitated to employ six more people and extended the reporting date up to 20 days.

By the way, this was posed a problem for another project of the company, DUCAT, which used 17 different software for automation of tasks of financial and business accounting before Microsoft Dynamics NAV was introduced. Shukhrat Latypaev says, "SynConsult experts successfully clinched these tasks using its own localization of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Also within these projects we have developed a complete functionality for computer-aided collection and multiplexing of data received from various sources for compiling tax reports subject to requirements of the Tax Committee. Currently, the solution enables the consolidation of tax reports prepared in various branches of a company, compile additional forms of statements based on those already submitted. There are also swappings out to Taxman application and the Tax Committee, including ISID, EFNO, IS NDS, IS MOP."

All key business processes of business customers have been implemented within the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution. These include inventory management, settlements with clients and suppliers, personnel accounting management, asset accounting, bank operations, IFRS reporting of company activities and budgeting. As the result, closer integration of all sections of company activities and compiling voluntary reports on users' request has come true.

Another important advantage of the localized version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV from SynConsult is an updated functionality of automated process of purchases in line with ISO standards. According to Latypayev, this solution was upgraded within a project in MaxPetroleum, where the company in particular introduced a new recommended chart of accounts in accordance with IFRS and a tracing function of company commitments to suppliers and clients.

Specialists of the company place high emphasis on convenience and efficiency of work of the system. Particularly, the localization of Microsoft Dynamics NAV system form SynConsult embraces extended interactive forms of trial balances, grouped operations with fixed assets, tax accounting in line with Kazakhstan regulations, unified order forms for the HR department, management of the job applicant database, adapted forms of business accounting in form customary for accountants and many other things. All these updates speed up and facilitate the personnel training of business customers at the implementation stage and also improve operating efficiency of the personnel.

Thus, owing to well-arranged activities of the group of consultants from the company and employment of localized updates of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, SynConsult projects meet the deadline and achieve their goals. At that, Shukhrat Latypayev highlights that client's readiness for the project and understanding of goals and tasks set to the business also were prominent in the success of projects. "30-50% of project's success depends on managers' activities and direct involvement of the management team. For instance in case with Chagala Group, distinct strategy guidelines and thorough understanding of tasks by the client enabled us to create and install an end-to-end solution in a relatively short time."

In general, the implementation of these solutions facilitates business transparentizing, enhanced efficiency of management of resources and process optimization, gain in productivity of employees. Eventually this entails more efficient business management in general.

Moreover, these solutions foster the growing capitalization of companies, Thus, Chagala Group, confident in the correctness of making the managerial model of its business projects an IPO on the London Stock Exchange after it introduces the computer-aided system. The more so as SynConsult already had experience in bringing Kazakh companies to the stock exchange. Dilavar Habib, the Managing Partner of SynGroup, said, "During several past years our activities to introduce Microsoft Dynamics NAV solutions are on the fast track. We are pleased that our projects are carried out in companies holding leading positions in their branches. High education level and business qualities of specialists of our customers coupled with experience and qualification of Company consultants make possible express confidence that these projects will meet the deadline and will be implemented at a high level."


1. SynConsult, a member of SynGroup, is a leader of the IT consulting market in Kazakhstan. An official partner of Microsoft, Synel, AVK-Soft, the Company uses in its solutions developed based on platforms of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX, Business Analytics and PlanDesigner a complete complex of state-of-the-art technologies, tools and facilities that help optimize the financial and economic activities in the following directions: management of business processes, budgeting and financial planning, data modeling and analysis, preparation of consolidated reporting, preparation for the IFRS transition, personnel management, logistics management.

2. DUCAT – is a biggest privately-owned fixed line telephone operator in Kazakhstan with more than 15,000 subscribers. The company employs more than 300 people.