InspireSmart Microsoft Dynamics Nav - Navision

1. What Makes Navision Different?

When reviewing any accounting software solution, I think that it is important to understand how the product is different from its’ competitors. All products are developed with different tools, different philosophies, and with different objectives in mind. All products are targeted towards different sized customers, and different industries. When evaluating products, it is easy to get bogged down in the overwhelming complexity of the systems. The reality is that all accounting systems have a general ledger with account numbers and financial reports; they all have an average accounts payable module that works fine; they all have a bevy of standard features. Studying these common elements of an accounting system will get you nowhere. It is the key differences that provide keen insights that will allow you to effectively identify and select the right product for your needs. With this spirit in mind, presented below are the key characteristics that set Navision apart from its competitors:  

• Speed - For starters, Navision is extremely fast and reliable. Whether you choose the Navision database or Microsoft SQL Server database option, you will find that the product flies. In 2000, I was engaged by an Atlanta based company who needed an accounting system solution that could accommodate up to ten million transactions a day. The company was on the verge of contracting with a company in India to write a product for them to handle this volume. I advised them that I thought that Navision could handle this volume right out of the box. When asked to prove this claim, I teamed up with Tom Wimberly and Kevin Fischer of CompuSystems of GA who constructed a database of 10 million transactions (not an easy task mind you) and posted these transactions to Navision in less than 3 minutes, right in front of the company’s management. They were convinced and the company implemented Navision for a total price including software, customization work, and implementation costs that was 90% less than expected compared to the India-based programming option.

• SIFT - There is a key reason why Navision is such a fast product – particularly when it comes to printing reports. Navision is designed with a clever technique which they call “Sum Index Flow Technology” (SIFT). With SIFT technology, every time a transaction is posted anywhere within Navision, all customer, vendor, account, and item totals are updated automatically for each day, week, month, quarter, and year. In this manner, when a user prints a report in Navision, the system need only “grab” the necessary totals and pop the report to the screen. By contrast, most other products must tabulate hundreds (if not thousands) of transactions in order to calculate the necessary totals and produce the resulting reports. This same tabulation occurs each time a report is produced, even if that same report was just produced seconds earlier. The result is that Navision reports hit the screen almost immediately, while other products may take 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or even several minutes in order to make a report happen. Very clever!

• Reliable – Navision is designed in such a way that it maintains database integrity, even if the power is cut unexpectedly during a posting routine. For example, assume that you are posting a large batch of 500 transactions in Navision. The product actually makes a copy of the database on the fly, then posts the transactions to this copy. Once this procedure is completed, Navision makes another copy of the original database, and proceeds to over write the original database with the posted version. Once the whole posting process is completed and verified, Navision throws away the unneeded database copies. In this manner, the computer’s electrical plug can be literally pulled out of the wall at any point during the posting routine, and upon rebooting the computer, Navision will automatically continue the posting routine where it left off. ACCPAC has also engineered it’s product to post in this manner. It is not uncommon for Navision and ACCPAC resellers to stage an “accidental unplugging” during a product demo in order to prove this powerful feature.

• Customization - Navision is highly customizable, with perhaps the best mix of “ease of customization” and “power of customization” available anywhere. Today you will find that most of the top accounting packages are highly customizable. The general idea is that the product is supposed to meet 80% to 85% of your needs right out of the box, and you use the built-in customization tools to meet the remaining 10% to 15% of your needs. Unfortunately, some products which offer customization offer very limited customization capabilities, while other products which offer strong customization are extremely difficult to customize. I‘ve talked to dozens of consultants out there who have customized a wide variety of products and the general consensus is that this is Navisions’ true strength, and the foundation for it’s success. I have prepared a detailed demonstration of this feature, which is located in the “Navision Product Tour” section of this web site.

• Audit Trail – Navision has perhaps the best audit trail of an accounting software package I have seen. The product allows you to drill down and around virtually throughout the entire system. No matter where you are, the built-in “drill-ability” of the product allows you to navigate seamlessly from financial statements down to original source documents, and from source documents up to the resulting financial statements. I have prepared a detailed demonstration of this feature, which is located in the “Navision Product Tour” section of this web site.

• High Reseller Standards – One of the best attributes of Navision is the extensive training and testing requirements set forth by Navision. In order to be an Navision Solution Center (reseller), you must have five people attend extensive training and they must each pass a fairly tough test. Three of these people must be trained in the Navision product, and two of them must be trained in customizing the Navision product. In 1999, Navision reportedly fired 25% of their 120 resellers because they did not pass the tests, or because they were providing shoddy work. By contrast, most other accounting vendors make little or no requirements of their reseller channel. To some accounting software companies, their reseller test amounts to seeing whether or not the reseller’s check will clear. I believe that Navision’s requirements result in much higher caliber Solution Centers, which in turn translates to higher customer satisfaction.

• Reseller Fees - It is worth noting that most resellers are required to pay a fee in order to become a product reseller. This fee typically ranges from a few thousand dollars to $15,000 or higher with the normal fee of $5,000. Thereafter, the reseller purchases the product at discounts ranging from 30% to 55% off, this discount usually escalates during the year as the reseller achieves higher volumes. However Navision does not charge a fee to become a Solution Center. Instead, Solution Centers must meet certain standards (basically five consultants must be on staff and trained in the Navision product, and there must be a commitment to maintain a certain level of marketing). Navision even trains the Solution Center personnel for free (although the Solution Centers must pick up their own travel expenses to Norcross, Georgia).

• Positive Customer Feedback – Perhaps the main reason that I regard Navision so highly is the fact that I have never had an unsatisfied customer when I have recommended the product to them. In other words, 100% of the people I’ve recommended Navision to, and who actually installed Navision, have indicated virtually complete satisfaction with the product. The only two exceptions to this are as follows. In 1998, I recommended Navision to my printer, and despite repeated phone calls to the nearest Navision Solution Center located about 75 miles away, the Solution Center never returned her call. In 1999, an Atlanta area Navision customer mentioned to me a problem with Navision on a Saturday. I e-mailed my contacts at Navision who immediately jumped on this problem. At 2:00pm on Monday afternoon, an official at Navision corporate called me personally to explain that the problem had been solved, and asked me to call the company to verify this claim. I did. The customer was satisfied. I’ve recommended Navision dozens of times throughout the years, and with results like these, it is easy to see why I continue to recommend Navision.

• Protected Territories – Navision protects its Solution Centers by limiting the number of Solution Centers in a given territory. For example the total number of Solution Centers in the United States has grown from about 80, 120, 150, and 200 in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 respectively. By contrast, many larger accounting software companies have 2,000 to 4,000 resellers out there. There are some benefits to having more resellers, for example, it is more likely that you will find one if you need one. However, it is almost a certainty that this approach results in hundreds of resellers “working out of the trunks of their cars” so-to-speak and without the proper product training. Since shoddy resellers is the number one complaint from end users, this characteristic is worth noting.

• Two Database Options – Navision offers two databases, a proprietary database called the Navision database (formerly referred to as the C/Side database) and Microsoft SQL Server. Ordinarily, you will hear me trash proprietary technologies when it comes to databases and programming languages. However, the Navision database is outstanding. Today, 80% of the new Navision customers purchase the Navision database option over the Microsoft SQL Server option, even though it is priced the same. The reason for this I believe, is that the Navision database is fast, and easy to administer – which translates to a lower total cost of ownership. I should note that I like the Microsoft SQL Server database also. Navision says that they added the Microsoft SQL Server option because they were losing some deals due to not being fully Microsoft compliant. I can understand this.

• Granular Pricing – Navision is the only mid-range or high-end product that is priced by the granule – or in other words, priced by the feature. For example, you could purchase a single user version of the Navision general ledger for about $500. However, the allocations, budgeting, and consolidation features would cost an additional $300 each. By the time you purchased the full general ledger, a single user version would cost about $2,500. User licenses for additional users would drive that cost up much higher. The result is that smaller companies who anticipate heavy growth can get into the Navision product for a lower cost, and can add additional features and functionality as they grow.

It is interesting to note that each Navision installation includes all granules (or features). The un-purchased granules are “turned off” in the live product until they are purchased. However, users can toggle over to the sample company and experiment with these un-purchased features using the sample company data before making a decision to purchase them. I think that this is very clever. 

• Foreign Language and Foreign Currency – Navision is a widely deployed product around the world. It is reported that in Iceland, one out of every two hundred residents of that country use Navision software (this may be hard to believe, but here at Accounting Software Advisor, we try to bring you every statistic). My point is that because Navision is deployed in so many countries, the product has developed excellent foreign currency and foreign language capabilities. By contrast, many accounting software products developed in the United States either do not include foreign currency and foreign language capabilities, or they add them later as an after-thought. If foreign currency and foreign language capabilities are important to you, then Navision just moved up a little higher on your short list – didn’t it?

Bordine Nursery expects to improve its production, sales and reporting processes with Microsoft’s advanced management ERP technology.

REDMOND, Wash., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Bordine Nursery Ltd., a Rochester Hills, Mich., company that grows, wholesales and retails garden products and nursery stock, has chosen Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 to replace a UNIX-based accounting system that no longer can handle all of the company’s needs. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 will enable Bordine to integrate its separate databases into a single database that will support accounting, sales, production and other functions.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that is designed to simplify and streamline highly specialized business processes for small and midsize organizations. It helps companies automate, integrate and better manage finances, e-commerce, manufacturing, supply chains, accounting, field service, customer relationships and human resources.

Working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Integrated Software Systems Inc. (ISSI) of Novi, Mich., Bordine will implement Microsoft Dynamics NAV in place of its previous Infor ERP FACTS supply chain management software that required the development of separate databases for manufacturing and point of sale, entailing double or triple entry of most data.

Bordine chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV after reviewing 10 software products and participating in demonstrations of systems that included Exact Macola ES and Sage MAS 500 in addition to Microsoft technology.

“In our opinion, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 provided the most flexibility because it could be customized, and the source code could be purchased if deemed necessary,” said Phil Tomczak, vice president of financial administration for Bordine Nursery. “Microsoft Dynamics NAV will provide us with an integrated system in which information will be more timely and relevant than previously, allowing us to make more-informed decisions about the company.”

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is expected to provide an array of benefits to meet the specialized needs of Bordine’s combined wholesale, retail and horticulture processes, including the following:

     *    Integration throughout the business. All information from Bordine’s
          four locations in Michigan will be accessible from a single database
          that eliminates the need for multiple entries of the same data. In
          addition, employees will gain remote access to data and reports when
          at home or on the road.

     *    Accuracy of data. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0’s integration means
          Bordine no longer will need to enter the same data in two or three
          different locations. The results are fewer opportunities for error
          and assurance that everyone is working from the most current version
          of the data.

     *    New reporting capabilities. Bordine management personnel anticipate
          information in their reports will be timelier with Microsoft
          Dynamics NAV’s forms and reports.

          "Our system reporting was archaic and limited in the information we
          could pull," Tomczak said. "Now managers will be able to generate
          their own customized reports."

          Also, for the first time Bordine will be able to easily mine data
          from its customer loyalty-card program to provide its marketing
          department with information on buying patterns.

     *    Better cost accountability during production. The manufacturing
          capability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV will allow Bordine to use one
          database to do sales planning, leading to a calculation of
          production demand, which generates purchase orders for raw materials
          and a production schedule, resulting in finished materials for
          inventory. Previously this process required the use of separate
          production and costing databases. Microsoft Dynamics NAV adds the
          ability to apply overhead weekly as Bordine’s plants grow, allowing
          the company to determine and apportion its true costs more easily
          than before.

     *    Improved efficiency through cost reductions and time savings. With
          Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Bordine will be able to measure production
          against labor expenses to determine its cost per unit, a process
          that was very difficult to do with its previous system. Managers
          also will be able to respond rapidly to cost variations, because
          cost information will be available to analyze in a very timely
          fashion. Previously the information that managers received was days
          old and arrived too late to enable them to take effective action.
          Furthermore, by doing away with multiple data entry, the company
          will need to pay for fewer labor hours to produce the same
          information.

     *    Company growth. With a slowing of retail sales, Bordine is beginning
          to sell to wholesalers, where margins are much slimmer than they are
          when selling directly to consumers. Microsoft Dynamics NAV gives the
          company the ability to determine and thereby control its exact costs
          as a way to preserve its margins. Bordine also is in the process of
          considering Microsoft Dynamic NAV’s capacity-planning ability for
          the areas where it grows plants to use its acreage more efficiently
          than before.

     *    Planning. Bordine will be able to carry out its planning more
          efficiently than before, using an integrated system instead of
          needing to export and import data between two systems. The ability
          to mine data from its customer base is expected to allow Bordine to
          hone its marketing programs to be more effective than previously.

     *    IT support and management. Because managers can customize and
          produce their own reports, Bordine’s IT staff no longer will need to
          develop programs to produce specialized reports. Also, because
          Microsoft Dynamics NAV is widely used across the globe, Bordine
          anticipates it will be able to collaborate online with other
          companies and partners to prevent issues from arising and to discuss
          innovative applications.

ISSI is implementing a comprehensive Microsoft Dynamics NAV advanced-management ERP system that incorporates modules providing financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, customer relationship management and human-resources functionality.

“Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps specialized companies like Bordine Nursery grow profitability and efficiency as they grow their products,” said Michael Park, corporate vice president for U.S. Dynamics Business at Microsoft. “Evolving from systems with islands of data to fully integrated information sources across a company plants the seed for cultivating better business intelligence, more accurate and rapid reporting, and ultimately products that are more responsive to market demand.”

About Bordine Nursery

Bordine Nursery is a 69-year-old company and still growing, literally. Bordine Nursery owns and operates four premium retail garden centers featuring the best quality plants, unique garden decor and expert gardening knowledge. Its staff, the “Plant Loving Purple People,” know about more than plants; they help people with gardening solutions and make it easy for their customers to create their piece of Eden. Bordine’s also sets itself apart by growing the vast majority of their plants itself. It has a professional staff of cultural experts, state-of-the-art facilities and hundreds of years of combined experience to ensure breathtaking horticultural results.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft MSFT is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Copyright 2008 PR Newswire

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, with new role-based GUI, is currently expected to be released around December 2008. Microsoft originally planned to develop an entirely new ERP system (Project green), but has decided to continue development of all ERP systems (Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL). All four ERP systems will be launched with the same new role based user interface, SQL based reporting and analysis, Share Point based portal, Pocket PC based mobile clients and clients for Microsoft Office. Inspiresmart will start implementing the new Dynamics as it hits the market. Recently, Inspiresmart has implemented the new windows server 2008 with exchnage 2007. Inspiresmart also can help your company to implemet microsoft’s most recent release of SQL server 2008.