Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System. An ERP incorporates both internal and external management information across an entire organization. It typically includes following features –
Accounting
Financial Management is the foundation of any ERP system. No matter what the business is, the money must be kept flowing, and the flow of money must be tracked. The tools which help to manage the capital resources of the business are included in NAV’s Financial Management module. Some of the application functions are:
General Ledger
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Analytical accounting
Cash management and banking
Inventory and fixed assets
Multi-Currency and Multi-Language
Manufacturing
NAV Manufacturing is general purpose enough to be appropriate for Make to Stock (MTS), Make to Order (MTO), and variations such as Assemble to Order, and so on. Some of the features are
Product Design
Capacity and supply requirements planning
Production scheduling (infinite and finite),execution, and tracking
Supply Chain
Sales order processing and pricing
Purchasing
Inventory
Stocks managing inventories of goods and materials
Warehouse
CRM
The fact that is integral to success for an organization is to manage relationship with employee, partners, suppliers, distributors, vendors and many other critical stakeholders.
Marketing campaigns
Customer activity tracking
To do lists
Planning & Dispatching
HR
NAV Human Resources (HR) relates to a critical component of the business, the people. It maintains records for employee related information. A wide variety of employee attribute can be maintained from NAV.
Employee Tracking
Skills Inventory
Absence Tracking
The design of Microsoft Dynamics NAV addresses all the points in the above description and more. The ERP use common database, so that it can be used by multiple users across multiple networks. Microsoft Navision database can either be the Classic C/SIDE database or a SQL Server database.
NAV is a highly flexible, intuitive product which when implemented correctly will structure your entire organization to quickly deliver real, significant and measurable gains across your business.
What Microsoft Dynamics NAV can do for your organization?
Help your people work faster and smarter with new Role Tailored views.
Transform the challenges of today’s business environment into a competitive advantage
Get a rich ecosystem of finely tailored, industry-specific offerings and add-on solutions that meet specialized needs at an affordable cost
Stay secured with solid process and workplace functionality, along with permissions to restrict unauthorized access.
Standard features can be customized to a business’s needs or added when they need them.
A variety of features can be adapted to the way your business works, integrated with existing systems, and extended to meet specific needs.
Which Solution is the best?
Making decision for small /mid/ large companies to move to new market is ERP implementation, customization, report tuning, and integration for newly established subsidiary.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV has more than 86,000 customers, over 1.3 million users worldwide, and is available in more than 40 country versions.
Microsoft Navision comparison with SAP and Oracle
Microsoft Dynamics Nav
SAP
Oracle
Business Size
Small-Mid
Any Size
Any Size
Industries
B2C
Y
Ecommerce
X
Construction
X
Education
X
Finance
X
Health Services
X
Information Technology
Y
Manufacturing
Y
Professional Business Services
X
Retail
Y
Services
X
Wholesale/Distribution
Y
B2C
X
Ecommerce
X
Construction
X
Education
X
Finance
Y
Health Services
X
Information Technology
Y
Manufacturing
Y
Professional Business Services
X
Retail
X
Services
Y
Wholesale/Distribution
X
B2C
X
Ecommerce
Y
Construction
Y
Education
Y
Finance
Y
Health Services
Y
Information Technology
Y
Manufacturing
X
Professional Business Services
Y
Retail
X
Services
X
Wholesale/Distribution
X
Notable Clients
J-Power Berhad, Lenovo, Proctor & Gamble, Siemens CIO
International, CSC, Easton, Bell, Feldco, Magna Carta
Customer Relationship Management Features
Call Center Support
Y
Commissions
Y
Customer Contact
X
Estimating & Quoting
Y
Orders and Returns
Y
Pricing & Discounting
Y
Sales Management
Y
Sales and Marketing
X
Call Center Support
X
Commissions
X
Customer Contact
X
Estimating & Quoting
X
Orders and Returns
X
Pricing & Discounting
X
Sales Management
Y
Sales and Marketing
Y
Call Center Support
Y
Commissions
X
Customer Contact
Y
Estimating & Quoting
X
Orders and Returns
X
Pricing & Discounting
X
>Sales Management
X
Sales and Marketing
Y
Human Resources Features
Manage Campaigns and Promotions
-
-
Manufacturing Features
Bills of Material
Y
Cost Management
Y
Inventory Management
Y
Quality Control
Y
Scheduling
Y
Warehouse Management
X
Workflow Management
X
Bills of Material
X
Cost Management
Y
Inventory Management
Y
Quality Control
X
Scheduling
X
Warehouse Management
Y
Workflow Management
Y
Bills of Material
X
Cost Management
X
Inventory Management
X
Quality Control
X
Scheduling
X
Warehouse Management
X
Workflow Management
Y
Project Management Features
Activity Management
Y
Billing
Y
Costing
X
Data Collection
Y
Performance Units
Y
Quality Assurance
Role Based Dashboard
Y
Time and Expenses
Y
Activity Management
X
Billing
X
Costing
X
Data Collection
X
Performance Units
X
Quality Assurance
X
Role Based Dashboard
Y
Time and Expenses
X
Activity Management
X
Billing
Y
Costing
Y
Data Collection
Y
Performance Units
X
Quality Assurance
X
Role Based Dashboard
X
Time and Expenses
X
Supply Chain Management Features
Claim Processing
Y
Commission Calculation
X
Inspection of Goods
Y
Inventory
Y
Order Entry
Order to Cash
Y
Product Configurator
Y
Purchasing
Y
Supply Chain Planning
X
Tracking
Y
Claim Processing
X
Commission Calculation
X
Inspection of Goods
X
Inventory
X
Order Entry
X
Order to Cash
X
Product Configurator
X
Purchasing
X
Supply Chain Planning
Y
Tracking
X
Claim Processing
X
Commission Calculation
Y
Inspection of Goods
X
Inventory
X
Order Entry
X
Order to Cash
X
Product Configurator
X
Purchasing
X
Supply Chain Planning
Y
Tracking
X
All three have their advantages and differences and it a case of selecting the solution which is right for your organization. However, with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, user uptake is likely to be higher as NAV has the same look and feel as other Microsoft products, and works closely with Microsoft outlook. This familiarity means that getting users up and running on the system is a quicker process. What’s more, Microsoft Dynamics NAV works with all other Microsoft applications in your business such as the office suite and it is based around people’s roles and the tasks they perform. The role tailored design of NAV is a significant advantage.
Disclaimer: The image is taken from Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV