Dynamics ERP Partners
Focused On Manufacturing

How do you choose between Business Central and Supply Chain Management?

Most manufacturers are small. Of the 239,265 US manufacturing firms counted in 2022, all but 4,177 had fewer than 500 employees, and about three-quarters had fewer than 20 (National Association of Manufacturers). That is why Business Central Premium is the most common starting point. Look harder at Supply Chain Management when one or more of these is true:

• You run several plants or legal entities that share planning, costing or inventory.
• You make products with formulas, co-products or by-products, or need potency and batch attributes, and do not want to rely on add-ons.
• You mix lean (kanban) and order-based production in the same plant (Microsoft Learn: mixed-mode planning).
• You need advanced warehouse management and shop floor execution in the same system as production.

If none of these apply, Business Central usually costs less to license and implement, and its gaps (process manufacturing, quality, shop floor data collection, product configuration) are commonly filled with manufacturing add-ons.

What manufacturing features should a Dynamics ERP include?

• Production BOMs and routings with versions, linked to work centers and machine centers (Business Central manufacturing overview).
• MRP and MPS planning that nets demand against supply and suggests purchase, transfer and production orders (Microsoft Learn: supply planning).
• Capacity planning, including finite scheduling for bottleneck resources.
• Lot and serial tracking from raw material to finished goods. See lot traceability in Business Central manufacturing.
• Standard or actual costing with WIP and variance reporting. See Business Central manufacturing costing.
• Shop floor and MES connection for real-time output and scrap. See manufacturing execution systems for Dynamics 365.

Frequently asked questions

Does Business Central Essentials include manufacturing?

No. Manufacturing is included only in Business Central Premium. Essentials includes assembly management, which handles simple kits and assemble-to-order items without production orders or routings. Note that switching a company to the Premium experience does not assign Premium licenses; every user in that company needs one (Microsoft Learn). Read more in Do manufacturers need Business Central Premium?

Can Business Central handle process manufacturing?

Business Central's standard manufacturing is built around discrete production orders. Food, chemical and other process manufacturers usually add a process manufacturing add-on for formulas, batch sizes and quality, or choose Supply Chain Management, which supports formulas, co-products and by-products natively. See how process manufacturers improve batch yields with Business Central.

How long does a Dynamics manufacturing ERP implementation take?

It depends on scope, data quality and the number of sites. A single-plant Business Central project is often measured in months; multi-site Supply Chain Management projects take longer. See a month-by-month manufacturing ERP implementation timeline.

How does Business Central compare with NetSuite for manufacturers?

Both are cloud ERPs for midsize companies. The main differences for manufacturers are licensing, the depth of built-in production features and the add-on ecosystem. See Business Central vs NetSuite for manufacturers.

What happens to Dynamics GP, NAV and AX manufacturers?

Microsoft's path for Dynamics NAV and GP users is Business Central, and for Dynamics AX users it is Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. Many of the partners listed above specialize in those migrations.