System Overview

     Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is a software package that integrates accounting, finance, human resources, inventory management and many other functions of a business (Gallaugher, 2013). Microsoft Dynamics ERP is an ERP software for companies of all sizes.  It was first introduced in 2005. Its main purpose is to allow companies to manage their business organizations, including supply chain, procurement, human resources, financials, and projects through a single database resulting in effective communication between the departments.  It is part of Microsoft Dynamics which is a software designed for business management and is developed by Microsoft.
The software is delivered through a network of reselling partners (Microsoft Dynamics ERP, 2014).
    Microsoft Dynamics ERP has 4 main products which offer ERP solutions for small, mid-size and large organizations, growing companies, companies that want to expand their operations to other countries, and can also be customized according to the specific business needs. The products are Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. More information about the details of each product can be found  here.

    Through the products mentioned above, Microsoft Dynamics ERP offers solutions for managing business processes, quick response to changes, and proper management of assets and resources. The ERP software has the following capabilities: financials,  operations, reporting and analysis, human resources,  and IT and development.  The main features and functionalities those capabilities include (ERP Capabilities, 2014):

• Financial management, planning and budgeting. These features help gain greater visibility into finances and improve financial management, forecasting and accounting. They are also useful for closing books quickly, expanding business into other geographies by supporting different currencies, creating and publishing financial statements, and working on complex consolidations.
•  Project Management and Supply Chain Management. These features help improve profitability and accomplish project goals on time and on budget. As for the supply chain management features, they allow to control inventory in real time, set realistic expectations regarding delivery of products, and provide vendors and partners with self-service access to important documentation.
• Business Intelligence and Executive Management. These features allow the companies to improve the decision making with self-service business intelligence tools, analyze data warehouses, and organize data more efficiently. They also allow executives to effectively monitor business results, control environmental impact of the business, manage organizational growth by tracking its people's performance, etc.
• Human Resource Management and Collaboration. These tools help meet the company's HR and payroll needs by giving self-service access to information,  ensuring compliance with government requirements, minimizing costs to administer salaries, by defining opportunities for growth, and simplifying communication through company intranet.
• IT Management and Software-Plus-Services. IT management tool allows to use service-oriented architecture (SOA) and web services to extend business solutions. Software-plus-Services that include cloud computing are useful for complementing existing ERP system with web-based services, online commerce, building microsites without IT support, accelerating return on investment (ROI) and reducing risk.  

    The image below shows a snapshot of what Microsoft Dynamics ERP looks like:
 

                                     Source: http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/pt/br/products/gp-business-intelligence.aspx


    In his article “Microsoft ERP Release Streamlines Retailing” published on InformationWeek, Doug Henschen mentions about an AX customer, a Canadian tea retailer, who opened a store in New York City without having to bother about local tax laws and currencies (Henschen, 2012). The software has also allowed Chobani, a domestic AX customer, to go global and expand its business (Kanaracus, 2013). Other successful customers include Dell, AMC, Delta Airlines, Driscolls, and University of Washington.

    Microsoft Dynamics ERP products can also be very useful tools for the corporation IVK, a mid-size growth company, struggling to go back to its earlier, steeper growth trajectory through a new leadership team and growth strategy by making IT a huge part of the change.  Since IT is a problem area in the company, Microsoft Dynamics ERP software, especially the product Microsoft Dynamics GM, specifically designed to meet the challenges faced by growing mid-size companies can help Barton streamline the company's IT management and reduce IT costs and other executives manage organizational growth by gaining better business insight. 
    First of all, the new CIO, Barton, who has no background in IT, can easily adapt to the system because it does not require special IT developer and programming knowledge. Besides, it will also be easy for the employees of the company to use the system because it is based on familiar Microsoft applications as well as allows users to easily integrate with non-Microsoft applications. Since IVK is spending a huge part of IT budget on IT maintenance, the powerful Microsoft database tools can be very effective in improving data security and reducing administrative overhead thus allowing IVK spend more money on innovation as they used to do back in the early years.  Finally, as Ruben, the director of the Technical Services Group at IVK mentions, since IVK is moving towards an “increasingly networked organization that includes partners, such as customers and vendors,... and service-oriented architecture with more real-time operations...” (Austin, 2009), the business intelligence capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics can help IVK make more informed decisions, keep current on changing business conditions, gain deeper insight into the business, and do more effective budgeting, forecasting, and planning.
    Features like cloud computing can help IVK have better data security. Employee portals can facilitate communication and control over employees communications which is hard to monitor under the current system when employees use multiple e-mail services (Austin, 2009). Financial management tool can help automate tasks such as creating formulas for overhead allocation which is currently the job of Geisler, director of Planning and Control. Overall, IVK can greatly benefit from almost all of the features of Microsoft Dynamics ERP software.

 References

    Austin, R. (2009). The Adventures of an IT Leader. Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard Business Press.
    ERP Capabilities and Features | Microsoft Dynamics ERP Options and Solutions. (n.d.). ERP Capabilities and Features | Microsoft Dynamics ERP Options and Solutions. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from  http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/en/za/erp-capabilities.aspx
    Gallaugher, J. (2013). Information systems: a managers guide to harnessing technology, version 2.0. Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge.
    Henschen, D. (2012, February 2). Microsoft ERP Release Streamlines Retailing - InformationWeek. InformationWeek. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://www.informationweek.com/applications/microsoft-erp-release-streamlines-retailing/d/d-id/1102601
    Kanaracus, C. (2013, March 19). Microsoft Going After Enterprises with Dynamics AX ERP. CIO. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://www.cio.com/article/730471/Microsoft_Going_After_Enterprises_with_Dynamics_AX_ERP
    Microsoft Dynamics ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning Solution. (n.d.). Microsoft Dynamics ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning Solution. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/erp.aspx