How to Optimize Business Processes and Achieve Commercial Success with Business Central.
Source: Äri-IT Spring 2025
Author: Terje Võrk, Manufacturing Consultant at BCS Itera
It’s crucial for company management to understand that the success of implementing changes lies not only in adopting new technology but also in the readiness and ability of employees to embrace it.
The Importance of Reviewing Processes
When was the last time you reviewed your company’s daily processes? Often, long-standing ways of working remain unchanged, even though business software like Business Central could streamline operations by leveraging its standard functionalities. Analyzing and optimizing processes isn’t just about solving problems; it’s an opportunity to make the company’s work more efficient, transparent, and appealing to both employees and managers.
Reviewing your warehouse processes, for example, can reveal several areas for improvement. The “open bin” functionality, for instance, allows warehouse staff to avoid picking every small detail individually. Instead, a production worker can directly take the required amount of consumables, while the write-off occurs automatically according to the Bill of Materials (BOM).
Implementing handheld scanners reduces the need for printing warehouse documents, saving both time and resources. To achieve clarity and better oversight in inventory management, the warehouse can be divided into different zones, such as production, raw materials, and finished goods areas, and appropriate warehouse documents like warehouse shipment and warehouse pick can be used.
A Strong Partnership – The Key to a Successful Project
Every process optimization begins with mapping the current situation. A recent project clearly demonstrated the importance of thoroughly understanding the company’s daily operations. Together with the client, we mapped their processes both within and outside of Business Central, creating a comprehensive overview of the “as-is” state. This allowed us to identify both strengths and bottlenecks, focusing attention on areas with the greatest potential for development.
If the decision is made to involve a partner company’s consultant, it’s crucial that they deeply engage in every process. The better they understand the company’s daily work, the more accurately they can offer practical and effective solutions. A well-functioning partnership helps identify areas where the software can provide the greatest increase in efficiency.
Close collaboration with a consultant also allows for the identification of small but significant details that might be overlooked with a superficial view. In-depth engagement ensures that changes are not merely technical upgrades but support both the company’s strategic goals and daily workflows.
Focusing on the Big Picture and Adapting Flexibly
Projects often generate numerous ideas and desires, but the key to success is staying on track. To this end, it’s also helpful to map the “to-be” process, or the desired future solution. Our experience shows that excessive focus on details or trying to solve every minor exception can scatter resources. Instead, it’s worth stepping back occasionally and asking: what is the real value of this change?
For example, the process of creating a new item can be significantly accelerated by creating standardized item templates based on item groups. These templates already contain pre-filled basic data, which simplifies and speeds up the addition of new items. If dealing with a product that has many variations, the configurator add-on can quickly create new product structures (BOMs). These solutions not only save time but also reduce the risk of errors.
Process optimization is a dynamic process – the solutions initially planned may not always work in practice. Therefore, during the project, we tested different setups and monitored their impact. If a solution proved unexpectedly complex or did not yield the desired results, we were not afraid to change direction. We paused, analyzed the situation, and adjusted our approach. Flexibility and the courage to make changes or abandon ineffective activities are key to success.
When designing new processes, there’s often a tendency to focus on production and warehouse efficiency, but it’s equally important to ensure that financial entries remain accurate and transparent. Even if activities are not directly related to financial transactions, such as warehouse operations, they still generate entries that must contain data crucial for financial analysis. This data is necessary to ensure accurate and reliable financial reports and support the company’s strategic goals. Additionally, it’s important that the data needs of the group are considered and supported.
Employee Involvement – The Key to Successful Implementation of Changes
Changing processes goes much smoother when the employees who will use them daily are involved from the beginning. If decisions are made solely at the management level, important details may be overlooked, directly affecting workflow. Employee involvement helps them better understand the purpose of the changes and increases their willingness to adopt new solutions. It is also crucial for avoiding resistance and increasing user satisfaction.
For example, when working with one client, we planned to introduce new warehouse operations that had not existed in the company before. The goal was to implement these operations through handheld scanners, but we deliberately started simpler – employees first went through the process in Business Central. This gave them the opportunity to get used to the new working methods and integrate them into their daily work. Only when the new process was running smoothly and employees had adapted to it did we introduce the convenience solution, such as handheld scanners. This gradual approach helps avoid overload and ensures that changes are adopted more smoothly and efficiently.
It is important for company management to understand that the success of changes lies not only in the implementation of new technology but also in the willingness and ability of employees to embrace it. When changes are implemented at the right pace and employees are involved from the initial stages, risks are reduced and the success of the implementation increases.
A Holistic Approach – More Than Just a Plan on Paper
Process analysis and optimization is not merely a theoretical exercise – it’s a real opportunity to increase company efficiency, improve transparency, and make the work environment more attractive. While Business Central offers powerful tools for this, success depends primarily on a well-thought-out strategy, a clear focus, and professional support.
As experienced consultants at BCS Itera, we are ready to support you on this journey – we identify bottlenecks, plan changes, and implement solutions that create real value. Leverage our knowledge and experience and take your company’s operations to a new level – smoother, more efficient, and more future-proof!
Contact us today to begin your company’s efficiency improvement journey!