NAV TIPS

V OL 1 I S S U E 2

WHAT’S NEWVIEW FROM 2NAV ADD - ONSINDUSTRY FOCUS

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Hear from our experts about therealities of ERP systems imple-mentation, and learn the valueand importance of optimizingyour system for superior businessbenets.Learn why your company shouldbe utilizing Microsoft Customer-Source to get the full benet of your support plan and product,and get using it today!Champion Containers, one of the largest distributors in theEast Coast, faced anxiety andturmoil when their new solutiondidn’t live up to expectations.Read more about how ClientsFirst helped them improve theirbusiness, and their bottom line,all at an affordable price.Learn about BIO a complete end-to-end business intelligence andreporting add-ons for MicrosoftDynamics NAV. View our schedule for the upcom-ing Coffee With Chris webinars,where you can gain valuableinsight into the use and function-ality of your MS Dynamics NAV soluton.

WHAT’S NEW

Customer Source

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Clients First

To survive andprosper, organiza-tions must employ new technologiesand techniques ata velocity that may challenge the very ber of their com-pany...The ability toadapt to change inthe way they plan,manage and oper-ate will set apart thewinners from thelosers.

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Microsoft CustomerSource is a personalize website that offers your business informationto help boost productivity and reduce support costs. Designed to empower your busi-ness, CustomerSource offers you timely, relevant information about the Microsoft productsyou currently use, often available in your preferred language. The benet of the Microsoft CustomerSource offering is that it empowers your business totake control in order to help reduce support costs and increase productivity. As aninformation portal, CustomerSource can help you learn more about the products youhave, while answering technical and support related questions, all in the convenienceof your own personalized website. CustomerSource allows you to make full use of thefeatures and benets of your service plan, while helping your business stay current andreduce downtime. Microsoft CustomerSource is an excellent, time saving resource for anyone using a Micro-soft product. Ask your company’s CustomerSource administrator to get you set-up today!

Introduction

Companies today are faced with two major hurdles - doing business in a ercelycompetitive global environment and challenging economic times. To survive andprosper, organizations must employ new technologies and techniques at a velocitythat may challenge the very ber of their company. They will be required to establishseamless integration from their customers, internally into manufacturing, and out totheir suppliers. In other words, the integration must wholly link all of the nite ele-ments comprising the total supply chain.

Making the decision to implement an ERP system

For a company with multiple products, complicated business requirements, andglobal aspirations, the most obvious choice is implementing an ERP system. WhileERP systems are typically associated with manufacturing organizations, ERP ismuch more encompassing, being implemented in all types of organizations.CustomerSource is a one stop resourcefor quick and easy access to all kinds of pertinent information including:• account details,• technical support,• software updates,• downloads,• trainings,• events,• and moreIt Features• a searchable technical supportdatabase• electronic support tools• a detailed support history• unlimited online training• downloads and documentation• news, newsletter and newsgroups• product announcements andinformation• online registration keys

ERP Optimization & Lean

A Winning Strategy in Challenging Times.

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Practicing caution is also a necessity

While 60% of the Fortune 1000 companies already have implementedERP systems to integrate and streamline all of their business applications,there is an element of risk involved. For example, 70% of all companiesthat have installed an ERP system have yet to achieve any signicant returnon investment, and 75% of the implementations have failed to achieve thebenets and promises associated with successful ERP. Additionally, research shows that:• Only 3.6% of ERP implementations are successful in terms of nishingon time, within budget and without serious technical problems• 58% of companies do not manage to integrate their ERP solution withexisting systems• 23% of businesses say the integration procedure were unsuccessful• An overwhelming 71% do not attempt to incorporate their applications as integrations are complex,costly and time consuming processFurther, many companies fail to realize the full potential of their ERP implementation, and the following sevenare the most common reasons observed:1. ERP software was installed to mirror a set of existing, often inadequate, business processes.2. Organizations were ill-prepared to conform to “Best-in-Industry” practices.3. Management did not take the time to answer the question, “How do we want to run the business?”4. Pre-implementation activities were not well understood and often not done.5. IT concentration may not have been focused on business excellence issues.6. Education and training was rushed and did not bridge the gap from software to the day-to-dayrequirements of the operation.7. Mapping of the old legacy systems to the new system was based on technology requirements, not users’current and future needs. These ndings should focus the discussion among company leaders around how to avoid taking theirexisting processes and business rules and simply porting them over to the new system. Instead they shouldconcentrate on how to dramatically change their processes to reect their current business requirements. There are only a few times in a company’s lifecycle where it gets the chance to radically change the directionof the business, update all processes, educate and train the majority of their workforce, and band together asa team all working for the success and growth of a company. Implementing an ERP system is one of them.