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Is Business Central Right For My Company?

What’s great about Business Central is its versatility.

Whether you’re a small business or a larger enterprise, Business Central adapts to your specific needs. The entire system can be configured to suit your company and work in sync with your business.

Business Central user interface

Which industries is Business Central popular in?

Below are 10 of the most popular industries for Business Central and the main product features of each. 

For Manufacturing, Business Central provides

  • Streamlined production processes 
  • Improved inventory and supply chain management 

In Retail, Business Central provides

  • Improved sales and order management 
  • Simplified customer relationship management  
  • Easily controlled inventory 
  • Increased profitability 

For Distribution, Business Central provides: 

  • A way to easily manage inventory, orders, and logistics 
  • Improved visibility and accuracy in supply chain operations and warehouse management 

In Professional Services, Business Central provides:

  • Easy project management – time tracking, expenses, and resource allocation
  • Improved customer and financial management  

For Construction, Business Central provides: 

  • The ability to check project costs, budgeting, and billing 
  • Subcontractor management and procurement processes  
  • Equipment, materials, and resource tracking 

For the Non-Profit sector, Business Central provides: 

  • Simple Donor management 
  • Financial transparency  
  • Easy management of regulatory requirements and grants 
  • Insightful reporting processes 

For E-commerce, Business Central provides: 

  • Easy integration of online stores 
  • Simplified management of inventory, orders, and customer data 
  • Visibility of sales performance and profitability 

In Hospitality, Business Central provides: 

  • A simple way to manage reservations and bookings 
  • Simple specialist stock and supply chain management for hotels and restaurants 

For Healthcare, Business Central provides: 

  • Simple patient records management and data privacy 
  • Straightforward billing and insurance claims processes  
  • Compliance with industry regulations and standards 

For Financial Services, Business Central provides: 

  • Improved key banking, accounting, and insurance operations 
  • Easy financial reporting and decision-making 
  • Improved compliance and regulatory adherence 
Business central being used in an industry

Which companies use Business Central?

Herbelin
Herbelin is a luxury goods manufacturer and retailer. They use BC for inventory management, parts ordering, and order tracking. 
King Steel
King Steel is a manufacturer, and they use BC to make revolutionary changes in how they run and to create a more sustainable business. 
Unger
Unger is a manufacturer and they use BC to get complete control over a complex supply chain
WWF
WWF is a charity which uses BC to centralise their systems and provide reporting. 
DO
DO is a fast-growing company who use Dynamics 365 to support their growth. 

What size companies is Business Central popular with?

Business Central is designed to be used by all sizes of companies but is popular amongst small and medium-sized businesses with  

  • 5 to 250 users
  • Revenue between £1 million and £50 million
  • Simple to moderately complex business processes

To an increasing extent, BC is attracting larger businesses which require a modern and flexible Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. Some reasons for this are: 

  • Dynamics offers the scalability and performance to manage larger datasets and user bases.  
  • It also offers industry specific solutions for various sectors like manufacturing, retail, and professional services.  
  • Another benefit is the integration with other Microsoft products like Office 365 and Azure, which makes workflows more efficient. 

For large enterprises which continue to grow, there is the possibility to migrate to specialist Dynamics products like Dynamics 365 Finance or Dynamics 365 Sales

Industry-specific features and modules in Business Central

Within Business Central, there are specialised modules which are industry specific so that you do not need to work to the system’s constraints. 

Manufacturing:

Production management 

  • Management of production order, bills of material and capacity planning 

Shop floor control 

  • Track work progress, manage resources and receive real-time data from the ship floor 

Supply Chain management 

  • Improve procurement processes, manage stock, and track materials. 

Retail

Point of Sale (POS) 

  • Integrate your retail operations with the POS system for fast and accurate sales transactions. 

Merchandise Planning 

  • Plan and manage inventory based on forecasting and sales data. 

Loyalty Program Management 

  • Create customer loyalty programs and track customer preferences and purchases 

Distribution

Warehouse Management 

  • Improve warehouse efficiency with features like bin management, picking and put-away, and inventory tracking. 

Transportation Management  

  • Efficiently manage transportation routes, freight costs, and delivery schedules. 

Demand Planning 

  • Accurately forecast demand, manage inventory levels, and ensure prompt order fulfilment. 

Professional Services

Project Management 

  • Easily track project progress, allocate resources, and check project profitability. 

Time and Expense Tracking 

  • Efficiently record and manage time and expenses related to client projects. 

Resource Management 

  • Create schedules and allocate resources based on project requirements. 

Construction

Project Costing 

  • Efficiently track project costs, budgets, and estimates to ensure profitability. 

Subcontractor Management 

  • Easily manage subcontractor agreements, contracts, and payments. 

Equipment and Resource Tracking 

  • Monitor usage, maintenance, and availability of equipment and resources

Non-Profit

Fund Accounting 

  • Manage multiple funds and grants with accurate and transparent accounting  

Donor Management 

  • Manage and track donor information, donations, and fundraising campaigns. 

Grant Management 

  • Simplify the grant application processes, track funding sources, and monitor compliance. 

E-commerce

Online Store Integration 

  • Integrate your online store with Business Central to improve sales and stock management. 

Multi-channel Sales Management 

  • Use one centralised system to manage sales across various online platforms. 

Order Fulfilment Automation 

  • Efficient automated order processing, shipping, and tracking. 

Hospitality

Reservation and Booking Management 

  • Simple and efficient management of reservations, bookings, room assignments, and availability. 

Menu Engineering 

  • Analyse sales data, profitability, and popularity of menu items to create effective menus. 

Procurement and Inventory Control 

  • Improve procurement processes, manage inventory levels, and ensure the timely supply of ingredients and supplies. 

Healthcare

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) 

  • Efficiently record and store patient information securely, including medical history and treatment plans. 

Insurance Claims Management 

  • Improve and simplify the processing and tracking of insurance claims, thereby reducing paperwork, and improving efficiency. 

Regulatory Compliance 

  • Ensure compliance with industry regulations, such as HIPAA, and maintain confidentiality and data security. 

Financial Services

Core Banking Operations 

  • Efficiently manage bank accounts, transactions, and financial tools. 

Insurance Policy Management 

  • Easily track and manage insurance policies, premiums, and claims. 

Compliance and Regulatory Reporting  

  • Generate financial reports and statements following industry regulations. 
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📆 Last update: September 5, 2024

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