Hello everyone. (Nice to meet you, frequent visitors.)

We have received many inquiries about ERP for some time now, and now that CRM and ERP are bundled together in Microsoft Dynamics® 365, we would like to focus a little more on ERP as well.
Please note that the opinion sections in this article do not include the personal views of the author.

Product vendors are trying to differentiate their products by innovating their technologies and offering solutions from unique angles.
For example, some companies are building platforms that promise ultra-high speeds for real-time management decisions, others are pursuing a single business process to the fullest extent and developing specialized products and solutions that keep up with legal and system changes, and some are even considering incorporating AI, which is currently all the rage, into ERP.

Truly amazing!

However, while there are differences in how data is viewed and business processing procedures depending on the industry, the broad feature of ERP is that it can achieve a full range of basic core business operations, such as systems for sales, purchasing, inventory management, and accounting, using a standard product. For companies considering introducing or replacing their core business systems, it can be difficult to decide which of the many products available from various companies is truly suitable for their company. Furthermore, when you add in factors such as what the initial costs will be, is the implementation plan reasonable, and what maintenance will be required, it can become difficult to know what the optimal solution is when it comes to introducing or replacing a core business system.

I hope to be of some help in dealing with these concerns, so I would like to gradually clarify the differences between the products through this blog.

Dynamics AX (now Dynamics 365 for Operations) and Dynamics NAV

We will focus on Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV.
I often see slogans advertising these two products that suggest which one is more appropriate based on the size of the company that will be implementing them.

・Dynamics AX medium to large scale
・Dynamics NAV small to medium scale

While this seems like a clear criterion, it leaves me with a feeling of incongruity: "Do core business operations differ depending on the size?" So, let's try to grasp the size of a company by the presence or absence of overseas bases and overseas transactions, or in other words, the target scope of the company. Roughly speaking, it seems that if the target is overseas, it means that the company is medium to large, and only domestic, it means that the company is small to medium. (If the target is overseas, it means that the company requires a certain level of strength, has strength, and is large in scale...)

Taking this interpretation into account, the above claim seems to be a reasonable standard, because while Dynamics AX has localization implemented as a standard feature, Dynamics NAV requires that localization be added by the user or the vendor.

Take overseas trade in India as an example.

In India, basic customs duty (BCD) is levied on the assessed value (CIF + landed costs), and additional customs duty (CVD) is levied on the assessed value + basic customs duty.
Furthermore, Education Cess (E-Cess) and Secondary & Higher Education Cess (SHE-Cess) are levied on the basic customs duty + additional customs duty, and Special Additional Duty (SAD) is levied on the assessed value + basic customs duty + additional customs duty + education cess. It's very complicated, isn't it?

In Dynamics AX, it is possible to automatically generate transaction details for these taxes and expenses simply by configuring the product's standard Indian localization, but in Dynamics NAV, additional development will be required. Also, because Dynamics AX already includes the attachments (legal forms) required for local tax returns and payments, it is more suited to medium to large global companies.

One thing to note is that Dynamics AX localization does not support all countries around the world, so you will need to check the countries that localization is supported for when selecting a product.

Language packs for both products are provided by Microsoft.

The above is about the differences between Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV.
This post was quite wordy, but from next time I would like to explain in more detail using images.