// SCALING UP //
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THIS WAS NOT A DECISION WE WERE MAKING FOR ONE TO TWO YEARS BUT FOR 20 TO 30 YEARS. AND THE PROVIDER WAS AS IMPORTANT AS THE SOFTWARE. such as Lazkam, the implementation was not without its challenges. An initial concern was Microsoft’ s reputation for implementing changes that can be disruptive. There was also a lack of standardised reporting. Tayob said that while the transition to a new system wasn’ t immediate, the move to LS Central soon became seamless.
An integrated suite of tools and till point solutions with LS Retail
Given that Lazkam is predominantly a B2B business with only six till points across its centres, the company did not necessarily need an extensive solution but ended up adopting the full LS Central package.
Initially, Lazkam had some apprehension about moving its operations fully into the cloud, predominantly because of Internet reliability. Tayob said that they have only needed to use their backup data once within the last 18 months, with this cloud-based system enabling a great deal more flexibility, cost-effectiveness and efficiency throughout its operations.
The long-term benefits
“ The single coolest thing I have seen on LS Central is that it allows you to filter anything, anyhow, anyway. It is a really important feature that should not be underestimated by any company,” Tayob said.
In terms of an accounting function, a key highlight has been the Dimensions feature within Business Central, which has enabled the business to analyse and report financial data more effectively.
Tayob said that the procurement function of LS Central has been a real game-changer.“ We used to do procurement manually. Stock was captured as totals and there was no real tracking of assets. There is now a distinguishable benefit”.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central includes a comprehensive selling function that streamlines the sales process for businesses, something that Lazkam will start utilising going forward, along with the implementation of Microsoft’ s Power BI reporting and the introduction of Microsoft Copilot.
Tayob’ s advice to other businesses looking to implement a system upgrade of this nature is to ensure a full migration. Partial efforts can lead to lost revenue and limited access to Microsoft’ s full range of benefits.“ You have to go the whole way, otherwise the software is not giving you anything different from other software,” he said.
Reflecting on the process, Tayob acknowledges that a digital migration can be a lengthy and sometimes challenging journey but collaborating with the right implementation partner makes all the difference. This type of comprehensive business management solution is beneficial for all companies, even small businesses that do have complexities.“ They could easily improve their efficiencies with software like this,” he said.
Although adopting elements of the Microsoft offering such as OneDrive was initially met with resistance, the company now embraces it, with OneDrive and SharePoint being integral to the seamless integration of the Cape Town operation, from a digital, data and management control point of view.
“ I think we overstretched but we are happy we made that decision. We went for software that meets our needs and more. Because we know we will grow into it,” Tayob said.
“ This was not a decision we were making for one to two years but for 20 to 30 years. And the provider was as important as the software.” �
60 Intelligent SME. tech