One of the key challenges for manufacturers today including job shops is the ability to have access and visibility into information across the entire organization to help make better decisions that have a direct impact on the overall bottom line. Those businesses that haven’t invested in an integrated ERP application such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) find it difficult to connect the moving parts across the organization causing a lack of control and inability to really understand what’s happening in the business.
The data that you can access from a centralized ERP solution may be one of the most valuable tools for your business because it affects every area of your back office operations and your bottom line. With one centralized source of data and access to the information needed, users spend less time gathering and analyzing data and more time collaborating and making decisions that positively impact the business. In fact, a Nucleus Research Report found that greater visibility and access to information for decisionmaking was a key motivator for many manufacturers who invest in an ERP solution such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
The report found that using an ERP solution to gain greater visibility and agility generally resulted in two key areas of return:
- Increased staff productivity related to reporting. Staff spends less time searching for, compiling, and analyzing data and information and can focus on growing the business.
- Direct cost savings. With greater visibility into spending across the supply chain, manufacturers can identify where they can eliminate or reduce costs and better understand overall company performance.
Those that invested in an ERP solution like Microsoft Dynamics NAV, were able to support significant growth by streamlining order entry and customer management; reduce manual data entry burden for IT, finance, and accounting; and automate other processes that used to require significant staff time.
Interested in learning more? Read the Lowe Manufacturing case study to see how a Midwest job shop gained real-time visibility of their business and is saving thousands of dollars each year in operational costs by using Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
