January 10, 2025

Glencore Technology

Glencore Technology gains greater insight from Microsoft Power Platform

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Objective

Glencore Technology wanted to migrate their CRM system to Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) in the power platform to leverage greater integration, automation and reporting across business platforms.

Approach

To maximise the potential of D365, Glencore Technology sought the guidance of an experienced partner. After considering multiple options, they chose to work with Data#3 due to their excellent longstanding relationship and confidence in meeting high delivery standards.

IT Outcome

Business Outcome

We enjoyed the end-to-end process from inception to delivery and seeing it come alive. Every sprint review was exciting as the concept came to fruition in front of our eyes.

Jo HardieSenior Business Analyst, Glencore Technology

The Background

Glencore Technology has been marketing technology in the metals and mineral processing industries for almost 40 years. With expertise spanning process and equipment design, detailed engineering, equipment supply and operator training, they provide essential services in some of Australia’s most demanding workplaces.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) was introduced as part of a digital transformation, to modernise IT systems, leverage cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) applications for greater flexibility and future proof the scalability of solutions and data management for a dynamic business.

The Challenge

Glencore Technology’s sustainability is built on a passion to constantly evolve their products to solve burgeoning problems of valued clients. As an engineering projects organisation, continuous improvement is in all that they do to drive value to the customer throughout the asset lifecycle. When Senior Business Analyst Jo Hardie joined Glencore Technology, a digital transformation program was already underway.

“We had already started the journey to revamp our systems across the entire architecture. A lot of platforms were reaching end of support, and we were facing challenges with our incumbent on-premises systems. Gathering and combining business data from disparate systems was time-consuming, it could take days to pull together data for reporting.”

Among the roadblocks Glencore Technology identified was a CRM product no longer offering the depth of function now available in modern options, unable to sufficiently grow with the business. Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform were chosen as an alternative that promised a more intelligent and streamlined environment.

“As the business grew, a major drawcard was looking at automating business process between systems and departments, to get out of spreadsheets and email chains and streamline operations,” explained Hardie.

“This would expedite the turnaround time from a request for quotation, to receiving a purchase order and handover to the delivery part of the organisation.”

A key driver for the project was to ensure that valued resources were supported to work efficiently, using their skills and strengths to add value instead of becoming swamped with manual tasks.

It comes down to optimising your people; when everything is manual, the result is high value resources, performing low-value tasks. As an organisation grows, complexity increases, with more people performing tasks that keep operations running but don’t add significant value. We wanted our teams free to focus on high-value tasks so they could drive value to the business and our clients.

The manual processes were, said Hardie, more likely to lead to errors even from the most diligent employees, especially when working across multiple systems in a complex environment. D365 and Power Apps would give the opportunity for more accurate and real-time information, and Hardie knew that access to support and availability of expertise was crucial if Glencore Technology was to make the most of the opportunity.

“There was a preference for us to select a delivery partner within our local time zone . We knew we needed the support to be readily available when needed.”

IT Outcome

“Glencore Technology has had a longstanding relationship with Data#3, and as a premium partner of Microsoft – the accolades for Data#3 stand out for themselves. Working with the team is seamless, they are great people, the communication is fantastic at all levels, the delivery of their work and their support is phenomenal, and they have a willingness to help,” explained Hardie.

“Our organisation thrives on long-term partnerships, and with Data#3 there was a lot of alignment.”

The Glencore Technology team was keen to get true value from the D365 and Power Apps investment, and that meant tailoring it to align with the intricacies of the business. The process began with presales engineers closely examining the way the business operated and identifying the best way to proceed.

“We had presales meetings between both organisations to understand the problem and scope, identify any constraints, and discuss the desired outcomes for the project. When I joined, some time had lapsed since the initial project scoping, so it was important to ensure realignment with the team and to reaffirm the core deliverables,” said Hardie.

“Working with the Data#3 Project Manager, we established trust quickly in the project team, collaborating with SMEs on user requirements. Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle , Data#3 gave us guidance and support, in best practice delivery of agile software projects.”

The flexible approach of the Data#3 team and a willingness to work at Glencore Technology’s pace was important, given the organisation was juggling a number of demanding situations while prioritising the needs of clients.

“It was a challenging time for our organisation and the wider industry as we were still experiencing the impact of the pandemic and many of our people were working from home. We went through a fully remote build, rollout, and support. Glencore Technology was moving between offices, and we still managed the rollout with minimal issues.

“It really helped in our ongoing project that we had a technology stack that could be managed fully online, making it easy to support and work remotely. Interruptions during the pandemic delayed our new office fitout, which meant the rollout happened with our workforce working remotely full-time,” explained Hardie.

Despite working in unusual circumstances, Hardie felt the combined Data#3 and Glencore Technology team stepped up to the challenge. The close alignment and collaboration involved reinforced her assertion that a good cultural fit is crucial when choosing a technology partner, and the outcome reflected this.

“We enjoyed the end-to-end process from inception to delivery and seeing it come alive. Every sprint review was exciting as the concept came to fruition in front of our eyes. We have been able to automate a lot of processes, and power apps complimented our journey with Power BI where we are seeing benefits and synergies as we move more of our incumbent products to the Power platform environment. We have more seamless, integrated reporting.”

The experience of introducing D365 and Power Platform has changed the way the Glencore Technology team views its technology ecosystem, and this has helped to guide forward planning.

“Working with leaders in the IT industry, we have noticed a shift in the product trends of the industry. Previously you would buy a product off the shelf and it would have seven years of life before being replaced by another iteration or another product.

“Now, Software as a Service (SaaS) has continual improvement and features added, which is fantastic. It is great for a business like ours because it allows systems to be as adaptable as we need, and to grow and change with our business. It keeps continuity in our systems for employees, so the user interface isn’t changing as often,” said Hardie.

“We can take the approach of selecting software systems with integral alignment to our long term business strategy. It is a winning component of the platforms we have in place for the future.”

Business Outcome

While the technology rollout went smoothly despite the challenges faced, Hardie considered user adoption to be the true gauge of success.

“The adoption was good, with minimal disruption to business activities. That was a testament to the Data #3 team that it was a successful project. We seamlessly managed change with 150 users fully online.

With more processes becoming automated, the quality and timeliness of information has been especially notable. Hardie noted that even the most dedicated of staff can make the occasional typo, and human error is inevitably a factor when tasks are performed manually.

“Data cleanliness is a priority; when people had manual tasks in Microsoft Excel, there was greater potential for error. Now we have more automation, more checks in place to validate our data. The data integrity aspect is second to none, and reducing manual handling errors is so important. We avoid unnecessary double handling of work by pushing data between systems. We now have in real time reporting, we can track changes as they happen, which is invaluable.”

As Hardie’s team and the company’s growing user base gain in confidence, they continue to find ways to capitalise on the new environment.

“We’re receiving feedback that the tools are delivering productivity improvements and that positive impact provides intrinsic value for me. With change there is always some resistance but moving teams through these teething issues to full integration with the system that is the biggest success. It is easy to enjoy the process when you’re working with good people who are passionate about their work, it’s been a fantastic relationship with the Data #3 team.”

Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle , Data#3 gave us guidance and support, in best practice delivery of agile software projects.

Jo HardieSenior Business Analyst, Glencore Technology

Conclusion

While the streamlined processes and fast, accurate access to information have been well received, there has also been a profound effect on Glencore Technology’s ability to adapt to an ever-changing business landscape.

“This makes us so much more agile as a business. It frees people’s time from pulling together reports, spending more time on adding value for our clients and our strategic focus,” said Hardie.

Glencore Technology has already been building on the success, finding new ways to automate processes and free up time. The relationship with Data#3 has continued, and Hardie said that she feels reassured to know support is available when needed.

“Their strength is that they openly communicate with customers. Communication is 90% of the battle, and there were no issues in that area, they were ready to help at all levels of the organisation. Whether the support team or the senior leadership, we knew we could reach out and get professional advice. They have been generous with knowledge sharing in the space around emerging topics like AI, they always give us a chance to talk things through with technical experts. This ability to call on people with great talent and receive expert advice, is everything.”

While Glencore Technology is a highly regarded expert in its own area of technology, Hardie concluded that it is of utmost importance to focus on core business and introduce specialist partners to support ancillary business functions.

“This area of technology is not our bread and butter, and we don’t always have the right core competencies readily available in-house, so delivery through partners and strategic alliances is very important for us. The IT industry is evolving at such a pace that it’s hard to stay current on emerging trends and technologies, so having experts in this field and being able to get trusted advice is a wonderful part of the relationship with Data#3,” concluded Hardie.

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