Export to Word and Excel

The first time I saw this, I though that this I some how got the impression that it was Table based. But its not, the templates are based on Forms and Reports, (though Reports are not yet active, so that might just be advance prep for 5.1). If there is not template, then Export to Excel creates an Excel Sheet for every Tab, SubForm or Frame on the form. The data copied across respects the layout sorting filtering etc of the form. So even without creating a template (which looks like a nightmare, but lets wait for Kamil to go into the technical side of that), you could create a form that some how represents the Excel spread sheet you want. Word on the other hand creates a table for each Tab, SubForm and Frame, and is not as neat.

Inventory Costing

For long time Navision users this is going to be a “well finally” type thing. You can now create an Inventory Worksheet, something like account schedules, that allow you to view, reconcile, adjust, and post inventory costs to the GL. I have written similar functionality, but specific to clients’ needs, as I am sure many others of you have, but this is nice to finally have a generic solution.

This comes with Inventory periods, which look like a work in progress, since they seem to lack a few critical things, such as : Relation to Normal Accounting periods; Ability to perform true date based Standard costing, Average costing by period by location. And I am sure there are more things as I look deeper.

But I have to say that this is probably the biggest step forward in making inventory costing visible to Navision users ever.

License tracking

This is an odd one. License agreements, and acceptance (the tick box when you install) are now stored in the database. This looks like it is incomplete, but I would not be surprised to see in 5.1 that you need to be logged onto the internet to create a new database.

I also noticed a few things in the license agreement. There is mention of “Named Users”. This is quite separate from the normal concurrent users. This may be a country specific thing, and maybe in some countries you can purchase Named Users instead of concurrent users. The other was Multiplexers. You are not allowed to channel multiple users though one login, or at least if you do, then you need to buy the appropriate number of users. I am not a lawyer, but I guess this will have implications for applications such as : POS, retail and cash register systems; Shipping systems that interface to say FedEx or UPS; Bar coding and scanning servers; and even some web interfaces.

Jobs

This at first impression looks like there are some big changes, but I need to look closer to see if its not just a clean up.

The first thing you notice, is that Phase, Tasks Steps and Budgets are gone, and replaced with Task Planning.

Approvals

This is an enhancement to Sales Release process, and allows you to implement a rudimentary work flow process. At first glance it looks pretty basic, but since it uses 14 new tables, it needs a further look.

Job Scheduler –> Job Queue

The Job Scheduler has gone, and is now replaced with the Job Queue. I guess there could be two reasons for this, first so that it can be sold as a granule without having to purchase Service, and second it was never really finished anyway. The old Job Scheduler simply came in as an Add-On that Microsoft acquired, so I assume they felt it time for a clean up.

Outlook integration

This again is one of the big things. I have not looked at it at all, but I do know that the big news is that you can now do a partial synchronize, rather than having to sync everything every time. If you integrate Outlook to Dynamics NAV, then this alone will probably be the reason that you upgrade.

Item Tracing

This is a new feature that allows you to trace Tracked items through the system. There is no data setup in Cronus, so I will need to post some entries to find out exactly how it works, but it does seem to show where Serial and Lot numbers have been used.

There are also a couple of new tables for tracking in Manufacturing, so I would assume there has been some Tracking clean up done.

ERP systems like Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) are used to handle business critical data – financial records, warehouse inventory, CRM and so on, which are the foundations of your business. Can you envision what having access to this business-critical data “anywhere, anytime” in a highly secure manner would do for your business agility? Using InspireSmart Solutions in Denver, Colorado to make these functions available from any location increases the value of your Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution by:

• Enabling employees to work from customer sites, thereby streamlining business processes by making data move faster and more efficiently.
• Making it easier, faster and less expensive to give external accountants and payroll agencies “self-service” access to Dynamics.
• Allowing supply chain collaboration by giving suppliers access to manufacturers’ databases so they can meet their Just in Time (JIT) agreements by managing the inventory themselves i.e. Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). Increasing work flexibility by making it less expensive for employees access Navision when working from home.

Training

While Microsoft Dynamics NAV is one of the easiest systems to learn and use, InspireSmart Solutions in Denver, Colorado provides specific instruction on how to get the most out of the system. InspireSmart’s Microsoft Certified Trainers have hundreds of hours of experience training our clients and other business partners on efficient and effective use of their new business management tool. With each training class, students receive a training manual specific to that class to support the training process and use as a reference when training is complete. InspireSmart offers a training room in its’ Denver, Colorado office where numerous employees can simultaneously benefit. If your vendor does not provide training, InspireSmart will be happy to work with that vendor and provide the service for you.