Stepahead Military Headwear has deployed Microsoft Dynamics AX to gain better visibility across all areas of business and to be more efficient. The company manufactures military headwear, badging and webbing equipment for military and security forces worldwide.

AccTech Systems, a local business solutions provider and Microsoft Dynamics ERP Partner of the Year 2013, was appointed to implement the solution.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 modules included Finance Management, Cash and Bank Management, Fixed Assets, Procurement and Sourcing, Human Resources, Inventory and Warehouse (MRP Included), Lean Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing and Projects.

Stepahead's Maureen Simoes points to the challenges they were facing previously. "Manipulation of the previous accounting system to try to accommodate our requirements was not ideal. Furthermore, we had no clear visibility of stores and stock, buying was reactive and not proactive, the collaboration between sales and production was all manually driven and time consuming, there was absolutely no fixed asset control and all projects were handled manually."

She says AccTech Systems not only offered superior expertise and professional consulting, it also provided specialised Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 skills. "More importantly, the entire solution catered for in a single user interface and no integration was required between multiple systems, that required on-going maintenance."

AccTech Systems CEO Tertius Zitzke says Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is an organisation-wide solution that has helped Stepahead with control and collaboration. "Microsoft Dynamics AX is a powerful business solution that allows Stepahead to make informed, proactive decisions. It enables them to improve their capabilities to compete in a global environment, respond quickly to customer demand and lower their operational costs."

Kethan Parbhoo, Dynamics ERP lead for Microsoft’s AMEA region says Microsoft Dynamics AX enables companies like Stepahead to drive innovation, to grow their business by addressing constantly evolving customer needs. “It enables speed and agility, improving capabilities to compete in the global manufacturing environment. It provides insight and accountability, giving real-time insights on up-to-date financial and operational performance to enable confident decision making.”

”It offers better visibility across all areas of the business. More importantly, the actual production line information is now available to the sales team, whichspeeds up the quoting and tender process. This allows for accurate costing, accurate work in progress calculations and the ability to do just in time purchasing," Simeos concludes.