Digitally Transform Your Supply Chain in a Time When Resilience Matters Most

Disruption is an inevitable part of supply chain dynamics.

And while the nature of these disruptions can vary — from natural disasters, to a global pandemic, to geopolitical unrest — businesses need a supply chain infrastructure that allows them to adapt and weather any roadblocks.

But there are challenges along this road. For one, it’s often difficult for businesses to obtain the end-to-end visibility they need. At the same time, they tend to lack the agility to meet changing customer demands and forecast for the future. All the while, a shortage of workforce talent makes it even harder for businesses to keep up with supply chain pressures.

One of the cornerstones for managing supply chain disruptions is the right technology. Large and small companies alike can leverage disruptive supply chain technology as part of their playbook to build more sustainable processes that minimize waste and help drive continuous growth for the future. Supply chain ERP systems — a list that includes Acumatica and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central — fit into this equation.

The Role of ERP Systems in Supply Chain Management

While it’s impossible to avoid supply chain disruption, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems offer a powerful means for minimizing disruption that could otherwise erase profits. Through the integration of various business processes, ERP systems:

Offer a comprehensive view of the entire supply chain that extends from material sourcing to product distribution

Allow companies to automate key supply chain activities like demand forecasting and inventory management

Enable seamless collaboration and communication between every party involved in the supply chain process

Provide real-time data and analytics that support smarter decision making and power continuous improvement

From a general standpoint, ERP systems for supply chain management fuel operational efficiency and cost savings. But it’s important to go a step further and ask which ERP is the most suitable for managing supply chain disruptions as they relate to your business. Acumatica and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central are two key ERP players to consider.

Two Powerful ERP Systems for Supply Chain Management

Acumatica Cloud ERP

Acumatica is a modern ERP platform that helps small and growing businesses overcome supply chain disruptions. The ERP system is backed by a robust distribution suite that is less common in other mid-market ERPs and offers a real-time consolidated view of an organization’s demand. Certified marketplace applications offer even more options to further automate supply chains and increase operational efficiency.

Crestwood is proud to be a top Acumatica partner that has developed customer requested add-on solutions for the ERP.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Business Central is a modern ERP platform designed for small to medium-size businesses that delivers actionable insights to drive efficiency and improve productivity. The system’s capabilities help streamline warehouse activities, improve shop floor efficiency, and predict maintenance for assets. The result is a more resilient and intelligent supply chain that counters demand shocks and supply chain constraints.

Crestwood is proud to be an early adopter of Microsoft Business Central, with an experienced team to support customers.

An Acumatica Supply Chain: Mitigating Disruption Across Verticals

Built on the cloud and for the cloud, Acumatica Cloud ERP helps manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce companies transform their supply chain operations so they can thrive in the digital economy. With unlimited users, a mobile-ready architecture, and built-in integration tools and robust reporting capabilities, Acumatica is helping organizations future-proof their supply chain operations.

Features to Support the Manufacturing Industry

  • Production planning: Create a master production schedule from Rough-Cut Capacity Planning that plans production based on actual and forecasted orders
  • Materials requirements planning: Create work orders and purchase orders based on the master production schedule, tracking their completion and progress
  • Inventory management: Manage inventory, plan and manage the movement of goods through the distribution network, and control customer and transfer orders

Features to Support the Distribution Industry

  • Sales order management: Split orders across multiple warehouses, allocate inventory, verify credit limits, issue replenishment orders, accept returns, and manage complex pricing/discount policies
  • Purchase order management: Automate complex procure-to-pay processes involving multiple products and suppliers
  • Cost accounting: Track inventory and operations costs, with the ability to analyze and report actual and expected costs and variances

Features to Support the E-Commerce Industry

  • Financial management: Gain instant access to your mission-critical business data in one fully integrated central repository
  • Fulfillment automation: Accurately pick, pack, and ship your orders, track packages automatically, and notify customers of shipment progress
  • Native connectors: Connect your BigCommerce or Shopify storefront with a flexible back-office system that grows with your business, offers unique customer experiences, and delivers valuable insights

Business Central Supply Chain Management: Future-Proofing Your Operations

As manufacturers, distributors, and e-commerce companies grow, they need supply chain ERP systems that are ready to easily scale with them. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is built to do just that. Moving away from the complexity and siloes of traditional ERP and CRM systems, Business Central helps everyone in the supply chain collaborate and work smarter together.

Features to Support the Manufacturing Industry

  • Production orders: Create and manage production orders and post-consumption and output to the production orders
  • Production bill of materials: Create bills of materials and calculate standard costs
  • Sales and inventory forecasting: Built-in intelligence uses historical data to help you manage your stock and respond to your customers

Features to Support the Distribution Industry

  • Locations: Manage inventory in multiple locations that can represent distribution centers or warehouses
  • Inventory management: Set up items that you carry in your stock and specify their unit of measures, costing method, inventory posting group, unit cost, price and other properties
  • Item transfers: Track inventory as it’s moved from one location to another and account for the value of inventory in transit at various locations

Features to Support the E-Commerce Industry

  • Sales order management: Manage sales orders, blanket sales orders, and sales order processes
  • Opportunity management: Keep track of sales opportunities, section your sales processes into different stages, and use this information to manage your sales opportunities
  • Warehouse management systems: Manage items on a bin level and optimize the use of warehouse space through reporting capabilities

Crestwood Can Help You Experience the Benefits of These ERPs

As an Acumatica and Business Central partner, Crestwood can help customers reap the benefits of these supply chain ERP systems. You can lean us for support with:

ERP implementation

We’ve conducted more than 5,000 ERP implementations all over the world — a list that extends beyond Acumatica and Business Central

Software development

Our certified Acumatica in-house developers can use their expertise to develop custom software solutions and offer integration support

Add-on products

We offer customer-requested Acumatica add-on products like a collections management tool that accelerates cash flow and an advanced commissions tool that automates commission payout

GP migration

Our GP Migration Program provides GP users with the technical expertise and product capabilities to simplify migration to Acumatica or Business Central

Optimize Your Supply Chain Management with the Right ERP

The supply chain will always be unpredictable to some degree. But with the right ERP system — and a trusted partner to support its implementation and optimization — you’ll be better equipped to navigate through the noise and continue on your path to growth.