FOR MORE profitabledecisions.

FOR MORE profitable DECISIONS.

Microsoft Business

Solutions gives

you the insight you

need to make more

profitable decisions.

Our business management software puts

you in touch with information from every

corner of your business, and lets you analyze

it in any way you choose.

Microsoft ® Business Solutions will help you

make more profitable decisions for many

years to come.

Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partners

tailor the software to your precise needs, and as

your business and technology evolve, they make

sure it continues to support the way you work.

MICROSOFT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 1

“We get the insight we need.”

2 MICROSOFT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

“We spend less time consolidating, data entering, making small

modifications and reconciling numbers, and more time on analysis

that provides real financial information and contributes to

decision making.”

–Edward Hwang, director of financial planning, Earthlink (Internet service provider)

20 years in the business

One of Microsoft’s seven business groups,

Microsoft Business Solutions includes the former

Great Plains, Inc. and Navision, ApS, developers

of business management software for small

and mid-sized companies since the early 1980s.

With more than 250,000 customers, we

understand what you need.

Savings of $1 million

“The speed of getting information to

top executives, the saved time in

training efforts and the reduction of

needed staff and support easily

equates to an annual saving of more

than a million dollars.”

–Russel Kuteman, vice president of finance,

Six Flags (amusement park operator)

Working smarter

“We’re actually working smarter and

better, and using less time.”

–Charles Buck, director of finance, Volunteers of

America Michigan (non-profit organization)

Dramatic increase in knowledge

“We’ve been able to make a dramatic

cut in the number of manual processes

and errors, and a dramatic increase

in our knowledge of what goes on in

our business.”

–Lars Errebo, IT manager, Rationel Vinduer

(window manufacturer)

Read full case studies at

www.microsoft.com/BusinessSolutions


The answers

are all there.

What makes your most profitable lines successful? Why do your

customers choose you? What keeps your employees happy?

We have a system that will help you make more profitable decisions.


Find out the who, what, when, where,

why and how of any part of your

business. Whether you’re a sales rep

or general manager, the information

you need is available in one place.

There’s no need to print it out from

one system and type it into another.

What you see on your screen is the

latest information from across the

company. You can identify trends and

relationships. Get an overview or click

through to the minutest detail. It’s all

there for you. Your only limit is what

you choose to record.

ANSWERS

1. Get live information from every corner of your business

2. Analyze it in any way you choose

3. Make any information available to employees, customers, suppliers and partners

Types of information you can find

•Which customers are most price-sensitive

•How the introduction of a stock program affected employee turnover

•Whether today’s production is progressing on schedule

•What causes the delivery delay on your best-selling product

•How a new credit policy has impacted cash flow

•Which of your subsidiaries’ projects were most profitable last quarter

Be a more attractive company to deal with

You can make information available to employees, customers, suppliers and

partners, so they too can make more profitable decisions.

Launch password-protected Web sites with information and functionality tailored to

each user’s needs. Information comes direct from your business management

system — or any other system it connects to — and is up to date.

Users log in via their mobile phone, PDA or PC, or even view information from within

their own business management system. They can connect — however they choose —

but you control their access.

Some examples of the sort of information you can give others access to:

Employees

• Which tasks they must complete and when

•How many hours they have spent on a project compared to budget

• What goals they agreed to meet in their last review

Customers

• What discount they’re entitled

•How their order is progressing and when it will be delivered

• Which products and services complement their previous purchases

Suppliers

•How many of their deliveries arrive on time

• What your current stock of their items is

• Where your next order must be delivered

Partners

• What technical specifications they need to take into account

•Why you changed their drawings

• Which project was the most profitable in any specific office during the last six months



“We get the answers we need.”

“We get instant access to information such as what’s profitable

and what’s not. It took days to get these figures from the previous

system, but now you can extract them by yourself from the desktop.”

–Graham Stirling, financial controller, Masterpet (distributor of pet accessories)

Allows immediate action

“Project managers view the status of

their jobs several times a day. They

can click a button to see in a second

if costs have been booked and

customers have been properly billed.

They can see problems as soon as they

emerge and immediately take action.”

–Grant Cynor, chief financial officer, Alexander Open

Systems (network service provider)

Smarter decision-making

“I can get sales levels, stock, revenue,

purchasing and accounting/finance

answers 24/7. That makes opening

a new store a much easier decision.”

–Stan Bedford, founder and president,

Bedford Camera & Video, Inc. (photographic retailer)

Analysis from top to bottom

“We can look at how sales are

performing overall, what products

are successful in which areas and

analyze them right through to the

bottom line.”

–Peter Howell, administrative manager,

MJS Floorcoverings (distributor of floor covering)

Easy access to information

“I have been amazed at the amount

of information that I can access easily

without the help of a technical specialist.”

–Dave Kush, controller at Royal Professional Builders

(house builders)




Software

that fits your

business.


You can get the answers you need because

our software will fit the way you work. No

matter whether you’re a frozen food

distributor, newspaper publisher, hearing

aid manufacturer or furniture retailer,

it won’t force changes. You’ll retain your

individuality — your competitive advantage.

You won’t have to pay us to develop a

custom system from scratch. Instead, a

Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner,

who has specially trained IT and industry

consultants, takes our software and tailors

it to the way you work. It’s a cost-effective

alternative, and because it’s based on tried

and tested technology, you know your system

will be reliable. The insight you need to make more

profitable decisions

Pick the functionality you need, and a

Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner

will fit it to your business. You’ll get information

from every corner of your business, plus the

ability to analyze it any way you choose.

MM

Sup S pp y

Ma Ma anag anage ag ag ge

Field Service

Management

CRM

Analytics and

Reporting

t



STANDARD FUNCTIONALITY TO choose FROM

Financial Management Manage your general ledger, payables, receivables, inventory, sales process,

purchasing, fixed assets and cash flow. Perform bank reconciliation and collections.

Analytics & Reporting Manage budgets, create and consolidate reports and look for trends and

relationships in any part of your business.

HR Management Manage your human resources, from skills mapping, recruitment and employee

registration, to skills development and processing of payroll and benefits.

Project Management Manage your resources, forecast your costs and budgets, track time and expenses,

and manage contracts and billing.

CRM Manage customer groups, create and launch marketing campaigns, track customer

activity, manage sales and after-sales.

Field Service Management Set up and manage service contracts, enter and track service calls, view

schedules and optimize workloads across resources.

Manufacturing Manage your entire manufacturing process from product configuration, supply and

capacity requirements planning, to scheduling and shop floor.

Supply Chain Management Manage single or multi-site warehouses and handle order promising, demand

planning and online collaboration with suppliers.

Retail Management Manage retail operations from point-of-sale to delivery, increase customer flow and

cash-in, speed up lines and tasks, control inventory, and automate purchasing.

E-Commerce Let customers and suppliers do business with you anytime through Web sites

or by connecting their system directly to yours.

Requests

and ideas

Requests

and ideas

Requests

and ideas

Deliver global version

of software

Local Country Offices

(30+ country offices)

Adapt

to country needs

FLEXIBILITY

1. You don’t need software developed for you from scratch

2. A Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner can adapt our software to your needs

3. The result is a stable solution at a reasonable price

Partner Network

(4,500+ partners)

or to your individual needs

and provide ongoing support

How we deliver software tailored for you

Our local offices adapt the software that

we produce so that it conforms to local

regulations, business practices and languages.

A Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner

then tailors it to your individual needs. The result

is a business management system that lets you

analyze your entire business and make more

profitable decisions.


“The software matches the

exact way we work.”


“When you create a new customer, you can select the language you

want to use to communicate with them. We have 45 dealers in the

German part of Belgium and we can just print out their invoices in

German. We can see what’s on the invoice in our language, and

they get what they want in their language.”

–Piet Van Compernolle, founder, Van Compernolle (supplier of auto parts)

Freedom to work

“The solution allows us to implement

our sales methodology in the system,

instead of having the system dictate the

sales methodology we need to use.”

–Joey Smith, chief technology officer,

Maximum Impact, Inc. (provider of leadership training)

Easy to learn

“The intuitiveness is great. We can get

off the ground and build from there.”

–David Fischer, IT director, McBride Electric

(electrical contractor)

Do it yourself

“We can make new reports, alter user

permissions and change or collate

forms easily in-house.”

–Joachim Baum, IT manager, Herzog

(manufacturer of machine parts)




People who

understand your

business.

With more than 4,500 Microsoft Certified

Business Solutions Partners in over 130

countries, we have a partner for you. Small

partners for small businesses, international

partners for international businesses. With

partners covering industries from auto parts

to zoo keeping and e-commerce to CRM,

you’re sure to find one with a profile and

focus that matches your own.


Our Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partners understand local laws and

practices, and in order to become certified, they have to prove their expertise

in our technology and in business areas such as e-commerce and supply

chain management.

They know how to run an IT project on time and on budget. We give them a complete

best practice methodology for running their business. Based on decades of experience

from our partner network, it includes project planning, implementation, business

strategy and support.

By talking to you and your key managers, your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner

will help you identify your needs and only then suggest how to meet those needs with

technology. And over the years that follow, they’ll be right there with further training

and upgrades that will keep your software in step with your changing needs.

Identify needs

Document core

processes, risks and

hidden costs

“They have earned our trust.”

INSIGHT

Agree Agre Ag eee

on on goa ggo goals goals

Document the project

scope, detailed budget

and timeframe

Find

a a a solution sol o uti u on

Translate your

business processes

into detailed software

requirements

Modify

the software

Develop

customizations,

interfaces and data

conversion tools

Prepare Prepare

for for launch lau

Test solution, train

end-users, convert

data

1. You can find a Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner who matches your profile

2. We provide Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partners with a best practice methodology,

which helps make your IT project a success

3. Your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner will help you launch your solution

and support you long into the future

“They correctly identified all the issues

we encountered and, despite a very tight

timeframe, the project was completed

on time and on budget.”

–Enrique Alonso, Grupo Pomar (furniture manufacturer)

Launch

the solution

Deploy the solution

Ongoing

support

How your partner will work with you

Intimate understanding

“[Our Microsoft Business Solutions

Partner] has developed an intimate

understanding of the way our system

works with our business needs.

And that has been a critical part of

the way we do business.”

–Graeme Kerns, director of finance,

Staging Connections

(service provider for corporate events)

Up-front and honest

“They weren’t like some of the other

vendors who claim to be able to

do anything, anytime, anywhere.

Our partner was always up-front

and honest. If they didn’t know the

answer immediately, they would

go and find out.”

–David Pynn, chief executive officer,

Hospital Shared Services

(service provider to healthcare industry)




An investment

that keeps

paying back.

Business management software isn’t

much good if it can’t keep up with the

changes it inspires. Fortunately, the ability

to adapt our software doesn’t end the day

you implement it.


Say you manufacture shoes and you want to start retailing them. Add our retailing

solution and your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner, who knows

your business well by now, can quickly fit it to your needs. The solution will

automatically fill with your product information and, because it works in the same

way as other application areas, your employees will learn it quickly.

Or maybe you want to open a factory or retail outlet in another country.

Because our software is based on standard technology and because we have

more than 4,500 Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partners around the

world, it’s no problem to find a local consultant with the knowledge to get you

up and running fast.

Not that you need to call your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner

for every change. You can make many alterations yourself. Set up screens how

you want them, create new reports, and even launch Web sites without your

partner’s help.

But it’s not only your business that develops. Technology moves on too, and our

division’s 1500 research and development staff will make sure you get the very

best. We’ll respect the time and money you’ve devoted to setting up and getting to

know your system. Your investment will return more and more as the years roll by.

“We keep on profiting.”

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

“Our Microsoft Business Solutions system

allows us to improve and add value to the

companies we acquire.”

–Bob Quinn, chief financial officer, Oldcastle Precast (manufacturer of concrete products)

1. Your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner can adapt your system as your business develops

2. You can add new modules because the software uses standard technology

3. We will provide upgrades to keep your technology up to date

Better all the time

“We encourage employees to suggest

improvements to our processes

and our solution is flexible enough

to accommodate them. Our processes

get better all the time.”

–Lori King, chief operating officer,

Stonewall Kitchen (food retailer)

Reduced costs

“Microsoft Business Solutions has driven

efficiencies into our process and lowered

our costs and working capital needs to

enable us to grow more rapidly.”

–Paul Turuk, general manager of support operations,

Caribou Coffee Company (speciality coffee company)

Continual development

“We bought a standard solution that’s

already in the market, and which

guarantees that the technology

will continuously be developed.”

–Torben Winther Kristensen, office manager,

Danish Agency for Governmental Management

(government organization)




A profitable idea

© 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Navision and Great Plains are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation,

Great Plains Software, Inc. or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS or their affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.

Great Plains Software, Inc. and Microsoft Business Solutions ApS are subsidiaries of Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft Business Solutions helps you make more profitable decisions.

You work smarter because your solution is tailored to the way you do business.

You work faster because you have immediate access to information from all

around your company. You can count on us for long-term support as your needs

change and your business grows.

More than a quarter of a million companies rely on Microsoft Business Solutions

for profitable ideas. Contact us now to find out how we can help you.

Visit www.microsoft.com/BusinessSolutions to learn more, or enter information

about your company and have a solution automatically recommended for you.

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