Each manufacturer is different, and each comes with its own problems that need to be addressed. Business processes have a tendency to become wasteful if not carefully monitored, and that supervision can be tough to do when you're dealing with all the rest that goes into making a company run. ERP software is increasingly becoming a necessity with manufacturers around the country having to keep up with the accelerating economy.

As Ranga Bodla of Manufacturing Business Technology wrote in a recent article, "Manufacturing and distribution have unique, and uniquely complex, processes and workflows that require functionality a vanilla ERP application can't provide."

So how does a manufacturing company decide which ERP solution is the right one for them? What do you look for if your manufacturing company is in the market for effective enterprise resource planning?

Bodla believes that the first thing you must do is look at an ERP vendor's reputation in the manufacturing industry. Who are its other customers (if any) and what are their opinions on the product? A related thing you must discover is the general media consensus on the vendor. Is it an industry leader? What are third parties saying about it?

A question that may not have been asked five years ago is now a near-must when it comes to ERP: is it cloud-based? As Bodla explains, "ERP applications built for the cloud have the open web standards and visual tools to make customization easy."

Lastly, whether or not an ERP maker has a "thriving partner community" can demonstrate to you how dedicated that company is to improving customer experience and offering the widest variety of options possible.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV excels in all of these categories, and Accent Software excels in implementing, customizing and running Dynamics NAV. If your Indiana, Ohio or Kentucky business is in the market for business management software solutions, give us a call.