You must have heard it umpteen times that Dynamics 365 is ideal for large enterprises not for small businesses. A myth that has been haunting the mom-and-pop online stores to take a step forward and implement an ERP system. The primary fear that hinders their first move is that Dynamics 365 is going to cost them a bomb! We will be more than happy to burst your bubble and walk you through a less trodden path full of cost-effective solutions and benefits that Dynamics 365 has in store for small enterprises.

There are certain common challenges that small businesses face. Firstly, they do not have a sound IT infrastructure in place, thus, they make use of different tools for different purposes. Due to the lack of a purpose-built tool, they are compelled to carry out their operations with whatever they have at disposal. For case in point, lodging the database onto an excel sheet. Constant software switching to cater to different tasks delays the business process and makes it highly inefficient. Secondly, many a time, the multiple functionalities offered by the ERP systems exceed the limited requirements of the small businesses. Therefore, opting for the entire ERP package isn’t cost-effective. Thirdly, small businesses perform a lot of tasks manually that not just leads to many errors but also makes the day-to-day functioning of the company dependent on employees. If these vital employees are absent or on a holiday, disruptions are ought to happen. Therefore, an automated system like Dynamics 365 can save the day.

Why is Dynamics 365 the right ERP system for small businesses?

Real-time inter-department connectivity

An organization is built by the collaboration of various departments such as human resources, finance, production planning, customer relations, and other operations. Dynamics 365 unites all the departments in a company through a centralized database. A piece of information updated in one department is reflected across all departments in real-time. This quickens the business process by cutting down on communication time, prevents duplication of information, minimizes errors, and helps the employees to come up with solutions to problems in no time. For example, if a customer orders a product, it is updated in Dynamics 365. If the product isn’t available in the inventory, the production planning contacts the vendor while the finance departments take care of the bills for the raw materials and the human resource arranges skilled labor. All of it happens in real-time because all the departments are synchronized with the help of Dynamics 365. This results in enhanced efficiency, eliminates delays and confusion, and increases sales for small businesses.

Only pay for what you require

More often than not, small enterprises are reluctant in implementing an ERP as they fear the huge expense. However, as far as Dynamics 365 is concerned, you can customize your purchase plan. Struggling to please your customer? Go for Dynamics 365 Customer Service! Sales moving downslope? Dynamics 365 Sales can be of help! You can purchase these apps separately and pay only for what you install. This is just the tip of the iceberg as the awesome Microsoft Dynamics 365 has way more to offer. You can opt for a plan where you get a combination of apps which is even lighter on the pocket. For case in point, the Customer Engagement Plan envelopes Dynamics 365 for Customer Service, Dynamics 365 for Sales, Dynamics 365 for Field Service, and Dynamics 365 for Project Service. It is economical for small businesses and helps them grow economically.

Lowers infrastructure cost

You might have came across this statement many times – ‘Dynamics 365 implementation involves capital investment’. It is a hoax! Factually speaking, Dynamics 365 saves small businesses from a whole lot of expenditure. The on-premises servers that you install are pretty expensive. In addition, the licenses for the databank engine and server along with the additional hardware are enough to dig deep into your pockets. On the other hand, with a cloud-based Dynamics 365, you merely have to purchase licenses whose numbers can be modulated monthly. This saves small enterprises from incurring heavy costs involved in running a system on-premises.

Integration flexibility

Another thought that troubles the small business owners is – What about the existing software? Cheer up! When it comes to integration, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an unbelievably flexible platform. The commonly used marketing and accountancy software integrates with Dynamics 365 in a breeze. For instance, you can make important calls via Skype4Business by simply clicking on the desired phone number in your Dynamics 365 contacts or you can easily track your e-mails in Outlook.

Better business insights

You need not be as big as Microsoft to get better insights for your business. Business intelligence holds immense value for Amazon as well as a newbie online store. The USP of Dynamics 365 is that it can consolidate data, quick as a wink, from across a business and helps in generating multiple reports that translate into better business insights.

Conclusion

Next time, anyone tries to convince you by stating that Dynamics 365 is unsuitable for small businesses, share with them the link to this blog. On the contrary, enlighten them with the fact that a small online business can grow into an E-commerce monster by implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365. With the help of valuable real-time data seamlessly provided by Dynamics 365, small businesses can make wiser and more accurate financial decisions and keep up the pace with the rapidly changing E-commerce market trends.