Multi-site and international organizations (MIOs), face unique challenges when choosing and deploying a business management solution. Microsoft Dynamics NAV readily integrates with the parent company’s system while meeting the varying needs of different sites, regardless of size, location, or type of business.
The challenge for multi-site and international organizations
Integrating the IT systems of MIO locations is critical for effectively sharing information, supporting common needs, and functioning successfully as one entity. However, individual sites typically don't require the same level of complexity in their business management solution as the parent company, and they may not have the resources to acquire and maintain a system designed for a larger company.
The ideal solution for the MIO business model is a strong core platform and solution that has the flexibility to meet the unique needs of local sites, regardless of their complexity, specialization, or location.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV: designed for your sites
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a business management solution with the flexibility to support the varied needs of multi-site and international organizations, regardless of size, location, or type of business. Designed to meet the needs of small and midsize organizations, it is easy to use and maintain for a low total cost of ownership (TCO).
Microsoft Dynamics NAV can help MIOs by supporting processes and integrating the information of local sites with the parent company's systems.
An MIO must consider the following four key challenges when choosing a solution for deployment:
• Meets the needs of complexity. Sites may have the same level of business complexity as the parent company, but on a different scale and without the same IT resources. The solution that is best for the parent company is often too big, complicated, cumbersome, and costly for its sites, and it may not address the local requirements or specific business needs of the local sites. Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps MIOs balance the need for complexity without requiring a large IT staff or extensive user training.
• Meets the needs of specialization. Sites with specialized functions have key industry and vertical requirements that may differ widely from those of other sites and the parent company. More than 57,000 customers worldwide in a wide variety of industries have already customized and deployed Microsoft Dynamics NAV to accommodate their individual needs, and more than 2,700 Microsoft Certified Partners currently deliver these customizations.
• Meets the needs of locations. Sites located in different countries need a solution that meets local regulatory and market requirements as well as industry- and location-specific practices for bookkeeping, reports, and financial statements. With more than 40 localized versions that include multicurrency and multi-language capabilities, Microsoft Dynamics NAV adapts to local legislative and market requirements.
• Meets the needs of flexibility. MIOs must strike a balance between deploying worldwide standardization and allowing customizations to support business procedures at the local site level. Microsoft Dynamics NAV is easy to customize and configure, and it can scale to support changing needs as a company grows.
Top 7 benefits of using Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution for MIOs can benefit business in seven key ways:
1. Meets the individual needs of sites, regardless of their size, location, or type of business.
2. Improves workflow efficiency for financial consolidation.
3. Gives you clear business insight with integrated analytics.
4. Offers an efficient means of exchanging data.
5. Can reduce costs by helping you share responsibility for services.
6. Promotes a more efficient supply chain.
7. Helps you respond proactively to business conditions.
Six common integration scenarios
If you are part of a multi-site and international organization (MIO), find out how your company can benefit from integrating Microsoft Dynamics NAV with another enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution at the parent company—in these six common scenarios.
• Scenario 1: Consolidating financial data. To run your business and meet increasingly demanding international standards, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and International Accounting Standards (IAS) 2005, parent organizations must get a consolidated view of finances from local sites. At the same time, the sites may have to answer to local financial standards and reporting requirements.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV can help save time and effort by enabling you to consolidate financial statements for a series of business units. You can transfer from different accounting structures, including financial statements in different currencies.
• Scenario 2: Gaining business insight. To maintain control over your entire organization, managers at the parent level need access to data located in individual site systems. This information may range from sales reports to inventory figures. And you need to receive information in a format that is easy to understand, analyze, and share.
With Business Analytics in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, site employees can create online analytical processing (OLAP) cubes based on full access to stored local data—without the need for extensive IT support. Controllers at the parent office can access reports using Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Office Excel, or other familiar tools. The result is clear visibility into the entire organization with faster and more efficient reporting.
• Scenario 3: Sharing master data. Your parent company and sites may share certain critical business information, such as vendor records, price lists, and customer data. However, this information is often maintained in different systems that may use different formats, which can lead to inconsistencies and wasted time. If your parent company wants to share master data with sites that use a different ERP system, you have to connect the systems.
Microsoft tools for electronic data exchange enable the entire organization to share master data. One such tool is XMLport, which is used to create XML documents that can easily be read by multiple applications.
• Scenario 4: Sharing responsibility for services. MIOs may decide to share services with local sites; customers may wish to receive consolidated invoices reflecting interactions with multiple sites; you may need to divide tasks based on specific competencies at site levels; or you may want to centralize payroll or procurement to obtain efficiencies or bulk discounts.
With Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you can facilitate shared services through electronic exchange of data based on BizTalk Server or functionality for intercompany postings.
• Scenario 5: Enabling interdivisional transactions. Sites sometimes need to interact with one another to redistribute inventory or complete workflows. For example, one site may act as distributor of another site's product, or divisions of a government agency may need to interact to complete a workflow.
You can set up Microsoft Dynamics NAV to treat interdivisional transactions as normal sales and purchase transactions. The sites can interact among themselves using either a BizTalk Server and Commerce Gateway or the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Intercompany Postings solution.
• Scenario 6: Responding proactively to business events. Your parent organization and sites comprise a supply chain, and although the role of each may be quite varied, all are interdependent. When a manufacturer relies on another site to deliver raw goods, delays can affect the entire supply chain.
Companies can set up alerts using the Business Notification feature in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, which will automatically generate e-mail messages about critical business conditions at their various sites, divisions, or supply chain partners.
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