There is a lot of buzz around the benefits of cloud computing these days, but for most people their understanding of cloud computing in the ERP and CRM world is at best, well, cloudy.

Key factors to consider when making a choice between cloud computing and on-premise server solutions are initial cost, ongoing cost, IT staff, security, ramifications of downtime, and competitive advantage due to customizations.

Pros of Cloud Computing:

• A way to reduce initial costs and get in the game for large systems
• You don’t need your own server
• You don’t need your own IT staff

Cons of Cloud Computing:

• Dependent on internet connectivity – if internet is down, you are down
• Larger costs over the long term – similar to renting versus buying a car
• Harder or impossible to gain any advantage from customizations to the software because the customization model is generally not supported in cloud computing
• Bigger security risk as the data is stored with other companies’ data

Summary:

Cloud computing is great for smaller businesses with fewer resources that need out-of-the-box functionality and could still do things manually if the internet ever was down for a period of time. On-premise servers are great for larger businesses that use customized systems to gain market advantages beyond their competition, or for businesses with mission-critical applications that they cannot afford to be without for a period of time.

Ready to investigate more about how to solve your ERP challenges or customer relationship management requirements? Whether the solution is hosted on-premise or in the cloud, you can find more details to help you get a head start managing growth.

One of the benefits of the new Role Tailored Client (RTC) offered by Dynamics NAV 2009 is the ability users now have to personalize their own Role Center, Pages, and Cards to fit their specific daily business processes. Unlike previous versions, most personalization can be performed without any modifications to the base product. For example, the following is the standard – out of the box – Dynamics NAV 2009 Order Action Pane.

Standard Action Pane (no RTC Personalization)

Out-of-the-box Dynamics NAV 2009 Order Action Pane

If the order processor is required to Calculate Delivery Fees, then Calculate Grants prior to Post & Printing the Orders, using RTC the user could personalize their Order Action Pane to mirror that process flow and increase their productivity each time they perform these tasks.

Order Action Pane with RTC Personalization

Role Tailored Client Personalization in Dynamics NAV 2009

This is just one example of the robust nature of Role Tailored Client Personalization available in Dynamics NAV 2009. RTC personalization can be performed throughout the entire product on Journals, List Pages, Cards, Fast Tabs on Cards, etc… the possibilities and opportunities for productivity improvements and improved business processes are endless.

Role Tailored Client Personalization can also be deployed by Profile to multiple users. An administrator can access a Profile in Configuration Mode and personalize a Profile then deploy those changes to anyone who is also assigned that specific Profile.  To do so the Administrator will need access to the Classic Client. Follow the steps below to deploy a RoleTailored Client Profile to each user with the Profile you have personalized.

Mass Deployment of RTC Profile in Dynamics NAV 2009

Make yourself Administrator for the Profile

1. Launch the Classic Client
2. Go to Administration > Application Setup > RoleTailored Client > Profiles
3. Find the Profile in question; here you can hit F5 to view the list.
   1. For demonstration purposes we will use the “Agency Order Processor” Profile.
4. Add your login as the administrator for this profile
   1. Uncheck the Default Role Center (if it is checked.)
   2. Place cursor in the Owner ID field then click the Assist Button to select your user name
   3. Recheck Default Role Center

Create a Role Tailored Client Profile in Dynamics NAV 2009

Open Role Tailored Client in Configuration Mode

1. Open a Command Prompt
   1. Start > Command Prompt (or Start > Run… then type “CMD” and hit Enter


Open a Command Prompt in NAV 2009

2. Change to the directory containing the RoleTailored client executable.
   1. Type the following command:
      cd c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics NAV\60\RoleTailored Client
3. Open the RoleTailored client in configuration mode.
   1. Type the following command:
      Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.exe -configure -profile:”order processor”


Role Tailored Client Command Prompt

4. The RoleTailored client opens in Configuration Mode. NOTE: There is no indication you are working in “Configuration Mode.”


Configuration Mode Dynamics NAV 2009

5. Once you have configured your screens accordingly, exit Dynamics NAV 2009. The next time users who are assigned this profile log in, they will see these changes.
6. You can now remove yourself as the Administrator for this Profile (see above)

Help us support Feeding America and get your back to school shopping done at the same time. Enjoy 30% off at Gap, Banana Republic, & Old Navy, this week during  Give & Get and they’ll give Feeding America 5% of what you spend!

Do Something Good. This Charity will Receive 5% of What You and Your Friends Spend.

Get your 30% Discount Coupon and share it with friends here!

Valid August 26 – 29, 2010.

About Feeding America and eSoftware Professionals

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive.  As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, they supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors.

eSoftware Professionals is proud to proud to partner with Feeding America and its 202 local member food banks to deliver our food bank specific Supply Chain Management Solution, Ceres.

Cluck-cluck. Don’t eat those eggs – the egg recall has officially hatched and egg retailers and wholesalers are scrambling to mop up the mess.

What Does the Egg Recall Entail?

The FDA, in collaboration with the Federal and State partners, is currently investigating a nationwide increase in Salmonella Enteritidis infections.

Investigations revealed several restaurants or events where more than one person has fallen ill with salmonella after eating there; information suggests that shell eggs are the likely cause of infection.

What the Egg Recall Means for the Food Industry:

Food establishments should replace pooled eggs (raw unpasteurized eggs combined together),  or raw or undercooked shell eggs with pasteurized egg products and pasteurized in-shell eggs.

Everyone in the food industry should make sure the eggs they carry aren’t included in the recall.

Egg Brands Involved in the Recall:

An Iowa company produced and distributed the eggs to these 13 brands and retailers:

Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.

Recall dates and plant numbers:

Eggs were packed between May 16 and August 13. Look for the dates and codes stamped on the egg carton – the plant number begins with P followed by a number. The date follows the plant number.

Plant numbers and Julian dates involved in the egg recall: Julian dates from 136-225; plant numbers 1026, 1413, 1946.

Symptoms of Salmonella:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Chills
• Headache
• Muscle pains
• Blood in the stool

According to About Salmonella, only about a dozen (out of over 2,000) strains of salmonella cause illnesses – gastroenteritis, typhoid fever (less common in developed nations), and bacteremia. If you have these symptoms after consuming a recalled egg product, we encourage you to see a doctor.

How an ERP System Can Help:

A recall of this magnitude reminds us not only to be especially cautious with food products, but also how important it is to have a good ERP system in place, should an outbreak or product defect occur. Among many other great benefits, eFood, a Microsoft Dynamics NAV powered ERP software system developed specifically for the food and beverage industry can:

• Run an end product or ingredient-based recall in minutes (sometimes seconds!)
• Provide quality testing based on current regulations and compliance guidelines from the FDA and other regulating bodies
• House entire production processes under one system, improving efficiency and information visibility

Want to learn more about eSoftware’s ERP consulting services? Fill out our contact form and one of our ERP experts will contact you within one business day.

In the automotive industry, the GM recall on seatbelts is getting a lot of press. However, there is far more activity in the food industry right now, due to recent changes in the Reportable Food Registry (RFR). To help you understand the scrutiny the food processing industry is getting, we composed this helpful guide.

The stress of a recall can send even the most well-established company into a tailspin. The rules change often.  Compliance and tracking can be difficult.  Factor in the bad press and legal issues and it’s a company’s worst nightmare.

In order to report a food-related recall, a company first has  to navigate through the Reportable Food Registry.

The Reportable Food Registry went into effect in late 2009 and is the FDA’s portal for recall reporting.  We simplified the information,  so that if a recall should happen to you,  you’ll know what the Reportable Food Registry is, who uses it, and where you can read more. Read the full article…

The New York Times is reporting that Honda is recalling an additional 384,000 models of 2003-04 Accords, Civics and Elements. This current recall comes on the heels of two previous recalls for the same problem, except the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now investigating whether the previous recalls covered all defected vehicles.

The problem revolves around the shift interlock system malfunctioning, allowing someone to turn the car off and take out the key without the vehicle being in Park, giving it the ability to roll away. There have been 17 crashes reported due to the defect, although no injuries have been reported.

Previous recalls occurred in 2003 and 2005, and involved various Honda models dating all the way back to 1997. With the three recalls combined, around 1.4 million vehicles have been affected. However this is also the second recall in little over a year, as in July of 2009, 440,000 vehicles were recalled for an air bag defect that was originally reported in 2008, but at the time led to a recall of only 3,900 vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently investigating whether Honda is issuing their recalls in a timely manner as well as covering all defected vehicles. The investigation could lead to penalties for Honda if it is determined that they are not doing so.

Not only is this recent string of recalls for the automaker rearing its head into one of the 10 Worst Product Recalls of All Time, the company’s suppliers would benefit from having Dynamics NAV to help them efficiently track their inventory at all stages of the product life cycle.

When it comes to ERP, Dynamics NAV is a household name. But the Dynamics NAV we know today is much different than when it came to be 25 years ago. From starting as a small accounting solution software product from a company in Denmark, to becoming a leading comprehensive business software solution, Microsoft Dynamics NAV has seen its share of changes along the way.

Here’s how it got there.

The 80s: PC Plus is Born

Dynamics NAV began as PC Plus, an accounting software package released by PC&C in Denmark, which is the only country that saw its release. Several years later, the company released the first version of Navision, although it went under the name IBM-Navigator. Rather than operating only on single-user systems, Navision was able to work across LAN Networks and servers, allowing businesses to share information within the network.

Fun Fact: “Beauty of Simplicity” was the first company slogan

The 90s: The Expansion of Navision

1990 saw the release of the earliest iteration of what is Dynamics NAV today. One of the major changes to the software was its ability to allow users to make major modifications to the software due to the introduction of an application language, or AL.

Navision arrived in North America in 1994 as a DOS-based system called A/Vista. Navision immediately gained support for Windows 95. Throughout the rest of the decade, newer versions of Navision software are released, continuing to improve upon its simplicity and performance.

Iterations went from 1.X through 3.X by the late 1990’s. Version 2.X brought the ability to utilize SQL Servers as the RDBMS. Version 3.X was a critical release for North America as it initiated the process of combining the Navision Financial Management, Distribution, and Manufacturing Databases into one single Database. Other notable advances in Version 3.X were the combination of Canadian and U.S. databases into one, as well as the addition of unlimited dimensions building on a truly relational chart of accounts.

Fun Fact: In 1990, the name Navision was used for the first time

The 2000s: The Times They Are a Changin’

The new millennium brought about several more changes to Navision, beginning with the approval of Windows 2000 Professional Certification as well as the merging of Navision and its competitor Damgaard A/S to become NavisionDamgaard A/S. A year later they will become simply Navision A/S while receiving certification for Windows XP.

But 2002 was the year that Navision really became integrated with Microsoft, as the software giant purchased Navision as part of its goal of to create a major business solutions software package named Microsoft Business Solutions, changed to Microsoft Dynamics in 2005. That same year Microsoft would begin announcing a vastly improved version of the software with a new user interface.

Although the release of Dynamics NAV 5.0 did not see the new user interface, it did bring several big changes, including an updated cost accounting feature that allows for more accurate inventory valuation. It would be Dynamics NAV 2009, the latest version of the software that would introduce the new user interface, known as RoleTailored client or RoleTailored interface, as well as other significant changes.

Fun Fact: Microsoft’s initiative to merge Navision, Axapta, Great Plains and Solomon into one system was called Project Green.  Despite the cool name, it was later decided that the products are best served individually, and are now known as Dynamics NAV, Dynamics AX, Dynamics GP, and Dynamics SL respectively.

Source: Wal-Mart

CNN is reporting that over 90,000 lbs. of chicken nuggets are being recalled by Perdue Farms after it was discovered that the nuggets may contain pieces of plastic. The nuggets in question are sold by Wal-Mart under the Great Value brand.

No injuries have been reported; however, the company received complaints from consumers which led to the recall. You can check the Perdue Farms website for more information about the recall, including the case and package codes for the recalled items.

Although this probably won’t be considered one of the ten most disastrous product recalls of all time, it will nonetheless, be a blow to Perdue Farms as well as Wal-Mart. The companies must repair their damaged reputations after failing to deliver quality products and losing their customers’ trust.

For more on how to stay ahead in the food & beverage industry, check out eFood, our  custom Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP solution for food processors.

PC World is reporting that Apple Inc. will be offering all of its iPhone 4 customers a free case or refund option as a means to quell the recent firestorm pertaining to the phone’s ongoing problems.

Steve Jobs at Friday's Press Conference

During a press conference this morning, CEO Steve Jobs announced that until they could find a permanent fix, they would do their best to satisfy their customers while also taking into account the upcoming launch of the phone in other countries around the world.

This comes on the heels of speculation that there would be a mass recall of the smart phone, which to date has sold over 3 million units. However, the speculation lost ground after the Wall Street Journal reported that the recall wasn’t going to happen.

The article also discussed whether engineers and other higher ups in the company knew about the problem before the phone was launched in late June. During the conference, Jobs was quick to point out that the problem was reported to them only 22 days ago.

The problem involves holding the iPhone in a certain way that causes it to lose signal strength and in some cases drop calls. Customers and tech industry personnel have voiced their complaints, and just recently even government officials have expressed their concerns.  Charles E. Schumer, a senator from New York, recently sent Steve Jobs a letter asking him to seek out a solution.

Although a recall is no longer imminent, they happen often and can do major damage to a brand.  Rest assured that should a recall occur, Dynamics NAV will help reduce recall time from hours to minutes, so that you and your customers can get back to business as usual.

As ERP consultants, we often get asked about the difference between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics GP. They’re both from the same family and share genetics, but they’re not twins. One might be better for your business than the other and it’s important that you know the different features, so you can pick the best one for your needs.

Dynamics Nav or Dynamics GP?

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Let’s cut through the software jargon and compare Dynamics NAV and GP to something everyone understands: Toys. You want to make your own castle – you want a moat, you want a drawbridge, and you want a tower for the Princess. You want the King to have his own special entrance and you want to  expand your castle as your kingdom grows.

Instead of going up and down the aisle trying to find a castle that fits all of your special criteria, it’s easier to customize it yourself. Legos it is! All the different pieces fit together to make one unique castle – the one you need – the one that meets the needs of your kingdom. With all of your Lego pieces, you’ll be able to expand your fortress when the time is right. Presto, just add a few more pieces.

Microsoft Dynamics GP

While Microsoft Dynamics NAV has more pieces, Microsoft Dynamics GP is the right-out-of-the-box castle. It’s not customizable to your specific niche from the get-go, but you can use add-ons to extend your functionality.  Implementations are quick and streamlined, making it easier to get up and running.

How do you know which one is for you?

Microsoft Dynamics NAV works on a broader scale and provides customization for all your specific niches. Microsoft GP is fast to implement and includes a strong suite of business analysis tools –it’s the thing to get if your company has grown beyond QuickBooks and you’re having trouble managing all your financial data.

Contact our ERP consultants and we’ll be happy to tell you more about our custom solutions.