Coal Company Powers Up Operations with Microsoft Dynamics GP

North Dakota is one of the country's top 10 coal producing states, mining 30 million tons every year since 1988. Due to complicated federal regulations regarding mining and reclamation, coal companies need much more than an out of the box software solution.

For over 15 years, one of the largest coal companies in North Dakota has been utilizing Microsoft Dynamics GP. They chose the software because of its full range of functionality and ability to integrate additional programs or applications seamlessly into the system. Because GP doesn't have the features that a coal company needs to meet regulations, the programming team at DFC Consultants created a solution that would meet their needs and integrate with GP. Ultimately, DFC was able to create a system that allowed employees and managers to monitor exactly how much topsoil and subsoil was moved from specific locations. This helped aid in the reclamation process, ensuring that the land is put back exactly how it was found prior to mining the coal.

The custom solution integrates directly with Microsoft Dynamics GP, allowing data to flow in between systems without duplicate entries or additional processes.

Along with the custom piece, KEY2ACT’s Job Cost and Service Management were also implemented. Job Cost gives managers a total view of how much each specific project costs - from labor to equipment, supplies, and overhead. Service Management allows employees to view in-depth history on their projects, schedule equipment to projects, and manage work orders. Again, this functionality ties seamlessly into Microsoft Dynamics GP, providing a more robust system without having to manually enter data or manage several different systems.

Immediate Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics GP:

• Reduced payroll processing time from three days to one, saving time and labor hours.
• Reduced month-end close time from four days to two.
• Improved decision making thanks to robust reporting functionality that requires no manual effort, thanks to automatically emailed reports and graphs.

If you need more functionality that is specific to your industry, let us know. We may have already created a program that you could utilize or can create something that will make you more efficient.

By Sabrina Zimara, DFC Consultants