The 8 Dos and Don ts of MS Dynamics AX Integration With ecommerce, EDI, and CRM.

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1 Whitepaper The 8 Ds and Dn ts f MS Dynamics AX Integratin With ecmmerce, EDI, and CRM. Clse yur eyes and recall a few secnds f the sng Life is a Highway by Tm Cchrane. Gt it? The year that sng brke the Billbard Music Tp 20 list, the same flks wh wrte this paper were beginning their first ERP integratin jb. We ve cllabratively drawn up ur learnt ds and dn ts frm the past 22 years. Prepare t mve buyer rder data directly int yur MS Dynamics AX accunting system t supprt fast service and shipping and mst imprtantly create happy custmers. Spend a few minutes with us. 1) Dn t neglect the data created by a sales rder Yu have a marketing manager: they wn web cntent. Yu have an accuntant: they run with rders and invices. Yu have an IT leader: they manage yur systems. Or, yu may be all f these things: a prud entrepreneur An imprtant questin: Wh at yur business wns the data after a buyer clicks Buy? Oddly enugh ften the answer is, n ne. Or the answer is, Kevin. And then Kevin shakes his head. It s time t step up, Kevin. Or, it s time t appint a Kevin at yur cmpany. Yur buyer s purchase details are created within yur nline stre. Hw will yu get it frm yur webstre r ecmmerce platfrm t yur MS Dynamics AX system fr prcessing?

2 2) D appint an rder data wner at yur cmpany Yu need smene t be in charge f the data created by yur custmers as they buy the things yu want t sell them. Buyer and sales data such as: Order details Custmer infrmatin including billing and shipping addresses and custmer number Shipping / tracking numbers Invices Inventry Prduct infrmatin Cntrlling rder data flw is the mst imprtant step in making sales rders mve fast. And fast sales rders mean fast shipping and invicing. Thse 2 things mean happy custmers. The math is simple: Fast sales rders + shipping inf t the buyer + invicing = Happy custmers 3) Dn t try t build yur wn accunting cnnectin Many f the custmers that we have wrked with in the past tried t integrate rder data int their MS Dynamics AX themselves, but quickly fund ut they had pened a can f wrms. Custm accunting integratin = cst. While creating the first cnnectin culd make sense, yu ll find ut very sn that change is ging t cme. What if yu change accunting r ERPs in 3 years? What happens when yu upgrade yur accunting package? What if yur ecmmerce, EDI trading partner r CRM adds a new field r a new requirement? What if yur in-huse integratr leaves twn, r leaves yur cmpany? What if yu want t start selling t EDI trading partners, r acrss mre ecmmerce carts? Even the slightest change t yur cnnectin requires wrk t keep the data flwing crrectly.

3 4) D use a cnnectr that is already built The wrld is full f smart peple. Why build a cnnectin fr an accunting system, ecmmerce platfrm, EDI trading partner r CRM when smene else has it ready t g, and manages upgrades fr yu? Large repsitry f pre-built integratin tuchpints (s yu can grw and change with a lw cst f wnership) Lads f experience and thusands f integratins delivered Integratin slutins that are built, maintained and supprted in-huse 5) Dn t verlk the details Let s pretend yu sell guitars. Where des the infrmatin behind yur guitars fr purchase live? Often prduct details are laded int yur MS Dynamics AX accunting r ERP, and are als laded SEPERATELY int yur ecmmerce platfrm, CRM r EDI trading partner. These itemized prduct lists rarely ever match as they are ften laded by tw different peple r teams within a business. Fr example: Yur webstre may list 50 different guitar types, each with a SKU Yur accunting package may list nly 45 different guitar types, each with an item # When trying t flw rder data fr ne SKU number t sync in yur accunting system, a translatin needs t be created t change the SKU # int the crrect item # that yur system recgnizes. The mismatch is a huge time sucker. 6) D mirrr the inventry acrss yur business systems Bk ut a few hurs this week and cmpare yur inventry / item identifiers acrss yur systems. Make sure they speak the same language, s t speak. Each item in yur catalg shuld have matching descriptrs in yur accunting system and n yur ecmmerce stre r CRM applicatin.

4 Item # SKU UPC Buyer part number Seller part number Vendr number Discunts Tax rates This will make data flw between yur tw systems a whle lt easier. 7) Dn t try t build yur wn website Entrepreneurs and merchants are rll-up-yur-sleeve type peple. While I m sure yu d eventually get a website created and nt the web the end result will very likely be a less than great ptimized. As much as brands analyze the perfect package fr a Cca-Cla can, yur business shuld embrace the effrt and reward f a well-suited, high-perfrmance website that lks, feels and smells like yu. 8) D engage a smart web agency These days yu dn t have t be Cca-Cla t have a great website. There are lts f great slutins fr small, medium and large businesses, with varying degrees f hand-hlding and cst. Assess yur website needs and remember it s nt abut what yu want. It s abut what yur buyer wants in a website: Wh is yur current r desired buyer? What wuld a website lk like fr them? Hw will they find yur website? What will cnvince them r nurture them alng their digital jurney? Where can they try it? Where can they buy it? We are nt the website prs. But we ve seen ver the years that custmers with great websites have great success. Dn t skip that necessary d.

5 Abut ebridge Cnnectins Tday thse same smart flks that wrte this paper facilitates fast rders fr buyers f ver 600 manufacturers, merchants and entrepreneurs arund the wrld including Everlast, Ital Pasta, and H&R Blck. ebridge is n Tm Cchrane, but we prudly wear the title f integratin rck stars. Build yur wn integratin plan nw. Head t ur website. Cntact Us: inf@ebridgecnnectins.cm