Three Ways Dynamics Beats Sage Hands Down

Growing companies using Sage MAS 90 often struggle to scale, but some are finding a better solution. Microsoft Dynamics GP delivers more functionality than Sage MAS 90 straight out of the box, including workflow automation, integration, and reporting—and costs the same as making changes to Sage MAS 90.

That was certainly what one distributor of networking solutions found. The company—whose revenue more than doubled from 2000 to 2006—just couldn't keep pace with customer demand, and lacked insight into sales. By implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM and select third-party add-ons, the company was able to create a fully automated, end-to-end distribution system that solved all of its problems.

For example, the company had an order processing and approval process that was handled manually outside Sage MAS 90. Increased volume made keeping up difficult, and many orders took up to two hours to complete. That prevented same-day shipping, which made the company less competitive. By deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the same time it deployed Microsoft Dynamics GP, the company automated workflows. Sales staff is now able to create leads and quotes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When the deal is final, the quote is converted into a sales order, which, through a small custom integration, is posted automatically to Microsoft Dynamics GP.

To further automate core business processes, integration of other functionality is possible in Microsoft Dynamics GP that is not available in Sage MAS 90. This company, for example, integrated warehouse barcode scanning to capture real-time inventory information, post item type and quantity to Microsoft Dynamics GP, and update cycle counts. Additionally, the company deployed vSync vShip, an add-on to Microsoft Dynamics GP, to automate shipping processes.

Finally, reporting became much easier. Many executives in the company needed access to key business information, but Sage MAS 90 only supported 15 concurrent users, causing regular database failures. Even when Sage MAS 90 was working, the proprietary database it used made it difficult for executives to query the system and obtain a custom report. With Microsoft Dynamics GP, all business information is stored in one database and updated in real time, so the company can easily report on key financial metrics such as gross profits and margins. (Microsoft Dynamics GP reports also support billing on percent completion and adhere to generally accepted accounting principles, which Sage MAS 90 reports did not.)

The benefits of implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP have been significant for this company: It reduced order errors from between 15 and 20 percent to only 0.0001 percent. It also dramatically decreased order processing time. Finally, the company expects to achieve a full return on investment (ROI) in six months, thanks to lower expenses, increased productivity, and new sales. Although results will differ from company to company, Microsoft Dynamics GP is clearly worth exploring by current Sage MAS 90 users.