It is not because Troels Jørgensen Entreprise A/S is an administratively heavy business. In 2000, when the company decided to invest in a comprehensive Microsoft Business Solutions-Axapta for just 12-14 users it might have seemed somewhat of an exaggeration, admits Frank Moss Strømsted, finance and IT manager.

"Mind you, we had a considerably larger business then. And no matter what, Axapta is an extremely strong tool for a company like ours, especially when paired with the Columbus Byg module. In that way, the Axapta solution fits in perfectly with our slogan: the contractor that thinks big with a feeling for detail," Frank Moss Strømsted remarks.

Troels Jørgensen Entreprise A/S is an all-round business with activities within contracting, building, metalworking, gravel pits, pebbling and transport. After major losses in 2001, the company decided to shed a few layers and sold off a gravel pit and an element factory.

Hanging in the balance

Frank Moss Strømsted is happy that he can use Axapta for managing company finances, and for keeping up with the progress of business in the widely ramified organisation.

"In our industry things are always hanging in the balance," he says. "You have to keep a close check on everything – and every penny and hour counts. If something starts to go differently to the way we had expected, we must be able to step in and rectify matters immediately, and to take a look at past experience and compare."

"Therefore, heavy demands are placed on financial management and the ability to closely monitor projects. We also attach great importance to HR management and good personnel care. It's a question of hanging on to good people and making sure there is always work for them. Once we start having to send them home for a time, it's by no means certain we can get them back again."

Troels Jørgensen Entreprise A/S comprises eight companies and with Axapta has considerably greater integration between the companies of the group, which, among other things, helps when reconciling intercompany balances and consolidating accounts.

Efficient project management

"As a contracting company our primary requirement for an IT system is for it to provide efficient project management. And Axapta does just that," the IT manager confirms. "We can keep up with every penny and can easily undertake current situation reports, when ongoing work has to be accounted for."

More than 40 per cent of the company's costs are payroll costs – either as hourly wages, piece work pay or monthly salaries, and therefore we require an efficient payroll system with full integration to project management.”

"Axapta has given us that," observes Frank Moss Strømsted. "The system has also made it much easier to undertake reporting, while the user interface is easy to work with and you can set it up to sui