Speaker 2: 0:05

Welcome to this episode of the BCN podcast series. If this is your first foray into the BCN podcasts, welcome, and if you've listened before, welcome back. My name is Fraser Deer and I'm the head of AI and data innovation here at BCN. In my current role, I created the Business Solutions team here at BCN, guiding our client organisations through technology transformation, power, platform implementations, enterprise resource planning implementations and business process redesign. I've worked in all sorts of different types of organisations and industries, from large-scale defence through to manufacturing and fast-moving consumer goods, and the business teams with regards to data and processes are often the same.

Speaker 2: 0:45

The requirement for better data quality and visibility to make better informed decisions is always one of the key opportunities for improvements In today's rapidly evolving business landscape. The integration of ERP systems with artificial intelligence is just transforming how organizations operate and support faster and better informed decision making. The pace of business has changed significantly, yet many systems have not kept up. As companies re-evaluate their long-standing systems, they're increasingly turning to modern platforms like Business Central, which offer real-time data and automation capabilities. Ai is revolutionizing ERP by enabling smarter automation, deeper insights and faster data-driven decisions, and the shift towards AI-empowered ERP systems is driving unprecedented efficiencies and innovations, positioning businesses to thrive in an ever-evolving marketplace.

Speaker 2: 1:41

Now, in today's discussion, we're exploring what it means for an organisation making strategic investment decisions right now. Why Business Central? Why now? And what makes BCN's approach in ERP delivery different Now? In order to open this topic up, I'm joined today by two of my incredible colleagues, irini Katsampa and Ban Hassan, who will share with us their insights into this question why Business Central and why now? So let's start with timing. Now we see more businesses re-evaluate the systems they've relied on for years. But what prompts that re-evaluation within an organisation? Irini joins us. As Head of ERP at BCN, irini, you've worked directly with leadership teams within organisations under pressure to adapt. What signs tell you that businesses are ready to make a move?

Speaker 3: 2:30

Thank you, fraser. Great question and thank you for the introduction. I think readiness often comes from inefficiencies and discomfort, but also clarity. Clarity is really important for a business. So if business cannot see clearly in their systems their data, stock, balance sheets, analysis, of course, a lot of things then that is a need that could push them to consider another ERP system.

Speaker 3: 2:59

Now I've been in that seat myself, so I studied finance and worked for nine years as an accountant in different industries, and the last one where I worked in a manufacturing company was the one where we changed our system, actually in NAV back then, and that's the one where it became very obvious that we had no control of cost budgets. It became very obvious that we had no control of cost budgets and we were using several disconnected spreadsheets that we were trying to put all together and there was such a concern about a wrong formula or something that we make the business take wrong decisions System failures, risk of important incorrect numbers. This is the experience I had, at least, and that's what I'm seeing years later, since I'm working in the consultancy for the last 18 years, being the main issue for our customers as well.

Speaker 2: 3:56

And so in some respects it might sound like a silly question, but you know, if a business realizes that they require better clarity, what other issues are holding them back, then what's stopping organizations making that change?

Speaker 3: 4:09

Again, as an accountant, I can feel their pain because you can imagine they have a day job they do, they have all these responsibilities. They're already up to the neck with work after the necklace work, and now they have to think about also finding time to discuss with us as consultants about their business needs and take decisions. They're thinking about the business disruption, have a little bit of conscience about the complexity of this process. Sometimes they have a few concerns regarding losing control. So sometimes some accountants or other planners and others in the business, they feel by completely their own spreadsheets they have control of their data. But this is an illusion of controlling data. In reality, the risks are huge.

Speaker 3: 5:02

Another concern is that there may be cost overruns on the project, get the project wrong. Again, they have high responsibility to represent the business needs. What if they get it wrong? And then they end up with a system that is not really doing what they want In reality, what they need to see. They need to see this as an opportunity to do a clean start and get it right with the way it should be, with the security, obviously, and safety of a Microsoft cloud-based ERP that can give them the reassurance that us out-of-the-box, our standard is doing everything that the business needs to do. Therefore, I think if they see that as an opportunity for a clean style, that would be a great exercise for them.

Speaker 2: 5:49

So it sounds very much like when an organisation reaches that tipping point and whatever that tipping point may be for an organisation, whether it is reaching that point where there's just too much to do, or they just don't get the right answer. Why do you think Business Central stands out? Those listening in probably understand that Business Central is a modular ERP system. You can have elements switched on, elements switched off and high levels of functionality can be created for your organization. But why do you think Business Central stands out in such a big playing field of different ERP solutions?

Speaker 3: 6:23

So we all know Microsoft ecosystem is heavily utilized with businesses like Excel, word, majority of the business using also Teams, so business central. It belongs to a seamless integration to Microsoft ecosystem. Therefore it's easy for someone, for example, to import journals from Excel or some functionalities like copy-paste. They are very similar. So there are so many things that users used to do every day in their jobs because they're using Microsoft ecosystem and obviously Business Central belongs to it.

Speaker 3: 7:02

It's also very important for a business to feel the security and avoid all these concerns that I mentioned before to actually use a system that is worldwide known and easily to support for small and medium businesses. So it's really important to go somewhere where they will feel safe. They're always going to be a partner to support them and actually a lot of our consultants they're not technical. They haven't become consultants from a development or a heavy technical industry. Therefore, sometimes I've said to our customers if I can use this system so well, then you can learn it so well as I learned it because I was an accountant. Therefore, it's a system that a user can easily take it on its own and it keeps growing with our business and with anything else Microsoft releasing around it.

Speaker 2: 7:55

So what it sounds like you're saying, then, is that, at the end of the day, a strategic decision to go into the Microsoft ecosystem to maintain that security and maintain that kind of platform as part of your existing business and part of the existing applications that your end users uses, that's obviously really really important and a fundamental cornerstone of business central deployment. But what about from a day-to-day perspective? What about from an end user perspective? Where's the kind of benefit there?

Speaker 3: 8:22

There are so many benefits We've seen with COVID and after COVID period that people need to walk remotely and they need to walk from different places. So one of the big assets is that they can actually access it from mobiles or tablets as long as they have the user ID, and sometimes we have obviously two factor authentication just to reassure security, and that's really really great because it gives a lot of flexibility to businesses and people. Obviously, that work to these businesses, but a part of that it's also the everyday task or monthly task that the business has can be done much faster. Everything is in one place. Users will notice a speed on end-of-month processes, for example, or submitting their VAT return. There are so many benefits. Everything, even keeping the stock cost. It's something that happens automatically Every time someone posts a transaction to the system. Everything happens real time. There's not data that needs to be transferred. Everything is analysed in real time.

Speaker 2: 9:34

And I think it's that flexibility to kind of start and scale or to tailor without overcomplicating, that I find businesses find really refreshing. It's that live transactional data that is part of their daily operation, rather than having to then allow that to run back through a system and then update overnight with a refresh or anything like that. This is all live, all dynamic, all in part of workflow. I think let's move on a little bit to think about how we deliver ERP or BCN, because Irini, again, you've been instrumental in shaping how we deliver ERP solutions and what stands out is that we've built a team of people who weren't just trained in ERP, they've kind of lived it. You know, why did we take that decision? Why did we take that approach?

Speaker 3: 10:19

Obviously, this is something that is really important to me because I used to be a system user and I think having people that they can understand all the challenges that a business has it's really important. So we have consultants and we try to hire consultants not considering only their technical certifications and technical studies, but we try to get people where they used to work in businesses and they have been dealing with the same challenges that our customers are dealing with. This was really important to me and I think that is what makes a real difference in the way we build that team.

Speaker 2: 11:04

And that was always the vision to have a team that knows both the language of systems and the language of business. And I think it's one of the things that makes our ERP and Power Platform teams kind of different the pragmatic, grounded and strategic kind of vision of having done it before, having been that user. It makes all the difference, because they understand what business is saying. When we talk about end-of-month process process, the consequence of that going wrong or not happening at a pace if you've never done it before, it's just, it's just an unknown figure, whereas if you're sitting with an md and an fd who are saying when's month end going to finish? If you don't understand that or have lived that, that is somewhat meaningless. So okay, speaking of teams, I want to to bring in Ban Hassan into the conversation now, who joined BCN about a year ago to the Microsoft Reskill program. Ban, you came from a non-BC background and now work closely with our clients. What has this journey been like for you?

Speaker 1: 12:00

Thank you, fraser. So the journey for me starts with my background, which combines both practical and academic foundations. So I worked in supply chain and commercial operations within the FMCG sector and I also hold a master's degree in global supply chain management and business psychology. So that dual perspective has shaped the way I approach ERP. On the one hand, I understand the realities of production cycles. On the one hand, I understand the realities of production cycles, of logistic bottlenecks and warehousing constraints, so the operational side of business. And then on the other side, I've studied how people within those systems make decisions, adapt to change and engage with technology. And that intersection between systems and human behavior is where ERP either succeeds or fails. In my opinion.

Speaker 1: 12:54

And when I joined the Rescale program, what stood out to me the most is how well it bridged real world business experience with ERP capability. And it wasn't just about learning how Business Central works, it was about learning how to translate business complexity into system logic, how to translate business complexity into system logic. And I quickly realized how sophisticated Business Central is. And it's not just a static tool. It's highly configurable and it's adaptable and that means it can mirror nuances of supply chain but also finance functions and warehouse processes with real accuracy.

Speaker 1: 13:27

So over the past year I've had the opportunity to support a range of client projects and observe how experienced consultants in our team engage with businesses, and I've also been a part of client conversations and I can see how important it is to speak from a place of real business understanding. And I've had moments with clients where that shared language of around processes and operations opens up trust and helps us move towards a discussion that results in a solution. And what's interesting about this is how it reflects a wider shift in ERP itself. It's no longer purely technical. It's about becoming more aligned with business strategy, more collaborative and more grounded in how organizations actually work.

Speaker 2: 14:12

Fantastic and Arini. We were intentional on how we brought new talent into the team. What's your take on how that blend of experience plays out in real delivery scenarios? What's?

Speaker 3: 14:22

your take on how that blend of experience plays out in real delivery scenarios. We have seen that working great. We had amazing feedback from our customers Even some of our clients that they used to work with different partners with more technical resources reaching out to them. Now they have seen the benefits and they have commented that it's much better. For example, if you have a challenge with your VAT statement and you can make the boxes matching with your VAT chart of accounts GIL accounts it's great having the opportunity to speak with qualified accountants.

Speaker 3: 14:58

For years and years they have done lots of ad statements and now there are experts in Business Central and they can help you to not so much to find the difference, because obviously we're not an accountancy firm, but it's mostly about making sure you understand how you can navigate in your system in the data to find these differences. Therefore, you're becoming more independent. You don't need us to help. But that's not only on the finance. We have also experts in warehousing. They work a lot of years in warehouses so they understand the challenges our customers have. We have consultants that have the manufacturing experience. Therefore, again, they understand better planning resources challenges. Just to explain as well that it doesn't mean that we don't have these technical experts, but the difference is finding these talents where they used to be users, and they are coming from businesses and they understand customers' needs.

Speaker 2: 16:03

And I think that's it. You know finding talent with those experiences that are able to challenge clients as they go through the transformation journey. Having been through the journey themselves and I think it's back to something that you said, ban you know building that language of trust with a client who's in a vulnerable position because they're currently facing all of these fear aspects that you mentioned before, arini you know that trust is critical for project success. Okay, well, look, let's start to think about moving forward. So, when you look ahead, arini, what do you see changing in how businesses think about ERP, and what should leaders be starting to prepare or be thinking about?

Speaker 3: 16:46

I think they should be preparing their businesses for an ERP that will have a long-term foundation, such as coming from a provider like Microsoft. I don't think they should be looking for a short-term fix. Think they should be looking for a short-term fix. We have seen a lot of our clients that they had a system that wasn't powerful enough to capture all their needs. Therefore, they had to go around of Spreadsheet and other apps and other things to make it work. Now, the good thing with Business Central is that it's part of Microsoft Dynamics 365, which means any apps or any automations, ai and all these things they're already here and they're coming more in the future are part of this platform. I think also, they should be thinking about the importance of the data and making sure they have an ERP that the data are all captured in one place and they can trust this. Data Sustainability is really important as well. Generally, they need a system that they can plan for the future. It can grow with them. These things, I think, are things they will be thinking about.

Speaker 2: 17:56

Thanks, serenia. And what about you Ban? What do you see changing from a technology perspective in the concept of ERP?

Speaker 1: 18:03

I think one of the biggest shifts I've seen in how ERP is becoming more than just a system of record. It's turning into a platform that helps people make better decisions, not just store transactions. Business Central is a great example of that, because it's a process-driven and tightly integrated, and it's across finance, operations and supply chain, so it builds high quality, structured data by design. That's exactly what makes it a strong foundation for AI, and because without clean and consistent data, no AI model can produce meaningful outcomes. What's exciting is that AI is now embedded into Business Central, not just as an add-on, but as a part of how the system works.

Speaker 1: 18:46

You can already see this support some of the functionalities that Irini mentioned before, things like demand forecasting, where it predicts future sales based on historical patterns, or in bank reconciliation, where AI helps match entries and flag anomalies, and even Copilot. Microsoft's generative AI is now built into the platform, and this lets users draft emails, summarize data and even explain reports in natural language. And a real game changer here is accessibility. These tools are not for data analysts only. They are available for finance managers, for inventory planners or procurement leads and people who use the system every day but don't necessarily have a technical background, like you mainly mentioned, and so when we talk about ERP becoming intelligent, this is what we mean. It's not just about having data, it's about turning that data into context, insight and action, and business central is at the center of that shift, I think.

Speaker 2: 19:48

Yeah, no, I totally agree, Ban, and that's it. The most innovative businesses aren't just collecting data, they're making it work for them. They're making that data usable. And where that kind of ERP data set, that AI piece and that strategic planning kind of all come together, that's where we see huge moves forward in an organization. We're not asking for insight to then make a decision. The insights are actually providing a platform and a roadmap for the business's future, in strategic planning, for example. Okay, well, I will look.

Speaker 2: 20:19

Thank you for joining Ban Irini and myself for what I hope you found has been a useful insight into Business Central and what it can do for your organization, and also how BCN's ERP team can help deliver this, not only with the qualifications but with business experience to meet your current and future needs. Bcn has a lot of great resources on our website. So I'd encourage you to do two things One, take a look at BC and two, come and talk to our experts. They were, once you, facing the same challenges with the same pressures to deliver. A final thought what would you say to a leader who knows change is needed but doesn't know where to start? The answer come and talk to our experts, who've delivered this change before Now. I hope you've enjoyed today's podcast and I'd like to thank my colleagues Irini and Ban for taking the time today to share their experiences with you. If you've enjoyed today's podcast, like and subscribe so you don't miss out on the next episode. All of our podcasts are available to listen on demand at our website, bcncouk. Thanks very much.