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NAV or AX: Which Microsoft Dynamics ERP product is the best strategic fit for your international organization?

by Henning Lund
CEO, Rapidi,

Choosing the right Dynamics ERP software for your multi-national organization may seem simple on paper, but the reality is much more complex. You can rely on Microsoft's official Dynamics AX and NAV product positioning up to a certain point, but you will soon realize that in reality it isn't that straight forward. Why? Simply because every organization is unique and each product can be suitable for international deployments.

Based on experience from hundreds of projects, I have developed a 17 points analysis model that I have used to help companies determine the product with the best fit without going through expansive and time consuming analysis of product and functional features. The logic is that first we look at the long term fit to the business strategy and second we look at process functional fit which is most often a project phase rather than a pre-project phase, at least on a detailed view.

So, how to do it? Well, a traditional product selection approach would be to evaluate software solely based on a thorough functional fit and vendor analysis. This is way too time and resource consuming and I have found that it does not guarantee that you will be making the right choice because of the complexity of ERP processes. Instead, I have chosen to focus mostly on the strategic fit between NAV and AX and the company's business strategy in regards to how to manage and service subsidiaries or affiliates.

I suggest that businesses investigate 6 key areas:

  • Strategy: What is the company's business strategy? What is their geographical coverage and what are their growth plans? How do they compete? What are their global processes? Which processes are and should remain local?
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About Henning Lund

Henning has in-depth knowledge about how organizations can benefit from integrating their ERP with their CRM. His international experience and dedication to improving how Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce can be optimized and combined to improve business processes make him a much valued data integration advisor. Henning is CEO at Rapidi and has an impressive track record from various management positions within the Microsoft partner network.

Henning is a trusted advisor to companies that want to gain efficiency by integrating systems. With over 25 years’ experience helping businesses develop, Henning is a seasoned professional with a passion for transforming businesses, sales and marketing operations through out-of-the-box thinking, concepts building and process automation to improve overall performance and scalability.

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