Microsoft Dynamics
Customer Solution Case Study
Chemicals Manufacturer Improves Data Flow
with Business Management Solution
Overview
Country or Region: Russia
Industry: Manufacturing
Customer Profile
United Chemical Company Shchekinoazot
(UCC) is a chemical holding company
based in Russia. Its operations include
commercial company Trading House
Shchekinoazot and three geographically
distributed enterprises.
Business Situation
UCC used a mixture of software solutions
for information management—including
spreadsheets and custom-built tools—
which restricted information sharing and
workflows across the businesses.
Solution
Working with the specialist team at
Microsoftâ Certified Partner Gorod-Info,
UCC chose to implement Microsoft
Dynamicsä AX business management
software.
Benefits
 Familiar, easy-to-use interfaces help
employees adapt quickly.
 Enterprise-wide users can access
consistent business data.
 Managers can rapidly generate reports
to support business decisions.
 Preparation of documents prior to
shipping is 12 times faster.
 Solution helps organisation adhere to
accountancy standards.
“Through sales and purchase procedures we have
minimised multiple data input and optimised workflow
between the offices. Now, fewer people need to be
involved in these processes.”
Alexander Sharafutdinov, Chief Information Officer, UCC Shchekinoazot
Chemical holding company United Chemical Company
Shchekinoazot (UCC) is based in Russia, and operates a
commercial business, plus three large organisations across the
country. Until recently, information sharing across the enterprise
was restricted by its disparate IT solutions. Working with the
specialist team at Microsoftâ Certified Partner Gorod-Info, UCC
chose to implement Microsoft Dynamicsä AX business
management software. Its familiar, easy-to-use interfaces help
people extract the information they need quickly and easily.
Business processes are now automated, minimising manual work
and helping to ensure data is accurate and up to date. Employees
have more time to work on productive tasks rather than timeconsuming administration and data entry. Most importantly,
managers can prepare documents on finished shipments 12 times
faster than before.
Situation
United Chemical Company Shchekinoazot
(UCC) is a chemical holding company based
in Russia. It represents the interests of large
Russian chemical companies that
manufacture industrial chemicals,
engineering plastics, and synthetic fibres, and
produces around 1.1 million tons of
chemicals a year. Its operations include
commercial company Trading House
Shchekinoazot and three geographically
distributed enterprises—JSC Shchekinoazot,
JSC Shchekino Khimvolokno, and Efremov
Chemical Plant.
"The solution had to be
cost effective,
adaptable, and easily
integrated. Microsoft
Dynamics AX could offer
us all this.”
Alexander Sharafutdinov, Chief Information
Officer, UCC Shchekinoazot
to comply with global accounting regulations
such as Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP) and International
Accounting Standards (IAS).
The UCC management team needed to
automate processes and build a unified data
environment. “We wanted to consolidate and
improve the accuracy of operational data
across all four enterprises to help us make
more accurate operational and strategic
management decisions,” says Sharafutdinov.
They needed a solution that could:
The distributed nature of the organisation
meant it was difficult for the company’s
6,500 employees to share data across the
group. To manage information, UCC used a
mixture of software, including spreadsheets
and custom-built tools, but this restricted
access to data and workflows across the
businesses.
•Optimise the data flow between UCC units.
•Be updated centrally, from a single source.
•Meet Russian and international accounting
and tax recording standards, as well as
internal standards.
•Offer flexible tools to respond to
organisational and process changes.
Reference books and classification tools,
which are a vital part of the chemical
industry, were difficult to update consistently.
Information gathered in one department had
to be manually duplicated in different
reference documents in each department.
These and other processes, such as
managing sales records, were extremely time
consuming, and led to inconsistency of
information across the business.
Solution
The absence of a common data environment
made it difficult for managers to oversee
business processes and fully understand
group finances. Alexander Sharafutdinov,
Chief Information Officer, UCC Shchekinoazot,
says: “Our daily operational reports depended
almost entirely on manual processes. To
manage the business and cut costs, we
needed to understand consolidated funds
movements, accounts information,
expenditure, and inventory.” More
importantly, the business needed a new way
“Several factors affected our decision. The
solution had to be cost effective, adaptable,
and easily integrated. Microsoft Dynamics AX
could offer us all this,” says Sharafutdinov.
The senior managers and technical
professionals at UCC evaluated a range of
management solutions, including SAP and
Oracle. They also familiarised themselves
with integrated management systems used in
other large enterprises. Working with
Microsoftâ Certified Partner Gorod-Info, UCC
chose to implement Microsoft Dynamicsä AX
business management software.
Since July 2006, the solution has gone live in
several departments of the group, including
Finance, Production, Purchasing, Sales, and
Accounting. More than 250 employees now
use the system, taking advantage of the
following Microsoft Dynamics AX modules:
•Financials I and II for accounting, accounts
receivable, and accounts payable.
•Trade and Trade Agreements, for purchase
and sales management, and inventory.
•Logistics for pricing management based on
product information.
•Master Planning for the purchase-onrequest process. Purchase orders from
several departments can be consolidated into
a single order.
Gorod-Info has helped UCC automate the
financial and logistic activity across the
group. “The solution has streamlined the
“through sales records” procedure and
supply-chain management. Data only needs
to be entered once to control the entire
chain,” says Sharafutdinov.
The technology also integrates seamlessly
with tools and applications that enhance its
functionality. Data in Microsoft Dynamics AX
Reports Generator can be presented in or
retrieved from Microsoft Office system
applications, such as Microsoft Office Word
2003 and Microsoft Office Excelâ 2003.
Microsoft SQL Serverä 2000 Analysis
Services and Reporting Services have also
been integrated to enhance the reporting
system. “We can build very powerful and
flexible reports to represent huge amounts of
data, such as consolidated accounting
reports, which can be generated quickly,”
says Sharafutdinov.
Benefits
UCC employees like the familiar look and feel
of Microsoft Dynamics AX and find it easy to
use. The solution is already promoting greater
efficiency, with standard user interfaces and
close integration with tools such as Microsoft
Office making the transition as seamless as
possible.
Automation Makes Supply Process 12 Times
Faster
Previously, UCC relied on disparate systems
to manage complex information. This
business model resulted in different
departments and offices having to separately
manage processes such as accounting and
ordering. Now, users can access consolidated
business data and manage processes across
the enterprise. Features such as the unified
inventory classifier and data directory have
helped all departments across the group to
standardise their methods of handling,
classifying, and storing information.
Employees have increased control and insight
into new functionality, and can now plan
sales, shipping, and finance more accurately.
Specialist employees can dedicate their time
to strategic planning and information
analysis, and business processes and
workflows can be coordinated and managed
by the relevant department. The solution also
traces budget movements for each individual
subsidiary, as well as for the entire
enterprise. It controls purchasing from
planning and processing, to sale. “The
solution calculates our costs 10 times faster
than it took before. And the time it takes to
prepare documents prior to shipping is 12
times faster than before,” says
Sharafutdinov.
The most time-consuming tasks—such as
compiling and categorising general ledger
data—are automated, significantly decreasing
the manual effort of UCC employees. As a
result, employees are able to spend time on
higher-value tasks. Sharafutdinov says
“Through sales and purchase procedures, we
have minimised multiple data input and
optimised workflow between the offices. Now,
just one person is required to process sales
records across the entire enterprise, instead
of one or more people from each office.”
Solution Supports Regulatory Accounting
Compliance
The solution helps the business to conform to
GAAP and IAS regulations. It offers a single,
integrated information source that updates in
real time and maintains the relevant financial
data required by regulators.
"We believe that by
improving the strategic
and operational
management of the
business units and
integration of their
activities, we have
helped to increase the
company’s
attractiveness for
foreign investors."
Alexander Sharafutdinov, Chief Information
Officer, UCC Shchekinoazot
In addition, the system has been customised
to meet other requirements, such as the
inclusion of automatic value-added tax (VAT)
calculations on exports, and specialised
product classification. And automated
processes in place help the business operate
in accordance with the Russian accounting
system, tax legislation, and industry-specific
needs.
Enhanced Information Visibility Supports
More Confident Decision Making
Due to the visibility of information across the
organisation, managers at UCC can now
rapidly respond to changing market
demands. They have a clear picture of sales
data, inventory, payments, and funds
movements, which helps them easily identify
the most efficient or troublesome areas of
the business and act accordingly. With the
aid of real-time information, they can make
confident management decisions faster than
ever before, keeping the business operating
seamlessly, and minimising the cost of
inefficiency.
Authorised employees can access
information quickly and easily through the
system, or view the consolidated information
in customised reports. “The analytical
reporting system provides different groups of
users with reliable and efficient information,”
says Sharafutdinov.
“Data is 10 times faster to compile because
the accounts department no longer needs to
approach individual departments and wait for
them to gather their figures. Altogether, there
is minimal human intervention during
complex operations processing and typical
business transactions.”
The way that the data is presented in
financial reports can be managed according
to the user’s requirements. Administrative,
financial, corporate, and tax reports can be
generated. And integration with advanced
business analysis and reporting tools lets
users display reports and results directly in
Microsoft Excel without having to copy and
paste between applications.
Faster, More Efficient Customer Service
Boosts Market Perception
UCC customers also benefit. The system
helps the organisation maintain tighter,
automated control over sales orders. It
checks and verifies credit limits, customer
account information, pricing agreements, and
inventory. Information is consolidated in real
time, helping to ensure that products are
shipped faster, and order quantities and
invoicing are accurate first time, every time,
minimising delays or expensive returns.
“We believe that by improving the strategic
and operational management of the business
units and integration of their activities, we are
helping to increase the company’s
attractiveness for foreign investors,” says
Sharafutdinov. “Our decision to implement
this solution will really pay off. Now that we
have the right tools to support us, we can
concentrate on growing the business.”
For More Information
Microsoft Dynamics
For more information about Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft
Sales Information Center at (800) 4269400. In Canada, call the Microsoft
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Microsoft subsidiary. To access information
using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated,
adaptable business management solutions
that enables you and your people to make
business decisions with greater confidence.
Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar
Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office,
which means less of a learning curve for your
people, so they can get up and running
quickly and focus on what’s most important.
And because it is from Microsoft, it easily
works with the systems that your company
already has implemented. By automating and
streamlining financial, customer relationship,
and supply chain processes, Microsoft
Dynamics brings together people, processes,
and technologies, increasing the productivity
and effectiveness of your business, and
helping you drive business success.
For more information about Gorod-Info
products and services, call +7(495) 2044036 or visit the Web site at: www.gorod.ru
For more information about United
Chemical Company Shchekinoazot (UCC)
products and services, call +7(487) 5196755 or visit the Web site at: www.nazot.ru
For more information about Microsoft
Dynamics, go to:
www.microsoft.com/dynamics
Software and Services

© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for
informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published January 2007
Products
− Microsoft Dynamics AX
− Microsoft Office Excel 2003
− Microsoft Word 2003
− Microsoft SQL Server 2000