Case Study on Nexans Logistics Ltd

About Nexans Logistics

Nexans has been at the forefront of electrification for over a century and is dedicated to powering the future.

The company is a global leader in designing and manufacturing cable systems and services across four main business areas: Power Generation & Transmission, Distribution, Usage, and Industry & Solutions. Nexans is renowned for its commitment to sustainability.

It is the first in its industry to establish a Foundation supporting sustainable initiatives and providing energy access for disadvantaged communities worldwide.

The Group is also recognised on the CDP Climate Change, a List as a global leader in climate action. It has pledged to achieve Net-Zero emissions by 2050 in alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The Challenges

Nexans Logistics has been using NAV 4.0, one of the initial versions of Microsoft’s NAV system, since 2006. This outdated version posed several significant challenges.

First, upgrading from such an old version to Business Central (BC) on SaaS involved a long and complicated process.

Second, the extensive use of NAV over the years resulted in a massive database, presenting a formidable task for data migration to the cloud.

Additionally, a new company needed to be implemented alongside the upgrade, requiring simultaneous migration of historical data to BC. Furthermore, five new enhancements and customisations needed to be completed before going live, adding to the complexity.

The Solution

To tackle these challenges, Nexans Logistics partnered with Mercurius IT. The approach included comprehensive planning by the Mercurius team to meticulously plan the migration and implementation, including necessary customisations, ensuring the solution was delivered within the estimated timeline.

Two specialised teams were formed—one focused on implementation and the other on migration. This division of labour ensured efficient progress. Regular demonstrations of the enhancements to Nexans Logistics helped keep change requests to a minimum. Additionally, the Metal and Finance Hedging enhancements were completed as per requirements and on schedule.

The Benefits

The successful upgrade and implementation brought multiple benefits to Nexans Logistics. Migrating to BC on SaaS made Nexans Logistics eligible for Microsoft support, which had been unavailable for their obsolete NAV version.

The Metal and Finance Hedging enhancements significantly simplified Nexans Logistics’ business processes. With BC, Nexans Logistics can now leverage advanced reporting tools like Power BI, making it easier for management to generate and analyse reports.

Furthermore, the new company was implemented with migrated historical data, providing a fresh and organised dataset in BC, which is easier to understand and handle.

Conclusion

Nexans Logistics’ transition from NAV 4.0 to Business Central on SaaS, facilitated by Mercurius IT, exemplifies a successful and strategic upgrade.

It addresses complex challenges with effective planning and execution.

This transformation not only brings Nexans Logistics up to date with current technology but also optimises their operational efficiency and reporting capabilities, aligning with their long-term sustainability and business goals.