Aurora Energy Research
Aurora Energy Research moves from disparate systems to operational consistency with Dynamics 365
Aurora Energy Research, founded by University of Oxford professors and economists, is the largest dedicated power analytics provider in Europe. Its large team of power market experts produce critical analytics for almost all major market participants in Europe and Australia.
In a five-year period, Aurora is a commercial/market advisor for more than 200 transactions, totalling over €30bn.
Business Challenges
Aurora started a digital transformation journey to drive optimisation and standardisation across regions and businesses. The business operated multiple legacy systems and there was no unified financial management and project management solution. The diverse systems and approaches across different businesses in several disparate geographies posed significant operational challenges.
Aurora identified the following requirements to improve operational efficacy and support its digital transformation roadmap:
• Unified financial management system
• Consolidation of financial information
• Managed project profitability
• A subscription accounting and billing mechanism
• A project accounting and billing mechanism
• Standardisation and automation
• Unification of data and processes
In its search for the best-fit system, the business was looking for a solution provider with a mature cloud offering and seamless interoperability with the entire Microsoft stack.
The Solutions
To address its business challenges and standardise key processes across the different businesses, Aurora made the decision to partner with Mint Group. As a starting point, Mint’s ProActive™ Discover delivered a comprehensive output pack, enabling the selection of the right Dynamics 365 products and licenses for the business. ProActive™ Discover quickly and cost-effectively provided the project requirements and reassured the business that Mint understood and could deliver what was needed for a successful implementation.
Mint’s ProActive™ Transform was then utilised to enable a faster, more cost-effective completion of the analysis and solution design phases of the project. This provided the framework for Mint to run the project in a more controlled, consistent and structured way.
Mint’s project involved implementing D365 Finance for seven legal entities, including a consolidation company, spanning six countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, the United States, and Australia. The entities encompass:
• Aurora Energy GMBH (DEU)
• Aurora Energy Research Investigación y Análisis, SLU (ESP)
• Aurora Energy Research Limited (GBR)
• Aurora Energy Research LLC (USA)
• Aurora Energy Research Pty Ltd (AUS)
• Aurora Energy Research SAS (FRA)
• Emperor UK TopCo Ltd (EMP)
Aurora requested a vanilla approach to standardise key processes across their various businesses. With different systems and approaches currently in use, Aurora aimed to implement repeatable processes and achieve operational consistency as it continues to grow.
The implementation consisted of the following D365 Finance modules:
• General Ledger
• Cash and Bank
• Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
• Procurement and Sourcing
• Product Information Management
• Inventory Management
• Fixed Assets
• Tax
• Budgets
• System Administration
• Subscription Billing
• Projects
• Credit and Collections
• Consolidations
In addition to the core modules, Aurora Energy Research integrated its HR employee database into D365 Finance. This integration has streamlined worker creation, employee setups, timesheet capture, and purchase requisitions.
The Outcome
The implementation of D365 Finance brought several benefits to Aurora Energy Research:
Optimised Operations
Automation and task prioritisation improved operational efficiency by eliminating manual and repetitive tasks, streamlining processes, and optimising resource allocation. The Integration of ERP systems has enabled data integration and reduced disconnected areas within the business.
Team Alignment
The eradication of data silos has improved productivity and collaboration among teams. The flow of data between departments fosters cross-functional collaboration.
Data Unification
A centralised repository for data from all departments has reduced duplication, improved data accuracy and eliminated errors.
Improved Decision-Making
The availability of real-time information and enhanced visibility into the organisation’s operations provides predictive insights which enable data-driven decision-making.
Cost Reduction
The increased efficiency resulting from insights gained across the business has led to reduced costs. By identifying and preventing issues proactively, potential mistakes have been minimised.
By partnering with Mint Group and implementing D365 Finance, Aurora Energy Research has acquired a scalable solution, built on a template, to drive efficiencies, transact across multiple entities and automate manual processes.
