Pentastar Aviation

With top-notch implementation from First Tech Direct, Pentastar Aviation has increased their efficiency and improved their overall customer service to provide the finest aviation service and support in the industry.

About

Pentastar Aviation provides complete world class aircraft services for both businesses and individuals. They operate a state of the art facility located at the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford, Michigan. Their large staff of dedicated professionals provides the finest aviation service and support available in the industry. Pentastar Aviation offers expert aircraft management; factory authorized aircraft maintenance and avionics, professional aircraft brokerage, friendly FBO services, outstanding catering and event planning and access to the finest aircraft available in the charter market.

Pentastar Aviation utilizes the latest in state-of-the-art airframe and engine maintenance technology to provide extensive maintenance capabilities, supported by a highly skilled, experienced workforce. Pentastar also specializes in avionics design/installation/repair, aircraft brokerage, and aircraft management, while their first class FBO provides Exxon's Avitat fuel and superb customer service. The skilled team of chefs in their in-house catering division, Five Star Gourmet, delivers a sumptuous meal designed to please the palette, as well as the eye. Pentastar is also an authorized warranty and repair service center for Gulfstream and Rolls Royce. Access to the finest aircraft in the charter market is available through Automotive Air Charter.

A Cumbersome System

Pentastar Aviation knows the challenges of tracking and billing time and materials invested across multiple client airframes. When they needed a solution that would give them quick access to the information required to service their customers, they turned to Microsoft Business Solutions partner, First Tech Direct.

It didn't take long to come to the "forgone conclusion" that Microsoft Dynamics^® GP would best suit Pentastar's needs. The intuitive nature and flexibility of the modules were key to that decision. Pentastar employees appreciate the level of detail in the financial modules and the ability to drill back. "Our greatest need was to have a dynamic system that provided real-time financial data for our company and billing information for our customers. We needed the ability to obtain this information with very little manual intervention," Pentastar Accounting Manager Laura Ferich says.

A Smarter, Better Solution

According to Laura Ferich, implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP has changed nearly all of the company's processes, improving the bottom line, enhancing customer relationships and bettering the efficiency of employees. For example, Pentastar is now able to produce a consolidated system-generated invoice for each managed aircraft customer, a unique achievement within the industry.

What works for Pentastar

More than anything, the Project Series has simplified the administrative tasks involved in running a fast-paced aviation organization. According to Brady Bailiff CFO of Pentastar Aviation, "Since we implemented the Project Management series, we have been able to focus our time on running our business.

Project Management allows us to efficiently collect time and expenses for each of our customers, making the billing process precise while presenting a more professional image to our clients."

No longer could Pentastar Aviation afford the time it took to track and bill their projects. "Data collection had to be streamlined," noted Bailiff. "We needed a system that could generate critical business information that was both accurate and timely. Our principal intention was to also design a system that would serve as a base to launch new and innovative customer solutions." The Project Management series seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Business Solutions Financials; hence real-time reports and extra time for other business activities became a reality.

The ability for the solution to grow with the organization was an issue, and they soon realized that the tracking, billing, and reporting functionality would need to meet the growing needs of their organization. Cost categories were set up to support the way Pentastar Aviation tracked costs, invoices were customized by customer and general management reports that had been cumbersome in earlier-used spreadsheet and word-processing applications were created based on their internal information needs.

Pentastar Aviation has experienced incredible time savings since they began using Microsoft Dynamics GP. According to Bailiff, they realized a return on their investment within three months of implementing the solution.

Return on Investment

For Pentastar Aviation, moving from their previous accounting system to Microsoft Dynamics GP will provide major savings of both time and money on several levels and allow continued growth:

• Project Management. Incorporating the Project Management series will enhance the company's invoicing and project management capabilities, allowing it to better meet the urgent needs of its clients.
• Reliability. The combined stability of Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft SQL Server provides the organization with a reliable system that's easy to maintain. Real-time information will provide the ability to invoice a project within 24 to 48 hours of the project's completion.
• Integration. The open architecture of Microsoft Dynamics GP made it easy to integrate Pentastar's aviation specific applications running on platforms like Oracle and Pervasive SQL into one completely integrated business system. Data flows throughout the company now without having to be re-entered multiple times.
• Easy Access to Data. Through easy, customizable reporting and drill-down capabilities, up-to-date data is easily accessed at any time by decision makers.
• Security. Detailed control allows the organization to manage access to data.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Date Published: December 2005