Defense Contractor Arms Itself With Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 to Integrate Production and Financial Operations

Progeny Systems chooses Microsoft technology to replace Deltek and ManEx systems, gaining scalability and ending duplicate data entry.

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. today announced that defense contractor Progeny Systems Corp. has selected Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to replace the company’s two separate systems for accounting and production management. Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an ERP system built to help midsize companies streamline their business processes by providing specific functionality based on the needs of individual industries and regions.

Progeny Systems, headquartered in Manassas, Va., employs 421 people in providing services and manufacturing electronic systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as other government and business organizations. Progeny Systems operates 12 additional facilities in California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington, D.C.

The company had been using Deltek FMS as its financial management system and ManEx technology for production support. However, Deltek decided to phase out FMS and eventually to stop supporting the product altogether. This meant that if Progeny Systems decided to upgrade its back-end office technology in the future, it could not be certain that new software would work with the Deltek FMS application. Moreover, Progeny Systems had outgrown the functionality of the ManEx system, which also was not integrated with financial operations. Data had to be entered separately and manually into both Deltek and ManEx, leading to potential errors and consuming unnecessary time. As a result, Progeny Systems decided to seek out an ERP system that would integrate finance, project accounting and production management.

Progeny Systems chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 after seeing it demonstrated and comparing it with three other contenders Deltek Costpoint, Infor ERP VISUAL and ObviO EMS. Microsoft Dynamics NAV had exactly the right flexibility, functionality and integration of financial and production support that the company needed.

Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Pleasant Valley Business Solutions LLC, which focuses exclusively on supporting government contractors and resellers, demonstrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 to Progeny Systems executives. “We could see how easily it could be shaped to our specific needs,” said Progeny Systems Chief Financial Officer Alexander Kot. “Pleasant Valley showed us how easy it is to customize the system, even on the fly.”

Progeny Systems will integrate its Microsoft Dynamics solution with its other Microsoft technology, including Microsoft Windows Server, the Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Exchange as it extends its Microsoft .NET-based platform.

Joining other government contractors that recently have switched to Microsoft Dynamics technology as the foundation for operating their businesses, Progeny Systems anticipates gaining a number of benefits to support its success, including these:
• Support for company growth. Progeny Systems expects Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 to be highly scalable and to enable the company to manage growth more easily than previous systems would have allowed.
• Industry-specific requirements. For government contractors, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 supports compliance for indirect rates and billing rates, with the flexibility to support various cost structures and differing contract billing scenarios, such as time and materials, cost-plus with incentives, and reward fees. It is also Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)-compliant, which is critical for companies that do business with the Department of Defense.
• Improved reporting. “We have great hopes for Microsoft Dynamics NAV reporting that comes out of the box to allow us to build reports ad hoc,” Kot said. The company’s previous systems required either its own software or a reporting tool from another vendor to produce reports. Anytime the systems were upgraded, the company had to wait months for the software from the other vendors to catch up. “Reporting functions are all inherent in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and when future upgrades are released, reporting will be upgraded with it because it’s all in one system,” Kot said.
• Integration of data. The need to enter data twice will be eliminated because it must only be entered once in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and then will flow through the system, integrating production management with financial management for the first time in the company. Processes will be streamlined significantly.
• Time and cost savings. The integration of data will reduce time and cost demands, because data will need to be entered only once. The company’s need to hire more people to enter data will be lowered as a result, too.
• Accuracy of data. With single entry replacing duplicate entry, the chances for human error entering the system are cut by half. More accurate data will speed production and reduce waste.
• Improvement in revenue. Progeny Systems expects that its processes will be faster and, with all information in a single system, the company can recognize revenue and bill clients more rapidly.
• Planning. Kot said he was particularly pleased with the budgeting capability in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, a feature that he did not find in Deltek Costpoint. The company’s new Microsoft technology provides good budgeting on both the corporate and project sides and allows reports to be run against the budget.

“Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 enables government contractors such as Progeny Systems to meet America’s most demanding technology standards,” said David Willis, vice president for Microsoft’s U.S. Dynamics Business. “Increasingly, such companies are looking for ways to integrate their data, simplify their processes and speed the advancement of the nation’s defense infrastructure. They’re finding solutions in Microsoft Dynamics products.”

About Progeny Systems Corporation

Progeny Systems Corporation (www.progeny.net) is a privately-held high-tech small business specializing in electronic systems development for the United States Department of Defense (DoD), and other government and business organizations. Since 1995, Progeny has provided high-quality engineering solutions and services to the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Fortune 500 customers.

About Pleasant Valley Business Solutions

Pleasant Valley Business Solutions (PVBS), a “Microsoft Business Solutions President’s Club Member 2007,” offers the Microsoft alternative for government contractor ERP, financial management and project accounting. Microsoft offers a better project accounting and financial management solution than what’s been available in the past to high-growth government contractors. Only PVBS offers a Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution that was created specifically for high-growth government contractors, to help these companies better manage and maximize their Federal Government business. PVBS is based in Reston, VA. Visit PBVS at www.pvbs.net.

About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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