Are inefficient basic business functions holding you back?
Small businesses often experience growing pains as they begin to expand. They struggle to maintain healthy margins by streamlining their operational processes. Many of them have multiple digital sources of data stored across several software systems. They might be dealing with:
- Miscommunication or delayed communication between departments
- Complications in responding to customer needs
- Difficulties with monitoring and managing inventory
Read more: 5 big reasons to choose dynamics 365 as your ERP platform
Business management tools like ERP platforms are essential for companies that are working on expanding their influence. These companies want to improve their workflows, attract more customers, and spend less time on back-office functions. With the assistance of an ERP platform, your business can save time by self-populating data across numerous functions and automating inventory, payroll, and customer billing. An ERP system can also help keep you compliant with the latest regulatory changes in your industry.
Well-designed ERP platforms integrate all of an organization’s business functions into one unified platform. The key functions of an ERP system include financials, inventory management, sales management, human resources, and manufacturing management. Modern ERP solutions allow users to access their business information via any digital device, improving their productivity both in and out of the office.
Let’s compare two of the leading small-business ERP solutions on the market: Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SAP Business One.
Price and Scalability
With comparatively lower costs and easier implementation, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is a strong player in the ERP market. While SAP Business One delivers on all its promises, it costs more than other competing ERP platforms.
SAP Business One targets small to medium-sized companies, but has been struggling to catch up to the international powerhouse that is Microsoft in the small business segment. Because SAP Business One is frequently used by small to medium-sized companies, its functionality is tailored to that segment. For these reasons, it’s very possible for your small business to outgrow Business One, requiring you to migrate to other, more feature-rich SAP solutions, or switch to a completely different solution.
On the other hand, Microsoft Dynamics is used by businesses of every size across a wide range of industries, from IT and healthcare to food services and distribution. This makes for a more robust platform that can accommodate a broader array of business models. Dynamics 365 is designed for scalability, and will continue to serve you well as your small business matures into a global enterprise.
Extensibility and Customization
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SAP Business One are both great ERP platforms, but Dynamics 365 steals the show with more than 750 add-on solutions available on their AppSource marketplace. Built on Microsoft Azure infrastructure, Dynamics 365 also syncs and integrates effortlessly with a host of other Microsoft business applications. SAP cannot compete with these numbers — their App Center lists just 37 apps for Business One. Instead, they rely on several vendor partnerships to fill these functional gaps. One notable limitation of SAP Business One is its lack of built-in payroll functionality. Organizations that use Business One are forced to rely on third-party add-ons to process payroll.
SAP Business One also offers less implementation flexibility than Dynamics 365. Business One deployments include at least ten core modules, whether or not you need the functionality they provide. Dynamics 365, on the other hand, allows you to select individual modules to create a customized solution that aligns perfectly with the way your business operates.
Conclusion
Microsoft Dynamics 365 surpasses SAP Business One. It can extend its advantages to both start-ups and the largest of enterprises by providing scalability, flexibility, and lower implementation and ownership costs. Dynamics 365 also gives you access to a plethora of tools that help you accomplish more and work the way you do. All of these characteristics make Dynamics 365 a better long-term fit for most organizations.