Adlår Castra is ready for the future with Microsoft Dynamics
In 2022, Adlår Castra began selling and installing its own heat pumps, quickly specializing in the field despite a dynamic market influenced by subsidies and global events. This expertise allows them to advise customers effectively and install the right heat pump in just one day. To support rapid growth, Adlår Castra partnered with Dynamic People in early 2023 to develop a scalable IT infrastructure. By integrating Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Field Service, they now effortlessly process a growing number of orders and are prepared for expansion, including internationally.
For who: Adlår Castra
The need: A scalable and future-proof solution for processing orders and payments and scheduling installations and maintenance.
What: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Field Service
The result: Thanks to the combination of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Field Service, Adlår Castra now processes a multitude of orders without any problems. The company is ready for further growth, including across borders.
Our expertise: Our expertise lies in seamlessly integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Business Central and Field Service solutions.
For who: Adlår Castra
The need: A scalable and future-proof solution for processing orders and payments and scheduling installations and maintenance.
What: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Field Service
The result: Thanks to the combination of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and Field Service, Adlår Castra now processes a multitude of orders without any problems. The company is ready for further growth, including across borders.
Our expertise: Our expertise lies in seamlessly integrating Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Business Central and Field Service solutions.
Adlår Castra’s IT requirements in early 2023 were quite ambitious. The company had been in business for a relatively short time, although it had successfully sold a few hundred heat pumps. But Adlår Castra wanted to think ahead and was looking for a scalable solution to better automate order processing and sales. In a short time, the company should also be able to sell abroad without having to make major changes to its systems.
If you grow rapidly without thinking ahead, at some point you have to migrate everything to another system. That costs a lot of extra time and money, and it is challenging for employees to learn a new way of working. Reason enough for Adlår Castra to get it right the first time. In this case with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM package in combination with Business Central and Field Service.
Adlår Castra started selling and installing self-developed heat pumps in 2022. In a particularly dynamic market – influenced by subsidy schemes and world events – Adlår Castra has specialised entirely in heat pumps.
First, the sales process was tackled. This was still largely manual, says Wiebren van de Schootbrugge, IT manager at Adlår Castra. ‘The moment we create a sales order in the CRM package, it is now also directly in Business Central. That package automatically creates an invoice for the down payment, which is transferred back to the CRM package and to this we immediately link a payment link for the customer. If the customer pays via that link, we can immediately log that the payment has been made. It is also convenient for the customer: once the decision has been made to create an order, three minutes later the customer finds the order, invoice and down payment in the mail. If a customer has any questions, the salesperson is still around to explain things if necessary, after which the customer can make the down payment.’ This way of working has eliminated many manual operations. With the same number of people, the company can now handle a much larger customer base.
Business Central is a comprehensive solution, of which Adlår Castra is still exploring many possibilities. For example, the integration of a warehouse management solution. ‘We want to know exactly what goes out of the warehouse and where it goes. Also for our service technicians, we want to keep track of what they have with them in the van. These are valuable materials, you want to have insight into that.’
‘We are now reaping the benefits of our investment. Everything started with a good business plan and seeing where we are now, I think we have executed it well.’
Wiebren van de Schootbrugge,
IT-manager at Adlår Castra
Field Service is a valuable solution for planning. Once an order has been placed, work preparation is based on a series of photos provided by the customer or the salesperson on site. The work preparation includes the type of installation, whether it is a hybrid or all-electric heat pump, and where the pipes are located. From this comes a to-do list and a list of materials. When everything is ready, the customer is asked for a second deposit. Once this is done, a work order is created in the field service department. Wiebren is very pleased with the clarity of Field Service. You can immediately see where a technician is coming from and what installations need to be done nearby. This makes a huge difference to travel time. For service and maintenance, good planning of the technicians is especially important, because there are more jobs in a day and they are often more urgent.
The fact that the solution is future-proof also means that there are many possibilities, for example in the field of AI. A heat pump provides data and reacts to the settings. In the long term, Adlår Castra wants to develop a self-learning model that can optimally heat each house in its own way. There are also possibilities for customer service. After all, AI can read and interpret emails well and suggest follow-up steps to support staff. Initial tests have already been carried out and the results are promising.
With a major intervention in the IT landscape, it is inevitable that the implementation is also radical. ‘It requires a new working method that, moreover, has to take place overnight. You have to prepare people well for that, but even once it is working, it is logical that there are still regular questions. We managed this entirely together with Dynamic People, with them taking the lead. It’s great to see that after intensive preparation, we now have a system that our employees and customers enjoy.’
For companies considering a similar project, Wiebren does have some advice: ‘Think a few years ahead and try to think big. You don’t have to implement everything immediately, but keep it in mind in what you build now.’
Wiebren is happy with the solution Adlår Castra has put in place together with Dynamic People. ‘We deliberately set up a clear architecture and made a considerable investment. We are now reaping the benefits. The cooperation with Dynamic People went well and is still going well, although their help is needed less often now. They always think along to find a solution for us. Everything started with a good business plan and when I see where we are now, I think we have executed it well.’