The people we work for can be one of two things:

1. Easy to work for and a huge help in completing projects
   OR
2. Difficult to please and simply impossible to figure out, making projects impossible to complete

If your situation classifies under #2, then you definitely need to be clever in the ERP Software selection process as well as extremely careful. Here are a few tips to help you keep your boss off your back and the right ERP solution in your hands!

• Develop a report of charts, graphs, and detailed data to show the due diligence in your research process as well as an audit trail. When your boss has hundreds of questions, this easy-to-read and understand data will save you time.
• Instead of using Excel to make your comparisons, consider using a decision support system for a more in-depth view into what ERP solution may be right for you.

In conclusion, working with an overbearing boss may not be an ideal situation. But as long as you keep him/her informed, it’s likely to curve some of their negative feedback. So our advice is to stay one step ahead of them and offer updates, statistical findings, and opinions in an organized format. They’re much more likely to get on board with your selection because of the hard work you put into it.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Florida Microsoft Dynamics Partner

A key benefit to having CRM Software is how it connects your office. Your sales department has insight into the marketing team’s activities and the notes you make about the latest customer inquiry is accessible for other departments. With this type of functionality, everyone at your organization stays on the same page and streamlined communication like this can equate to numerous benefits. Let’s take a look at exactly how each department stays connected with Microsoft Dynamics® CRM:

Operations-

Dashboard reports keep operational managers up-to-date on day to day business, showing what items need attention as well as the successful areas of operations.

Accounting-

Because revenue driving information is held in one place, accounting can rely on the accuracy and real-time data they pull for financial reports. For advanced cases, Microsoft Dynamics CRM also integrates with Microsoft Dynamics GP to help create in-depth financial reporting, tracking and management.

Contract Management-

You can give real-time insight to agents about contract status as well as service eligibility for each customer.

Marketing-

You can easily share target lists with employees or vendors you work with, helping you collaborate and streamline campaigns.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM also eliminates redundant email tracking through Office Outlook synchronization.

Sales-

Sales can better coordinate with marketing by tracking leads in one centralized system so more leads turn into customers. You can also define consistent sales processes across your company.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics Partner out of Florida

Business growth is a very exciting time, but is also a little scary in most circumstances. As a Microsoft Dynamics partner, we come in contact with companies who are a bit leery of moving to the next step of the growing cycle. They have chosen solutions that ultimately stunt their growth. It’s a common problem to have. Most companies start out small-scale, but many grow into larger organizations that require more complex financial reporting and management functionality.

So how do you realize it may be time to take the next step? If you feel you current solution isn’t keeping up with your business, then that is the first sign that it may be time. If transactions are slowing down your database, you are limited in what you can provide and unable to grow any more than your solution allows. If you struggle every month with system hiccups or inaccuracies, then it is definitely time to take that next step and Microsoft Dynamics GP is an optimal transition.

Read more about how transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics GP from a small business accounting solution is the best choice and contact us to learn how we can help you get there.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Florida Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Gartner projects ERP Software Market growth to increase even more in 2012, with revenue forecasted to reach $288 billion. According to this article, “things are looking pretty good for worldwide enterprise application software spending. Across the board, it’s forecasted to total $114.4 billion in 2011, a 10.2 percent increase from 2010 spending of $103.8 billion, Gartner found.”

Previously, analysts believe 2011 would be a year for people to rush out and buy ERP systems, when in fact 2012 is now projected to be that year. After the economic downturn, businesses are much more diligent in their research to find the perfect ERP Software. As a Microsoft Dynamics® ERP partner, we understand and are grateful for more diligent buyers. ERP software will help businesses, but it often time comes down to the people within that business and how they leverage the capabilities of the software they possess.

Even if 2012 is not the year you’ll be making the plunge to purchase ERP Software, it never hurts to start your research somewhere. Keep reading our blog, checking back often for interesting articles or subscribe to our newsletter for monthly emails relevant to ERP and CRM software.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Florida Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Out of the box CRM software works for some companies, but others require customization in order to conduct business as usual. Which category do you fall under? Well there are a few questions you should ask yourself to find the answer to that main question.

1. First of all, exactly what do you need your CRM software to do? Will it be the one and only system in place at your company? If so, then simple may be better for you. Out of the box CRM can help you manage your customer base, projects, sales and even help with marketing efforts. But if you already have a few systems in place, such as for your financials or inventory management, you may need to look at customizing your CRM software so it seamlessly integrates with what you already have in place. If you have disparate systems, this can cause confusion and a lot of headaches down the road. The more data you place in each system, the harder it is to maintain a real-time and accurate view of your company information.
2. Secondly, how will you use your CRM software? Are your employees remote and then require remote access? Or are you a stationary company that simply accesses CRM in house and nothing more. Deployment options of CRM Software have really skyrocketed the past few years, such as CRM Online, CRM On-premise, Partner hosted and so on.

These two simple questions should get you started to find out whether simple is better for your company. If you need assistance in figuring out the right path for you, contact us at PANGEA Business Solutions. We utilize Warehouse Management System and Microsoft Dynamics® GP & CRM to control inventory, manage accounting functions and customer relations.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics Partner out of Florida

What is modern in regards to technology (considering it changes every other day)? Analysts, technology bloggers, and the like discuss the changing trends of technology all the time. But something holds steadfastly true throughout these superficial changes and that is the search for knowledge. Because of the internet, we are more informed and knowledgeable about the world we live in.

Similar to the internet, Microsoft Dynamics® ERP makes knowledge about your business accessible to everyone within your organization. It helps you achieve your business goals and objectives with real-time insight into what is going on around you. Microsoft Dynamics ERP also makes it possible to react because of the insight you have. A strategic plan can set you apart and allow you to do more, learn more, and grow more than your competition.

So maybe you shouldn’t strive to achieve modernization, rather achieve the deepest level of insight into your business by leveraging the capabilities within Microsoft Dynamics ERP.  Please contact us for more information on how you can achieve this knowledge with Microsoft Dynamics ERP.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Florida Microsoft Dynamics Partner

Your current customer relationship management (CRM) system most likely shows your customer’s contact name, address, company name and so on after you input the details yourself. But what does that information actually mean to your business and how does it affect your daily tasks and workflows? CRM should enable you to apply business intelligence to create and manage an ongoing relationship with your customers. Microsoft Dynamics® CRM has the capability to do just that in the following ways:

• Dynamic Workflows: You can personalize workflow with point-and-click tools by using conditional branching and nesting.
• Strategic Alerts: You can automatically assign activities to specific agents or teams and define role-based and security-based views so the right information gets to the right people within your team.
• Deep Level Insight: Use inline visualizations for ad-hoc drilldown into key performance indicators (KPI) of your clients. Your clients will know you have it together when you can rattle off their son’s birthday or congratulate them on their latest business venture.
• Easy to Use: By using familiar and graphical tools, anyone within your team can leverage the capabilities within Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Inputting information into your CRM system and then never being able to find it again is no longer acceptable. To make it in the competitive world we live in, you must have a solution that works for YOU!

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics Partner out of Florida

In the Microsoft Dynamics® GP general session at Convergence 2011, Pam Misialek, Senior Product Manager of Microsoft Dynamics GP mentioned how their surveys still show reporting as the number one thing end users look for in ERP software. I completely agree with Pam on this one. ERP software should be able to report on relevant business information, financial data, and workflow processes. Otherwise, how do companies know where they stand in any given point in time?

In her recent post on Inside Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft is meeting those requirements stated by end users by deploying SSRS and Excel reports as an integrated option in Dynamics Utilities. You will no longer need to install and run a separate program on the SSRS or SharePoint server in order to deploy reports. This added functionality makes running reports a bit more streamlined through automated features:

• You no longer need to select the series you want reports deployed for, instead the reports for the installed products will be automatically deployed.
• During the company upgrade process in Dynamics Utilities, the deployed reports for the company will be automatically upgraded.

If you’re interested in benefitting from automatic features such as these, please feel free to contact us here at Pangea. We are dedicated to helping companies gain maximum results from their business and technology infrastructure investments.

By Alexandra Gonzalez with PANGEA Business Solutions, Florida Microsoft Dynamics Partner

More and more companies are finding that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is helping to make their operations more flexible. A Gartner report showed that worldwide ERP software revenue is set to hit $253.7 billion this year, up by 7.5 per cent compared to 2010.

The main aim of ERP software is to deliver tangible business benefits: cost reduction, productivity improvement and measurable bottom-line results. In addition to this, companies are finding great agility in their business operations through ERP functionality. For example, the buzz around online software is duly noted by Microsoft; in turn they have dedicated dollars and resources to making hosting options available that fit the unique needs of each and every business model. With Software-plus-Services for Microsoft Dynamics ERP you can make cloud computing a flexible component of your ERP solution—on your terms. You can choose to license and deploy your ERP software through partner-hosted ERP Software as a Service (SaaS). And extend your business processes seamlessly to the cloud with online services that amplify the value of your business software.

If you are ready to embrace greater agility with Microsoft Dynamics ERP, please contact us for more information. We are dedicated to helping companies gain maximum results from their business and technology infrastructure investments.

By Alexandra Gonzalez, PANGEA Business Solutions

Unlike CRM, which primarily affects marketing and sales, ERP touches every part of your company. The value of ERP lies in the connection of data for your entire company, which means true ERP projects involve participation from multiple departments and functional areas. This blog offers four tips for deploying ERP software successfully.

1. Recognize the Business Value- Treat ERP as a major business investment rather than view it as a purely technical project. Even though ERP relies on technology, the primary function of any ERP system is delivering business value. Always ask, “What are the business benefits of this investment?” Without defining concrete and specific business benefits, any investment in ERP is a waste of money and time.

2. Define the Business Fit- It’s easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of software selection, but pay close attention to the business results you hope to achieve. Does your vendor have experience in your vertical and do they know the requirements your industry demands?

3. Prepare for Change- One of the great benefits of ERP is the opportunity to improve how your business operates. It’s a good idea to use the implementation as an opportunity to streamline processes and simplify, or improve, workflows. This will likely involve changing how people inside the organization perform their day-to-day work, which is usually one of the most difficult aspects of an ERP implementation. Get ready for these changes and don’t minimize their importance. Communicate project goals and status frequently out to the organization. And don’t forget training and documentation, which receive insufficient attention on many projects.

4. Seek Executive Support- An experienced and committed executive sponsor is an ERP project’s best friend. However, the sponsor must genuinely be engaged in the project as an active leader. Active leadership requires time and attention from a senior company executive; ideally, even the CEO should publicly get behind the project.

In the long run, consultants can help your implementation, but you are responsible for its success. If the project is too large and complicated for your organization to understand or digest, then scope back and simplify.

PANGEA is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with a ten-year track record of helping medium-size companies gain maximum results from their business and technology infrastructure investments, such as Microsoft Dynamics® ERP software. Contact us to learn more about transforming your business with Microsoft Dynamics ERP.

By Alexandra Gonzalez, PANGEA Business Solutions