Dec 15, 2006

Ecke Ranch Grows With Microsoft Dynamics GPSource: Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. recently announced that Paul Ecke Ranch, producer of more than 70 percent of the world’s poinsettias and chief patent holder of the plant’s many varieties, has selected Microsoft Dynamics GP to help its financial processes grow. The company, based in Encinitas, Calif., expects the change to reduce its general ledger accounts from 4,000 to 1,500 and shorten its close cycles from 20 to 10 days. The analytical capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP are intended to streamline data from its company-owned growing facility in Guatemala and from other offshore contract growers. Additionally, it is intended to enable the company’s expansion into propagating additional plant breeds via a recent acquisition of geranium-grower Oglevee Ltd.

“Business clarity and flexible access to data go hand in hand, and we expect Microsoft Dynamics GP to deliver on both counts,” said Leslie Morgan, controller of Paul Ecke Ranch. “Having figures at our fingertips in a new way is what is enabling us to expand our business and extend our 100 years of success in the new millennium.”

The Ranch will use Microsoft Dynamics GP to replace a system that required intensive manual entry to track breeder royalties for products sold through its nursery clients, as well as sales order data and payment to several thousand growers. The company will also look to the new solution to provide nimble financial analysis to help it plan for many variables unique to the horticulture industry, such as forecasting ordering and inventory 18 months to two years in advance, planning for the effects of weather and fluctuating market demand for perishable product, and tracking the planting and cutting of multiple strains simultaneously.