"The search for the ideal ERP solution: 'Outsource what you don’t do well yourself.'"

Outsource what you don’t do (well) yourself

Like many of our clients, Wajer Yachts found its way to Skopos through word of mouth. “Bernard Meuleman, Director of Finance at Wajer, heard positive things about us from a business contact back in 2019. That’s how things got started,” explains Ruud Haring, Director at Skopos. “Outsource what you don’t do (well) yourself—that’s our motto,” adds Altenburg. “That’s why we wanted a partner with experience in both the selection process and the implementation—and that’s exactly what Skopos offers. They started by creating a blueprint of our entire organisation, including processes such as new builds, winter maintenance, and the summer operations at our international hubs.”

Thorough preparation

Haring continues: “We carried out a full process and information analysis and identified improvement areas for each workflow. For Wajer Super Yachts in Lemmer—a new business within the Wajer Group that didn’t yet have documented processes—we created a full process description together with the Wajer team, based on our own best practices. We then mapped out Wajer’s functional requirements. This extensive preparation was key to making the right ERP choice. Because if you’re going to do it, you’d better do it properly.”

Covering all aspects of the business

“Based on the blueprint, Isah was initially selected as the ERP system for Wajer Super Yachts,” says Eric te Velthuis, Senior Consultant at Skopos. “Wajer Super Yachts is responsible for producing the latest model—the Wajer 77. Given the rapid growth and the introduction of this new product, the need for an ERP system was most urgent here.” “At first, we thought Isah might be suitable for the entire organisation. However, the blueprint phase revealed the need for a system that could seamlessly link all areas—sales, configuration, project management, production, finance, maintenance, and operations. It also became clear that the system needed to support international requirements. So, we compiled a shortlist of three ERP solutions that could cover all of this.”

Thinking in processes rather than in silos

The final choice was Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, combined with Customer Engagement (CE). Since 1 October 2022, the new build process (production and finance) and the winter maintenance activities at the main site in Heeg have been running on this ERP system. Skopos took the lead in project management leading up to the go-live, much to Altenburg’s satisfaction: “Implementing new software is easy to underestimate, even with thorough preparation. A strong project leader with full authority is essential for success.” Te Velthuis adds: “Our partner 9altitudes handled the implementation of Dynamics 365. In my role as project manager, I represented Wajer’s interests throughout the process. That was crucial—the software needed to be configured in a way that made it easy and practical for people to work with. I also used change management to ensure that both the key users and the management team embraced the new way of working. Because implementing software is also about changing culture. The key users now genuinely think in terms of processes, rather than focusing on their own individual departments. The learning curve they’ve gone through will benefit Wajer Yachts for years to come.”

Strong results

“I’m very pleased with what we’ve achieved and what it’s delivering for us,” says Altenburg. “Our processes are now better supported, which means employees can focus on their core tasks instead of constantly updating spreadsheets. We’ve also eliminated many manual tasks, and activities across departments—such as sales, purchasing and warehousing—are now integrated. Our organisation is operating more efficiently, and we have better control over our costs. These are strong results that our customers will notice too.”