Microsoft Dynamics RMS News & Highlights

Special Service

2009-07-02T18:23:00Z

In today’s tough trading conditions, speciality retailers cannot afford to give anything less than exceptional levels of customer service, and this means making sure that the shelves are full. Argility’s Andrew Blatherwick tells us more

In these difficult times retailers around the world are taking different approaches to ensure their survival. In the US they believe that they should trade their way out of a recession, while in the UK retailers batten down the hatches and stop spending until they know they can survive. Despite these differences, there is one thing that all retailers can do to stay ahead, and that is to give outstanding customer service.

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Customers have choice, and when they have less money they will use that choice even more judiciously to ensure they get what they want for their sparse resources. We all know that when you do not have much of anything you are more careful how you use it, and customers are the same when shopping. If you do not provide excellent service then they will simply vote with their feet. This offers a real opportunity to speciality retailers, which should present themselves as specialists and experts in their field. The major stores will always win on price, so the speciality retailer needs to find a different platform on which to fight. Great customer service can be that platform and provide the competitive edge necessary in these tough times to get their share of the wallet.

What can have a devastating effect on customer service is out-of-stock situations. A friend of mine recently asked me if a particular retailer was going out of business. I asked why, as I had not heard any news about the company. My friend replied: “Because they had very little on their shelves and looked as if they were closing down.” Now, this is a very large electrical retailer in the UK that is still in a strong financial position, but would you buy a technical item or any high-value item that you were at risk of not being able to return if it was faulty? I know I wouldn’t. What’s more, talk of a company being in trouble because it has no stock spreads very quickly, whether true or not, and before you know it the firm is in trouble – it is self-fulfilling.

When money and margins are tight it is very tempting to reduce stock – in some cases it is essential to maintain cash flow – but there are better alternatives. During difficult times retailers, particularly speciality retailers, need to be more efficient, and more conscious that every penny invested is giving maximum return. If your operation is inefficient then you are at risk, and if you do not sort it out it will sort you out.

It has been said for a while now that retailers can use their supply chains to compete and gain advantage, but this can be an issue for speciality retailers, which do not have the same economies of scale in the supply chain as the major supermarkets. However, by working closely with the supplier base and using shared resources from third-party distribution companies, speciality retailers can actually turn this to their advantage. If a general merchandise retailer is looking to reduce capital outlay, it will concentrate on core merchandise areas. Speciality retailers only have core merchan - dise, but this makes it even more critical to ensure that they have the right merchandise and the levels of inventory to correctly service customers coming into the store.

The same is true in store operations. Once again it is tempting to reduce operational costs and staffing, but at what cost? If all you do is reduce the service you provide for your customers it is a very dangerous game. If, however, a retailer makes sure that it has the very best processes, and solutions to support those processes, it can run more efficiently in store and still provide that great experience the customer is looking for. An intuitive solution that guides staff through the sales process, prompting them at appropriate points to make a comment or ask a pertinent question, will show the customer a much more caring, connected service that makes them feel wanted and valued. This will enable speciality retailers to focus on ensuring that their staff are true experts in their field, another potentially invaluable advantage in a tough market. If a customer has to give careful consideration to making a purchase then they will want to spend more time to get it right, and getting the right help and advice is critical.

I often hear retailers state that they are ‘simple retailers’ and do not need all the modern technology. However, it is good solutions that let a retailer operate simply while providing the customer with amazing service and value. Retailers cannot afford not to give great service, and to do that they need the help of great solutions, not cuts in staff and stock.

About the Author

Andrew Blatherwick has 20 years of experience in retail companies including Boots and Iceland Foods Group. In August 2007 Andrew was one of the founder members and executive director of Argility, an international software business focused on supplying EPOS and merchandise management solutions to the retail industry. Andrew is responsible for international business development at Argility and has created channel partners in South Africa, the UK, the Middle East and Germany. He is currently working on establishing the company in the US.

From Knee-jerk to Balanced Decisions

2009-06-18T22:40:00Z

There is increased pressure on organisations and their executives to make faster, more accurate decisions. Alexandria Rumble looks at the technology enabling this

The days of functional decision making are over and companies are forced to take a more holistic view of supply chain management in order to be able to mitigate risks, improve efficiencies from the stores to the supplier and find new opportunities to release cash. It seems simple enough, so where is the hold-up?

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Many organisations have data, but are missing the capabilities required to connect it to day-to-day events. Approaches to intelligence are largely tactical and focused on the analysis of past events. Processes are ad hoc, desktop tools are common, and there is minimal coordination between individuals or departments. The retail supply chain today is so complex that it is virtually impossible to get a holistic view in a meaningful format.

Many software solutions available today provide static data rather than real-time data. When information is available it often takes the form of unfriendly hard copy reports, or it is fed through other applications and ultimately exported to an Excel spreadsheet so that further data manipulation can be done, which will not be connected to next month’s analysis.

The need is simple: one set of data across the value chain, that can be translated into the right picture for each function is linked to a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that lead all teams’ contributions to a business goal.

It is paramount to understand how each decision in supply chain, marketing, sales or sourcing can impact other parts of the organisation. As an example, many retailers that jumped at the chance to source cheaper products from the Far East have accumulated costs in other areas to manage this extension of the supply chain. With greater extension comes less visibility, less control and greater risk. Air freight bills and increased inventory needed to counteract supply delay or failure are oft-cited negative consequences.

Visibility of cause and effect and trade-off evaluation are becoming a standard way of working and thinking for leading companies. While in the past inventory-related decisions were often driven by the need to improve onshelf availability and service levels or because of operational constraints, today supply chain managers must broaden their discussions to include other parts of the organisation.

As complexities increase, companies are progressing beyond the traditional approach to obtain better visibility and coordination of decision-making. But data issues often hit as retailers look to do more sophisticated and possibly cross-departmental analysis.

The use of intelligence and metrics to manage performance needs to become part of the culture, and companies that have processes in place to adjust execution in response to signals anywhere in the business will be better equipped to succeed in today’s retail turmoil.

Leaders are developing clear operational and performance metrics and relate them back to organisational strategies to drive business activities. Scorecards and dashboards help to track and react to those performance metrics continually and as part of daily tasks, to correct issues that may affect the retailer’s success.

Acknowledging that KPIs drive behaviours and decision-making is instrumental in breaking down operational silos and aligning everyone behind the business objective.

This evolution from the traditional financial or operational picture to a holistic perspective allows the measurement and analysis of activities along the entire retail supply chain and brings visibility of their effect on other parts of the business and ultimately on the bottom line. More specifically KPIs can be connected to support companies in making decisions in full knowledge of the trade-offs they are making. This type of framework allows new levels of modelling to predict the future.

About the Author

Alexandria Rumble is global product marketing director at TXT e-solutions. Alexandria joined TXT e-solutions in August 2007 prior to which she was supply chain analyst for AMR Research, working with C-level executives in CPG, retail, pharmaceutical and high-tech industries on supply chain transformation initiatives, as well as software vendors in retail and supply chain management on go to market and marketing. Learn more at http://www.txtgroup.com/.

A Different Way of Thinking

2009-06-04T22:08:00Z

With current market conditions in mind, it is easy to fall into a negative way of thinking. Steve Yastrow, founder of Yastrow & Company, puts an alternative spin on things.

You’ve encouraged people to think of this economic crisis not as a recession, but as a ‘recalibration.’ What do you mean? The world has been completely reset. The way our companies produce results has changed. Our competitive environment has changed. Most importantly, our customers have changed; what they think about, what they care about, even who they are. If you think ‘recession’, you may be tempted to hunker down and wait for things to get better. But if you admit that your world is a new world, you can recalibrate and get ready to thrive.

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How do you suggest retailers recalibrate?

Let’s focus on a few key steps. First, existing customer relationships – ask yourself: “Am I getting all of the business I reasonably could get from my existing customer relationships?” For 99 per cent of retailers in the world, the answer is no. For most businesses, the untapped potential in existing customer relationships dwarfs the scale of the economic downturn’s effect on their business. To unleash this potential, recalibrate the way you look at customer relationships.

Recognise that, in this environment, every one of your competitors is trying to steal your customers. If your messages to customers focus only on promotions, price and products, it’s easy for the customer to see you and the competitor as interchangeable.

The best competitive advantage is when a customer thinks of your business not in terms of ‘them’ or ‘that store’, but as ‘we’ – when their focus is not only on your products and prices, but also on their connection to you. It’s magical what happens when a customer thinks that way about you.

How can a retailer create ‘we’ relationships?

Every time a customer enters your store, only three things can happen to their relationship with you: it can improve, it can stay the same, or it can get worse. When customers leave your store with a stronger relationship with you than they had when they came in, we call that an ‘encounter’. However, if your relationship with the customer doesn’t get better, or it gets worse, we call that a ‘transaction’.

The goal of a customer visit is not just to make a sale, it’s to create a relationshipbuilding encounter and to avoid creating a mere transaction. Creating encounters is quite simple, but it usually doesn’t happen in a retail environment.

Engagement in the moment, conversation and uniqueness create encounters. If every person who works in your store focuses on creating relationship-building encounters with every customer they meet, you will see your share of each customer’s business grow. For most businesses, this is not the employee mindset. Recalibrating the way your employees see their jobs, so they focus primarily on relationship-building encounters, is one of the most important things you can do in this time of economic turmoil.

How can retailers recalibrate the way they find new customers?

Attracting new customers is the most expensive and inefficient thing businesses do. So much of the money spent on advertising, direct marketing and other marketing communications efforts is wasted. Think of it this way: the average person is exposed to 5,000 marketing messages each day. How many of those make a difference? Very few.

One of the best ways to recalibrate the way you attract new customers is to focus. Avoid the temptation, so common with traditional marketing, to cast a broad net and hope you catch a few new customers in it. Don’t evaluate marketing programmes on how many people they reach, but on return on investment – the quality of the interaction they create with a potential customer. Reach fewer people, but reach them with a richer message. It’s the only way to get noticed when 5,000 other messages are bombarding your prospective customers.

The highest returns on investment are the friends of your happy customers. Do you have a deliberate and strategic plan to encourage your customers to bring their friends to you? The next highest return comes from attracting people who are geographically close to your store. Why advertise to people miles away when there are people visiting neighbouring stores?

What else do retailers need to do?

Make sure your brand story is right for the times. Your customers’ lives are different. The way they make decisions is different. How they behave is different. The amount of money in their pockets is different. So, it makes sense to re-evaluate the story you are communicating. Imagine a customer visits your store and the stores of three other competitors during a day. What would make her say about your store: “That is the only place I want to buy.” Is your story so clear, compelling and powerful that it can transcend the noise of the marketplace, drowning out the din of your competitors’ messages and reinforcing the relationships you are building with your customers?

About the Author

Steve Yastrow is the founder of Chicago-based consulting firm Yastrow & Company, which has acquired a reputation among business decision makers, including senior Microsoft representatives, as an outside partner that challenges organisations to take a fresh look at themselves from the inside out. His approach is based on the ideas found in his books, Brand Harmony (The Tom Peters Company Press, 2003) and We: The Ideal Customer Relationship (SelectBooks, 2007). Steve earned an MBA from the JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Choosing the Clever Option

2009-05-27T20:27:00Z

Many retailers are struggling to maintain their sales, let alone increase them due to the economic slowdown. Mark Thornton, director of e-commerce at Maginus, offers up a solution.

In the current market, many retailers are struggling to grow their businesses. Mid-sized retailers, in particular, are often in a difficult position. The majority do not have the luxury of a large marketing budget. Rather than throwing cash at trying to entice their customers to spend their money via unfocused special offers they could look to use technology that will help them deliver results.

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Online shopping continues to buck the downward trend seen on the UK High Street. Latest figures show the e-tail sector made a 13 per cent annual sales increase in February, so there’s never been a better time for retailers to engage with their customers in this sector. One option is to implement Maginus’ e-commerce solution with its Clever Selling module which uses Microsoft SQL Server 2008 business intelligence architecture and data mining functionality, and has real-time connectivity to Microsoft Analysis Services 2008.

The Clever Selling module is, in effect, an artificial intelligence capability which allows companies to influence a customer’s buying decision by cleverly merchandising their products on the Web. It enables the Web site to learn about its customers and its products. The more business that goes through the Web site, the more it learns. The Web site not only learns about products the customer has bought, but it can also analyse what other products they have looked at, using what search criteria, and offer complementary products based on these elements.

This tool is all about delivering a complete merchandising experience which doesn’t impose itself on the customer’s overall shopping experience. When a customer views products or places an order it allows the Web site to suggest other products that the customer might be interested in purchasing. By both cross-selling and up-selling the overall aim is to maximise the average order value of each customer transaction.

Knowledge is built on both a customer level and at product level through using Microsoft’s basket analysis technology. This knowledge covers both the individual customer’s habit and the habits of all customers.

However, the technology can also delve deeper to reveal greater customer insight as and when required. For example, it can recognise a particular type of customer based on topics such as age, geography, and buying or spending habits. So the site can recognise that ‘Customer 1’ is based in the South East of England and that customers in this region prefer a green jumper to a red one. The site will therefore merchandise the green jumper. In addition, it can recognise that different products are bought at different times of day and assess how shopping habits in the week may be different.

For the retailer, the Web site becomes the perfect shop assistant, able to judge for each customer what they would most prefer and therefore are most likely to buy. It can assess how the customer likes to be contacted with offers and how regularly. The aim is always to improve the customer experience of the site, so customers feel that businesses are communicating with them directly and giving them offers that they will be interested in. By using the Clever Selling module retailers can choose which criteria they use to measure customers. If this information is stored on file, trends and patterns can be monitored closely. The introduction of a Maginus e-commerce solution and Clever Selling module therefore provides a low-cost package solution offering sophisticated merchandising capabilities that could provide essential data to help mid-sized retailers in their quest for success.

About the Author

As director of e-commerce, Mark Thornton advises on all areas of e-commerce development, including usability, search engine optimisation, affiliate marketing and back office integration. He has over 20 years’ experience in the software industry including roles in software development, consulting, sales and general management. He previously worked for Visibility Corporation, a US-based ERP company, where he was managing director of their European subsidiary. Learn more at www.maginus.com

Getting Over the Usability Hurdle

2009-05-12T17:42:00Z

By Bernhard Pichler

As new waves of technology come into fashion, it is important to take a step back and consider what they can do for you and your customers. Bernhard Pichler explains.

Wikipedia, My Space, forums, blogs, RSS. All of these words form and represent a new way of using the Internet, and has come to be known as Web 2.0. The Web is no longer just about finding information, but also about having the ability to influence it from a social perspective. Many retailers are now starting to catch on to this, using social networking technologies as a different route to market. This is all very well and good, but many businesses are focussing on these over-hyped technology developments, and risking diverting resources from the high-ROI design issues that really matter to their users – and to their profits.

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Web 2.0 ideas are not intrinsically bad for users, they can actually be highly effective. However, if these technologies don’t focus on users’ core needs then there’s a distinct likelihood that badly thought out ‘enhancements’ will actually diminish profits because they fail to focus on those simpler design issues that actually increase sales and leads.

So, in order to succeed with Web 2.0 you need to ask yourself what drives people within it. By doing this, and really thinking about what people want, then you can be sure that you are going to succeed when the crowd arrives. People are like birds of passage; they just need the right climate in which to feel comfortable.

So what does this mean for retail in an Internet world these days? The answer is to establish exactly this climate that best fits your customer’s needs, a climate of trust, self expression and respect. This means that the front end of your business needs to be focused on the customer, and it needs to be user-friendly. Usability focuses on the human approach and, as research shows, significantly increases trade volumes by up to 30 – 40 per cent. I deeply believe that this will be the key differentiator for e-commerce in the years to come. And never has the time been better to set up usable software.

Let me point out some key areas and how technology responds to the need of usability. Firstly, a system should be reliable and stable. Lots of frameworks are available that offer developers tested modules they can use. Performance is also key. Even long running actions should not hinder the user interface from being responsive. Asynchronous calls and multi threading have become very easy to implement, fulfilling this demand.

To be usable, technology also has to be to a certain extent predictable. Office 2007 has clearly focused on this with its preview functionality. The user can see the results of an action before performing it, and he can undo any action that he has made. Usability is now a real selling feature. It is not new features that make it compelling – users love it because they can work faster – the usability is overwhelming.

Focus is also important. Why have all commands available if only three or four fit the current context? Command Binding in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) gives a set of tools that react to the context without a single line of code. The more information we have the more important it is to see it at a glance. Silverlight and WPF go far beyond the controls you know and visualise complex information in a cool design. The integration of maps, for example Virtual Earth, let you target the right zone much easier.

With technologies such as WPF, Silverlight and Virtual Earth, to mention just a few, Microsoft offers solutions that can help retailers create an experience with a real wow factor. It is up to dedicated developers, passionate designers and professional usability experts to realise your vision – that customers buy your goods because you truly understand their needs. FURTHER INFO: http://www.informare.de/

About the Author

Bernhard Pichler is managing director of Informare Consulting. He leads development teams in Eastern Europe and India, works as a trainer and speaker for WPF and consults with retail companies about new business opportunities that arise from new technologies. Together with his wife and four children he is located in Oberschneiding, Bavaria, Germany.

Chat with Microsoft Dynamics RMS experts on May 7

2009-05-06T19:01:00Z

Join us for a live chat May 7 at 10:00 Pacific Time on the recently released Service Pack 3 for Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Go to Microsoft Communities to learn more and sign up.

Managing Price in the Downturn

2009-05-01T17:11:00Z

By: Tony Jones

Frequent promotions are essential in today’s economic climate but how can margins be protected? Tony Jones from Ivis Group explains.

In the new economic era consumers are demanding better value and competition is fierce. Prices need to be changed more frequently and the number of promotions offered grows quickly. For many retailers this is a real challenge as they do not have the tools in place to undertake price and promotions management efficiently. The situation becomes even more complex where multiple channels are used as prices and promotions need to be managed across every channel.

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Price changes and promotions need to be scheduled and potentially conflicting promotions identified. Care must be taken to ensure products that have been discounted are not inadvertently included in other promotions. Voucher codes must be expired to prevent them from being shared on the Internet and used long after the offer should have ended. Without clear management such double discounts and expired voucher codes can seriously erode margins and potentially lead to loss-making sales.

Nonetheless, to satisfy customer expectations compelling offers are a necessity and retailers need to ensure they can cope with this more complex environment. When looking to automate price and promotions management there are three key elements that need to be considered.

Firstly, ensure that a broad and extensible range of promotion types are available covering products, categories and baskets. These not only need to cover simple promotions such as markdowns, percentage off, ‘buy one get one free’ etc. but also need to support discounts on category or basket spend plus potentially complex ‘link save’ deals. If a loyalty scheme exists, the awarding of points, including double or triple awards, needs to be integrated with the promotions management system.

Voucher codes or coupons need particularly close attention. When creating them consideration must be given to whether they can be used by anyone, a set of customers or an individual customer. Defining that they can only be used once or a set number of times and expire after a given date avoids ‘old’ codes and coupons being used repeatedly.

Secondly, ensure that there is a strong management framework around defining and scheduling promotions. This not only needs to include support for a clear promotions approvals process but should also include rules to check the validation of all promotions – thereby avoiding the unwitting application of double discounts. Where multiple channels are supported, management tools must allow price and promotions to be set to apply across all channels or individual ones.

To track budget, a price and promotions management system should allow discounts offered to be allocated to specific cost centres or third party suppliers and report charges as appropriate. Through these steps margin can be managed accurately and the success of specific promotions monitored effectively – improving the ability to undertake future promotion planning.

Finally, ensure that all promotions can be applied correctly at checkout time and clear information is offered to customers on the level of discount awarded. This must include the tracking of expired promotions to ensure that customer returns are refunded correctly and full price refunds are not given for discounted goods even if they were part of a potentially complex ‘link save’ or basket promotion. By adopting these steps and implementing improved price and promotions management retailers can offer customers the compelling offers they are seeking, thereby retaining customer loyalty while at the same time ensuring margin is being retained.

About the Author

Tony Jones is VP Marketing for Ivis Group, a software and services organisation with a 14 year pedigree delivering leading multi-channel solutions to UK retailers. He has 20 years experience working for IT solution providers and for the past six years has focussed on product information management for multichannel retail.

Microsoft Dynamics RMS Live Chat scheduled for May 7

2009-04-24T18:16:00Z

Join the Microsoft Dynamics RMS experts on Thursday, May 7 at 10:00 am Pacific Time as they answer your questions in a live chat. Topic: Service Pack 3 for Microsoft Dynamics RMS.

Go to Microsoft Communities to learn more and sign up for this public chat.

Microsoft Dynamics RMS 2.0 Service Pack 3 now Available

2009-04-24T18:12:00Z

Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of Microsoft Dynamics RMS 2.0 Service Pack 3. This service pack includes several performance enhancements, reports updates, a Microsoft Dynamics Online Payment Services add-in (for more payment processing choices), a rollup of hotfixes since SP2, and Help updates. Service Pack 3 is available for download from Microsoft Dynamics CustomerSource (requires login)

Top 10 reasons to buy Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS)

2009-03-30T20:08:00Z

Respond rapidly to consumer demands, proactively manage inventory and pricing, and control critical business information across your retail network, from the point of sale (POS) to supply chain, customer, and financial management systems. Here are 10 ways that Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) can equip you to compete in a demanding, constantly changing retail marketplace.

1. You can make better use of your employees' time and energy. Equipped with a familiar, Microsoft Office-like interface, a host of automated operations, and integrated information, your staff can focus on keeping pace with customer demand for products, and delivering superb service, even if they're new to their jobs. Associates can learn basic POS functions in minutes, while managers can ensure smooth operations at both the store level and at headquarters with real-time visibility into inventory, purchasing, and sales performance and trends.

2. Fast, flexible transaction processing lets you keep pace with retail giants. Today's customers simply expect checkout processes to go without a hitch, even for complex requests and transactions. With Microsoft Dynamics RMS, associates can check prices, availability, and stock location instantly. They’ll be able to access complete customer information, manage multiple tenders and partial payments, and process debit and credit cards without the need for expensive middleware and high transaction fees. They can also quickly create and process returns, back orders, sales quotes, work orders, and layaways.

3. Maintain tight control over products, shelf space, and suppliers. Microsoft Dynamics RMS is designed to help retailers respond rapidly to consumer demands, ensure efficient replenishment, and build cost-effective relationships across the entire supply chain. You can effortlessly track and manage inventory using any stock and sales method and a wide range of inventory types, and help reduce theft and shrinkage with system security. Specialty retailers in particular will welcome easy-to-use wizards that simplify management of complex, multi-dimensional inventory. Just as important, automated, customizable purchasing functionality gives you the control and flexibility you need to keep pace with specialized ordering requirements.

4. Transform silos of information into a connected enterprise. Integrate your head office, individual store offices, and POS information and processes. Microsoft Dynamics RMS delivers a complete POS solution that integrates with a number of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting applications such as Microsoft Dynamics GP, providing retailers with an end-to-end retail and financial management solution for managing a multi-store network. Along with reducing data entry and helping eliminate errors, your connected solution can help you adapt smoothly to changing mid-market requirements and drive a lower cost of ownership.

5. Focus on innovation and growth. Thousands of retailers are using Microsoft Dynamics RMS to meet demanding small and mid-market requirements. As you continue to grow your business across stores and retail channels, Microsoft SQL Server database technologies provide a flexible database for setting up new stores, managing and storing virtually unlimited information, and exchanging data across platforms to reach a global network of customers, partners, and suppliers. You can also extend the reach of your business and sales operations with add-on solutions from independent software vendors (ISVs), including e-commerce, mobility, business intelligence, and merchandising.

6. Simplify complexity with centralized control of store information. Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System Headquarters equips multi-store businesses or chains to roll up and manage data for all stores from the head office. From one central location, you can view, analyze, and share information across your entire business, as well as manage purchasing and inventory chain-wide, by region, or by store. Centralized control over pricing helps ensure accuracy across all your stores and enables you to set up and monitor flexible pricing structures, discounts, promotions, and sales at both individual stores and chain-wide.

7. Stay on top of performance with accurate, timely data about sales, profitability, inventory, and customers. Put your information to work with more than 100 standard reports and the ability to analyze and share information in multiple formats. You can know exactly what's selling best, who's buying, and when—by department, category, or store—decide on a dime what to buy or mark down, and track return on investment (ROI) for marketing initiatives.

8. Hardware requirements won't put you out of pocket. Microsoft Dynamics RMS can work with your existing computers or OPOS (OLE for POS) compatible peripherals. You can also purchase complete software and hardware packages from leading providers, designed to maximize affordability and quality for your total solution.

9. Gain peace of mind with a solution designed to drive down ownership costs. Whether you want to simply install Microsoft Dynamics RMS in a few stores or deploy a chain-wide enterprise solution tailored to specific requirements, you can count on a flexible platform designed for integration and growth, rapid implementation, and expert assistance from your local Microsoft Certified Partner. Just as important, you'll have the backing of comprehensive maintenance and support that ensures you're current with updated releases and provides you with fast resolution of questions and problems.

10. Go ahead and take that vacation. Microsoft Dynamics RMS lets you stay in control of your business even when you're out of the office. Because your business processes are based on an integrated, automated system, your operations can run smoothly whether you're on site or away. Automated tracking for all transactions and inventory movement helps reduce shrinkage, false returns, credit card fraud, and unauthorized discounts. Plus, built-in user security ensures employees have access only to the data they need to do their jobs. The result? Freedom to go home at the end of the day—or even to take the vacation you've put on hold.

Find out more about Microsoft Dynamics RMS or contact Microsoft for more information.

Learn more with E-Learning for Microsoft Dynamics

2008-06-20T16:16:00Z

If you are a Microsoft Dynamics customer enrolled in the Business Ready Enhancement Plan or other service plans or a Microsoft partner enrolled in a Partner Service Plan for Microsoft Dynamics you have unlimited access to e-learning for Microsoft Dynamics at no additional charge.

Visit https://www.microsoftelearning.com/dynamics/ for more information.