CCBA’s Project Horizon Case Study
Data migration is a critical component of any enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) implementation. In the context of Dynamics 365, data migration involves transferring data from legacy systems to either Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (FO) or Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE). This process is crucial to ensure businesses can continue their operations smoothly and effectively within the new system.
In this blog post, we will explore the steps involved in data migration to Dynamics 365 FO and CE through a client case study, providing a detailed guide to ensure a successful migration.
Project Horizon Overview
Four years ago, our company got an opportunity to work on the Project Horizon, sending a team of experienced technical and functional consultants, first as a Microsoft contractor and then contracting for CCBA.
Project Horizon, a 5+ year initiative for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), focused on the digital transformation journey for the African subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Company. The project aimed to create a unified, efficient solution to support business processes and deliver real-time information across the value chain. This, in turn, enhances customer service and decision-making as CCBA strives to reach its full potential.
Understanding Source and Target Systems
Before diving into the data migration process, it’s essential to understand the differences between source and target systems, and the distinction between Dynamics 365 FO and CE.
Source (Legacy) Systems:
- SAP: An ERP solution that manages various business functions such as finance, supply chain, HR, and customer relationships.
- EoStar: A route accounting and distribution management software primarily used in the beverage industry, offering solutions for warehouse management, route optimization, sales tracking, and inventory management.
- Dynamics NAV: An ERP solution designed for small to medium-sized businesses covering financial management, supply chain, and project management.
Target Systems:
- Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (FO): A suite that manages financials, supply chain operations, manufacturing, and project management. It’s an ERP system supporting large-scale enterprises.
- Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE): Previously known as Dynamics CRM, CE focuses on customer relationship management, including sales, marketing, customer service, and field service.
Data Migration Flow (Checklist)
Step 1: Planning Your Data Migration
The first step in any data migration process is planning and profiling. Proper planning ensures that all data is accurately migrated and that the new system functions smoothly.
- Assess Current Data: Begin by evaluating the data that needs to be migrated, including customer records, financial transactions, and inventory data. Ensure data is clean, free of duplicates, and accurate. In our case, business users were involved in defining which data needed to be migrated.
- Define the Scope: Not all data from the legacy system needs to be migrated. In this project, the scope included:
- Configuration Data: Data defining system settings, such as the chart of accounts, financial dimensions, and security roles. Some configurations were adapted to fit local requirements.
- Master Data: Core data like customer, vendor, and product information, which is crucial for the operation of business processes.
- Transactional Data: Dynamic, day-to-day data such as sales orders, invoices, and inventory movements.
- Establish Data Mapping: Map data fields from the legacy system to Dynamics 365 to ensure integrity. This was a crucial step, as the field mappings between legacy systems and D365 FO/CE differed while serving similar functions.
- Set a Timeline: Establish a timeline that includes key milestones. In this project, overlapping go-live activities in different legal entities required meticulous planning.
Step 2: Data Extraction
The next step is extracting data from legacy systems in preparation for migration.
- Selecting the Right Tools: Depending on the legacy system, specific tools were needed. In this case, SQL, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and third-party tools like KingswaySoft were mostly used for data extraction.
- Create Backup: A complete backup of the legacy systems was made before extraction to ensure safety.
- Perform Data Cleansing: Data was cleaned to remove duplicates, correct errors, and ensure consistency. Data cleansing was a challenge due to inconsistent, outdated records.
Step 3: Data Transformation
After extraction, data needed to be transformed into a format compatible with Dynamics 365.
- Mapping Data Fields: Data mappings created during planning guided the transformation process to ensure that every field from the legacy system was correctly mapped.
- Data Formatting: Data was reformatted as needed, particularly for different date formats, currency, and units of measurement across countries.
- Business Rules Application: We applied all the necessary business rules during this phase.
- Data Enrichment: Its closely related to the business rules, as some rules might require additional data that was not present in the legacy system but required according to the new design in D365
Step 4: Data Loading
Once the data was transformed, it was loaded into Dynamics 365 FO and CE.
- Use Data Management Framework (FO): For Dynamics 365 FO, the Data Management Framework (DMF) was used for bulk import and export.
- Data Loading in D365 CE: For Dynamics 365 CE, the Data Import Wizard, SQL, SSIS, KingswaySoft, Data Import++ and more were used to load data from various formats.
Step 5: Data Validation and Testing
Data validation ensures that migrated data is accurate and usable.
- Data Integrity Checks: Thorough checks were conducted to ensure all data was migrated correctly.
- Functional Testing: Testing the system functionality to ensure that the migrated data supports business processes and business rules as expected.
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT): End-users were involved in UAT to validate the system from a functional perspective, ensuring that it met business needs.
Step 6: Post-Migration Activities
After data migration and validation, there were several post-migration tasks:
- System Monitoring: System performance and user feedback were closely monitored post-migration.
- Data Archival: Determining what to do with the legacy data that was not migrated.
- Documentation: Documenting the entire migration process, including any challenges faced and how they were resolved.
- User Training: Training was provided to ensure users understood the new system.
Cross-Platform Integration Using Dual Write
Dual Write was used to enable seamless, real-time synchronization between Dynamics 365 FO and CE. In this case, it unified CCBA’s ERP and CRM systems, ensuring consistent, accurate data. Dual Write was used to map business rules and processes, making the migration more efficient.
Conclusion and Lessons Learned
Data migration to Dynamics 365 FO and CE is a complex process that requires careful planning, execution, and validation. Some key lessons learned from the CCBA project include:
- Inadequate planning can derail the project. Breaking down the project into manageable phases or waves helps the planning to be successful.
- Poor data quality at the source can lead to issues post-migration. Use of data profiling tools to assess the quality of data early and identify potential problems often cures post-migration migraine.
- Lack of clear ownership leads to delays and conflicts. This is a hot bullet, there must be a data governance framework that will outline the roles and responsibilities for managing the migrated data
With proper preparation and testing, businesses can successfully transition to Dynamics 365, unlocking new efficiencies and growth.
For more details you can download the complete Case Study Here.