What are the top ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software for any business? List here

Lets try to understand the term ERP first.

ERP can be defined as: a business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions related to technology, services and human resources.

ERP can provide : Product lifecycle management, supply chain management (for example purchasing, manufacturing and distribution), warehouse management, customer relationship management (CRM), sales order processing, online sales, financials, human resources, and decision support system.

Technically : Normally ERP systems use the same database throughout an entire company to store various types of data for different computerized functions. When first developed, ERP systems were used only for large manufacturing companies. It can also allow integration of other software/tools for automation.

Let's know which ERP stands where?

Masters in ERP

1. SAP ERP
2. Microsoft Dynamics 365
3. Macola Software
4. ORACLE ERP Cloude

Leaders in ERP

1. NetSuite
2. ORACLE JDEdwards
3. SAP Business One
4. Sage Intacct

Contenders in ERP Race

1. Sage 300c
2. Dolibarr
3. Epicor ERP
4. Unanet
5. Odoo
6. Global Shop Solutions
7. xTuple
8. Infor VISUAL
9. SAP S/4HANA

Pacesetters in ERP Race

1. IQMS ERP
2. ERPNext
3. ePROMIS ERP

above list is created by using many parameters like

1. Industry
2. Size
3. Price
4. Rating
5. Deployment
6. Platform etc

Source : Click here

What is different in MS Dynamics AX, GP, NAV and SL

Many times business people asked me a common question

Which CRM we should prefer if we wanna go for MS Dynamics (AX | GP | NAV | SL)?

Now Microsoft solved the problem by launching Dynamics 365 as a single solution for all your need. You can easily bundle multiple solutions as Apps.

Dynamics 365 offering all solutions grouped in 9-Apps

1. Sales
2. Customer Service
3. Marketing
4. Finance and Operations
5. Retail
6. Talent
7. Field Service
8. Project Service Automation
9. Microsoft Relationship Sales

Now Microsoft grouped above Apps wrt different industry demand and introduces packages in form of AX, GP, NAV and SL

Dynamics CRM AX

• Warehouse management : Automate warehouse processes to reduce operational costs.
• Transportation management: Get global transportation planning and freight reconciliation.
• Budget planning: Create easy-to-use budget plan worksheet templates for Microsoft Excel.
• Modern point of sale (POS): Engage with rich clienteling, real-time inventory lookup, and back-office capabilities.
• Demand forecasting: Improve forecasting accuracy to boost product availability and minimize inventory costs.
• Human resources: Get complete functionality with payroll analytics, position forecast, reporting, and benefit updates.
• Master data management: Increase the consistency of your data across your organization and deployments.
• E-commerce and social media: Build campaigns and engage customers through Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Dynamics CRM GP

• Financial management and accounting: Manage your cash, assets, budgets, and banking—with built-in analytics and account-level security.
• Inventory management and operations: Track and manage your production, inventory, orders, returns, and vendors.
• Sales and service: Manage your sales, service contracts, and field resources.
• Business intelligence and reporting: Get real-time visibility and analytics to track performance and act with insight.
• Human resources and payroll: Hire, train, and pay your team with the help of complete employee profiles and evaluation tools.

Dynamics CRM NAV

• Financial management and accounting: Manage your cash, assets, and banking.
• Supply chain, manufacturing, and operations: Track and manage your production, inventory, orders, and vendors.
• Sales and service: Manage your contacts, sales opportunities, and service contract.
• Project management: Create estimates, track projects, and manage capacity.
• Business intelligence and reporting: Get a holistic view of your business and make informed decisions.
• Support for international currencies: Compete globally using multiple currencies and languages.
• Flexible deployment: Deploy on-premises or in the cloud,whichever model best fits your business.

Dynamics CRM SL

• Construction: Improve your sales, project management, job costing, materials management, and more—all integrated with your financial systems.
• Government contracting: Complete projects on time, on budget, and to specifications—while collecting and retaining the detailed information needed to address and comply with regulations.
• Professional services and engineering: Make better, data-driven decisions, manage your people and financials, and maintain your profitability for client services and projects.

Don't do it, If you are implementing MS Dynamics 365

There are many things you can do to increase your chances of success on a Dynamics 365 Implementation, but there are also many things you might be doing to increase the chances of failure.

CRM MVP Neil Benson discussed the Top 10 things organizations do that increases the risk of Dynamics 365 Implementation failure.

Here are the 10 things that will increase the chances of FAILURE of a Dynamics 365 implementation:

1. Lack of buy-in from stakeholders and/or Lack of Executive Sponsor

1. Lack of Systemic, Predictable Project Execution or Methodology

1. "IT Focus" rather than "Business Focus"

1. Lack of Training

1. Starting the implementation of "Change Management" too late

1. "Dirty Data"

1. Lack of integration

1. Not having "quick wins"

1. Misuse of Microsoft Partners

1. Lack of Customer Involvement

Credit : CRM MVP Podcast

Technical difference between CRM 2011,2013,2015,2016 or Dynamics 365

Features	CRM 2011	CRM 2013	CRM 2015
User Interface	Contextual Ribbon Bar. CRM Functional groups like Sales, Services, Marketing, Workplace etc. are at bottom left of the home screen. Pop up windows are more.	Ribbon Bar is replaced by top Command Bar CRM functional groups are now at the top of the CRM home screen. No pop up windows.	Top Command Bar CRM functional groups are now at the top of the CRM home screen. No pop up windows More space for customer data
Workflows	Asynchronous	Asynchronous/ Synchronous(Real time). The existing workflow execution model that supports asynchronous workflows has been extended to support real-time (synchronous) workflows. Real-time workflows are not queued, as was the case with asynchronous workflows, but execute immediately on-demand or in response to a message being processed by the execution pipeline. Real-time workflows participate in the database transaction and perform similar functionality to plug-ins, yet can be created by a non-developer through the web application workflow designer. Developers can still create real-time workflow through code.	Asynchronous/ Synchronous(Real time)
Duplicate Detection Rule	Available	Removed	Removed
Auto Save	Not Available	Auto Save of Record is Available & this option can also be disabled in settings.	Auto Save of Record is Available & this option can also be disabled in settings.
Quick Create	Not Available	Available. Now any type of record type created being in another record.	Available. Now any type of record type created being in another record.
Portable Business Logic/Rules	Not Available. Only Custom javascipt.	Introduced. Business rules in CRM 2013 now allows for native controls to be applied on forms instead of writing custom JavaScript as it was the case in previous version. These are client side enforced controls based on business conditions and allows for 5 actions: Set specific field value (including formulas & calculation), Set business required state for a CRM attribute, Set visibility of a field to visible or invisible (visible = false), lock and unlock Dynamics CRM fields / attributes, and Show an error message on a form if certain conditions are met.	Enhanced. Complex condition branching added.
Business Process Flow (BPF)	Limited to Lead, Opportunity, Case entities.	For any entity now BPF is enabled. Dynamics CRM 2013 gives users visual guidance to navigate processes that makes workflows more prescriptive and easier to follow.New process bar prompts users to follow next action steps in line with your mapped workflows to progress leads, opportunities, service cases and other tasks.	For any entity now BPF is enabled. Business Processes also have Stage-Gating feature that prevents users progressing any process to the next stage if one or more steps haven’t been completed
Mobility Form	Javascript not supported Custom entity not supported	Javascript supported Custom entity supported	Javascript supported custom entity supported.
Server Sync.	Email router	Server Side Sync. No Email Router	Server SIde Sync
Adv Find	Under, Not-under filter not present.	Under, Not-under filter not present.	Under, Not-under filter criteria is introduced.
Social Enterprise Collaboration	Not available	Introduced. Users can participate in social conversations directly within Microsoft Dynamics, through the Yammer web and desktop applications as well as apps running on Microsoft (Windows Phone), Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) mobile devices.	Enhanced
Prominent Records Headers & Quick View Forms	Not available	Introduced. Surfaces important Customer information and highlights key data (such as phone number, status, record owner) on related forms so users always have their customer data at their fingertips.	Enhanced
Get Started Pane	Introduced	Removed	Removed
Workplace Area Navigation	Available	Removed	Removed
Inline Data Editing	Not Available	Introduced	Available
Global Search	Not available	Introduced	Enhanced
Image DataType	Not Available	Introduced	Available
Actions	Not Available	Introduced. Developers can extend the functionality of the standard Microsoft Dynamics CRM system by creating custom messages, with associated request/response classes, known as actions. Actions are new type of processes to expand the vocabulary available for developers to express business processes. With core verbs like Create, Update, Delete, Retrieve, Associate and Assign provided by the system, an action uses those core verbs to create more expressive verbs like Escalate, Approve, Route, and Schedule. If the definition of the action needs to change due to changing business priorities, someone who is not a developer can edit the action using the application workflow designer. Since these actions are available through web service calls, they can be used from both inside the application using a command action or from external applications.	Available
Integrated Maps	NotAvailable	Introduced. Integrated Bing Maps dynamically show the map for the primary record address.	Available
Skype & Lync Integration	Not Available	Introduced. Skype and Lync integration enabling direct dialling from any phone number field in Dynamics CRM.	Available
Access Team	Role-Based Security (owner) Teams Only	Role-Based Security Teams (owner Teams) and Access Teams. Teams need to collaborate with a unique set of people within their organization for each record such as an Opportunity, order or important customer contact. CRM 2011 role-based security does not give users this level of flexibility. With a record-based access team, CRM users can be added to a specific record and give them access. The access team is a new type of team that doesn’t own records, but, has access to records. Unlike with owner teams, you can create one or more access teams to work on the same records and have team members with different levels of access rights to the record.	Hierarchy Security Model Introduced. New hierarchical visualizations and roll-ups bring real-time territory and forecasting data to your fingertips. Users now have a way to view accounts, products, and users that helps you see how info is related.  CRM 2015 can display how data is related or grouped by accounts, products, or users in hierarchical charts. The user can pick a data set to get more details and navigate to the info you're interested in.
Calculations and formulas via Business Rules	Not Available	Available. Setting a field value in a business rule allows the use of formulas to do calculations for applicable fields such as fields of type “Money”. Addition, subtraction, multiplication & division are the calculation operations available and can be done between fields or values. So for example: set “Total Box Value” field value to “Price per item” field multiplied by “24”. (assuming every box has 24 identical items for instance).	Available. Rollup fields. calculated fields
Web Services & Endpoints	Support for CRM 4.0 2007 Endpoint & Legacy features	CRM 4.0 Service Endpoints & Features removed in CRM 2013	CRM 4.0 Service Endpoints & Features removed in CRM 2015
Inline Editable Grids	Not Available	Introduced.	Available
Product Bundling	Not Available	Not Available	Introduced. Products can be bundled and offered as packages, for discounts and offers
Regional Price List	Not Available	Not Available	Introduced. Products can be bundled and offered as packages, based on regional requirements and assessments
Import/ Export Product	Not Available	Configuration migration tool introduced in Dynamics CRM 2013	Improved. support product migrations in Dynamics CRM 2015
Guided Sales Flow	Limited to Lead, Opportunity, Cases	Improved for all entities.	Improved to have complex business processes. Conditional branching has brought about more specificity to business processes
Offline Draft Capability	Not Available	Not Available	Offline draft capabilities on mobile devices which are synced when the user is back online
Pause & Resume SLA’s	Not Available	Not Available	Pause and Resume SLAs to track time efficiently through system settings
Themes	Not Available	Not Available	Introduced. You can now brand your CRM! Themes offer the option of changing the default colors and adding your logo to the top navigation as pictured below. This is just one more way to customize CRM to match the uniqueness of your organization.
OneNote Integration	Not Available	Not Available	Introduced. Users can now easily capture meeting details using OneNote from within CRM Online. This functionality allows the information to be available to other CRM Online users in the Social Pane. Learn more
Advance Find Older Than Filter	Not Available	Not Available	Introduced.
Export to Excel Redesign	Only allows to save as excel in local computer. Limiting record 10000.	Only allows to save as excel in local computer. Limiting record 10000.	Record Limit increased to 100000 or 32 MB. Import excel opens online facility.