FOA Referenceside
"A trade union at the forefront of the future... FOA energizes financial processes."
"With the investment in Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, FOA has acquired an economic system that ensures their long-term stability. Despite challenging times during the pandemic, the new solution was implemented in less than a year—thanks in part to a close and trusting partnership with Pingala.
FOA exists to make a difference. As Denmark's third-largest trade union, their mission is to ensure a strong professional community for their more than 170,000 members. This requires vision, determination, employees with their hearts in the right place, and, importantly, a solid financial foundation for the business.
"The reason for embarking on this project was that we had been using Axapta for many years and were satisfied, but Axapta had reached the end of support from Microsoft, and it was also time to upgrade for business and organizational reasons," says Heidi Marklund, FOA's CFO.
Towards a modern system
The first steps towards a more modern economic system were taken in 2020 when FOA initiated a thorough review of the various options available in the market. However, the most crucial decision was who was best suited to see the project through to completion.
"We began the process by gathering knowledge and information about the available economic systems. Once that was in place, we contacted several vendors who gave us their proposals on how they intended to execute the project," says Ton Rouw, Chief Consultant at FOA, continuing:
"It was based on that research that we decided on Pingala as the supplier. They showed immense dedication and great energy right from the start and were adept at understanding our situation. At the same time, it was clear that they were highly competent—both in terms of IT, architecture, integration, and design."
"Based on that research, we decided on Pingala as the supplier. They showed immense dedication and great energy right from the start and were adept at understanding our situation."
Ton Rouw, Chief Consultant, FOA
Flexibility and flow
The platform was developed and implemented over an 11-month period, and with Pingala as a dedicated part of the team, agility, a close partnership, and ongoing deliveries in smaller sprints were essential factors for successful completion.
"At FOA, we chose our normal project method, which we call agile or agile/waterfall. It's about making it as smooth as possible for the customer, getting the customer's super-users involved in the process as quickly as possible, and minimizing the administrative effort on our side," explains Troels Schmidt, Enterprise Architect at Pingala.
"The agile approach gave us great flexibility in the process. This was because we worked in two to three-week increments, which allowed us to accommodate things like vacations and sickness. At the same time, a lot of momentum was generated in the project during these short, intensive periods where we worked on developing the system," says Ton Rouw.
A paperless accounting
Already in early January 2021, FOA went live with the platform, and today they have a simple, efficient, and scalable standard solution in the cloud, taking the trade union's financial management to entirely new and far more contemporary heights.
"The most significant change with the new economic system is undoubtedly that we never use paper receipts anymore. Everything has been digitized. So, we now have an almost paperless accounting," says Ton Rouw.
"We are generally very happy with the economic system. We used to have Axapta, which had an expiration date. Now we have a new economic system, but we've actually gained more than just a new economic system. It's an 'evergreen' solution that we can grow with and develop in the future," he explains.
Successful IT project
With a firm focus not only on facilitating the technical but also the human aspect of the changes, it was jointly successful in integrating the system with the users. Among the benefits are greater transparency and simpler, more efficient workflows across the entire organization.
"The project was a success because FOA's service department, i.e., those who serve the local departments, managed to adopt the system and use it in their daily lives. So they use it for their own process support, but also to support the decentralized departments," explains Troels Schmidt, continuing:
"It has eased everyday life at FOA, and it has especially eased the way they used to serve the departments. That is undoubtedly the biggest success."
Top-class expertise
According to Heidi Marklund, the secure, fast, and stable delivery was primarily a result of a positive relationship between the parties, but also Pingala's diligent effort and top-class technical expertise were crucial for the final outcome.
"Our collaboration with Pingala during the project has been really good. They have been skilled at managing the process while also being flexible when needed. And we have just had a really good chemistry."
Heidi Marklund, CFO, FOA
"Our collaboration with Pingala during the project has been really good. They have been skilled at managing the process while also being flexible when needed. And we have just had a really good chemistry."
"Pingala has helped us first and foremost to figure out what kind of entity we are and what needs we have, and then to challenge us on them. In addition, they have contributed to keeping energy and spirits high. Overall, we have been incredibly satisfied with Pingala, and that is why we have also chosen to continue the collaboration with them," she concludes."