Advancenet implements Navision at LeasePlan

LeasePlan Fleet Management South Africa has implemented Navision`s General Ledger to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its in-house financial management systems.

LeasePlan is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABN Amro Lease Holding NV. The group has been in existence for some 40 years and has grown to be the world`s leading vehicle leasing and management company, operating out of 26 countries around the world.

LeasePlan`s strength is derived from skilled and motivated professionals, who combine fleet management and industry knowledge with financial expertise to ensure that customers have access to innovative products and excellent service at all times.

The company aims to be the leading vehicle management solution provider in Southern Africa through the delivery of world-class products and services to their partners in business. As part of achieving this goal, LeasePlan required a general ledger package that is a leader in its market segment, provides world-class solutions, and is capable of operating multiple companies in various currencies and at differing taxation rates. Navision General Ledger meets all of these requirements.

It was important for LeasePlan that the roll-out be done by a company eager to become a long-term business partner. Consequently, AdvanceNet was chosen as its implementation partner.

"AdvanceNet was very customer-centric in their approach," says LeasePlan financial manager Anthony Glazer. "They went to great lengths to understand the business and implement the product accordingly."

"LeasePlan runs an in-house developed software system called Leaseman, which manages all aspects of the company`s lease contract book," explains Thomas Barker, marketing and e-business divisional manager at AdvanceNet. "This system interfaced into a financial system called Masterpack, which is made up of Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and a General Ledger.

"Besides improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their systems, LeasePlan also wanted to maximise the value of the output generated. They had virtually outgrown some of the multiple systems they had in place, resulting in certain limitations with regard to report generation and sorting of data. The Navision solution was to provide a fully integrated database, allowing `drill down` features to source document level, with additional `drill around` functionality."

The implementation was split into two phases to meet the timing requirements. The first phase had to be completed and functioning by the first quarter of 2001 with the go-live date set for 31 March 2001.

LeasePlan`s management defined the first phase requirements as "a functional, multi-company, basic general ledger system that integrated with the Leaseman system and was capable of consolidating general ledgers."

The project milestones were set and achieved and included Key User Training, Business Analysis Phase culminating in a Functional Requirements Document, Design Phase culminating in the Enterprise Design Document, Development and testing of customisations, Final system test, and User documentation and full training.

The go-live date of 31 March 2001 was successfully achieved and according to Barker, phase two will begin during quarter two 2002. It will be based around accounting for LeasePlans lease vehicles in the Navision Fixed Assets System.

"Being the ideal reseller for this solution, we work closely together with AdvanceNet to offer fast, flexible and versatile business solutions that respond to rapidly changing demands, while growing with companies like LeasePlan," says Navision South Africa managing director Keith Mullan.

"Having Navision handle the General Ledger allowed the local managers to monitor their operation more efficiently from a cost perspective, and on a timely and accurate basis," says Mullan. "It also allowed for more control of sundry purchases, as the invoicing and payment processing made the reconciliation process more accurate. Additionally, the profitability of the operation per client is now available at any time."

"The successful business relationship between ourselves and LeasePlan is based on understanding their business," adds Barker. "Fostering long-term relationships with clients is inherent in AdvanceNet for both parties to achieve lasting value."

"We value the professional and customer-centric approach of AdvanceNet," concludes Glazer.