CASE STUDY

Seamless Upgrade from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

CHALLENGE

Snackbrands Australia, a beloved Australian snack food company, faced challenges with their aging Dynamics AX system. Looking for a smooth transition to the cloud, they partnered with Walkerscott for a streamlined upgrade to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

Snackbrands Australia’s legacy Dynamics AX system, while serving them well in the past, had become unstable, demanding extensive IT support. Its end-of-life status posed significant business risks due to a lack of security updates and outdated infrastructure. They needed a modern solution but wanted to minimise disruption to their established, efficient business processes.

SOLUTION

A streamlined upgrade path to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

Unlike a full re-implementation, which many technology partners recommend, Snackbrands Australia sought a technical upgrade. Recognising the value of their well-established AX2009 processes, Walkerscott designed a “lift-and-shift” approach.

This strategy focused on replicating existing functionality in Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, ensuring a familiar experience for long-standing users and minimising change management efforts. The upgrade involved a phased migration, first from AX2009 to AX2012, and then to the cloud-based Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

Approach

A feasibility assessment was completed that had two components, the first component was a technical review by a third party on the application and data to give a technical insight into the challenges the project team could face. The second component drew on Walkerscott’s extensive domain knowledge combined with meetings with relevant staff to produce a document that allowed the Management team to make a clear decision on their path forward with the Cloud ERP platform. The assessment covered AX modifications, ERP data integrity, business documents, reports from AX, data warehouse and orchestration, 3rd party applications and integrations.

Microsoft Partnership

Walkerscott is a Cloud Solutions Partner for Business Applications with Specialisations in ERP and Low Code (Power Platform) development. This enabled us to engage Microsoft technical solution architecture expertise to provide appropriate steer for crucial design decisions, and de-risk the complex cloud migration project. The Microsoft solution and technical sales teams were also engaged to provide strategic guidance around the vision for the Dynamics 365 platform, during and after the implementation project.

RESULTS

Snackbrands Australia experienced a rapid return to business as usual following the upgrade from AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

Minimal training on the new features of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations was required, allowing them to quickly leverage the platform’s enhanced capabilities.

Now, over a year later, Snackbrands Australia is thriving on Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. They benefit from continuous access to the latest features and updates, ensuring their business remains agile and competitive. This seamless upgrade has provided Snackbrands Australia with a modern, secure, and scalable platform, empowering them to focus on what they do best: creating Australia’s favorite snacks.

    “We quickly returned to business as usual after upgrading from AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. With continuous support from the Walker Scott team and access to the latest features and updates, we ensured our business remained agile and competitive.”

    Anna Francis
    IT Manager, Snackbrands