Customer Story

Ocean Optics

By integrating directly into D365, Lasernet allowed Ocean Optics to replace manual effort with automation, saving time and cutting errors across global operations.

Ocean Optics Customer Card

Ocean Optics used Lasernet because it provided the complete document management package.

Industry
Optical Sensing/Photonics Manufacturing

Location
Orlando, Florida, United States

How Ocean Optics established document control and automated complex processes

Based in Orlando, Florida, Ocean Optics is a leading provider of spectral devices, sensors and systems that enable their customers to obtain and analyse information from the interaction of light with matter.

After deciding to replace its Oracle EBS ERP system with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Ocean Optics was still stuck on how to handle its business-critical documents and rebuild a crucial blueprinting tool that didn’t require repeated custom upgrades.

The company found the solution to its problems in Lasernet, an all-in-one document management tool that integrated directly into D365, allowing Ocean Optics to trade complexity for simplified document automation. 

Trading Oracle EBS for Dynamics 365

Despite its industry-specific functionalities, Oracle EBS has its drawbacks. This includes performance problems and limited reporting and dashboard features. D365, on the other hand, offers users a more flexible and user-centric experience. It offers users a modern interface that’s intuitive to navigate, meaning the Ocean Optics team could get up to speed with the new ERP system quickly, regardless of their technical proficiency.

This gave Ocean Optics the solid ERP foundation it needed to merge its patchwork of separate databases into a single source of truth. Ultimately, D365 provided the unified platform Ocean Optics needed to establish global systems across international boundaries to improve efficiency and support the company’s strategic goals. 

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Why Ocean Optics chose Lasernet for Dynamics 365

However, the question of document management remained. While D365 offered some in-built document management tools, Ocean Optics needed to go much further to ensure ultimate ERP document control. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the team had only a short time to implement the new solution. What the company needed was an independent software vendor to quickly and seamlessly integrate into D365, and Lasernet was the natural fit for their needs.

Putting Lasernet into Practice

Using Lasernet, Ocean Optics took document management into its own hands, giving the company the flexibility to create smoother processes that saved time and reduced errors. Here’s how Ocean Optics did it: 

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Established global document control
The company used Lasernet to gain ultimate global document control by creating workflows to automate some of its most complex paperwork. Working inside the ERP system, Lasernet handled the generation and distribution of thousands of business-critical documents, from Sales Tax to VAT invoices, across multiple countries. 
Seamless Dynamics 365 F&O integration

With Lasernet seamlessly integrated into D365 F&O, Ocean Optics was able to condense document management tasks into just a few clicks. Common actions that once required multiple steps, such as printing, were consolidated into single-click buttons, saving users time that could be much better spent elsewhere.

The Ocean Optics team also used the solution to securely print pro-forma documents on the go, giving them the flexibility they needed. This significantly reduced internal delays and allowed the team to keep processes moving forward. 

Simplified archiving and audit trails

For any process involving documents, there needs to be a clear paper trail and automated document archiving. Ocean Optics used Lasernet to access a complete audit trail, making reviewing the history of documents like quotes, invoices and reconciliations significantly easier. 

This full visibility allowed the team to quickly trace price changes back to their source and automatically link product returns, return merchandise authorisations (RMAs), to the original manufacturing quality control notes. 

Turned complex blueprint drawing processes into smooth workflows

Previously, when Ocean Optics used the Oracle EBS ERP system, the team developed an application to generate drawings in-house using the Oracle Product Configurator. However, it wasn’t possible to update the system easily, and doing so required expensive and time-consuming software rewrites.

When the company transitioned from Oracle EBS to D365, there wasn’t an out-of-the-box solution for this business-critical capability. One thing was certain: Ocean Optics knew it needed a more reliable process for its blueprint drawings. The company saw that Lasernet was the ideal solution to fill this capability gap.

Here’s how Lasernet made the blueprint drawing process into a smooth workflow: 

  • The Ocean Optics team incorporated visuals using D365 F&O’s Product Configurator-generated BOM
  • The BOM data was shared with Lasernet
  • Lasernet connected the dots by attaching the relevant images and drawings

This smooth process created documents containing all the information the recipient needed. The result was enriched reports that are integrated seamlessly into D365 F&O, with no need for costly recurring software rewrites. 

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A unified solution for complete document control

While other similar tools offer one or two of these features, Ocean Optics used Lasernet because it provided the complete document management package. Lasernet’s all-in-one approach, covering everything from global document control and seamless integration to archiving and a simplified blueprint drawing process, was the key to getting real ROI from day one.