Successful together: the international roll-out of Microsoft Dynamics 365 at mateco

In 2018, mateco, rental company of aerial work platforms, engaged Conclusion MBS as a partner to make the switch to a single software solution with Microsoft Dynamics 365 as an important component. We previously wrote about this collaboration and mateco's choice for Conclusion MBS. Now, 7 years later, the collaboration is still in full swing, but in a new phase. Claudia Appel, senior supply chain consultant at Conclusion MBS, talks about this phase and her role as a roll-out consultant in the project. 

From implementation to roll-out

Through acquisitions and offices in different countries, mateco had the desire to create synergy in working methods and systems worldwide. This is a mega project: mateco has more than 140 branches spread over fifteen countries, with some countries having several companies or Operational Companies (OpCos). Conclusion MBS has been involved from the start of the project and supports mateco in setting up a business application architecture that matches their ambitions. "This architecture, Q.One, was developed by mateco from its own project," Claudia explains. "Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the essential foundation of this landscape." 
 

After months of development, Q.One was actually implemented in the Czech Republic. "This brought the project into a new phase: the roll-out," says Claudia. "In other words, ensuring that the new system, including all (new) processes, is rolled out worldwide. That is my expertise as a roll-out consultant."

More than Dynamics 365

Together with four MBS colleagues, Claudia became part of mateco's roll-out team, each from their own so-called stream. "I am part of the service stream and focus on mateco's service processes. My colleagues focus more on the financial and rental processes from the finance or rental stream. I work with people from mateco the most on a daily basis."

One of the reasons that Claudia is fully part of the mateco team is that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is fully integrated with other mateco applications as part of the Q.One solution. This results in a lot of consultation between different teams. With 25 years of experience in the consultancy and Dynamics world, this is nothing new for Claudia. "As a consultant, you often work with all kinds of integrations, for example in the field of invoicing. That is not unique. But at mateco there are a lot of them. That makes it a challenging and interesting project, because we are constantly working in other applications. My knowledge for this project must extend beyond just Microsoft Dynamics 365. That's exactly what I like."

The gold standard

During the roll-out phase, all of mateco's established processes for the rental of aerial work platforms within the various countries and branches are aligned with the new system. "Implementing the gold standard," Claudia explains. "This is the template for the system set-up and associated processes that we implement company-wide. Usually the template fits seamlessly with the OpCos, but occasionally an OpCo has different processes. Sometimes because the branch has been taken over, sometimes thanks to legal requirements. Think of invoicing flows where invoices have to comply with specific government rules. Each country has specific processes in this."

The strength of Claudia and her colleagues lies in including mateco branches in this gold standard and identifying whether there are any deviating processes.  "I think the contact with people from other mateco locations is one of the best aspects of my job. We will discuss the extent to which their processes are the same as processes at other OpCos. As soon as we encounter deviations, we check whether the situation is exceptional enough to take action. If so, for example because there is a broad business case for investing in additional functionality, we translate this into a specific assignment for mateco's product development team. Only when it is really necessary do we make adjustments in Q.One."

Puzzling with processes

A challenge for mateco was the large number of deviating processes. This is where the support of Conclusion MBS comes in handy. Claudia: "The roll-out process sometimes turns out to be more challenging in practice than on paper. The basic design does not always fit perfectly with the various OpCos. This is also the case with mateco. The fit is particularly problematic because many OpCos have been taken over by mateco. Mateco is not unique in that, you see that more often." Claudia knows how to deal with this. In fact, "It is fun and challenging to uncover the similarities and differences between the OpCos," she says. "Especially if you can ultimately ensure uniformity and the company goes live successfully with the new system. That gives a lot of satisfaction."

Step by step

Mateco will remain in the roll-out phase for the time being. "Not all OpCos have switched to the Q.One platform yet. It will take a few years before we get to that point; we tackle the OpCo by OpCo. Later this year we hope to go live with an OpCo in the Netherlands, after that we will start intake sessions in Germany. In short, there is still plenty to do for me and my (mateco-)colleagues. I'm looking forward to it."