If you are looking for a reliable and flexible enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for your small or medium-sized business, you might have heard of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
But what exactly is it, how does it work, and what are its advantages?
In this article, we will answer all these questions and more as we explore the history, features, benefits, and Microsoft NAV versions ERP system.
What is Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP System?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an ERP system that helps you manage your business processes and operations, such as finance, manufacturing, sales, shipping, project management, services, and more.
It is designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and local subsidiaries of large international groups that need a customizable and adaptable solution to fit their specific needs and industry.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV was originally developed in Denmark in the mid-1980s by a company called PC & C ApS under the name PC Plus.
It was one of the first client/server applications in the world, and it revolutionized the ERP market with its built-in development environment and proprietary programming language called AL (application language).
The product was later renamed to Navigator, then to Navision, and finally to Microsoft Dynamics NAV after it was acquired by Microsoft in 2002.
What are the Features of Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP System?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system has a rich set of features that cover various aspects of business management. Some of the main features are:
- Finance: You can manage your accounting, budgeting, cash flow, reporting, analytics, and compliance with ease and accuracy.
- Manufacturing: You can optimize your production planning, scheduling, inventory, quality control, and costing with real-time data and insights.
- Sales: You can streamline your sales processes, manage your customer relationships, track your opportunities, generate quotes and orders, and automate your invoicing and payments.
- Shipping: You can coordinate your shipping activities, track your shipments, manage your warehouse operations, and ensure timely delivery to your customers.
- Project Management: You can plan and execute your projects efficiently, monitor your progress and performance, manage your resources and expenses, and collaborate with your team members and stakeholders.
- Services: You can provide excellent service to your customers, manage your service contracts and orders, schedule and dispatch your service technicians, and track your service history and feedback.
- Electronic Commerce: You can create and manage your online store, integrate it with your ERP system, offer multiple payment options and currencies, and reach more customers globally.
What are the Versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP System?
Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system has a long history behind it, with many versions released over the years. The latest version is Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018, which was launched in December 2017. It introduced new features and improvements, such as:
- User personalization: You can personalize your workspace and user interface by adding or removing fields, columns, charts, or tiles and by changing the color theme or font size.
- Embedded Power BI: You can access and display Power BI reports and dashboards directly from your ERP system without leaving your role center or page.
- Image analyzer: You can use AI and ML to analyze images and extract attributes, such as color, type, or pattern, for your items or contacts.
- Preconfigured Excel reports: You can export data from your ERP system to Excel and use preconfigured reports to analyze and visualize your data.
- Optical character recognition (OCR): You can use OCR to scan and convert paper documents, such as invoices or receipts, into electronic documents that can be processed by your ERP system.
Conclusion
Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP system is a great solution for SMBs that want to manage their business processes and operations efficiently and effectively.
It is fast to implement, easy to configure, simplicity guides innovation, highly adaptable, and rich with features. It also has a long history of versions that have improved and enhanced its functionality over time.
