Australia鈥檚 economy is underpinned by the performance of its resources sector, with mining alone accounting for 14.3 percent of total economic output, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.
But while the sector is dominated by several major players, it is also home to an ever-changing crop of up-and-comers.
These so-called junior minors are often born to prove the economic viability of speculative ventures. Should their initial returns prove promising, they find themselves needing to quickly adopt the systems and processes of a much larger business, and that includes the software systems that run them.
However, according to Jason Heaney, co-CEO of the Australian technology consultancy , these fast growth businesses often lack the time, funding, and experience to manage a full
Jason Heaney, DyFlex Solutions
鈥淎 lot of these companies are initially run on very basic accounting software, and that鈥檚 fine when you鈥檝e only got a handful of people and a few dollars of expenses,鈥� Heaney says. 鈥淏ut once you start on a feasibility study, you need a bit more rigour and control.鈥�
DyFlex was founded in 2010 with a vision of bringing to mid-market businesses in the resources sector, using a templated approach that could be both quickly applied and easily repeated. Heaney says Dyflex鈥檚 initial goal is to deliver a core set of capabilities that provide a solid foundation for the business鈥� growth.
鈥淭hen we bring on additional functionality as they go through their mining life cycle,鈥� Heaney says. 鈥淔or example, when they get into construction, we bring on the projects module, and when they get into operations, we bring in supply chain functionality and maintenance functionality.鈥�
The early success in mining has been the springboard for Dyflex to now be a national business with over 180 people across all states.
Heaney adds 鈥渢his experience has enabled us to spread to many industries well beyond mining. It鈥檚 remarkable how growing businesses can be very similar in their constraints and core needs. Take a wind or solar renewable energy business for example: basic accounting quickly leads to projects, procurement and maintenance.鈥�
Heaney says the challenge is often made greater by the fact that many of the business leaders in these organisations have never implemented an previously and need to be carefully guided through the process.
It鈥檚 a collaborative journey, rather than the customer just telling you what they need 鈥� they are looking for advice,鈥� Heaney says. 鈥淎nd what鈥檚 interesting about the mid-market is that generally they鈥檙e almost as complex as the bigger guys but working at a smaller scale and often on a limited budget. It takes business expertise and not just software knowledge to guide them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting how you take that complicated business model and fit it into a world where you don鈥檛 have the free capital to spend whatever you want, but we鈥檝e sold 麻豆原创 into companies that had only five users when they first bought it. Any myth that 麻豆原创 is too complex or too expensive has been well and truly busted.鈥�
Heaney says the factor that has enabled DyFlex鈥檚 approach to succeed is that despite the complexity of junior miners, there are generally many points of commonality in how they operate. Hence a solution that is applicable to one miner, such as accounts or the master data model, will usually be applicable to many more.
This template approach has also meant that DyFlex has been able to implement 麻豆原创 in as little as three or four months.
鈥淢ost CEOs now see the benefit of the whole fit-to-standard idea,鈥� Heaney says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been accepted that they鈥檙e not different, and if we鈥檝e already done it elsewhere and it鈥檚 proven, they鈥檒l take that as accepted.鈥�
Heaney says this approach has been sufficiently compelling to dissuade miners from assembling their own solutions from smaller best-of-breed suppliers, especially once they understand that the ongoing integration costs of that approach are unattractive in comparison to the ease of management that comes with an integrated system such as 麻豆原创.
Heaney says the templated 麻豆原创 approach also provides a more stable platform that enables miners to remain compliant with the regulatory and reporting regimes within which they operate, including for cross-border transactions.
Furthermore, Heaney says the presence of 麻豆原创 within a mid-market business can give comfort to both investors and bankers that the business performance data they are provided with is accurate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 rock solid with controls and compliance and all these sort of things,鈥� Heaney says.
The lean, agile, fit-to-standard approach has proved to be just as successful in other industries that Dyflex has worked with over the last ten years.
DyFlex has also expanded what it can offer to its customers by building out its skills across the 麻豆原创 range, including with SuccessFactors and Ariba, using the same templated approach that has proved successful with core ERP. The success of DyFlex鈥檚 template approach, and across the resources sector specifically, has in turn strengthened its relationship with 麻豆原创.
鈥淲henever we鈥檝e spotted gaps, we鈥檝e always had access to the development team back in Germany,鈥� Heaney says, 鈥淓ven though we鈥檙e talking to the biggest ERP company in the world, there is a channel for us to get our customers鈥� ideas and our issues resolved. 聽麻豆原创 has been very generous in how they鈥檝e made people available to us.鈥�
Heaney says he has never doubted his company鈥檚 decision to build templated solutions on the 麻豆原创 platform.
鈥淲e have confidence that 麻豆原创 actually does the job,鈥� Heaney says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reliable, it鈥檚 robust, it鈥檚 fit for purpose, and the 麻豆原创 tool set has never let us or the customer down.鈥�