Unified ERP Transformation for a Global Commodity Trading Enterprise Using Dynamics 365
Case Study Details:
The Challenge
A leading enterprise in the agriculture and commodity trading sector was struggling with operational inefficiencies caused by a fragmented ERP landscape and disconnected business processes. Multiple ERP systems across business units created data silos, increased maintenance costs, and made it difficult to achieve consistent operations across the organization.
The company’s commodity trading operations were heavily reliant on manual processes and spreadsheet-based workflows for managing Sales Orders (SOs) and Purchase Orders (POs), impacting both speed and accuracy. Critical business functions such as customer credit limit management, purchase approvals, and vendor invoicing were also handled manually, resulting in delays and reduced operational efficiency.
In addition, limited integration between ERP systems and key platforms such as CRM and customer portals restricted data visibility and collaboration. The organization also depended on multiple third-party applications for functions such as email notifications, invoice repositories, and customer statement generation, further increasing complexity. The lack of real-time, consolidated financial reporting across business units made it difficult to gain timely business insights and make informed decisions.
Key business challenges included:
- Fragmented ERP landscape with multiple systems across business units
- High operational costs and inefficiencies due to system duplication and skill dependencies
- Manual commodity trading processes impacting speed and accuracy
- Continued reliance on spreadsheets for managing Sales Orders (SOs) and Purchase Orders (POs)
- Limited integration between ERP systems and critical platforms such as CRM and customer portals
- All the key business operations, such as customer credit limit management, purchase approvals, and vendor invoicing, were manual
- Heavy dependency on third-party applications for email notifications, invoice repository, and customer statement generation
- Lack of real-time, consolidated financial reporting across business units
Evoke’s Approach
To address these challenges, Evoke partnered with the client to unify its ERP ecosystem and modernize core business operations using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. The solution enabled:
- Integrated Levridge CTRM with D365 to support advanced commodity accounting and risk management
- Decommissioned legacy invoice capture tools to standardize invoicing processes
- Enabled seamless integration between ERP, CRM systems, and customer portals for improved data flow
- Digitized additional business functions, eliminating Excel-based workflows
- Implemented e-Invoicing (CFDI) for Mexico operations to ensure regulatory compliance
- Automated the sending of trade agreements to customers and vendors for signature and retrieval of the signed copy to Dynamics
- Integrated with commodity trading brokerage applications to streamline trading operations
The Outcomes
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| ERP landscape | Multiple ERP systems across business units created duplication, inconsistent processes, and higher maintenance effort | Unified operations on a single ERP platform, reducing system maintenance costs by 35% and improving data consistency across departments |
| IT overhead | Redundant and underutilized tools increased support effort and technology complexity | Rationalized the application landscape, reducing IT overhead by 25% |
| Reporting accuracy | Reporting was fragmented across systems, limiting consistency and trust in business data | Established a single source of truth for Finance & Operations reporting, improving reporting accuracy by 45% |
| Reporting speed | Manual reporting processes slowed access to business insights | Reduced report preparation time by 50% |
| Financial visibility | Consolidated financial and inventory visibility was delayed, making reconciliation slower and more effort-intensive | Enabled real-time financial visibility, reducing reconciliation time by 60% |
| Customer communication | Statements and aging reports depended on manual effort and follow-ups | Improved customer communication efficiency by 70% and reduced manual follow-ups by 50% |
| Trade visibility | Limited visibility into commodity trades made proactive risk monitoring difficult | Improved risk assessment accuracy by 40% through complete trade visibility |
| Enterprise integration | Disconnected ERP, CRM, and customer platforms limited collaboration and data flow | Built an integrated enterprise ecosystem, increasing cross-functional collaboration by 35% |
| Customer data consistency | Customer information was fragmented across systems, affecting service and engagement | Centralized customer data, improving data accuracy by 50% and enabling more personalized engagement strategies |
Strategic Value Delivered
Evoke Technologies introduced a unified ERP foundation that replaced fragmented legacy systems, cut complexity and IT overhead by 25–35%, and created a single source of truth for financial reporting. By streamlining trading, invoicing, and approvals, eliminating spreadsheet reliance, and connecting trading, finance, and CRM, we enabled real-time visibility and faster decisions—an outcome that reflects Evoke’s role in delivering lasting business value.
