Micro Force Case Study
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Case Study: Battery Park City Authority
With ingenuity and physical effort, Battery Park City Authority was able to be up and functioning soon after the World Trade disaster.
Scenerio
Battery Park City Authority was looking to upgrade their DOS based accounting program in 2000 and needed a system that could be used to streamline their growing operations.
Company Profile
Battery Park City Authority is a New York State public benefit corporation, created in 1968, whose mission is to plan, create, co-ordinate and maintain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side of Manhattan.
Three days after 9/11. An emergency meeting, in temporary offices approximately eight blocks from 1 World Financial Center, was called to determine how the finance department of the Battery Park City Authority could begin to function. Ann, the Director of Operations, was discussing possible options to get equipment to this site so that operations and check processing could resume. Micro Force's president, Jim McCann, suggested going to their damaged offices, physically carrying the servers down 24 flights of stairs and carrying them to the temporary location.Fumes were still burning from the remains of the World Trade Center and the air was full of debris. The Micro Force team, aided by a half-dozen security guards, walked to 1 Financial Center and began the climb to the 24th floor. With flashlights in hand the group stayed close together, stopping every 6 to 8 floors to rest. Many floors had their windows blown out and the view of Ground Zero was both unobstructed and stunning-an image that will undoubtedly remain forever imprinted on their minds.
Arriving on the 24th floor the team found, to their amazement, that not one window had been damaged. The server that had been installed a year earlier, during their upgrade from a DOS based RealWorld program to their Microsoft Dynamics GP system, was intact. The server was carried down the stairs and to the new location, while someone from security brought the check stock. Micro Force technicians were able to get the server operational within an hour, and checks were printed and disbursed three days after 9/11.
Within six months, Micro Force began the implementation of a requisition system for BPCA. The solution was comprised of the Great Plains e.Requisition browser-based product, with an e.Commitment component. These modules allowed authorizations to be put in place for their entire staff, as well as enabled department managers to be notified if any requisition placed them over budget. Micro Force further enhanced their workflow within GP by transferring specific fields that were being entered on requisitions to the purchasing module, so that Purchase Orders would present all the requested information.
An additional project required department managers to approve receipt of a product before permitting the Finance Department to process payment. This was accomplished by providing an enhancement to the receiving screen and email system. After the product arrived at its destination, the receiving document would be saved to a batch for the requisitioning department. The system would email the department which would, in turn, have the department manager validate the receipt for payment-all via one button authorization.
Bill, the Controller for the Authority, has worked with Micro Force from the beginning with the vendor selection process. "Micro Force has been there for us every step of the way. Our system conversion was painless. Their support during 9/11 was above and beyond the call of duty. Supporting an organization our size, at times, can be very challenging, but Micro Force has done a remarkable job for us over the years."Benefits
Battery Park City Authority's investment in Microsoft Dynamics GP is paying off in these ways:
Ease of use
Access to a single source of information. All staff use the browser based system to enter and route requisitions. Management retrieves their reports via their browser based products.Quick reporting access
Using Crystal Enterprise and FRx Webport, Battery Park City Authority's new reporting system allows them to access data quickly and easily. They can now retrieve data through a single process as opposed to their previous multi-step routine. This allows management to view reports that are automatically created for them without the need of support staff.More information
GP has given Battery Park City Authority more information regarding their budgets because it brings data from all areas of their operations into one central repository.Improved business practices
GP has improved the organization's business practices. Information is entered only once and flows smoothly where it is instantly available to all users. When requisitions are entered, proper approval as well as line item budgeting is verified. A second point of control was put in place requiring department managers to confirm that the product or service ordered was the one delivered before payment is processed. All payments are made via EFT which eliminated the printing of checks, envelope stuffing and postage costs. Budget reports are distributed electronically to department managers on a weekly basis.
