What is our primary use case?
We provide services to customers from assorted industries, beginning with distribution. This includes trade logistics, sales, and procurement. We have also serviced mining customers and are currently undertaking a project for a coal mining company. Additionally, we have customers in the production and manufacturing sectors and are currently working with a Japanese company for coil cutting services in Indonesia. Resource planning, production module, trade logistics, and asset management are all part of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution, which is an excellent offering. We are also working with a mining customer and integrating their specific mining application with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Additionally, we are integrating a payment gateway with a bank.
We deploy on the cloud because the on-prem version is difficult for us to deploy and we have many resources with the cloud subscription.
What is most valuable?
I find the trade logistics feature to be particularly interesting because I have a background in this module. Additionally, I have to understand the financial and accounting module since it is closely related and integrated with trade logistics. What I enjoy the most about this module is that it offers a variety of scenarios to work with. We are aiming to reduce customization with Microsoft Dynamics 365 as much as possible since it already has many standard features due to the previous experience with AX.
What needs improvement?
We often meet customers from an SAP background, mostly in the costing area. Microsoft Dynamics system could improve the costing calculation tool. For example, with regards to manufacturing, if there is a way to improve the calculation and tracking of costing from finished goods to WIP and raw materials, it would be an excellent solution. Additionally, I would like to see Microsoft Dynamics 365 have specific country localizations. The current report is too broad and generalized to meet the needs of customers who require more detailed information. To address this, we must customize the report to meet their specific requirements. The new asset management is comprehensive and more complete than it was in the past. The solution now includes a repair solution and the ability to handle consignment materials.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for over ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable but we need to ensure that our data remains under control after we deploy it to production.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I give the scalability of the solution a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
When we encounter any issues, we can try to troubleshoot or fix them ourselves. However, if the problem is more complex, we can create a ticket for the Microsoft Support Team. They are usually very helpful and can help us to identify and solve problems.
How would you rate customer service and support?
How was the initial setup?
I give the initial setup a five out of ten because the configuration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 may vary depending on the customer's needs.
Deployment usually takes our company up to three days. This is due to the need to register our information in the LCS and wait for Microsoft team feedback. Once we receive the feedback, we can continue our deployment and assistance.
For the deployment of one project, we typically have four to five people involved, including the technical and programming teams. This number may increase depending on the size of the project; however if the project is large, we may need to bring in an additional three to five people, including the technical and programming teams to help with the customization.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution for our clients.
What was our ROI?
With the experience we have gained, we can be more financially astute. We have implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 for a distribution company and a tower contractor in Indonesia. Prior to using the system, they lacked the data needed to make informed decisions. With Microsoft Dynamics 365, the data became more accessible, though it took some time to stabilize. After two years, the directors were able to make use of the ERP's information, allowing their business to grow immensely. They are delighted to have one system that they can manage and a centralized system that everyone can access. It is up to the customer how they choose to implement the system once we have handed it over. Some may require guidance from us, such as providing them with the information they need to analyze reports. However, some customers may choose not to continue with our support due to pricing concerns and prefer to manage the system internally. All of our customers who have implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 are still using the environment to this day. I estimate around a 20 percent return on investment for each client.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I give the cost a two out of ten because it is an expensive solution.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a nine out of ten. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a very powerful solution.
We work with medium to enterprise-level clients and unless they have a big budget the solution is hard to introduce given its hefty price tag. We previously sold the AX for on-premise solutions to small and medium businesses. However, due to increased competition from cloud solutions such as Oracle, NetSuite, SAP, and Odoo which offer cheaper prices, we must now target our customer market from medium to enterprise.
I recommend the solution to others.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner