Many organizations are creatures of habit. Once they get locked into doing certain things or using certain systems, software or tools, they’re reluctant to let them go. Even when they may tacitly acknowledge that their approach could use some fine tuning — or complete overhauling, if some are being true to themselves — change is a challenge.

If your accounting or ERP systems are something you or your co-workers struggle with, but you have other mission critical systems that work really well for your business, you could consider keeping those good systems in place and implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for your accounting and ERP solution. It just may make you a true believer in the concept of embracing change. Regardless of your industry or familiarity with Microsoft products, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a solution that more midsize organizations trust to effectively manage and run every aspect of their company, from finance, to sales to marketing to supply chain and more. With it in place, you put your business on the fast track to greater efficiency, lower costs and streamlined processes.

This article will give a high level overview of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and the CRM solutions to which it integrates natively, some of its applications that make it dynamic and what you can expect from the integration process that binds your business critical systems with this software.

What are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP & Microsoft’s CRM applications?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a suite of cloud-based enterprise resource planning and CRM solutions that are composed of several applications. The main applications that small to midsize organizations utilize are:

• Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • Accounting
  • Sales & Receivables Management
  • Payables and Accounts Payable
  • Inventory Management & Purchasing
  • Job Costing
• Dynamics 365 CRM Applications
  • Dynamics 365 Sales
  • Dynamics 365 Customer Service
  • Dynamics 365 Field Service
  • Dynamics 365 Marketing

Each application is replete with automation, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies that can help your company perform business tasks better and more efficiently. This includes Accounting, Job Costing, Manufacturing, Procurement and Inventory Management, Complex Sales Opportunity Management and Scheduling Service Orders. The Dynamics solutions are fully customizable, meaning you can pick and choose the applications that you want or don’t want to implement, but Business Central includes all ERP functionality in the user licensing. When they’re bundled together on a unified platform, you can increase visibility into your various operations and make each aspect of your organization work better together and independently.

Despite being nearly three years removed from the pandemic that exposed the U.S.’ supply chain weaknesses, the supply chain remains a pain point for many business owners, both on the demand and the supply side of things. According to a recent poll done by the National Federation of Independent Business, over a third of respondents (36%) said they were still encountering disruptions with their supply chain. And 86% expected those obstacles to persist well into 2023.

The supply chain is something every product-based business has in common with one another. The supply chain capabilities of Business Central are uniquely designed to help business owners increase the durability of their supply chains by transforming their business operations. It can also help to minimize downtime, resulting in more work productivity and overall time management.

Sales is also universal. With the Sales application, salespeople can close deals faster by connecting with other applications that are interrelated, such as Marketing and Business Central. With connected data, your sales team can boost productivity by automating sales processes, which gives your staff the chance to focus their attention on other business needs that can strengthen your brand.

Is Microsoft Dynamics a CRM or ERP?

As a leading midsize business management platform, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Microsoft Dynamics referenced as an enterprise resource planning software and as a CRM, or Customer Relationship Management system. So which is it? It’s actually both, combining Dynamics 365 CRM elements (Sales, Marketing and Customer Service) as well as ERP (Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, etc.). While some organizations opt for only some of the applications, Microsoft packages them all together so users gain more visibility and control over all the aspects and activities of their day-to-day business operations.

How does the integration process work?

As an award winning ERP and CRM Microsoft partner, The TM Group (TMG) specializes in implementing Microsoft Dynamics products for organizations aiming to improve their business goals, whether that’s related to elevating the customer experience, strengthening sales or boosting productivity. Implementation also involves assessing your unique needs with respect to your business operations and which applications are most in line with the core functions of your business.

But we also perform system integrations that help your current systems “talk” with the solutions designed by Microsoft. Through integration, mission critical business applications are able to work together seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and/or the CRM applications, preventing you from having to reenter redundant data into multiple systems. TMG can also enhance the out-of-the-box integration from the Dynamics CRM applications to Business Central if needed.

What can you expect from the integration?

As a general rule, each integration is different since businesses have different goals, challenges, customers and processes as well as different software solutions in place. However, what just about every integration includes is data. With data integration, all the data that your systems contain get joined together in a unified way. This helps to streamline processes, eliminate redundancy and make sense of the data you have. It also defines the data so it can be organized and integrated effectively.

Depending on your needs, an integration may also entail connecting or changing current business processes if they require reworking to make them more refined, improve efficiency through automation or reduce errors.

In terms of what you can expect once the integration is complete, you can expect a better business. From eliminating redundancies like duplicate data entry to gaining more insight into the inner workings of your business, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or CRM application integration is a process that can take your company to the next level of success and prosperity by working smarter. Contact TMG. We’ll help you get to that better place with a seamless integration and smooth implementation that can lead you toward establishing new and improved workplace habits.