Partners Blend Dynamics NAV and Industry Expertise for Wine ERP

To compete at the local as well as the global level, businesses in the wine industry such as wineries and distributors require ERP systems that enable them to operate as efficiently as possible.

The standard distribution capabilities of a solution like Microsoft Dynamics NAV can help a wine distributor, but the industry also needs added functionality.

Wine has its idiosyncrasies in terms of legalities, for example during transportation in countries like the US and UK, says Claudio Martell, product manager for The Wine System, a Microsoft Dynamics NAV-based solution for wine merchants developed by UK-based Microsoft partner TVision Technology Ltd. Additionally, wine distributors have to serve the needs of customers and suppliers, from private clients to small local restaurants and large multinational supermarkets, he says.

One of the main reasons Dynamics NAV is well suited for the wine industry is because it's very easy to customize, says Jeremy Grant, vice president of VinPoint, a Dynamics NAV-based solution offered by UXC Eclipse.

"It's the ability to build functionality within Dynamics NAV that can be built in a much more rapid development," he says. VinPoint, the UXC Eclipse solution for winemakers, manages every aspect of a wine business from the cultivation of the grapes to winemaking, finance, inventory management and sales to customer relationship management.

In the wine industry, managing the product is absolutely critical. Wineries have to ensure their products are getting to the right people at the right price, Grant says. That's key for winemakers - managing their products and getting those products into the proper markets, which ...