As the world's energy needs continue to increase exponentially, the energy market is continuously growing and changing dramatically. Remaining a key player in this industry is a daunting task as companies vie to stay on the technological edge of energy sources.

Established in 1985 and based in Parsippany, N.J., GPU International (GPUI) is a global company, which acquires, develops, and manages generation businesses. The company does business in eight countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. In these countries GPUI has an ownership interest in 21 generation plants with a capacity of nearly 7,000 megawatts.

Preparing for The New Millennium

In a large multi-dimensional and multi-national company like GPUI, a reliable, top-performing information backbone is critical. GPUI must track its entities all over the world, consolidate their assorted financial reports and then use that information to manage the company and assess its present and future performance. To operate effectively, a company of this scope requires a multi-faceted, adaptable and dynamic information system.

At the beginning of 1997, Marie Easton, head of the materials department at GPUI, and her team looked toward the next millennium and realized that its current accounting system could not keep up with the company's dramatic growth rate.

"We had a DOS system in place which was limited in its scope and was not functioning at the level we needed in order to sustain our business's growth," said Easton. "The system was not providing our employees with the information they needed to do their jobs effectively. In addition, the system was not year 2000-compliant.

"It was Easton's job to recommend a new soft- ware solution. She and her team immediately launched an extensive search of accounting and business management software packages. As part of the team's research it consulted with a number of accounting firms to better understand the solutions offered by various vendors and how each was seen in the marketplace.

"GPUI's approach to finding a software solution was very thorough," said Wendy Gold, Vice President of Business Management International (BMI), which operates three certified Navision Solution Centers: one in New York City, one in Northern New Jersey, and the third in Central/Southern New Jersey. "Marie was highly organized and knew exactly what was needed in the new system. The team had prepared a comprehensive 30-page document containing questions based on GPUI's requirements. BMI had to answer every question before we were even asked to demonstrate the product."

It was immediately obvious to BMI that GPUI needed a sophisticated enterprise business solution with the flexibility to grow with the company.

"The most important requirements for the new system were flexibility, ease-of-use and a responsive team of professionals to implement the solution. Since GPUI has investments in many different countries, we also required multi-currency, multi-lingual and Euro-ready software, which narrowed down the field substantially," explained Easton.

The GPUI team finally selected three systems, then attended demonstrations on all three. Following the demonstrations, the team conducted a cost-benefit analysis of each solution. "In the end, we chose BMI and Navision Financials because they met all our accounting needs and had the flexibility to do the things we wanted to do," said Easton. "We came away with a clear impression that the staff at BMI was not only committed to this project, but fully understood our needs."

The Right Fit

BMI's first step was to perform an in-depth analysis of the entire company to better assess GPUI's specific needs and requirements. Representatives from every department within the company were interviewed, and a needs analysis document was produced indicating how the software could be customized to fit GPUI's specific requirements.

"After the intense needs analysis, there was not a single hurdle that I knew we could not surmount," recalls Gold. And there were some fairly complicated issues to consider, such as heavy consolidation requirements, local issues in other countries, accounting and reporting regulations, hyper-currency and multiple types of ownership in GPUI's companies. "We knew that no other system would have been up to the challenge."

Navision Financials processes the financials for 80 separate GPUI-affiliated companies, both domestic and international. The implementation included General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Purchase Order Processing, Accounts Receivable, Sales Order Processing, Job Cost and Human Resources.

Generating Results

The multi-lingual/multi-currency functionality of Navision Financials, and the global reach of BMI were key factors in the selection process, but there are several other reasons BMI was able to meet GPUI's needs:

The Power of Information

The key to Navision Financials is that it provides GPUI with more sophisticated tools. The company now has a much more efficient ordering system in place, with a standardized chart of accounts and vendor list.

Navision Financials allows GPUI to produce consolidated financial statements, after conversion to the US dollar. The company now saves a significant amount of time at month-end on the closing and reporting of those statements.

An Adaptable Solution

One of the key benefits of Navision's solution is that it can be modified, using object-oriented tools, to fit the needs of the company and its established infrastructure.

Drill-Down Features

The GPUI team was very impressed with Navision's drill-down features, which allowed them immediate access to information they could not view using their old system.

Total Integration

Before Navision Financials, GPUI did not have a purchasing system linked with its accounting system. As BMI and GPUI move forward with the implementation of Navision Financials, all the business processes and data will be integrated into a seamless operation. This will help GPUI manage its entities and projects for future growth.

The Right Team

Undoubtedly, selecting the right team is about the right chemistry and forging a partnership. GPUI and the team of professionals at BMI have worked, and continue to work, hand-in-hand on the implementation of Navision Financials. "It is the service behind the product that sets us apart," said Gold.

Moving Forward

"Navision provides our employees with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. This is a critical step for us as we move for- ward," said Easton. "Thanks to Navision and BMI, we have moved successfully from an outdated accounting system to a true global enterprise business system."

Phase 1 of the Navision Financials implementation for GPUI went live as scheduled on November 1, 1998, and Phase 2 is in progress. Phase 1 consisted of the critical items to get GPUI's system up and running, and Phase 2 will include Fixed Assets and additional functionality. As Gold explained, "we have tackled their needs list and now we are working on their wish list."

"GPUI, Navision Software, and BMI, as a team, are the perfect example of how international operations can be fully integrated through the use of a powerful tool like Navision Financials," says Larry Schiff, president of BMI.