Mid Market Consumer Products AX Perspective

I have overseen 6 implementations of AX in mid-market consumer Products organizations over the past 10 years. It has been an interesting time to watch the product grow into a Tier one solution from the Axapta version. The growth of the product and acceptance by the market has been remarkable. What I find most appealing with AX is the breadth of function coverage it offers coupled with the depth depth of capability. The SMB market often requires the same features as enterprise category organizations and AX can be configured to provide all of the components needed for the range of company sizes. The addition of a high quality WMS module provides an essential piece of the puzzle that most SMB solutions lack. Also, the Retail mPOS offering is a robust solution. Coupled with it's full integration and configurable user interface, mPOS provides a true 360 degree solution to companies with multiple selling channels. The new AX7 and Dunamics 375 sets Microsoft apart from other providers. The new web interface and straightforward toolset will provide users a significant advantage.

Pros

Constant improvement of the product, interface and integration to other solutions. The quality of WMS and order management.

Cons

The constant improvements pose challenges to keep current with releases.

AX

I use AX everyday in the office administration field. With the fact that I have been using it for a couple of years now, for the most part I can navigate through it easily. The database can hold tons of detailed customer information, and is pretty viewer friendly.

Pros

All of the information is always saved automatically when you close something, which is very helpful.

Cons

When AX first launched as a whole there were many bugs that had to be worked out, including me being kicked out of the system right in the middle of working on something. Also sometimes it becomes a hassel to have to have multiple screens open just to to enter or edit certain information.

Very "Microsoft" by all means

Pros

1- easily integrate with all microsoft other applications. 2- start to work with it takes no time. 3- Reporting tools easy to use. 4- availability of power apps is an add in as it's great tool to build your ideas into app. 5- power BI gives business the edge in analytics and it's very powerful compared to other BI solutions. 6- Cost is not high. 7- has collaboration tools through out the system

Cons

1- Administration of the system needs a global admin permission to fully use it. 2- more customization to the system needs expert as it's not that easy. 3- mobile app always crashes. 4- cannot compete in the Manufacturing business with other specialized ERPs.

Microsoft AX

Great training was given on-site and within the software.

Pros

This is a professionally written ERP that fits into all areas of our core processes. The reliability and data mining features are great.

Cons

Much had to be spent to configure it for our company. The time also seemed excessive to implement fully.

Good Solid ERP Product

Pros

Dynamics AX is a powerful product that has a lot of features. It's reasonably easy-to-use for anyone fairly comfortable with computers, and especially for someone with experience using an Enterprise Resource System. It's customizable both at the company and personal level, which makes it simpler for users on a daily basis. Reporting at the individual user level is good once you know how to do it.

Cons

Dynamics AX can be a little difficult to use for people who have very little computer experience. Not all features are totally intuitive.