How CRC Industries futureproofed its business with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

Business

Founded in a Pennsylvania garage in 1958, chemicals manufacturer CRC Industries, has steadily grown into a prominent name in the world of cleaners, degreasers, multipurpose oils, and corrosion protection for Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul purposes. As an EMEIA business, its operations span multiple continents, from the EU to the Middle East, and from the UK to India and South Africa. At CRC’s European HQ in Zele, Belgium, 2500 chemical specialty products roll off the assembly line each year.

Regulation and Traceability

According to Paul Van den Bulcke, CRC’s Managing Director EMEIA, CRC finds itself in a particularly challenging environment: “Our customers expect our products to always comply with the latest standards and regulations, so they can rely on us to solve their problems anytime, anywhere. To guarantee this, traceability is very important. Yet, our products are subject to ever-changing regulations, and legislation in each country is different.”

Customer Service

Moreover, CRC is active in a very slow-growing market. “Customers generally want to spend as little as possible on maintenance and the like. Providing excellent customer service and impeccable quality is crucial to keep our customers satisfied and stay competitive. Innovation and technology play an important role in our goal to achieve customer service excellence.”

“Our customers expect our products to always comply with the latest standards and regulations, so they can rely on us to solve their problems anytime, anywhere.''

Solution

In 2015, CRC Industries, a global supplier of chemical specialty products, recognized the need to replace its legacy ERP system with a modern and futureproof solution. Following a thorough assessment of local needs and challenges, CRC chose to entrust its transformation to Cegeka. The solution to all of CRC’s challenges: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

A comprehensive, robust, cloud-based ERP

To continue providing excellent customer service, fully integrating technology into CRC’s service model was paramount. “Recognizing the shortcomings of our legacy system, we began looking for a comprehensive, robust, cloud-based ERP solution to replace it,” Paul continues. “We wanted a system that could seamlessly incorporate other elements like CRM, marketing tools, product lifecycle management, and product information management.”

“By opting for a ‘plain vanilla’ implementation with minimal customization, we intentionally moved away from our former highly customized system,” Paul concludes. To keep enhancing our efficiency, we’re planning continuous improvements with the support of Cegeka. Once a part of the CRC family, always a part of the family!”

Enhanced insights, integration and interaction

The benefits of CRC’s new ERP? Paul: “Our former system limited us to measuring service solely through on time in full (OTIF). With the implementation of Finance & Operations, a world of new parameters and insights has opened up. We now have a clearer understanding of metrics, like daily shipment volumes, production quantities, order processing, and so on.”

“The real added value, however, is the seamless integration of numerous add-on independent software vendor (ISV) applications, like our new b2b webstore, which significantly enhances our ability to cost-effectively serve smaller customers. Interactions with customers have also become much more efficient. For example, implementing EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is almost plug-and-play, and onboarding someone onto EDI is way easier and cheaper.”

"With the implementation of Finance & Operations, a world of new parameters and insights has opened up. We now have a clearer understanding of metrics, like daily shipment volumes, production quantities, order processing, and so on.”

Approach

Since the go-live in October 2022, CRC has made significant progress. “But the journey wasn’t without its challenges,” Paul acknowledges. “Our company has seen few transformations in the past 25 years. In hindsight, we really underestimated the importance of training and change management for such a significant transition. Nevertheless, we’re up and running and sure we’re on the right track.”

In search for a solution and partner

In 2015, CRC launched its search for a new ERP system. “Over the course of a year, we conducted a global exercise to identify and map the unique needs of each CRC region,” recalls Paul. “Equipped with this information, we analyzed various ERP solutions to find the perfect fit.”

The final decision was reached at CRC’s global HQ in the US, with Microsoft Dynamics 365 coming out on top. Cegeka was recognized as a reliable and flexible Microsoft partner in Europe and entrusted to spearhead this transformative project. “We had the ambition to finetune Dynamics together. Many functionalities for the chemical sector on Finance & Operations today originate from the experience gained at CRC.”

Going live in 10, 9, 8...7 countries simultaneously

“Throughout the project, we closely collaborated with CRC’s European IT team of three,” explains Elsira Ismajli, project lead at Cegeka. “Initially, a core group of subject matter experts was involved, gradually expanding to include domain-specific experts in areas such as intercompany transport and specific processes. CRC and Cegeka project managers held weekly status updates, mostly remotely due to the pandemic, to ensure efficient monitoring of planning and finance. On the day of the go-live in October 2022, a Cegeka consultant was present at each site to facilitate a smooth transition.”

In close cooperation

“We really appreciated the collaboration with the Cegeka team,” Filip adds. “Cegeka showed a genuine commitment to comprehending our business and seamlessly integrating their expertise. Cegeka has the exceptional ability of conveying their knowledge both calmly and fluently, which greatly contributed to the success of the project. It’s amazing to see the friendships that have developed between our team members and theirs.”

"In close cooperation is a fancy phrase for what Cegeka does naturally. Their team really became a part of our company and knows our business like no other.”

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