How Wakefield Council improved efficiencies and encouraged cost savings with Dynamics 365

Wakefield Council needed a partner who could deliver Microsoft solutions across multiple departments and achieve impactful results. They chose Kerv to work as a partner that could revolutionise their service offerings and shape their digital transformation strategy, while also supporting in-house teams with training and testing strategies.

Kerv helped Wakefield Council define business requirements, guided solution design, and supported internal teams with training and testing. As well as making sure they had the skills to take the project forward and introducing automation to streamline deployment, leading to measurable efficiency savings.

After reviewing the processes across departments, Wakefield Council identified a big opportunity: to improve over 100 service offerings, from community and environment to planning, health and care, by cutting out paper and manual work. It was clear that it was time for a digital transformation.

A digital transformation would not only improve efficiency and encourage cost saving but also be scalable across multi departments. A move to a cloud-based CRM, accompanied by Power Platform, was a clear solution that Kerv were able to help deliver with a tailored approach that would meet their needs and respect their budget.

With their extensive knowledge, Inciper was able to advise on the best solution designs that minimised customisation, helping to meet our business goals

Rob Sorely, Deputy Systems Manager, Wakefield Council

Working with Kerv, allowed Wakefield Concil to lay the groundwork for a long-term digital transformation. Starting with out-of-the-box functionality and minimal customisation, Kerv helped Wakefield Council build solutions they could own and manage themselves. Knowledge transfer was baked into the process, with training designed to upskill internal teams and ensure sustainability well beyond the project’s end.

Kerv’s agile RAPID approach meant the project could be tailored as needs evolved. Working in sprints, we delivered value early and often, staying closely aligned with Wakefield Council every step of the way.

Additionally, with the development of a test strategy using Azure DevOps, helping define best practices and build robust processes, Wakefield Council now has scalable Microsoft Business Applications in place, ready to roll out across more departments and future initiatives.

As a direct result of Kerv’s Dynamics 365 implementation, Wakefield Council has:

• Improved insights into performance of the team and increased communication across departments.
• Improved processes and efficiencies, helping the Council to plan forresources more effectively, saving time and budget.
• Reduced the need for paper-based process and increasing accuracy in data and information logged.

A standout example from the program is the transformation of Wakefield Council’s pest control service; the use of using a Microsoft Canvas App for mobile use by Pest Control Officers improved their processes and served as a proof of concept for how digitisation could improve council services.

Previously, the process was entirely paper based, far from ideal for officers working remotely. Urgent requests were phoned in directly to officers, with no proper logging or tracking, and notes scribbled on paper, photos stored on personal phones, as there was no central place to manage it all.

Rolling our Dynamics 365 capabilites, including a purpose-built Canvas app, meant a more efficient, connected and future-ready council service.

The new canvas app helped deliver numerous business benefits, including:

• Increasing visibility of jobs completed and upcoming, as well as providing means to allocate urgent jobs to officers in the field. 
• Increasing communication between officers and the back office, meaning officers were no longer required to make trips to the office.
• Reducing the need for paper-based process and increasing accuracy in.
• Improving insights into performance of the team.
• Improving processes and efficiencies, helping the Council to plan for resources more effectively, saving time and budget.

Inciper were a breath of fresh air! It was always easy to communicate with them and work collaboratively throughout the entire project. Their is truly agile.

Rob Sorely, Deputy Systems Manager, Wakefield Council