“CRM is an important part of our overall information systems strategy, and, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, eBECS delivered a critical building block.” Liz Woodfield, Head of Information Systems, Commonwealth War Graves Commission Tasked with rapidly designing and implementing a new system for ordering replacement headstones within its cemeteries, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission turned to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and award-winning Microsoft Dynamics Partner eBECS. Against a tight deadline—and with a requirement to codify and develop more than 500 complex rules to govern automated headstone inscriptions—eBECS and Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivered to schedule. Business Needs Based in Maidenhead, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is funded by six member governments of the Commonwealth—Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The commission honours the 1.7 million servicemen and women who died in the two world wars, and cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in 153 countries. The commission, explains Liz Woodfield, Head of Information Systems, needed to increase the production of headstones from 5,000 to 22,000 a year, but it also had to speed up the replacement process. And, with the centenary of World War One approaching, timely delivery was vital. “Our headstone ordering process was largely paper based,” says Woodfield. “It required considerable manual intervention for both data validation and entering headstone information. It also relied on information from a number of different databases. There were significant delays between ordering and delivery.” The Commonwealth War Graves Commission needed to establish a seamless process that required minimal manual intervention—from the point of ordering through to production. Solution In mid-2012, a formal request for information, specifying the requirements for the system, was sent to a number of potential suppliers. The majority of the responses suggested Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a solution. Woodfield says: “Selecting a partner was difficult, but two of the companies stood out. We chose eBECS because we felt comfortable that it could help us work through a complex process, and that it would develop and incorporate additional functionality with Microsoft Dynamics. We also felt confident that eBECS would be able to meet our deadline.” With the go-ahead being given in late August 2012, eBECS and the commission decided on a pilot implementation date of 14 January 2013. Woodfield says: “It was incredibly tight, with minimal room for error or delay. It quickly became clear that the data we were working with was far more complex than anyone had suspected. Plus, critical data on individual casualties wasn’t always in the format we expected. “We had to change the structure of our casualty database to feed in all the additional information required to order replacement headstones. Personal inscriptions had to be inserted into the database and a review of the regimental Customer: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website: www.cwgc.org Customer Size: 1,300 Country or Region: United Kingdom Industry: Government - Established by Royal Charter Partner: eBECS Customer Profile The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for the cemeteries and memorials commemorating the servicemen and women who died in the two world wars of the last century. Software and Services Microsoft Dynamics − Microsoft Dynamics CRM For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies Microsoft Dynamics Customer Solution Case Study War Graves Commission Automates Ordering Process with CRM System