What Are the Best Practices to Implement Dynamics 365 for Sales?

 

ERP and CRM implementations are highly stressful tasks that need expert supervision, lots of time, patience, collaboration and clear communication. Those who have been through the ordeal can safely narrate how taxing it can be, with a small lapse bringing the whole implementation down within no time and necessitating the need to go through the process all over again. With past experiences and Microsoft integrating ERP and CRM capabilities with Dynamics 365, given below are certain best practices laid out by industry gurus to implement the Dynamics 365 suite of business applications, and Dynamics 365 for Sales to be specific:

ü Involve Only Subject Matter Experts: Whatever Dynamics 365 business app you may be planning to implement, you must involve a subject matter expert in it. If you plan to implement Dynamics 365 for Sales, then the involvement of a Dynamics 365 Sales Partner is imperative. The knowledge that a Subject Matter expert brings to the table is incomparable, in the sense that the feedback coming in from him is crucial and the way how the solution will support the organization can be judged correctly only by the SME.

ü Encourage Cross-Practice Collaboration: Collaborative workshops for solutions involving one or more practices helps everyone involved in the process get familiarized with the entire thing. One must be mindful and resourceful while planning these workshops and eliminate the possibility of duplicate meetings that generally happen involving duplicate consultants after considering cross-functional needs. This goes a great way in helping with pre-design and solution plans and arising along and will also breed a culture where relevant questions are put across SMEs.

ü Customize Before Integrating: If you happen to install Dynamics 365 for Sales in the presence of a Dynamics 365 Sales Partner and then plan to integrate it with Dynamics 365 Finance or Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, then do whatever customizations you wish to carry out before the actual integration happens. Make sure that all migrations are complete as well, so that the integration of two Dynamics 365 business applications can be initiated once the dust settles and all customizations and migrations are done with.

ü Determine the System That Holds Master Data: In case of integrations, there is always one system or business application in charge of holding master data. In most cases, it is Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations which is now Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, but in some cases the role can also be assigned to Dynamics 365 for Sales that can be assigned the role of “System of Record”. Taking a prompt decision on this matter will also help finalize all design options and security requirements.

ü The IT Team’s Involvement Is Imperative: The most complex integrations are generally carried out by expert consultants and partners. This means that when one is underway, the involvement of the IT Team is necessary. The team of IT experts will be best suited to determine which integration tools must the organization use for a successful integration. As it happens, as soon as the Partner leaves the project, it is the in-house team of IT experts who then deliver their expertise in sorting out technical glitches, making future updates and handling modifications. It is of utmost importance that the IT Team determines all the different tools needed to accommodate integration needs and how comfortable will the in-house team be in using them.

ü Cross-Functional Team Collaboration: This is one of the most overlooked factors yet one of the most critical factors, where all cross-functional teams must be kept on the same page. Companies have begun using the Enterprise Architect to make sure that all cross-functional teams in their organization are on the same page during such implementations and have the same things to say at every step of the project. Whether you are implementing Dynamics 365 for Sales in the presence of a Dynamics 365 Sales Partner or any other Dynamics 365 business app, keep all teams in the loop.

Summary: These are some of the best practices to implement Dynamics 365 for Sales and other Dynamics 365 business apps as well, having been tried and tested by experts.