Empiric Student Property plc

Top quality

Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator of student accommodation located in prime city centre locations in top university towns and cities in the UK. The group operates 87 properties in 29 towns and cities, managing 8,773 beds.

In 2016 the group implemented Dynamics NAV, which replaced entry level finance software that had been used since June 2014, which provided the group with much improved financial reporting capability. Then during 2017, the group reviewed its operating platform, and on the back of developing a plan to bring all externally managed operating activity in-house, formulated a plan to develop Dynamics NAV further and build a Revenue Management platform. A tender was conducted to select a suitable partner for this three-year development plan, where TNP were selected as the partner moving forward.

Lynne Fennah, Empiric’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer, says, "during the tender process TNP came across as very professional and presented a team with a deep technical knowledge. We also felt that TNP really understood the commercial importance of this project to us and outlined a strong approach to project management".

The Revenue Management development phase

The first task was to re-structure the database environment to provide a platform on which the Revenue Management build could commence. This went well, so the team moved on to the main task of developing revenue management and receivables management capability. The team created a new booking solution and student portal, which required several complex integrations.

This new platform launched in November 2020 and successfully started selling for the academic year 21/22.

The Difference

Lynne comments: "The project has been a great success and provides a great foundation on which we can build further functionality and capability. A more usual project plan would have seen two years in the planning stage, but we did not have the luxury of this timeframe, and TNP’s project methodology was very helpful in enabling us to develop such a major platform so quickly".

"It has genuinely felt that the TNP team is an extension of our team"

This was a very significant project and several TNP team members were involved. Lynne comments, "it would not be fair to single out any one person because the entire TNP team have been dedicated and cared about the success of the project as much as we did! This has made the difference and proves we chose the right Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner. It has genuinely felt that the TNP team is an extension of our team".

Christine Barnes, Empiric’s Engagement Manager at TNP, has been working with Dynamics NAV for 17 years, at TNP for 7 years, and with Empiric from day one. She observes that "some part of the success of this relationship has been the consistency of the team, on both sides. The joint team shares a deep understanding of the Empiric business and real passion".

As for Empiric’s plans going forward? Lynne says, "our ambitions are enormous and we're going to be keeping TNP very busy".

As their Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner, TNP are here to support them every step on their way.

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