Since the dawn of professionalism in rugby in the mid-1990s “the business of rugby has grown tremendously,” says Todd Day, Chief Financial Officer for the ARU. “Before our decision to upgrade our ERP system, we were operating on a system that that had been in the business for over 15 years. Its basicness created very inefficient, cumbersome and time-consuming processes and it had clearly passed its use-by date in the business,” Todd explains. “We were extremely limited in our ability to provide relevant and timely service to the business. We needed a finance system that could handle real-time purchase ordering and commitment processes, and a system that provided real-time reporting functionality to departments. Under the existing system it was near impossible to accurately report what the business had purchased or who had purchased it until it turned up on our doorstep. It became a bit of a lucky dip at month end and year-end in accurately reporting and forecasting the results of the business, and you cannot manage a business like that,” Todd says. Further adding to the complexity of the operational environment was the adoption of a shared service environment by the ARU and member unions. “Whilst there were certain commonalities between us all, there are also some unique differences which need to be individually addressed, so we needed a solution that could cater for multiple situations,” Todd continues. “We needed a solution that met these shared services initiatives.” By creating an enterprise portal that could be accessed right across the business, self-service options would empower users within the finance team and beyond, as well as creating commonalities and automating processes, ultimately providing much needed visibility of expenses, purchases and cashflow. More information: http://www.intergen.co.nz/Our-Work/the-australian-rugby-union/

1. sports industry
case study
Upping the game with
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
The Australian Rugby Union
From lucky dip to full visibility
and best practice with Microsoft
Dynamics AX self-service portal.
THE SITUATION
“The business of rugby is like
any other business, and as
the economic environment
confronting us becomes
tighter, our ability to forecast
and be more accountable in
our cashflow and expense
management, and timely and
efficient financial reporting,
is vital. I am confident that
our new Dynamics AX system
greatly enhances our ability
to do this.”
Todd day
Chief Financial Officer
Australian rugby union
As the governing body of rugby union in
Australia, responsible for the Wallabies
and working with eight member unions
across each of Australia’s states and
territories, the Australian Rugby Union
(ARU) operates in a complex and
multi-faceted operational environment.
As a public body within an increasingly
professional industry, and in an
economic climate in which tight
financial control and visibility is
paramount, the ARU needed a new
technology platform to bring about best
practice, enable effective shared services
across its unions and create much
greater visibility of and reporting on its
financial activities.
The pain
Since the dawn of professionalism in
rugby in the mid-1990s “the business of
rugby has grown tremendously,” says
Todd Day, Chief Financial Officer for the
ARU. “Before our decision to upgrade
our ERP system, we were operating on a
system that that had been in the
business for over 15 years. Its basicness
created very inefficient, cumbersome
and time-consuming processes and it
had clearly passed its use-by date in the
business,” Todd explains.
“We were extremely limited in our ability
to provide relevant and timely service to
the business. We needed a finance
system that could handle real-time
purchase ordering and commitment
processes, and a system that provided
real-time reporting functionality to
departments. Under the existing system
it was near impossible to accurately
report what the business had purchased
or who had purchased it until it turned

2. up on our doorstep. It became a bit of a
lucky dip at month end and year-end in
accurately reporting and forecasting the
results of the business, and you cannot
manage a business like that,” Todd says.
Further adding to the complexity of the
operational environment was the
adoption of a shared service
environment by the ARU and member
unions. “Whilst there were certain
commonalities between us all, there are
also some unique differences which
need to be individually addressed, so we
needed a solution that could cater for
multiple situations,” Todd continues.
“We needed a solution that met these
shared services initiatives.”
By creating an enterprise portal that
could be accessed right across the
business, self-service options would
empower users within the finance team
and beyond, as well as creating
commonalities and automating
processes, ultimately providing muchneeded visibility of expenses, purchases
and cashflow.
The solution
“As a medium-sized business we
recognised the need to make the
investment in a contemporary ERP
system, and as an organisation we have
had significant exposure to Microsoft
technologies,” Todd says. “Intergen
came recommended to us by our IT
department, having worked with us
before in other areas of the business.”
With the scope narrowed down to
Microsoft ERP products, ARU and
Intergen embarked on a series of
diagnostic workshops to determine
which ERP solution would provide the
best fit. At the end of the analysis it was
decided that Microsoft Dynamics AX
best fitted ARU’s needs, and the
implementation process began.
AUCKLAND
CHRISTCHURCH
“The diagnostic process was a very
beneficial one to go through. The
exercise forces you to re-examine and
evaluate the processes that your
business has built up over many
years,” Todd says.
The gain
“With our new ERP system in place,
we now have much tighter control
over our procurement processes –
something we were particularly weak
in. It’s a big change for the business,”
he continues. “And not just for the
finance team – right across the
organisation.”
With Dynamics AX in place, the whole
enterprise is on the same page, with
staff now able to do their
commitments and purchasing through
the online portal, and management
also able to access reports through
the portal and take ownership of
approvals online. The AX platform
enables far greater staff engagement
and direct access, as well as vastly
improved visibility of financial
information, a stable system, greater
efficiency in reporting and real-time
views.
ARU now has a solid platform for
future phases of work, such as
integrating with other Microsoft
technologies within the organisation
and is well poised to realise ongoing
benefits from the solution.
“The business of rugby is like any
other business, and as the economic
environment confronting us becomes
tighter, our ability to forecast and be
more accountable in our cashflow and
expense management, and timely and
efficient financial reporting, is vital. I
am confident that our new Dynamics
AX system greatly enhances our ability
to do this,” Todd says.
DUNEDIN
MELBOURNE
PERTH
The Business Case
As a public body within an
increasingly professional industry,
and in an economic climate in
which tight financial control and
visibility is paramount, the ARU
needed a new technology platform
to bring about best practice, enable
effective shared services across its
unions and create much greater
visibility of and reporting on its
financial activities.
The Business Value
»» Timely and efficient financial
reporting
»» Shared services across unions
with self-service online portal
»» Real-time views and complete
visibility of expenses, purchases
and cashflow
»» Greater accountability in
cashflow and expense
management
»» A solid Microsoft platform for
future growth and integration
The Engine Room
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
With Intergen staff working
across organisations of all
sizes and types, our offerings
include portals, content
and collaboration solutions,
Microsoft Dynamics financial
and relationship management,
custom software development,
management consulting
and hosting services.
REDMOND
SYDNEY
WELLINGTON