Construction company Antana automates project management with NAV in the cloud

Antana wanted to transform its business processes by adopting tools to move towards digital transformation. The goal was to automate business processes to save time, increase productivity and reduce the margin of error. To do this, they have implemented Dynamics NAV and Office 365 on Microsoft Azure obtaining incredible results.

Antana is a nationwide company specialized in high quality construction . It has a technical office and a qualified team that works closely with architectural and engineering firms. Antana's signature is synonymous with reliability and guarantees the fulfillment of the execution of the works within the established deadline. Antana specializes in the construction of homes, offices and the rehabilitation of spaces, always taking care of all the details so that the client's experience is unique.

Project management is, therefore, of vital importance for the smooth running of Antana. The system used was manual. Project details and expenses were tracked through a manual process that led to frustrating inaccuracies. The day-to-day work of the employees was conditioned by a large amount of paperwork, which reduced performance. For example, sometimes there were several versions of the same document and it was not easy to know which was the correct one. In addition, project managers needed to approve and review vendor invoices in person rather than virtually. So they had to go to the administration office once a week. The situation worsened as the company grew, as the series of manual processes increased steadily. Antana's architect, Carolina Gil, recognizes that a change in management was necessary: "We needed to stop the manual process; we needed to automate everything".

With this defined objective and also looking to improve productivity, gain new insights into project costs and progress and establish modern communication tools, Antana relied on Goom's expertise. The solution for their casuistry was the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Office 365 in the cloud. Both solutions work natively on different types of devices. Something of special relevance since Antana usually works with iPads.

Deploying Dynamics NAV and Office 365 in a cloud environment meant that the upfront capital investment was minimal. "It's a monthly subscription model so there were no upfront costs. There's no hardware to maintain or back-up. It even takes care of security. It's a single flexible solution for our future, as we grow, it grows," Gil states.

In addition to improving administrative processes with Dynamics NAV, Office 365 provides tools that strengthen and facilitate business communication. Thus, with Skype for Business the relationship with customers is more effective: "I can contact suppliers and customers directly from NAV. I just click on the customer in NAV and Skype for Business starts so I can chat or talk to them immediately". He also improves internal communication with Yammer: "We used to send a lot of emails about new projects, but now we use Yammer. We create different groups for different topics and the whole company is kept up to date. It's searchable and everything is in one place, which is much more convenient."

Another of the advantages that the solution has brought to the company is the management of data and the obtaining of beneficial analysis for the company's growth. Dynamics NAV and Microsoft SharePoint - included in Office 365 - have transformed project reporting. From manual management, it has advanced to a complete and updated document management system with Sharepoint. As Gil stated, "Users can see all project documentation - quotes, contracts, vendor invoices - whether they are at home, in the office, or at the client's site. All the information in one system, instead of hidden in folders on someone's desk." From the integration of all this information comes advanced analytics that allow tracking of the construction company's expenses and performance. "From Dynamics NAV it takes just a few clicks to run preconfigured reports in Microsoft Word. I can see costs and profit margins for each project under development and for the business as a whole," Gil acknowledges.

Project automation has increased business productivity. In addition, invoices can be approved or rejected directly in Dynamics NAV, where comments with explanations can be included. It is no longer a manual process, saving time and reducing the margin of error.

Finally, it is worth highlighting the security and information protection options provided by Dynamics NAV and Office 365. Antana employees can access the complete solution through an individual log in. Permissions are configured for each user that restrict certain areas or sensitive information and grant them access to the fields they need to perform their job.

"My boss and colleagues are very happy with the solution. Since we started using it, costs have gone down and our confidence has gone up."

Carolina Gil.