When Frank Heusser, Engagement Manager from Microsoft Consulting Services in Germany launches large ERP development projects, he chooses development partners with care. He is looking for partners who are on top of every detail, and at the same time have an eye on the bigger picture. Partners who can do more than solve set assignments. To work with Microsoft, you must be able to think in processes.
This is why he co-operates closely with Celenia. Mr. Heusser has 17 years of experience with ERP development. For the past three years, he has been working as engagement manager in Microsoft’s branch in Bad Homburg near Frankfurt.
Celenia in Europe’s largest Microsoft Dynamics AX project in 2007
The jobs that end up on Frank Heusser’s desk are usually complex projects. His latest project is to design a complete international Microsoft Dynamics AX solution for one of the world’s leading tire suppliers, currently running on Microsoft Dynamics XAL.
The project was the largest Dynamics AX project in Europe in 2007/2008. Estimated time consumption: 70.000 hours.
”When we take on projects of this size, we need partners with specialized knowledge and experience from similar projects,” he explains. ”We pursue know-how. It is alpha and omega.”
When Microsoft launched the project there was a need for specialists who knew as much about the customer’s old Dynamics XAL platform as the new Dynamics AX solution.
They found these competences in Celenia’s devevelopment centers in Ukraine. Therefore, he handed over part of the development to Celenia.
He does not regret this decision. The price was about the same as in other nearshore or offshore locations – but Celenia handled things differently:
”Celenia’s people are extremely good at thinking in processes instead of small, well-defined units. They look up from their desks and take stock of the other parts of the project,” Frank Heusser explains.
He makes no secret of the fact that this might be because Celenia would like to win other parts of the project:
”That is to our advantage. We much prefer working with partners who are committed to the project – and who think strategically of future development tasks,” says Mr. Heusser.
Celenia’s people know what they are talking about
Celenia’s expertise and commitment not only gives Microsoft useful professional feedback. It has also turned out to be cost-effective. The project management team in Germany regularly measures the collaboration with the partners, and it turned out that the communication with Celenia is very effective.
"We communicate really well with Celenia. It is not that their English is better than other partners’. They are simply better at understanding what we are driving at, which saves valuable time,” says Frank Heusser.
In the course of the project, the customer ordered a report function that was not included in the original project. Frank Heusser invited offers from several partners, and the result was convincing:
”Celenia’s proposal was definitely the best. It showed profound professional sense of the various facets of the project and the potential pitfalls,” he explains.
Consequently, Celenia won the test and thus the project, estimated at additional 3.000 development hours.
Frank Heusser rarely sees projects through to the end. Once they are off to a good start, as an Engagement Manager, he focuses on the next large customer. These days, he always considers Celenia when looking for partners:
”I am sure that we will be working together in the future. Celenia worked hard on Europe’s largest Dynamics AX solution. Perhaps one day we will be working together on an even bigger project,” said Frank Heusser and laughs: “You never know what’s going to happen!”
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