Microsoft Corp. today announced that W.C. Bradley Co. has selected Microsoft Dynamics™ GP to handle its corporate enterprise resource planning (ERP) functions, including aggregation of data from multiple divisions of the company. Founded in 1895, and based in Columbus, Ga., W.C. Bradley will also leverage the solution to power independent operations for several of its key brands — including Char-Broil, Zebco, Lamplight and WC Bradley Real Estate — for functions ranging from anticipating demand to manufacturing and distribution, a change the company expects will save it millions of dollars over the next five years compared with results from its current Oracle solution.

“Oracle simply couldn’t handle our business needs or take us where we needed to go,” said Jim Poole, vice president and chief information officer of W.C. Bradley. “Just because a company’s business model is complex doesn’t mean that its ERP solution has to be. We expect Microsoft Dynamics GP to provide a whole new layer of capabilities while also being easier to use and far less expensive to operate. The choice seemed pretty clear.”