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Business Transformation

Why is Dynamics NAV a good fit for international companies?

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

I have helped many companies go global with Microsoft Dynamics. Many of them were wondering which solution to use: Dynamics NAV or AX? I have actually developed a rapid product selection  process to help companies choose the right product (and it takes less than a day). And, based on the actual cases I have come across, Microsoft Dynamics NAV has proven to have an amazingly good fit for the largest international companies. Surprising, isn’t it? Especially when Dynamics NAV is typically positioned by Microsoft to be the solution for small to mid-sized companies. Let me explain.

 

What makes big international companies really BIG? Many things for sure, their turnover, their customer base, their brand recognition… but most importantly what makes them big is the multitude of smaller local offices they have, spread out all over the world. Take for example the tire giant Goodyear, General Electric, or worldwide hygiene specialist Rentokil Initial – they are all typical examples of this. The fact that the biggest companies consist of a lot of smaller entities is what makes Microsoft Dynamics NAV the perfect solution for them.
But there is more to the story.

 

Dynamics NAV is a perfect fit for local subsidiaries

An international company’s sites can be subsidiaries, branches or divisions of the parent company. Multi-site and international businesses can also be franchise organizations or collaborative chains. In reality, these sites have the same characteristics as the typical Microsoft Dynamics NAV customer: small and mid-sized companies, with unique business processes and a strong need for a flexible, vertically-focused solution that can be deployed on premises or in the cloud. So, while a company’s headquarters might decide to opt for an enterprise solution such as SAP, NAV is often the best fit for their subs.

 

These international organizations typically want like their subsidiaries to align with their corporate strategies. Parent companies want central management of an integrated system, both in terms of decision making and project management as well as the actual deployment, while at the same time being able to maintain flexibility at sites to meet the requirements of local processes and procedures. For the most, they want to:

  • Harmonize business processes
  • Improve reporting
  • Secure a fast implementation at sites to decrease TCO and increase ROI
  • Be able to share master data about customers, vendors, items, prices, etc.
  • Consolidate their data and processes – from financial statements and a common chart of accounts to inventory or product availability across the organization
  • Increase control of subsidiaries and branches through the application and implementation of standards and global business concepts
  • Have uniform and integrated work processes to support the realization of their business vision

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a flexible solution that can support these goals and that can be deeply localized to meet local requirements and has been embraced by divisions and branches of larger companies throughout the world.

There are many more details to back this up – too many for a blog article, but if you are interested in the topic, you can learn more about international NAV here.

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