Empowering The Mobile Workforce - Mar 7 Webinar

Empower your mobile workforce, gain access to all your Sales, Service, Marketing, and Financial information from any device, anywhere.

Nearly every business today relies on fast and clear communication to set themselves apart from others. Whether it's closing a sale or sending an invoice to an important customer, it is optimal to make that communication sooner rather than later. With the enhanced mobile functionality with Microsoft Dynamics 365, communicating within your business has never been easier. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can run on any device with ease, with an incredible amount of features. Open invoices through outlook, send a quote from your phone, respond to a customer service ticket from your tablet, or looking up a part number in inventory. Do it all from any device, wherever, and whenever you need it.

Mobile Workforce Agenda

  1. What is "Mobility"?
  2. How it works and why it is secure
  3. What you need to enable Mobility
  4. How it is configured
  5. Other Considerations
  6. Q&A

The 3 new Dynamics NAV Features you didn't hear about

Every year Microsoft adds new functionality to Dynamics NAV. Literally 100’s if not 1000’s of enhancements are made to the product, but many times that new functionality does not make the top 10 Dynamics NAV marketing lists and without exposure the features go unnoticed and undocumented. In this blog we will explore three of the hidden gems inside the user personalization menus. Just think, if Microsoft is adding three features just to one page then what is available elsewhere? We’ll get there later, for now let’s focus on just three.

1. Hidden Role Centers

The user personalization menu is where you go to configure your role center. It determines what will be on the landing page for the user. For instance, a production planner’s role will be different from an order processor or accounting manager.

 

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - user personalization

To setup the role you click edit and select from a drop list of pre-designed roles, as shown in below.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - edit user personalization

Click advanced to see the page of available options.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - profile list

Now click ‘new’; you will see a large list of hidden options.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - all objects with caption

There is a Payroll Role Center, a Human Resources Role Center and a Credit and Collections a CFO and others available for investigation and discovery. This for example is the Human Resources Role Center – simple and clean

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - HR role center

2. Disable Personalization

Other role center features include the ability to disable personalization. This setting will prevent the user from making changes (and getting confused as a result).

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - disable personalization

3. Activate OneNote

Another handy feature is activating OneNote. You will notice that it is available but greyed out and not accessible

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - activate onenote

You need to activate it in the role center. Activate both the OneNote Record notes and page notes. This will make is easier to search and sort afterwards for the users.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - activate onenote edit profile card

Now when you are on a record you can click OneNote and it will activate. Allowing you to store unlimited notes, specifications, drawings, etc. associated to the record in Dynamics. This doesn’t eliminate the comments functionality but enhances and makes the information central for all users.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - viewing one note from NAV

This is especially helpful for large projects or jobs for project managers.  It keeps a running list of commentary and notes of perhaps why the job was late or over costed and makes it easy to find additional information about the job without having to find hundreds of other files.

3 new Dynamics NAV Features - viewing onenote

 

The Vox ISM vertical accelerator also offers the ability to copy personalizations from one user to another, not a standard feature in Dynamics NAV 2017. Also it includes the ability to block or stop invoicing from the purchase order or sales order screens. Remember that Vox ISM’s primary industry is manufacturing followed by distribution and so we try to include functionality that matters most. With each new version of Dynamics NAV, Vox ISM also upgrades and maintains our customizations and provides these free of charge to customers on support.

Attend one of our upcoming webinars to hear more about what is new with Dynamics NAV and the apps that Vox ISM provides.

Upcoming webinars and seminars

August 24, 2017
Microsoft Dynamics Recovery for NAV & CRM
@Microsoft Headquarters in Mississauga

there’s a webinar every week. To see the full list click here.


VISUAL to Dynamics NAV - Sept. 27 Webinar

There is no reason why you should settle for a limiting system when software and technology has progressed so much over the past 10-15 years

When was the last time you considered replacing your enterprise resource planning (ERP) software? Are you considering it more often but hesitant about the costs and effort related to a switch? At Vox ISM we have over 10 years of experience converting VISUAL Manufacturing companies over to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. We even created manufacturing apps that stack on the the base Dynamics NAV product to provide a more rich experience and deeper functionality. With the quick-start and new, more modern platform, your organization's transition from VISUAL to Dynamics NAV will be a smooth process.

Why choose Microsoft NAV?

How about because Microsoft invests billions of dollars into its business systems and Dynamics NAV is designed for the app-based mobile world. Dynamics NAV is also integrated into MS Office 365 so you can create forms using Microsoft Word, reports with Excel, and track communications straight from Outlook. Microsoft Dynamics NAV provides superior distribution, sales, marketing, job costing and financial modules. Or we could look at the 800,000+ companies using NAV worldwide, and over 8,000 companies in Canada using it too.

VISUAL to Dynamics NAV Agenda

  • An Introduction to 2017 Technology
    • Office Integration
    • Mobility
    • Dashboards
    • Power BI and Cortana Intelligence
  • Manufacturing Functionality and Apps
    • Work Orders
    • Time and Attendance
    • Costing
  • Accounting
  • Government Grants and Implementation Tools

Upgrading Dynamics: More smiles, less pain - Sept. 6 Webinar

With the 2017 release Microsoft has created new technology that makes it easy to maintain and update your ERP and CRM.

Upgrading is no longer the painful, teeth-pulling problem as it was in the past for both the Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV systems. Gone are the days of full-blown system-upgrades with long, costly and unproductive system down-times.  In fact, this might be the best reason to upgrade your Dynamics system now, so that you can stay current with the latest technology from Microsoft and the productivity enhancements from the evolving digital office.

The latest trend in the software industry is to eliminate customs and replace them with powerful APP’s and extensions that sit alongside the base code, rather than a customization directly within the code. These tools and techniques improve the overall functionality of the system while making it easy to upgrade to the next version of the software.

Join us on this webinar to learn about:

  • How to integrate CRM directly to Dynamics NAV
  • How to integrate Dynamics NAV with Office 365
  • How to integrate Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM to Power BI
  • Leverage new Apps
    • Microsoft Flow
    • Time and Attendance
    • OCR
    • EFT
    • Barcoding
  • Leverage Government Grants (COJG) to get a 66% refund on your training dollars$$$$
  • Local support with the Vox Customer Care Program.

To learn more on your own you can read about the steps to upgrade NAV here. Register for the webinar to see how easy it is to upgrade now!


Canadian Manufacturing sales up for 3rd straight month!

Canadian manufacturing sales

Yesterday The Toronto Star and Statistics Canada revealed that for the 3rd consecutive month manufacturing sales across Canada were up! The 1.1% increase in Canadian manufacturing sales brings May 2017’s sales to $54.6 billion. This is largely in part to the success of the transportation equipment, and chemical manufacturing industries. Within the subset of the transportation equipment industry is the 2 leading sub industries; motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts. These 2 sub industries represented a 4.2% increase to $11.5 billion in sales.

You can read the original article here at The Toronto Star’s website.

To all our customers in the manufacturing industry, ‘keep up the great work!’

If you’re in the manufacturing industry in Canada and your ERP or CRM software is not empowering you to sell more for the 3rd consecutive month then give us a a call, or join one of our free adult learning webinars. We offer Canadian Manufacturing specific ERP software, advanced skills training, and have local support staff across southern Ontario, including the Windsor region.

Upcoming free Vox ISM webinars

CRM Software – Moving to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2017
July 25 from 1:30 – 2:15pm | Register here

Microsoft Dynamics NAV (ERP) Project Recovery
July 26 from 1:30 – 2:15pm | Register here

Advanced Manufacturing with Microsoft NAV (ERP)
August 2 from 1:30 – 2:15pm | Register here


Microsoft for Manufacturing 2017: NAV, CRM, Office 365 - Sept. 28 Seminar

A digital office feeds the business’ appetite for disruption innovation. But the limitation and challenge is the existing information, technology systems and infrastructure.

New ways of working and thinking are required to see collaborative engagement instead of functional pockets of knowledge. Initiatives like replacing servers and IT staff with cloud infrastructure and managed services. This allows the organization to better focus on using systems instead of maintaining them. Other initiatives to allow for collaborating on shared documents in the cloud instead of emailing attachments for someone to revise. Digital services like OCR can boost productivity and younger employees can show the mature staff how to make better use the digital tools and new applications.

Welcome to the new world of Microsoft for Manufacturing 2017. At Vox ISM we put the needs of Canadian Manufacturing first, focusing on relevance and productivity and leveraging the Microsoft technology second.

Agenda

  • 1:30pm An Introduction to 2017
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM
    • Office 365 Integration
    • Mobility
    • Power BI and Cortana Intelligence
  • 2:00pm Software Configured for Manufacturers and Distributors
    • 5 Levels of Scheduling
    • Time Tracking 7 Shop Data Collection
    • Machine Integration
    • Configurator
    • Business Intelligence and Management Reporting
    • Industry Specific Apps
  • 3:00pm Government Grants, Funding and Implementation Tools
    • COJG Funding
    • Customer Portals
    • ISO Implementation Tools and Techniques

Excel with Excel and Power BI - Aug 9 Webinar

What happens when you take your favorite business productivity tool (Microsoft Office Excel) and connect it live to a data set that merges information into logical words and meaning? Then with the click of a button deploy it to your phone to get the answer to any question about your business, from anywhere in the world? Growth, success, and a competitive advantage, powered by Microsoft Power BI, Excel, and Cortana (Microsoft's most powerful AI assistant).

What's the benefit of using Microsoft Excel and Power BI?

  1. Everyone understands how to use it
  2. It can be accessed from anywhere in the world
  3. Everyone can use the information, not just licensed ERP users

Excel is more than just a spreadsheet for many business owner, typically it’s used to display financial information, but more powerfully it’s capable of display trends, providing insight into problems that might not have been noticed and performing what-if modeling. In this webinar will we show you how to use Excel to increase profit, identify business process problems, create interactive dashboards for your phone and query Cortana on the fly to get an immediate answer to any question.

Some of the areas we will discuss:

  • Power BI
  • Excel Power viewer
  • Excel Analysis
  • Jet Reports
  • Flash Reports
  • Audit/Control Reports
  • Key Performance Indicators
  • Statistical Analysis
  • And more…

Advanced Manufacturing with Microsoft NAV (ERP) - Aug 2 Webinar

How to grow your company with better data, processes and technology.

Challenge: How can the Canadian Manufacturing sector compete in the global marketplace?

Solution: Develop smart manufacturing techniques (Advanced Manufacturing)

A typical manufacturer in Ontario can improve upon his design and introduce new materials that are lighter, stronger and or cheaper.  They can purchase robots or high efficiency machines to replace traditional machinery or manpower, but many manufacturers struggle or overlook knowledge based improvements using modern ERP tools.

In this webinar we will do a deep dive into the following 3 areas of process improvement; utilizing the latest technology, Dynamics 365 software from Microsoft and industry specific tools provided by Vox ISM. The topics include:

Maximizing Opportunities/Mitigating Risk

The best way to maximize revenue and profitability is to implement electronic scheduling. The latest scheduling app allows supervisors to drag and drop work orders from work center to work center. Call up electronic work instructions and drawings and review the utilization and capacity on a phone or table.  This app integrates directly into the ERP’s graphical scheduling system to better manage the bigger picture, milestones, customer commitments and purchasing.

Data Collection and Integration

VoxISM offers many methods of shop floor data collection.  It is the lifeblood of your manufacturing system. Our product offerings include ‘smart-devices’ that can communicate or control of machines on the shop floor, tablets that collect quality and product information or simple touch screen reporting, we have a solution that fits your budget, industry and need.

Analysis of Cost

Many shops collect information from the shop floor but few truly spend the time to analyze the results. We will show you how the best run shops analyze information and galvanize the improvement of a process or product using our manufacturing reporting suite.


Canadian Manufacturing Software for Oldcastle Shops - Sept. 21 Event

An ERP Solution Tailored to Windsor’s Needs

Windsor is known as the World Class Leader when it comes to the Tool and Mold industry. Microsoft Dynamics is the solution that has been developed to meet the complex and diversified needs of this niche market. Integration of all departments from Engineering through to Production and Finance has always been a challenge to all industries but especially in Tool and Mold. Join us for a Lunch and Learn session at the Ciociaro Club in Oldcastle as we guide you through the tools available to help you continue to be successful and grow your company well into the next decade.

Learn about the latest innovations to drive productivity

During this seminar we will show you how Microsoft Dynamics CRM and NAV can help to streamline your business and increase efficiencies almost immediately. World Class Manufacturing demands feedback, follow up and constant communication there is no time to sift through spreadsheets and notes. Knowing where you stand on daily basis in real time whether you are at work or out of town can be the difference between making the best choice or a choice that often leads to chaos and firefighting. Whether you build tools, run low or high volume production or are a subcontractor to the industry VOX ISM and Microsoft Dynamics can help you achieve your goals and objectives. Come on out and check out the Windsor Team!

Agenda

  • Lunch and Learn with Guest Speakers
    • Canada Ontario Job Grants - COJG
    • ASCIP Funding Program for Automotive Suppliers
    • FreePoint Technologies Inc.
  • Introduction to Microsoft 2017 Technology
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM
    • Office 365 Integration
    • Mobility and Power B.I. with Cortana Intelligence
  • Software Configured for Windsor Manufacturing
    • Manufacturing and Operations Control
    • Real Time Machine and Shop Data Collection
    • Accounting
    • Business Intelligence and Management Reporting
  • Government Grants, Funding and Implementation Tools
    • COJG Funding
    • Customer Portals
    • ISO Implementation Tools and Techniques

Managing Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV 2017

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV: The Key to the Bottom Line – Integration of Finance and Operations –

Many times when working with projects we find ourselves wondering “Are we winning or losing?” Often this is because of the disconnect or silos present in our company. Typically Operations is doing what it has to “Get Er’ Done” while Finance is pouring through a multitude of spreadsheets to gather project costs leaving no one with time for Project Management. World Class companies can see in real time where they are at, what are the issues and, in general, are we on target to meet budget and customer deliverables. Microsoft Dynamics helps to achieve this with the unique ability to tie both worlds together.

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV: It’s all about the flow and dissemination of information to all stakeholders

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV - multiple screens

We start with our Sales Quote and flow this information through to the Job, The Sales Order, The Production Order and finally the Schedule thereby creating “One Set of Numbers” for everyone to follow, Gone are the individual spreadsheets, timelines, white boards and post it notes. Dynamics NAV allows for instant feedback and communication company-wide with a couple clicks of the screen at work or on the road or on your phone in front of the Customer.

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV - Production Order screen

In the day to day hectic life live we do not have time to continually update our spreadsheets or in most cases have access to the data, when the President asks how are we doing on this job people fly into a mad dash to try and create a report that hopefully comes close enough to buy us further time.  The result is we spend more time trying to create data rather than manage it so when month end arrives or project conclusion…it is actually the only time that we truly know where we stand and at that point it is too late to do anything. Having the information available in real time in Microsoft Dynamics NAV will help you achieve success and put yourself on track to truly become “World Class”.

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV - Estimates vs Budget vs Actual

Throw away the White board and Clipboards!

Informed people make informed and wise decisions embrace technology and share the information with everyone, everywhere in real time.

Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV - throw away the white board

For more information

For more information on Projects and Jobs in Dynamics NAV 2017 contact a Vox ISM representative.