About LBX
LBX Company is the proud maker of Link-Belt excavators. Their machines are built for the forestry, scrap, demolition and material handling industries. LBX is responsible for all Link-Belt earthmoving, forestry, demolition and material handling equipment in North and South America. They are known for their loyal customer base and a strong network of dealers.
Enabling Technology
Challenge
LBX had installed Dynamics NAV 5.0 in 2009 and needed updated functionality. Challenges included:
- A database created by LBX in NAV to track machine orders and shipments was causing duplicate entries.
- The company was still using manual, paperbased processes in the warehouse.
- Reporting was insufficient to provide the data the company needed to make strategic decisions.
- There was no CRM system, which meant there was no visibility into the pipeline, so opportunities were being missed.
An upgrade would correct these issues and offer new opportunities. However, throughout the years, LBX had customized NAV so much that upgrading would be challenging. Nevertheless, an upgrade needed to be done. So, in 2015, LBX decided to move forward with an upgrade to NAV 2013. With the upgrade taking longer and costing more than expected, LBX began looking for a more consultative, strategic partner who could not only complete the upgrade, but also bring ideas to the table. “We needed a partner with the ability to take us to the next level,” said Joe O’Nan, Vice President and CFO at LBX Company. “We have a small IT team and needed to supplement our resources with skilled NAV professionals.”
Solution
LBX met the Innovia team at NAVUG Summit 2017 and then attended Innovia’s Customer Conference. After meeting with the Innovia leadership team, LBX was sold on them as a partner. Their dedication to NAV, as well as their upgrade expertise and the strategic lens they brought to the table, as well as their alignment with LBX on how to conduct business—with a focus on goals—was the perfect match. And best of all, they listened. “They understand our business, what we’re trying to accomplish, our goals, and how to meet those goals.” said Joe. Innovia’s team stabilized the NAV upgrade, then proceeded to upgrade LBX to NAV 2018. With their expertise in NAV and upgrades, along with Microsoft’s strategy to make upgrades a nonevent, Innovia quoted a fixed fee engagement and was able to complete the upgrade on time and on budget. The new solution also included Jet Enterprise and Power BI.
Results Achieved
Across the board, LBX is saving time with efficient processes and access to information. One “playbook” creates alignment; the company was siloed 5 years ago and is breaking those walls down with NAV—a common system with shared information. One unexpected benefit from the upgrade: Throughout the upgrade process, the company gained a better understanding of how everyone’s role impacts the organization—and that translates to even more process improvements. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of the engagement is the partnership that was formed between LBX and Innovia. The relationship and investment each partner have made in the other has made a difference in LBX’s ability to view NAV as a strategic tool, not just an accounting software application. Innovia has continued to be there for LBX—and in some unconventional ways. For example, LBX lost their IT manager a year ago. Joe O’Nan contacted Innovia, who loaned them a qualified resource, who filled in as CIO while the company searched for a new one. Innovia’s leadership team even helped interview CIOs. “Innovia is more focused on understanding our business and how they can help achieve those goals and make us a better business,” said Joe. “They are able to provide a better way to do things—best practices. We saw that very fast.” “In fact,” he continued, “a concern I had before we started was that Innovia’s rates were higher. But our overall IT support quality improved, while our spend decreased.”
Looking Ahead
LBX’s 3-year plan is to continue with upgrades to get current with Business Central and add CRM and warehouse management. Innovia is assisting LBX with their evaluation of CRM systems. Joe concludes, “Our business is all about relationships and people, so we do feel that, with Innovia, we’ve found a great partner that’s aligned with the way we conduct business.”
Interested in partnering with Innovia Consulting? Give us a call at 800.834.7700 today or email us at sales@innovia.com to begin the conversation.
