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Options
Multiple Companies Implementation
Forza
Member Posts: 64
Hi to all Navision Expert,
Our company (or rather group of companies) had recently engaged a Navision Partner (Partner) to implement NAV 4.0 for all three of our companies under the same parent company. All three companies, although in the same industry, have different nature of operation and distinctively different requirement. One is an international trading company, one is a manufacturing company while the other one is a local retail chains with more that 8 outlets. During the initial requirement study, the NAV partner told us that Navision license only permits to be used in one database and assured us that there will be no problem in implementing all three companies in one database. After a detail requirement study, prototyping for one company and an initial purchase of 5 user license later, a few 'revelation' surfaced.
1. All objects - Tables, Forms, Reports, Codeunit, etc - created in one database is universal to all companies. This means that all the companies that are created in the same database have to use the same tables, forms and reports.
2. The Navigation Pane - or Menusuite in Object Designer - is universal to all companies. This means that all the companies share the same view of the navigation pane and you cannot have different design of menu suite for different companies created in the same database.
3. A lot of logic is built-in through triggers in the C/AL code from forms to forms. Thus, it is difficult if not impossible to simply create different version of forms for different companies. For example, we want to create three different forms of item card, each for a specific company, the same goes for customer card, sales order, sales invoice, purchase order, etc. The Partner says that this will take a lot of man days to be done in such a way.
The implication of these revelation to our implementation are as follow:
1. All three companies need to keep additional information in tables such as item, customer, vendor, sales order, and purchase order. Furthermore, this information varies from one company to another. The Partner suggested that we utilize existing field that is not important to our business process as a substitution to store those information. Thus, field ‘A’ will mean one thing for company #1 and another thing for company #2. The Partner reasoned that putting additional fields in the existing tables will screw up future upgrades to newer versions. The same goes for changing the C/AL code, they claim that it will make future upgrade an issue.
2. That information will appear on the form. Because all three companies are using the same form, the Partner suggested that all the fields are placed in the form with their original field name. For each company, a template is created off the system to teach the users what this field actually means for their company.
3. At least two of the companies have different layout for printing the sales order, sales invoice, commercial invoice and purchase order. Again, that has to be initiated from the form. The Partner originally suggested that our company consolidate and use only one layout, but that turn out to be unfeasible. Now they suggested that we create different reports of those printing and place them all under the “Print” menu, it is then up to the individual user from each company to find the right report to print their orders and invoices.
4. The navigation pane is another issue as all three companies is sharing the same view of them. In our situation, all three companies have different flow of operation. For example, in the trading company, the purchaser is the person that is in charge of maintaining the item master; while in the manufacturing company, the production planning, item master and sales order creation are done by the same person. On this, the Partner suggests that we stick to the basic design of the Navigation Pane and trained them to use shortcut instead.
Judging from all these suggestion from the Partner, it seemed like either Navision is not really suitable to be implemented for multiple companies that have very different nature of business or the Partner is reluctant to do it or lack the knowledge to do so. Please give me some guidance on this matter so that our company can decide how to move forward. Thanks a million.
Our company (or rather group of companies) had recently engaged a Navision Partner (Partner) to implement NAV 4.0 for all three of our companies under the same parent company. All three companies, although in the same industry, have different nature of operation and distinctively different requirement. One is an international trading company, one is a manufacturing company while the other one is a local retail chains with more that 8 outlets. During the initial requirement study, the NAV partner told us that Navision license only permits to be used in one database and assured us that there will be no problem in implementing all three companies in one database. After a detail requirement study, prototyping for one company and an initial purchase of 5 user license later, a few 'revelation' surfaced.
1. All objects - Tables, Forms, Reports, Codeunit, etc - created in one database is universal to all companies. This means that all the companies that are created in the same database have to use the same tables, forms and reports.
2. The Navigation Pane - or Menusuite in Object Designer - is universal to all companies. This means that all the companies share the same view of the navigation pane and you cannot have different design of menu suite for different companies created in the same database.
3. A lot of logic is built-in through triggers in the C/AL code from forms to forms. Thus, it is difficult if not impossible to simply create different version of forms for different companies. For example, we want to create three different forms of item card, each for a specific company, the same goes for customer card, sales order, sales invoice, purchase order, etc. The Partner says that this will take a lot of man days to be done in such a way.
The implication of these revelation to our implementation are as follow:
1. All three companies need to keep additional information in tables such as item, customer, vendor, sales order, and purchase order. Furthermore, this information varies from one company to another. The Partner suggested that we utilize existing field that is not important to our business process as a substitution to store those information. Thus, field ‘A’ will mean one thing for company #1 and another thing for company #2. The Partner reasoned that putting additional fields in the existing tables will screw up future upgrades to newer versions. The same goes for changing the C/AL code, they claim that it will make future upgrade an issue.
2. That information will appear on the form. Because all three companies are using the same form, the Partner suggested that all the fields are placed in the form with their original field name. For each company, a template is created off the system to teach the users what this field actually means for their company.
3. At least two of the companies have different layout for printing the sales order, sales invoice, commercial invoice and purchase order. Again, that has to be initiated from the form. The Partner originally suggested that our company consolidate and use only one layout, but that turn out to be unfeasible. Now they suggested that we create different reports of those printing and place them all under the “Print” menu, it is then up to the individual user from each company to find the right report to print their orders and invoices.
4. The navigation pane is another issue as all three companies is sharing the same view of them. In our situation, all three companies have different flow of operation. For example, in the trading company, the purchaser is the person that is in charge of maintaining the item master; while in the manufacturing company, the production planning, item master and sales order creation are done by the same person. On this, the Partner suggests that we stick to the basic design of the Navigation Pane and trained them to use shortcut instead.
Judging from all these suggestion from the Partner, it seemed like either Navision is not really suitable to be implemented for multiple companies that have very different nature of business or the Partner is reluctant to do it or lack the knowledge to do so. Please give me some guidance on this matter so that our company can decide how to move forward. Thanks a million.
0
Answers
wat u asking is possible but somebody has to foot the bill
At first glance, Manufacturing, Retail and international trade, I could not imagine why the Partner suggested one Database. The new Business ready licensing means that you are basically paying for users, not servers, so the cost of maintaining 3 servers will not be that much more than maintaining one. Of course you will not have the flexibility to move users about (i.e. if you have 3x 20 user systems, you can't have 21 users in the retail system and 19 in manufacturing).
I think though that both options have good logic behind them, and in the end it will be a case of balancing the costs and deciding the solution. Most of the issues you have CAN be resolved in a single database, but the cost of development, and the ongoing support and maintenance including upgrades may be too much.
It does seem odd though that the Partner did not present you with both options from day one.
A further issue you may not have thought of is upgrades. If you have just one database, then at upgrade time you will be forced to do three upgrades at once. If the databases are separate, then you can do each independently.
Without being there, and knowing your business better, I would say go fro three independent servers. Oh and I believe that it will be cheaper to develop three simple solutions, than one hugely complex one.
When the Partner uploaded (restore might be the more accurate word) the prototype database to our server, I made a backup of it and created a 'Test' database and restore to it. So now I have on my SQL Server 2000 two Navision database, 'prototype' and 'test'.
I then opened two windows of Navision, one that opens the 'prototype' database and one that opens the 'test' database. When I proceed to check the "Database Information -> Sessions", I found that my running session is two from both window. Further trial discovered that the session usage information is the same for both database. This means that when I open three sessions in 'prototype' and one session in 'test', both database showed running session as four.
My question now is: Does this means that Navision license permit the creation of multiple database with a single license file or is it just a case of "Oops, we forgot to put up the fences" from Microsoft? According to our Partner, it's the latter, to my disappointment.
Anybody with clear understanding of the current Navision licensing structure can provide some information in this regard?
Thanks a million.
Thats really not good, since there are about a billion errors in 4.0/SP1 that have been corrected in SP3
This is the contrary of what any software expert normally does! Many even wait for the new versions to have the Service Pack before implementing it! SP correct errors!
http://ssdynamics.co.in
Or ask your current NSC why they insist on an older version when you have suggestion to go otherwise.
Try to work out your difference with your NSC before getting another NSC in. There's a reason why you choose that NSC in the first place.
AP Commerce, Inc. = where I work
Getting Started with Dynamics NAV 2013 Application Development = my book
Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV - 3rd Edition = my 2nd book
It is the license agreement and not the software that controls what you can or cannot do. Many software packages allow you to easily violate the license. There is nothing to stop you from installing a single copy of Microsoft office on 200 computers. Only the legal agreement you accepted when you opened the box. I had a former client get caught. It cost them over $2,000,000 in fines. They could have ben legal for a fraction of that.
The Navision license agreement allows you to run one system. A system is defined as 1 database on 1 server. If you want to run 3 databases, then you must purchase 3 Navision licenses. There is an exception that allows you to run a second database for development.
We mad a recent license inquiry to Microsoft. Our client wanted to have a second DB for reporting only. Microsoft said they had to buy another license.
There is a granule "per database" that allows you to load different licenses for each database.
Microsoft wins again.