Written By Jeff Onesto, Director of Business Development, ASi (Originally released on MSDynamicsWorld.com)
The new release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 is an exciting development in DAX ERP sophistication and advancement. So it is not surprising that much is being said about all the new features and functions of Microsoft Dynamics AX2009. But it is important for businesses to remember that an organization’s competitive advantage includes both people and business processes and NOT ONLY the number of available ERP features and functions.
I have personally been involved in situations where both customers and partners have cited the lack of ERP functionality as a primary cause for implementation troubles. However, the key to successful implementations is knowing how to leverage available features with desired process automation – this is where true value is created.
Interestingly, Microsoft, like both SAP and Oracle, has signed an agreement with Business Process Management (BPM) leader, IDS Sheer, and publisher of the ARIS BPM Platform. The next generation of model-driven architecture codenamed ‘Oslo’ will leverage the work done by IDS Sheer via BizTalk server. I see many companies struggling with non-key business processes such as financial close, material requirements planning and order-allocation which are necessary building blocks for competitive advantages such as new product development, customer service and supply chain planning.
• If you can’t close your books – how do you know what products to produce?
• If you can’t accurately forecast demand and maintain acceptable inventory accuracy levels – how are you going to satisfy customer orders?
• If you can’t provide raw material inventory visibility or transmit the necessary EDI documents to supply chain partners – how are you going to lower inventory carrying costs and increase overall profitability?
This model driven architectural concept is great news for Microsoft Dynamics AX customers but what do companies do about improving their existing systems? It is critical for companies to continually ‘invest’ in their business process as they upgrade or improve their systems. If you are on DAX 4.0 or earlier there is much you can begin doing now before upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. First, begin with an honest self-assessment regarding how your organization compares with other mid-market ‘best in class’ organizations in basic areas of Use of Technology and Business Process Automation. The following metrics were taken from the 2007 Aberdeen Group Sector Insights Report:
Mid-Market Direct Access to ERP Data by Business Role:
• C-Level: 85% have direct access
• VP-Level: 50%
• Director-Level: 64%
• Manager-Level: 82%
• Other-Level: 55%
Mid-Market Automated (Workflow) Enabled Communication:
• Intra-Company Communication (Between departments/function) 27%
• External Communication (Between customers/partners) 23%
(Note: Mid-Market is defined at organizations with sales revenue between $50.0M -$1.0B)
Depending upon how you score you might consider reviewing the Dynamics Client for Office solution to improve direct access to ERP data (see my May article, Microsoft Dynamics Snap brings AX Data to the Extended Enterprise). In the area of automated communication, I would suggest you become familiar with Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF). True market leaders are constantly seeking the best talent and identifying and optimizing their key business processes/competitive advantages. Many of these organizations have created Centers-Of-Excellence (COE) on how to apply business processes and when to modify them and leverage technology to quickly deploy them. Becoming ‘best in class’ takes a serious investment in human resources both in time and effort. For ‘best in class’ organizations, new features and functionality are really ‘just icing on the cake’.
For more information on Microsoft Model-Driven Architecture see http://www.microsoft.com/soa/products/oslo.aspx and for more information on Advanced Systems Integration (ASi) see our website at http://www.advancedsystemsintegration.com.
