What Does a Successful Business Central Implementation Look Like?

If your scaling business is ready to accelerate growth, work smarter, and embrace agility, you’re likely already considering an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. 

Among the most popular ERP solutions for small and mid-sized businesses is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. This all-in-one business management solution connects data across your organization, so you can use it to confidently make smarter decisions. For many, an investment in Business Central results in a more productive organization that’s equipped to tackle any digital transformation. 

But doing so takes focus, a clear implementation plan, and consideration for how your teams can smoothly handle the transition.

Why Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Dynamics 365 Business Central is the ERP system that empowers growing companies to connect business financials, sales, service, supply chain management, and operations from one centralized data hub. Thanks to its highly customizable yet easy-to-use nature, it’s a solution that can be tailor-fit to your business needs while minimizing disruption, but that also can be adapted if and when those business requirements change. 

An extensible business tool that can be used alongside other Microsoft cloud-based services (like Power BI, Office 365, and Power Apps), Dynamics 365 Business Central leans on the industry-leading reliability, scalability, and performance of Microsoft Azure and the Microsoft cloud to drive powerful results and fast ROI. 

Business Central has a proven record of offering:

• A 7-month payback on investment
• Up to 18% productivity improvement for finance and operations staff
• 172% ROI, on average, over 3 years
  

But to embrace Business Central to its fullest potential and reap these benefits, you must first ensure a successful implementation. One that’s on time, on budget, and that prepares your team to thrive amid a modernized way of working.

Business Central Implementation: Key Considerations

Getting your Business Central implementation process right depends on a multitude of factors. This includes having the right team in place, the right support from a BC implementation partner, and a dedicated way to measure the success of your ERP project plan as you go. Here are a few tips and considerations to keep in mind.

1. Choose the Right Partner for your ERP Project

According to data from Statista, only about half of organizations are able to pull off an ERP implementation that’s on or under budget. Others can manage from a cost perspective, yet don’t consider their project to be a success in the long run. For many, the biggest pitfall is a lack of support and lack of expertise, which is likely why as many as 90% of companies leverage consultants for ERP implementation. 

ERP implementation requires a dedicated team of people with the necessary skills and expertise to get it right. This includes deep familiarity with the specific ERP system you choose, its nuances, and how to maximize the value of its unique features and functionalities for your business. The process itself typically involves discovery and planning, design, development, testing, deployment, and support.

Today, just a mere 3% of small and mid-sized companies rely on ERP systems with standard, out-of-the-box functionality. The majority, on the other hand, opt for some level of customization. Business Central is no exception. A knowledgeable, expert partner can help make even the most complex customization requests simple. 

Plus, once your ERP system is fully implemented, partners often continue to serve as an extension of your own team. They provide guidance, ongoing maintenance, and support of the system (like maintenance checks, software upgrades, or troubleshooting). 

2. Set Your Team Up to Win

Organizational resistance to the change brought on by an ERP implementation is among the top reasons for ERP project failure. That’s why it’s essential to ensure your team is properly trained on how to use Business Central, understands how it will work for them, and is ready and willing to utilize it once it’s launched.

When training employees, Forbes recommends that you provide:

• Overviews of how the ERP system works and its associated processes
• Step-by-step instructions on how to use all features and functions of the system
• Detailed explanations regarding data entry, reporting, and other tasks they can expect to be performing
• Guidance when it comes to any troubleshooting issues
• Additional resources for ongoing support

As a marker of success, you can track the rate of employee adoption, including the number of support requests. This metric can tell you whether or not your team members are finding the system easy to use and valuable.

3. Keep the Customer Experience in Mind

For a successful Business Central implementation, it’s essential that you set realistic expectations for the process with all key stakeholders across your company, and keep communication open about how it’s going over time. 

Not only does this include considerations for what to expect from your implementation partner, what the implementation plan and timeline look like, and how the ERP system’s rollout will work. It should also include success metrics for how this new tool will functionally impact and improve the customer experience. 

Once your Business Central implementation is complete, you should expect that you’ll need to optimize it for customer-centricity. For example, by using the data and insights from your ERP, you can better understand customer behavior, preferences, and satisfaction. In turn, you can then use those insights to improve your products, services, and processes. 

If you’re hoping to create new value opportunities for your customers, you’ll likely also want to leverage the automation, collaboration, and analytics features of your ERP system to increase efficiency, productivity, and agility. Whatever path you choose, you should consider having a plan for how you do so, and how you’ll assess if you’ve succeeded.

How Businesses Can Ensure Lasting Success with Cavallo

As organizations seek out flexible and scalable technology solutions that offer cost savings and easy access to data from anywhere, Business Central will only continue to explode in popularity. It will soon be more important than ever to prepare, plan ahead, and be confident your implementation will go off without a hitch before you begin the process.  

For even more success, start with the best of Business Central and integrate Cavallo’s powerful solutions to get immediate value out of your BC implementation. Set up smart business rules to stop low-margin orders from getting through. Get virtually unlimited custom fields that are not available in BC alone to improve data accuracy and detail. Ensure swift, secure credit card processing for every transaction you complete.Leverage the combined power of Business Central and Cavallo to sell with confidence, gain total visibility into your sales cycle and order process, and provide better, insight-driven care for your customers long term.