5 Tips to Conquer Overcapacity Issues, Over-pricing, and Price Volatility in Your Steel Manufacturing Plant

Steel Manufacturing / Trident Information Systems

Steel manufacturers often come across unique challenges in their production units with routes, BOMs, and engineer functions deciding product design. The world crude production in 2020, amounted to more than 1.86 billion metric tons. It was a more stable value as compared to 2019’s production. Due to the steel price drop, global leaders such as ArcelorMittal and Nucor faced adverse consequences. Due to international policies, manufacturing plants face overcapacity. Manufacturers need efficient Steel Structure Design Software to help them through similar situations The key to succeeding in the steel industry and service is to deploy Advance Steel Software. Technology providing real-time updates and transparency through every stage of your supply chain helps in efficient planning, and material scheduling streamlines the supply chain and provides transparency. To ensure consistent and smooth operations, make sure your Metal Fabrication Software comes with after-sales support services. Ideal Steel Manufacturing Software will provide: Quality management Financial management Shop floor data capture Attendance and time Product Configurator purchase, sales, and order processing Timesheet management Purchase requisition How to Use Steel Structure Design Software to Optimize Manufacturing? The only way to achieve manufacturing optimization is to complement the latest technology. First, you have to find the most suitable Steel Structure Design Software. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations is one of the best examples. Renowned by every business, D365 has an impression of a robust, agile, flexible, and value-for-money platform. Suitable for SMEs and Enterprises, it allows the development and customization of tools for specific requirements. Given below are five tips to streamline your manufacturing processes. #1 Thoroughly Analyze and Identify Long Term and Short-Term Solutions To streamline operations, you must first identify the problems. Thoroughly analyze and spot what your long-term and short-term analysis are. You can pull out your current KPI stats and check out your previous non-conformances. Look at the solutions and how they performed last time. What improvisations can be made? Bring out previous data and analyze the effectiveness of your previous measures. These steps are necessary to control quality. Also, you can identify the areas where you are investing in vain. It is best if your Steel Structure Design Software generates an ultimate product quality certificate so you can ensure the best quality product for your customers. #2 Try to Get Transparency on the Shop-floor to Manage Costs The production process involves various steps. Getting transparency on each step helps you identify what exactly is going on and how your staff is performing. Check how much time and resources you can save in the process. With the latest ERP for Steel Industry like Microsoft D365, you can track, schedule, and report progress in production. Make sure you check what each employee does, and how much time he takes in completing a production order, followed by his duties. These steps are crucial to saving investments. #3 Pay Attention to the Scheduling Process Scheduling is one of the most painstaking processes in the steel manufacturing industry. Getting visibility into this particular task improves overall production capability. The best way to get visibility in scheduling is to deploy advanced Steel Structure Design Software that allows real-time visibility into the process. MSD 365 provides visibility with material optimization, max OD/ coil breakpoint, interactive graphic planning, cut, slit and melt planning workbenches, etc. #4 Make Informed plans and Decisions Data is the foundation of every business. Make sure the source of your foundation provides quick and updated information. It is recommended to use a single Metal Fabrication Software to manage all your business operations instead of hopping back and forth from one software to another. Make sure the data you use is fresh, and no updates are made thereafter. This way you can make better production-boosting strategies. Moreover, you can make effective replenishment decisions to avoid overstocking and understocking. #5 Keep Up with the Legislation Updates Overcapacity is one of the global issues in the world. It involves changes in international policies where the government intervenes in your trade. Make sure you keep up with such updates and produce accordingly. Regressive policies and low demands cause a drop in steel prices. The best way to prevent overcapacity is to install unified software that helps you comply with the legislation of a specific area. You need to deploy the latest technology to deal with the latest problems. MSD 365, renowned by millions of businesses across the globe, allows you to access every functionality your steel manufacturing plant needs to run smoothly. If you wish for implementation or a demonstration, you can contact Trident Information Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner.

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How Sticking with Dynamics NAV Can Bring Your Business Down?

NAV to BC Upgrade / Trident Information Systems

The major reason for your business to suffer if you choose to stick to Dynamics NAV is its end of support which will eventually leave you on your own. Dynamics NAV 2017 version met its end-of-life-cycle support in Jan 2022, whereas Dynamics NAV 2018’s support is still viable till Jan 2023 leaving you a noticeably short time to optimize it further. It is best to Upgrade NAV to Business Central. Some businesses still use Dynamics NAV to support their production environment. The decision to stick to the older version could be derived from its perceived stability: it can resolve all the issues and does exactly what it is expected to do. Alternatively, a business may decide to delay its NAV to BC Upgrade to save IT capital cost while “sweating” its resources to extract maximum return on investment. However, this approach will eventually lead to the business’s downfall as it can collapse anytime. What Would Happen If You Still Glued with Dynamics Nav Without Support? You are welcoming a huge security risk, limited disaster recovery options, no more updates and patches, and a lack of functionality if you still expect Dynamics NAV to facilitate core functionalities to your business. Hence Upgrade NAV to Business Central. A Massive Security Threat Once your vendor ends the support for Dynamics NAV, you are no longer entitled to the relevant upgrades or patches. You will no longer receive any support for issues occurring in the application. Since you cannot resolve them on your own, the application starts posing a risk to your overall business rather than a medium for its growth. Limited Disaster Recovery Not having NAV to Business Central Upgrade means no more support from Microsoft leaves businesses to struggle on their own. Suppose if something wrong happens to the application and the entire environment demands a rebuild, the user is liable to source the correct version (which is not so easy). In this scenario, businesses will have to track aged operating system and SQL Server versions. This can even jeopardize your security and lead to data loss or data theft by hackers. In the worst-case scenario, you may not even get to access the older version and require an urgent NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central upgrade. An upgrade project can take a good sum of time. Even if the upgrade is planned, it can take up to months to complete. Leaving you with months of downtime and eventually, making your production suffer. Functionality Deficiency Many businesses who have been paying for maintenance licensing are entitled to access the latest NAV versions. However, delaying the upgrade is not useful either. Upgrade NAV to Business Central as Microsoft Dynamics 365 has a pedigree of ongoing developments and upgrades. For more than three decades, NAV has been redefined to provide greater functionalities. No doubt, it provided great services to its users, but the end of support will reverse the situation. The user can no longer access the new upgrades and functionalities while declining productivity. So, what is the Solution? The only solution is to Upgrade NAV to Business Central. Microsoft introduced Business Central on April 2nd, 2018. The newer technology delivers more robust features, tailored functionalities, and a more agile interface. It did not take too long to conquer a special place among SMBs as one of the most reliable, flexible, and scalable ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning). The NAV to Business Central Upgrade Enables – advanced mobile access, application integration, custom adaptability, seamless upgrades, affordability, and reporting capabilities. However, besides worrying about training employees for a newer version, heavy historical data transition brings chills down the user’s spine. Little do they realize that the data structure of NAV and BC is the same. Thus, if your data is organized and corruption-free, you are good to go. Dynamics 365 Business Central automatically upgrades your application frequently without disturbing your business’s ecosystem, and twice a year with major upgrades, for which the user is notified a couple of days prior. Dynamics 365 BC is a cloud-based application that enables remote control, which means it is accessible anytime, anywhere, from any device. Thus, leaving you no scope for investing in hardware, server, and maintenance agreements. The data is completely secured as 3,500 cyber-security experts are protecting, responding, and detecting cyber threats. Business Central endorses faster and more flexible financial reporting via Jet Reports and Power BI (Business Intelligence). Machine learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence) (Artificial Intelligence) support tools monitor and forecast more precise data. Its flexible licensing fees enable the user to manage cash flow. Instead of an annual enhancement, you only pay per user every month. Bottom Line No matter how efficient you perceive your Dynamics NAV to be, the fact remains that it is on the verge of its life. It is recommended to Upgrade NAV to Business Central as soon as possible as it will define your business’s future. If you are planning for a NAV to BC Upgrade, contact Trident Information Systems. We are Dynamics 365 Business Central Gold Partner and LS Central Diamond Partner.

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Shed Unpredictability, Labour Shortages, and Equipment Unpredictability with SCM software!

Supplychain management ERP / Trident Information Systems

Machinery and equipment rental, leasing, and service-focused businesses look for every challenging opportunity in their way. Everyone applies different strategies to stay ahead in the competition. Successful businesses emphasize majorly Supply Chain Management Software which provides all the necessities to run a business on a single platform. Due to the global changes in the past few years, the supply chain has been disrupted for various businesses. Mckinsey’s Tom Barton recently moderated a discussion panel on how to overcome supply chain disruptions at the 84th Inland Transport Committee roundtable. There it was discussed that despite consistent recovery efforts, we have still not managed to achieve pre-pandemic growth and sustainable development. There are three major challenges that the global supply chain is currently facing: Equipment unavailability, labor shortages, and global bottlenecks. Furthermore, persistent unpredictability is another reason why supply chains are failing. It is important to choose the right Supply Chain Management Software for: Providing the planning departments with a complete vision of trucks throughout the depots. Enabling planners to schedule transport and transfer work orders using the same window. Robust third-party shippers and carriers’ collaboration. Route optimization by connecting planners with drivers. Real-time coordination and optimization with logistics. Updating customers about delivery issues or delays. Agility for complicated routing, partial shipments, and multi-channel orders. Manage complex freight and transport costs in a single process. In this erratic environment, the technology you use plays a major role in the flow of your supply chain. Supply Chain Management Software like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations has helped streamline the supply chains of businesses in different verticals throughout this rough period and continues to do the same. How does D365 Supply Chain Management Software Help in Maintaining a Healthy Supply Chain Flow? Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain is an all-in-one Supply Chain ERP System evolved to manage trade, manufacturing, and complete supply chain processes. It competently collects and uses the data available to provide significant insights on upcoming opportunities and threats. What else does it provide? Everything in One Space Microsoft ERP for Supply Chain Management provides every functionality a retailer, manufacturer, or distributor needs on a single platform. This may include a complete range of tasks such as data management, inventory, planning, warehousing and transportation, procurement and sales, and integrated product management on the same platform. This Supply Chain Management Software allows detailed management and complete control based on reliable and complete operational information. Input Chain Control Many products may come from distant locations while engaging in long traveling hours. They may reach you via trucks, ships, planes, etc. and each of them may potentially delay the process. Earlier it was impossible to control every stage. However, today you can access data on your cargo processed by delivery, insurance, and services in electronic forms. Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain allows you to register agreed routes and gain information about the product’s location at each stage. This way, you can correctly calculate the accurate date of its arrival at your warehouse, thus ensuring timely shipment to the customer. Control Additional Costs After adding delivery, processing at intermediate points, and insurance, imported goods cost 40% or even higher than the selling price of the supplier. D365 Supply Chain Management Software allows control of additional costs at every step of the complete supply chain to your warehouse with accurate costing of goods. Every line in each order, regardless of complete or individual delivery, disparities in routes, or calculation methods will be calculated according to rules of cost allocations. Even if there is an unexpected occurring cost in between the process, it will reflect in your current route ensuring accurate calculations. Reduce Costs with Power Platforms Another development in current digital technology is the ability to develop small solutions or chatbots, combine software products, and produce interactive reports at a far lower cost of development and maintenance. And corporate customers have access to all of this with little to no participation from professional developers. There are also specialized, pre-packaged boxed solutions for particular processes that link to Dynamics family products. Is there an added task in your industry that needs to be automated? You can find solutions in the AppSource Affiliate Store. You will probably be able to identify several proposals that have already been created and are suitable for usage with your system. If you are looking for D365 Supply Chain ERP Implementation, you can contact Trident Information Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner, and LS Central Diamond Partner.

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Is your Retail staff unhappy? Here is How to Fix it.

Retail ERP Software / Trident Information Systems

One of the most critical factors that businesses consider when it comes to customer service is the quality of their employees and the technology they use. Many big retail brands prefer ERP Software for Retailers. However, a poorly-staffed retail store can lead to a customer dropping out of their shopping list. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 32% of consumers will stop buying from a brand they love after one bad experience. After a customer has left a negative review on social media, their friends and family might also follow suit. This could lead to a few more people dropping out of the shopping list. As an employer, you can also take various steps to improve the quality of your employees’ work lives such as implementing a Retail Management System Software. These include implementing policies and procedures that will help improve their engagement and job satisfaction. Some of the common problems that can affect the performance of your employees are poor communication, absenteeism, and poor performance. To avoid these, there are a lot of things you can do. But let’s discuss some problems and their best possible solution. #1 Problem: You Lack a Proper Set of Rules Have you set stable rules for your employees? Do you have certain rules to train your new staff? Does your new set of staff know what is expected of them? You must disclose what they are expected to do and how they must behave. How they can resolve common customer queries and escalate issues wherever required, and how they must use your Store Management Software . They must have easy access to the rules of conduct to remind themselves how to react. Training your staff about the rules of conduct may feel tiring but it is essential. Your staff feels confident if they know what is expected of them and how they must behave in a certain situation. Moreover, it also supports consistent customer service. Solution: Retail brands are creating simple sets of rules and many of them are even using ERP Software for Retailers which helps them set and manage their rules of conduct. One such software is LS Retail Software Solution. #2 Problem: Your Employees Feel Left Out One of the most common factors hampering your staff’s efficiency is not feeling a part of the group. Some research reveals that staff who have a best friend at their workplace tend to work seven times more efficiently. People in a team have a strong sense of shared purpose, rely on each other, and share responsibilities and achievements. The secret is to create a connection that exceeds your work time. Solution: Build team spirit among staff. Engage them in activities requiring teamwork such as drumming, sports, yoga, etc. Anything that needs collaboration will work. For those working remotely, you can create spaces for collaboration, followed by some informal moments where your staff could chat and share common interests. #3 Problem: Lack of Official Channel of Communication How many times did you have to call your employees frantically to find out about the last-minute update? Have you witnessed employee(s) gathering in front of your cabin to find out if their time-off requests have been accepted, or probably you have lost them? There will be many instances where communication plays a massive role. Inefficient communication will only lead to chaos. Hence you need to implement a technology that supports a strong communication medium. Solution: The best ERP Software for Retailers includes tools that support effective communication. A space where employees could connect and share information in real-time is a must-have these days. One such Software for Retail Shop is LS Central. This Retail Software is Microsoft-driven and provides tools such as Teams and outlook where employees can communicate with one another via quick chats and emails. #4: Inability to Optimize Your Workforce Your employees have to fulfil a task even if they feel bored. At some point, all employees are guilty of not being able to optimize their staff efficiency. For instance: Linda is good with kids, maybe she should manage the kid’s section. And John is very organized, he must be assigned the responsibility to arrange the items received. Another issue can be time: you may need more than two staff at a POS station. You can save your efforts and resources with the right ERP Software for Retailers. Moreover, your staff can do a lot more with the right technology in hand. For instance, empowering your employees with a Retail POS enhances their customer service twofold. Further, you can take some time to understand your staff’s skills to assign the perfect task to them. You can store your staff detailers in your ERP Software for Retailers and use them for the best situation. One of the key solutions is to implement ERP Software for Retailers which helps you optimize your staff, provides tools for adequate communication, and sets and manages rules for consistent conduct of workflow. LS Retail is a unified Store Management Software. Driven by Microsoft, it provides all the tools necessary to run a smooth retail business followed by Azure security. If you are looking for LS Retail Implementation, you can contact Trident Information Systems. We are a Gold Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Partner and LS Retail Diamond Partner. Many famous retail businesses have leveraged our ERP Software for Retailers and thrived in the industry. Contact us for further information.

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Boost Sales By 60% in Your Retail Store with IoT!

Smart Retail IoT / Trident Information Systems

All industries have been riding a wave, and the retail industry is not untouched either. The ongoing pandemic can be a primary reason for it. Amazon.com managed to have 2 billion monthly shoppers in 2019, which later increased to 2.3 billion in 2020, and 2.88 billion in 2021. There is a staggering scope of rapid retail growth in the digital era. Businesses are now using IoT for Retail and incorporating it into their operations. However, changing customer demands, online shopping risks, obsession with excellent quality delivery services, lack of tech fluency, etc. are some factors stopping retailers from implementing Smart Retail IoT. There are plenty of opportunities Retail IoT Solutions have to offer. But first, let’s see how it works. How Does IoT for Retail Work? Internet of Things is an internet extension for devices, physical objects, and people. It offers a variety of services to production plants, healthcare, retail, etc. Given below are the most prominent applications of IoT. It will give you an idea of how this technology works in a given space. Data gathering and sharing: IoT Retail devices, products, and the environment using sensors to gather, analyze, and share data. This data gives essential insights into a product lifecycle and allows decision makers to make more logical decisions. Actions based on collected data: when integrating IoT with a machine or a retail store, it works efficiently and effectively based on the data it collects. It targets efficiency, sustainability, and resilience. Due to the unmatchable potential of IoT for Retail, thousands of applications are already developed and many more are yet to come. After implementation, they have shown a 100% success rate so far. Retail IoT Solutions for Customer Experience Optimization? Incorporating IoT for Retail Industry with customers helps understand customer behavior and build a stronger bond with them. Moreover, it takes their grievances into account and helps improve after-sales services, cutting short customer journeys, and enhancing the maintenance process. Given below are some tips to extract the best out of your IoT Retail Applications. Personalized Communication IoT for Retail is a great platform for strengthening communication with customers. With updated knowledge of their shopping journey, habits preferences, and grievances, retailers can create customer-centric policies to ease their experience. By incorporating IoT in Retail, your content team can strategically hyper-segment customers based on their preferences, choices, spending habits, and other factors. You can implement segment targeting marketing to lure customers in. Moreover, you can help customers get a personalized experience, help them find a product, or create different sections in your store for them to have a smooth experience. Product Usage Optimization With all the data collected by IoT Retail Device, you can use it to improve maintenance services, features of a product, or add a new feature to the existing products. Keeping up customers’ perspectives can help you launch new products, outshining the old ones. Since all the data is lined up on the server, you won’t need to engage your research team. Predict in-store Wait Times Customers are becoming impatient and don’t want to wait for too long in lines. This trend escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Waiting in line didn’t just frustrate them anymore but increased the risk of getting infected. Thanks to IoT for Retail Industry, retail stores can now estimate how much time the employees will spend per customer. This way, the store can distract customers with fun activities, or tell them about their ongoing offers. This leaves enough time for employees to efficiently manage the traffic. Product Delivery Status Update During the pandemic, the demand for delivery surged which further mounted more pressure on a company’s delivery services or third-party delivery services. Thanks to IoT for Retail which allows you to update customers about their delivery status and estimate delivery dates via texts or emails. Benefits of IoT Your Retail Store Can Experience There are plenty of advantages of IoT you can experience in your retail store: Cutting Loss and Waste IoT for Retail integration into retail operations lowers expenses related to product loss and waste. The inventory and delivery operations are given an extra layer of traceability and visibility by smart retail IoT apps, which also improve accuracy and enable predictability. Staff Optimization IoT Retail Analytics aids employees in making proactive choices and modifying their shopping experience. Managers may gain a deeper understanding of client journeys by using cameras, retail sensors, and monitoring technologies along with advanced analytics. For example, they can see an impatient or perplexed consumer or determine why a shopping trip was abandoned. IoT retail analytics aid employees in making proactive choices and modifying their shopping experience. Optimizing the Positioning of Goods Thanks to thorough reports based on the data collected by sensors, IoT allows shop managers to discover premium retail spaces, test the placement of various goods in those regions, and determine the most effective layout. Improved Retail Tracking and Management IoT for Retail enables store managers to keep track of the count of items in their inventory and on the shelves to timely replenish stocks. Additionally, technology may assist in automating taxation and financial administration, lowering the likelihood of errors and associated expenses. If you want to implement an IoT device in your retail store, you can contact Trident Information Systems. We are a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner and LS Central Diamond Partner. Our 200+ technical experts are more than happy to bring your business to the top. If interested, Contact Us Now.

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How can Charity Retailers Select the Right POS and Unified Software Solution?

Retail POS Solution / Trident Information Systems

Making the move or upgrading to a new version of Retail POS System or ERP Software for eCommerce affects every area of a retailer’s company. It can be much worse for charity merchants, who must account to their patrons for their running expenses. They must be able to justify any additional investments made to meet the increasing administrative load they currently confront, even if it is one of their largest expense centers. But there is no longer a choice to do nothing. Charity merchants cannot afford to cling to antiquated procedures and outdated technology as they struggle to stay viable and deal with issues like multi-channel stock management, retaining supporters, and obtaining the largest gifts from frugal customers. The most discerning understand that the proper Retail POS Systems and Retail ERP software may relieve their pain. Several well-known charities, like Sue Ryder, Ten Thousand Villages, and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), have made the switch. Ralph Larcombe, the manager of Sue Ryder’s EPOS systems in the United Kingdom, stated that the organization’s sole purpose in being there was to make money to fund its healthcare department and do good deeds. Therefore, getting value for their money was crucial to them when choosing a new IT system. Sue Ryder chose to upgrade to the most recent version of LS Retail Software Solution. Their trustees reviewed the business case to ensure that the initiative would produce the anticipated return on investment (ROI). The organization is now benefiting from automated replenishment, improved data administration, intelligent reporting, and a simplified till that requires less training for new volunteers in terms of saving money and time. How can ERP Software for eCommerce Manage Every Aspect of Your Charity Retail Store? You will eventually lose sight of which parts of your business are doing well and which aren’t if your data is stored in silos across many databases and your channels don’t connect. Because of this, charity retailers want ERP Software for eCommerce that gives them a clear picture of their data, complete control over their business, and real-time data on goods, sales, and customers for all of their physical and online stores. LS Retail Management Software is now used by the UK charity RHS to power several retail sites. The software is used by the corporation to handle its supply chain, sales orders, order fulfillment, and finance for its retail and sales operations. RHS is equipped with all the tools necessary to manage: Retail Activities throughout the garden centers. Finances, except charitable finances. Inventory, e-commerce sales, gifts, and books. Events. Data on products, customers, and sales. How Does it Help You Manage Volunteers and Employees? Charity shops by definition have a high worker turnover rate. The majority of retailers often use volunteers of various ages, who must be recruited, employed, instructed, and managed. Therefore, having cutting-edge Retail Point of Sale Systems that is simple to use, need little training, and can simply organize employee schedules is a priceless tool for your nonprofit organization. A straightforward and easy-to-use Point of Sale System was important to Sue Ryder when choosing a new retail system. EPOS Systems Manager Larcombe remarked, “Having a till that is straightforward, transparent, clean, and easy to use, is of enormous importance to us. After a brief 45-minute training session, the volunteers at the Sue Ryder stores—some of whom are seniors without any prior retail experience—can use the till with ease. Our volunteers may practice without actually doing transactions in the training mode on the LS Retail till, and they often pick it up pretty fast.” How Strong Business Analytics and Embedded Power BI can Provide Better Visibility? Do you fully comprehend what is occurring throughout your network of charity shops? Data analytics may be useful, especially for the price and assortment optimization, if you want to quickly identify the goods and places that are generating the most money and where you should take action. Although you may add these sophisticated features to your Retail Management System, it is more cost-effective to have them integrated into the ERP Software for eCommerce as opposed to using a separate software solution that you’ll need to operate, pay for, and keep up to date. Managers at Ten Thousand Villages now have far better visibility into what is happening thanks to clever ERP Software for eCommerce and a centralized source of data. They can act on opportunities and fix problems in real-time, even on the busiest retail days, thanks to a Power BI dashboard that pulls data straight from the Retail ERP. Hence improving sales performance. Today, a lot of charity retailers work with ERP Software for eCommerce such as LS Retail Software Solution. If you want to implement this solution, you can Contact Trident Information Systems. We are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Partner and LS Central Diamond Partner. With a strong track of accomplishments of 22+ years, we have partnered with various renowned businesses across the world.

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Why Should You Upgrade from Dynamics AX to Cloud?

AX to D365 Upgrade / Trident Information Systems

Relying on outdated technology pushes you back in the race. You become incompetent and your rivals make money out of it. Many businesses postpone upgrades as they feel uncomfortable shifting to modern technology. However, little do they realize that they are pushing themselves back. Businesses working with AX fear the same discomfort and tend to postpone the AX to D365 Upgrade. One of the major reasons why it is recommended to Upgrade AX to D365 Finance and Operation is the end of its lift support. Many of the AX versions are already out of support and a few have extended support till January 2023. Hence, it is best to hurry up and Upgrade AX to D365. Other Reasons for AX to D365 Upgrade Lack of suitability for large-size businesses. It may not even be a good match for small-sized businesses either. Despite being comprehensive, its dependency on partner channels and ISV may add time to the deployment, hence increasing the total cost of ownership. Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud ERP options have a limited reach which can increase costs if partners are hosting the software. Hence, it is clear that AX is not suitable for every business size, unlike Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations. It is not as scalable as a growing business may need and may even become expensive at times. Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations is both cloud-based and on-premises. Hence, you can choose the solution you prefer. However, cloud-based solutions are more convenient, flexible, and agile. For instance, in an on-premises solution, your data is backed up in a local server, when you feel like increasing your storage, you will have to install a new server from scratch. But in the cloud, all you have to do is push command and your storage shall increase. Furthermore, it is easier to manage cloud storage than a local server. Other benefits you can experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain include: High-end Security: D365 ensures high-end security from hacking, malware, viruses, and other threats. Contrary to the old beliefs, the cloud has now become more secure than ever as its credentials are continuously monitored and attacked by Microsoft 24/7. With over 3000 security experts by Microsoft, you can assure bank-level security. Low Cost of Ownership: When you no longer have to invest in hardware, maintenance, service management, staff training, and upgrades, imagine how much you are saving. With AX to D365 Upgrade, your cost of upgrade with a limit to testing and validation, hence removing every other IT-centric work. You do not even have to re-train your staff after an upgrade except for new features if any. Remote Accessibility: one of the major benefits of AX to D365 Upgrade is its remote accessibility. Upgrading to a cloud-based platform allows accessibility on any device. Since your business apps are standardized by Microsoft, they can function seamlessly with a single sign-on and are integrated out of the box. Effortless Latest Version Installation: As soon as you leap to the cloud, any subsequent platform will be automatically updated every three months. The application on the other hand will update every six months. Dynamics 365 provides update reminders from 7, 15, 30, and 90 days before the upgrade. You can even postpone upgrades by 12 months from the release date. Minor upgrades take place without disrupting your business operations, and for major updates, you will be updated prior. No/Low Training Required: Since Microsoft uses the same functionalities, you do not have to spend much time learning the software. You can start working right away and boost efficiency at the same time. The core business logic you use has been transferred to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, but the interface is updated. Adaptability: AX to D365 Upgrade gives you enough flexibility to mix match apps and personalize your experience while increasing profitability. The best part is that the user experience of these apps is equally intuitive. For instance, you can leverage sales and field service along with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations providing the ultimate growth platform. Upgrade Dynamics AX to D365 and ensure the most agile, flexible, and secured features. If you wish to for an upgrade, you can Contact Trident Information Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner and LS Central Diamond Partner.

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Facing Labor Shortages? Use This Technology to Overcome It!

Restaurant Management ERP / Trident Information Systems

In the past couple of years, the hospitality industry witnessed a brutal time where they faced labor shortages and their current Restaurant Management Systems failed to comply with their sudden needs. According to a survey by UK Hospitality, in the UK alone, a quarter of pubs, restaurants, and hotels were forced to shut down due to a lack of workforce. A similar picture can be seen in Asia. Labor shortages overpowered economic growth in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. In Canada, about 80% of food service business owners face a hard time hiring kitchen staff, and 67% can barely fill bartending, serving, and hosting profiles, as per a report by Restaurants Canada. A New York restaurant owner Phillippe Massoud believes that if it doesn’t rectify immediately, it may end up damaging the entire industry. He further elaborates that they are not fully operating their business due to labor shortages, and if this continues, this will hurt them in the near future. While some businesses have no other choice but to shut their business, there are food service operators who deploy Restaurant Management Systems to fill labor gaps. They connected their Hospitality Management System Software with the front and the back office to speed up operations with less workforce. The results were impressive and many of them could get back on track with the help of Hospitality ERP Software. How to Use Restaurant Management Systems to Fill Labor Shortages? In emergencies like this, technology feels God sent. Given below are some tips to get the most out of Restaurant Management Systems while filling labor shortages. Connect Front House and Kitchen When your staff can access the data, they need in just a second, it increases their efficiency multiple times. For instance, you can install a Restaurant Management System that connects POS with the kitchen, and the servers no longer have to run back and forth from the table to the kitchen. Instead, they can simply send the order right from the table, using POS, to the relevant kitchen counter. They can further check if the steak is ready or being prepared in real-time. Since everything is connected in real time servers can also check if the fish of the day is still available. Results? If you may wonder? Your staff becomes more efficient and gets work done in 10 times less duration. Release Staff Stress with Real-Time Accurate Information. Waiting tables are often hard to manage. It’s a series of running back and forth from the kitchen, relaying data between the chef and the customer, and most probably dealing with mistakes and angry customers. Everything adds to stress. With Restaurant Management Systems like LS Central, staff can access real-time information about available dishes, their ingredients, and the preparation status of a certain order using a POS System. Therefore, your staff will spend a lot less time providing details to the customers. This type of visibility helps reduce stress and boosts job satisfaction among staff. Ease Training with Unified Hospitality Software Training becomes a headache for those using multiple Restaurant Management Systems. They will have to train different members on specific systems, and sometimes have to train different people on multiple Hospitality Software. This way, the entire process becomes time-consuming, costly, and complex for staff. Instead, if you use a single platform that connects all your business operations, the training will no longer be costly, tedious, or complex. If your Hospitality ERP allows you to design your Point of Sale Systems, you can make training even faster. This will especially become easier for employees who are already familiar with your brand. Let Customers Serve Themselves A survey from Tillster reveals two out of three people (about 65%) customers say they would prefer a restaurant that allows self-serve options. This is good news for restaurants. Self-services such as kiosks, tablets, and online ordering means you require fewer people on the floor. These solutions are ideal queue busters – an infamous cause of customer interest fallouts and even walkouts. Studies have also revealed that customers spend more at a kiosk than when they order with a human server. Optimize Labor Usage and Scheduling Planning shifts can be laborious and time-consuming. If done manually, you are more likely to end up with too many or too few staff in a shift and finish above a month’s budget. This is not the case with smart staff management software like LS Retail Restaurant Management System. The Restaurant Management ERP helps you, schedule staff that works for you and your team, considering multiple factors such as sick days, number of guests, employee vacations, cost, etc. Restaurant Management Systems play a huge role in managing your food service business during the labor shortage. Technology like LS Central offers a unified platform to manage all your business operations on the same platform. If you wish to implement LS Retail Hospitality Solution, you can Contact Trident Information Systems, LS Central Diamond Implementation Partner, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner.

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Why is Business Central the Best ERP for the Automotive Industry?

ERP for Automotive Company / Trident Information Systems

The automotive industry is one of the hardest industries to handle. With cutthroat competition and having to manage different vehicles, their spare parts, and their alternatives while keeping tabs on each at the same time is a pretty expensive affair. However, With the help of an Automotive ERP like Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, you can easily manage your entire business on budget. The automotive industry is bound to face challenges that can affect the overall business environment, especially due to COVID-19, such as manufacturing shutdowns, low vehicle sales, disrupted supply chain, change in customer behavior, and so on. But with Businesscentral, you can spot potential threats and make strategies on time. Dynamics Business Central is an all-in-one ERP solution that can help your automotive business to resolve such challenges and enable a business ecosystem that promotes: Comprehensive customer history. Price configurations. Upgraded communication with clients. Healthier supply chain management. Machine-driven data consolidation. Multi-brand assistance. Live to track of items. Transparent service process. Massive integration abilities with barcode readers, mobiles, printers, e-commerce sites, etc. Evaluation of different KPIs. The user can optimize this ERP in the given areas: Car dealers and importers Vehicle importers and dealers Heavy vehicles Rent-a-car shop Repair shop Spare part dealers Why Would You Choose Microsoft Dynamics Business Central for Your Automotive Business? It is a critical decision to choose an ERP for Automotive company. Such companies look for more than the integration process while expecting a great standardization level from an ERP. These standards and business processes surrounding EDI add up to a substantial part of these systems. Therefore, when an automotive business aspires to receive high-quality service internally, it must choose Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. Its tools can help you better with after-sales services and distributor-related operations. Being recognized as the Best ERP around the world, Dynamics Business Central streamlines your operations by going paperless and automating almost every aspect of your business. You can easily identify your KPIs visually via Logistic format and customize a framework to reinforce new opportunities. Microsoft Dynamics Business Central moves to the cloud fast and enables security, easy deployments, and updated business modules. It endorses complete control over the business, live vehicle, and product tracking as well as focuses on customer service quality. It also detects problems efficiently and maintains the standards set by the firm. It supports effective inventory management with the help of its inventory management tools. Optimizes supply chain and facilitates centralized control and production planning. It boosts visibility across the production operations. Strong and accurate analysis aids in making more logical decisions. Robust Financial Management system ensures accurate transaction reconciliation and financial reports. Its service management ensures excellent after-sales services to the client while effectively handling their needs and demands. The Order Management System enables visibility of the orders by customers and analyses their purchase history. It helps maintain your automobile and integrates your channel of communication. Microsoft Dynamics Business Central delivers a set of robust tools within the same platform, specifically designed to handle your industry resulting in better coordination among departments. It shows your business with various other benefits. Low-Cost Ownership If you want to manage your cash flow, deploying Dynamics 365 Business Central can work in your favor. Embrace the benefits of a Cloud ERP, such as low-cost infrastructure, no maintenance or upgrade cost, etc. Its monthly subscription abolishes the need to invest a massive upfront cost while ensuring enough flexibility to manage your cash flow accordingly. Centralized Data Microsoft Dynamics 365 collects every data in your business and stores it in a single database which can be shared throughout the departments. Therefore, your data is always in a safe place that is constantly updated. It also helps with decision-making as the same data is shared throughout the organization. Pre-installed dashboards allow you to access data analysis and reports fast. You can use this linked data (accounting, finance, sales, purchases, and inventory) to promote your organization’s growth. ERP and CRM on the Same Platform Apart from being an ERP system, Dynamics Business Central delivers CRM on the same platform, which records every transaction with your customers and supplies insights into cross-selling and up-selling, and renewal potential throughout the sales cycle. Warehouse and Supply Chain Management This is one of the most useful capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. Predictive stock replenishment helps boost your supply chain efficiency automatically. As it can automatically create purchase orders based on predicted stock-outs and sales projection, your supply chain becomes more resilient. You can also perfect templates and find the ideal arrangement of goods in your warehouse. Flexibility This solution allows your employees to access your business data and accelerate decision-making, thanks to cloud computing. You can manage your company from anywhere, anytime. You have enough flexibility to support remote work for your employees without having to bear any production loss. Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is renowned as one of the best solutions for the automotive industry in the world. Credits to its robust and flexible tools, services, and subscription plans. It scales with the business and keeps it up to the latest technology. If you are looking for a Business Central Partner, you may Contact Trident Information Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Implementation Partner and LS Central Diamond Implementation Partner.

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How Can Supermarkets Reduce Food Waste?

Retail ERP Software / Trident Information Systems

Have you ever realized how much food your business is wasting every year? Probably more than you realize! It contributes to the waste management burdens on a significant level globally. According to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, wasted food costs add up to US$936 billion a year. It is burdening the food management system and causing major threats to global issues like climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The UN is urging countries across the globe to cut the waste in half by 2030. ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) like LS Retail ERP have proven itself to be effective in tackling this situation. It is recommended to contact LS Retail Gold Partners as they are backed up with a strong track record. It is shocking to note that the United Kingdom alone is throwing away food that makes up to 190 million meals a year. The edible surplus is going into animal feeds, landfills, or plants. Food wastage is a global issue that needs to be tackled as quickly as possible, but it also needs a balancing strategy as well. By their very nature, supermarkets tend to stock up varied materials with different shelf lives and end up throwing up food that is no longer considered fresh. They need to find a suitable solution to guide them in buying relevant items in relevant amounts while fulfilling customer demands and providing fresh material at all costs. We have compiled a list of solutions for you to minimize waste as much as possible. #1 Manage Expiry Dates Properly One of the major factors leading to food waste is expiry dates. It has been estimated that 87% of food that is wasted from grocery stores is because of them having to dispose of expired products. The first thing that the stores can do is to educate their customers about what exactly the expiry date means. Many consumers do know the difference between sell-by, used-by, and best before dates. However, there are still people who are confused between them. Thus, supermarkets can assist buyers by standardizing this information while addressing it to their customers in clear and simple formats. Supermarkets are also inclining towards software such as LS Retail ERP that can track expiry dates and help them create discounts and exclusive offers on individual items that are about to expire, so they can be sold while reducing food wastage. Tools like Dynamics Pricing grab customer attention and encourage them to purchase near-to-expire items over fresh products. #2 Analyze Waste Patterns with LS Retail ERP LS Retail ERP specialized in collecting and analyzing waste. Even Grocery stores these days are realizing the importance of collecting data from different touchpoints like their eCommerce site, vendor data, smart shelves, and loyalty programs. However, there are still some who prefer to operate on spreadsheets or paper printouts. By doing so, they miss capturing essential data which could deliver special insight to boost their efficiency and profit at the same time. By optimizing demand planning and advanced data analytics solutions, they can use the collected and big data to predict demand, identify waste patterns, and order exactly the amount they need. #3 Shift to Modern Appliances According to a study conducted by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the grocery retail sector sucks up to 2% of the globally used energy, which is even more than what data centers across the world consume. Energy and asset monitoring solutions throughout the stores play a key role for engineering solutions worldwide food system (which is under massive pressure) The key challenge is to maintain food quality and safety while using the least amount of energy. Modern refrigerators can help significantly with this as they are reliable and keep food at the current temperature. LS Retail ERP can take this a step ahead with its essential and actionable insights on how to enhance energy performance. FAO declares that over the past 5 years alone, ERP Solutions have managed to save up to US$37 million (about $0.11 per person in the US) by reducing food waste. #4Train Your Staff to Cut Food Waste The food and packaging damage is most likely to occur during the transition phase. One of the most common mistakes that staff members make is to place heavy objects right over the easily breakable or easily bruised produce such as eggs and fresh fruits. This can end the writing of the entire box of fresh produce. This affair is very costly. Food retailers can avoid scenarios like this by professionally training their staff. Getting staff on board and introducing methods to curb food waste can bring a meaningful change. For Instance, in Germany, Metro Cash and Carry staff is trained in all aspects of food safety and hygiene while storing, processing, and storing. Thus, reducing loss of food and a greater volume of marketable products. #5 Donate the Surplus One of the best things supermarkets can do to reduce food waste is to donate their surplus for human consumption. In the UK, the top ten supermarket chains are donating less than 6% of their surplus for human consumption. A representative of Tesco, the UK supermarket that gives away the highest surplus of its surplus food quotes “We first published our food waste data in 2013 and believe that only by understanding the hotspots can we reduce waste” then he also mentioned “Our priority is to reduce this surplus through optimizing our forecasting, ordering and ‘reduce to clear’ processes. Our target is that no food safe for human consumption will be wasted and [if you deduct 16,497 tons sent to animal feed and 9,661 tons given to colleagues] we are now 77% of the way there.” To achieve this, they used LS Retail ERP. Conclusion The world’s food issues need a radical solution throughout the supply chain. Using technology like LS Retail ERP can track inventory and its expiry date as well as provide meaningful insight to help you reduce waste could bring a significant difference. This Retail Management Software is one

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