Proteintech Group, Inc.
Today, Proteintech Group is one of the leading antibody manufacturers worldwide. Founded in 2001 by scientists for scientists, the company now produces the largest portfolio of antibodies itself, covering two-thirds of human proteins. This allows Proteintech to make a significant contribution to various research areas such as biomedicine, immunology, molecular biology, and environmental sciences. In 2021, Proteintech Group acquired the Munich-based company ChomoTek GmbH, which was also founded by scientists from the Maximilian University.
The Challenge: Transparent Financial Data at the Touch of a Button
As with many rapidly growing spin-offs, financial accounting, including financial reports, for what is now Proteintech Germany, was handled by a tax advisor. With the acquisition by the US Proteintech Group, the German subsidiary faced increasing financial reporting tasks, which put the proven model to the test. This was because the tax advisor's financial reports were process-delayed, arriving as PDFs and Excel files, which then had to be manually consolidated into the group reporting in a very short time. Apart from the process being very time-consuming and error-prone, ad-hoc inquiries could hardly be answered, especially since the company had limited access to the data held by the tax advisor.
The Solution: In-house Financial Accounting with BC2GO
In autumn 2023, Proteintech Germany decided to cover financial accounting internally in the future, primarily to significantly reduce the enormous efforts for group reporting. In addition, the company set itself the goal of professionalizing receivables management and thus reducing outstanding debts.
The decision for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was easily made: "I had already had very good experiences with previous versions of Business Central," says Rainer Gebhart, Germany Country Manager. The challenge was to implement Business Central as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, and at the same time, familiarize employees with the system.
Since Business Central largely covers Proteintech Germany's requirements, especially in the areas of finance and controlling, as standard, the company felt confident in taking on as many project tasks as possible itself. With BC2GO's professional do-it-yourself approach, COSMO CONSULT immediately convinced the Proteintech Germany team.
Efficient Implementation: How Proteintech Implemented Business Central with BC2GO
The Digital Consultant: DIY ERP Implementation Made Easy
With BC2GO, COSMO CONSULT follows a trend that is gradually establishing itself in software projects: The implementation of pre-configured software largely independently. What seemed unthinkable for ERP implementations until now, COSMO CONSULT has made possible: The Digital Consultant scores with knowledge transfer "on demand" directly in Business Central – exactly where it is needed. The smart implementation assistant is an extension app for Business Central from COSMO CONSULT, which provides users with extensive learning materials, video courses, and step-by-step instructions. The smart assistant also has numerous tips and tricks available for every area in the system that were previously only available from personal consultants.
"The Digital Consultant helped us with the implementation in two ways: Firstly, it guided us safely through the implementation, and secondly, it brought all employees along and trained them at the same time." To prevent creative proliferation of processes and ensure compliance with legal regulations, COSMO CONSULT's expert team conducts regular reviews. Last but not least, a personal consultant is always available if needed, so that Proteintech Germany's project team never feels left alone. According to Rainer Gebhart, besides the Digital Consultant, the consistently competent advice and quick response times from COSMO CONSULT are particularly noteworthy.
The Success Factor: Small Steps with Measurable Successes Towards a Big Goal
For Rainer Gebhart, project planning in stages was an important success factor for the DIY project. In the first project phase, ongoing accounting was mapped in Business Central. After that, banks, open item settlement via OPplus, and the tax portal Elster were integrated. In the next steps, reporting was primarily expanded, and receivables management was integrated into Business Central.
"Receivables management can certainly be cited as a measurable success: We have succeeded in significantly reducing our outstanding debts here because we can now effectively manage our dunning process!"
Another success is the reporting package, which is now regularly delivered to the corporate headquarters with little effort: The corporate headquarters has designated it as a best practice, which will be rolled out as a standard in the future.
More Than Just an ERP System: Seamless Integration into Microsoft 365 and Teams
Another highlight for Proteintech is the seamless integration into the Microsoft Office world, with Excel and Teams being particularly popular. Apart from that, the consistent Microsoft look and feel facilitates employee onboarding in Business Central and thus saves extensive training programs.
Conclusion: With BC2GO, the mission to implement an ERP system quickly, easily, cost-effectively, and independently is successful.
