Hestra’s successful migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with Elastic Suite

A NEW ERP WITHOUT LOSING WHAT WORKS

Hestra migrated to Business Central without disrupting wholesale operations

Hestra needed to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to align with its parent company’s ERP. While the new system promised improvements in reporting and processing, maintaining the reliable wholesale experience Hestra’s retailers and internal teams already depended on remained a top priority. 

ERP migrations are among the most complex projects that brands take on. Product information, customer accounts, pricing, inventory, ATS, and orders all need to stay synchronized across multiple systems. Even small interruptions can impact both internal teams and retailers.

For this project, success wasn’t defined by launching a new ERP. It was ensuring retailers could keep doing business without noticing the change happening behind the scenes.

THE VALUE OF CONNECTED PARTNERS

Hestra migrated to Business Central without disrupting wholesale operations

Because Hestra already had strong, established relationships with Elastic, its B2B platform provider, and Squire, its integrator, the project started with a shared understanding of the business. Squire brought deep knowledge of Hestra’s seasonal operations and led the API integration between Business Central and Elastic, while Elastic focused on ensuring the B2B platform, customer accounts, and login experience ran seamlessly.

Having two experienced partners who worked closely together became one of the biggest advantages. This collaboration was crucial for managing day-to-day action items and keeping the project moving.

“It was nice that we could email both Squire and Elastic in the same chain. If one team wasn’t sure why an issue was occurring, another team could step in and look from their end. This usually resolved issues and oddities very quickly.”

– Dennis Kostic, Key Accounts & Field Marketing Specialist

Rather than working as separate vendors, the three organizations approached the project as one team.

More Than a Successful Integration

Hestra improved its wholesale operations while completing the ERP migration

Just over two months after kickoff, Hestra went live on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Behind the scenes, the integration connected all critical data between the ERP and Elastic, all without disrupting retailers’ daily workflow.

Along with the seamless connectivity, the migration gave Hestra a chance to improve existing processes instead of carrying over old inefficiencies. Working with Squire and Elastic, the team eliminated a longstanding frustration from the previous ERP and created a more efficient ordering process.

“We were able to remove some annoyances from our old ERP and reset them, so they worked properly with Business Central. This streamlined our processes and made us more efficient.” Dennis explained.

Like most ERP implementations, the project wasn’t without its challenges. Inventory synchronization needed additional attention, but with all three teams working closely together, issues got resolved quickly, and the integration continued to improve after launch. Looking back on the implementation, ecommerce manager Chris Schuerman reflects:

“Having the system work overall is a huge win. The Elastic team ensured our wholesale business was not interrupted and that orders could still be processed, which was amazing.”

The Hestra team adapted to Business Central immediately after go-live, and retailers continued placing wholesale orders without interruption. At the same time, Hestra continued growing on the platform, expanding its buyer base by 20% and doubling buyer engagement year over year throughout the migration period.

The project wasn’t simply about connecting an ERP to a B2B platform. It was proof that the right partners can make a major technology transition feel almost invisible to the people who rely on it every day.