Richard Humphreys |
Kempinski Hotels has selected Microsoft Dynamics NAV, augmented with nHancedNav from Microsoft partner The NAV People, to optimise efficiency within each hotel and increase visibility into expenses across the entire organisation. By deploying Dynamics NAV across the entire group, the company will achieve efficiency gains by automating manual processes, reducing headcount costs through improved working practices and optimising inventory management across its entire hotel portfolio.
Kempinski’s collection of five-star hotels spans Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Keen to embrace the benefits of technology, the company sought a solution to improve efficiency, deliver a return on investment and have the capacity to scale and expand as the company grew.
Monique Jaqqam, vice president of finance at Kempinski, said: “The hospitality industry has been slow to embrace the benefits of technology as integration and customisation costs have been price prohibitive. Microsoft Dynamics NAV offers the core functionality we needed and can be extended through add-on applications to deliver the features we may want in the future.”
With 75 hotels across 30 countries, swift and efficient deployment was key. As each Kempinski hotel has identical back office processes, a configuration template has been developed that is re-used for each deployment. This ensures a consistency in hotel operation and user experience.
Each hotel has stores containing an extensive array of fine wine, champagne and spirits. The efficient management of inventory is fundamental to the business as the investment exposure extends into tens of millions of euros when calculated across the entire hotel group. Dynamics NAV has enabled the company to optimise stock management by providing mobile functionality to employees, enabling them to scan items removed from stores with a handheld device, replacing previous paper-based methods. When the roll-out is complete the company will have real-time visibility of inventory enabling stores management to optimise efficiency in stock utilisation.
When complete, the deployment of Dynamics NAV will give Kempinski Hotels streamlined workflows, eliminating duplication of data entry and enabling the company to reduce operational costs. Additionally, the increased visibility of daily financial transactions will deliver a single centralised view enabling better decision-making.
Ian Humphries, managing and product director at The NAV People commented: “Kempinski Hotels wanted the benefits that an enterprise resource planning tool can deliver without the crippling price tag. Microsoft Dynamics NAV delivers excellent core functionality and can be extended with a range of add-on applications developed specifically for the platform. Additionally, as a cloud-based solution it enables the company to achieve greater synergies through data sharing.”