Reviving a Customized Dynamics NAV Implementation for a Furniture Retail Chain

Project Overview

A prominent furniture retail chain operating across the United States and Canada implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV (now known as Dynamics 365 Business Central) to manage both back-office accounting operations and front-office point-of-sale (POS) systems. The implementation, however, was heavily customized by the initial partner to meet the company’s specific business needs, including integrating POS functions directly into Dynamics NAV.

The customization was carried out entirely through screen sharing via Online meetings. This led to critical issues, including the intertwining of custom code with the core logic of Dynamics NAV and incorrect licensing configurations which subsequently caused instability in the software. The core challenge with any software customization is ensuring that it does not interfere with the software's inherent logic. Failing to do so can result in other parts of the system malfunctioning. This became a significant issue where the customized Dynamics NAV began to exhibit frequent and disruptive failures.

The Problem

One of the critical issues arose from the way user licenses were managed in Dynamics NAV. The system differentiates between full user licenses and team user licenses, with team users typically having restricted permissions. For instance, team users are generally not allowed to perform functions such as creating sales orders or adding new customers.

However, the customization implemented for the customer allowed retail workers—who were team users—to perform these tasks, which the standard system logic would typically prohibit. This heavy customization led to frequent system breakdowns, resulting in error messages that could only be resolved by rebooting Dynamics NAV at an admin level. This reboot would disrupt all running instances of the software, causing delays at the point of sale. As a result, customers often grew frustrated with the long wait times, leading to lost sales and a negative impact on the business.

Moreover, the process of creating sales orders involved the retail workers inputting customer information into a job card. This job card would then be processed by a scheduled batch job running every five minutes. However, due to the instability of the customized system, this job frequently failed, meaning that orders were not consistently recorded in the system. This issue compounded the operational inefficiencies and further strained customer relations.

Key Challenges

1. License Configuration Issues: The Dynamics NAV system used both full user licenses and team user licenses. Typically, team users have restricted permissions and cannot perform functions reserved for full users, such as creating sales orders and customer records. However, the customization allowed team users to perform these tasks, which led to frequent system errors.
2. POS System Failures: The retail workers at the POS were continuously facing disruptions. The customizations would often break, causing error messages in Dynamics NAV that required a system reboot at the admin level. Rebooting affected all instances of Dynamics NAV, leading to significant downtime and potential loss of sales as customers grew frustrated with the delays.
3. Job Card Processing Failures: The system was designed so that customer information entered into a job card would be processed in scheduled batches every five minutes. However, these job batches were failing repeatedly, leading to unrecorded sales orders and further compounding the operational issues.

Impact on Business

The continuous failures in the Dynamics NAV system had several adverse effects on the business:

1. Operational Disruptions: Frequent errors and the need to reboot the system at an administrative level caused significant disruptions in day-to-day operations, particularly at the POS. These disruptions led to delays in processing sales, which directly impacted customer satisfaction and sales performance.
2. Lost Revenue: The delays and system failures led to frustrated customers who abandoned their purchases, resulting in lost sales and revenue. The inability to reliably record sales orders further exacerbated this issue, as some transactions were not captured in the system at all.
3. Strained IT Resources: The lack of an in-house IT team meant that the business had to rely on external consultants to address these issues. The remote nature of the support provided by the partner added to the challenges, as it was difficult to diagnose and resolve issues quickly.
4. High Support Costs: The IT team was forced to dedicate excessive hours to maintaining system functionality, driving up support costs without addressing the root problems.
5. Stalled Business Growth: The unstable foundation left the business in a reactive mode, constantly firefighting rather than planning for long-term success and preventing expansion efforts.

Our Approach

Our consulting team was brought in to stabilize the situation and get the system back on track. The project unfolded as follows:

1. Executive Consultation and Goal Alignment: We began by meeting with the company’s executives and project leadership team to gain a high-level understanding of the situation and identify the key business goals. This strategic alignment ensured that our solutions would support the company’s long-term objectives.
2. Departmental Walkthroughs: We conducted in-depth sessions with key users from each department to observe their daily operations and understand the challenges they were facing. These sessions revealed numerous functional limitations and system-related frustrations, which were crucial for our subsequent analysis.
3. System Backend Analysis: We performed a comprehensive review of the system's backend, including the custom code, system setup, licensing configuration, and permissions. Our goal was to identify whether the issues were due to permission errors, code conflicts, or inherent system bugs.
4. Issue Documentation and Prioritization: We compiled a detailed issue list, categorizing each problem by its cause (e.g., permission error, code error, system bug) and potential solutions. Each issue was then classified as a fit, gap, or workaround, with recommendations for either code clean-up, third-party add-ons, or alternative solutions.
5. Customer Review and Implementation: After reviewing the documented issues with the customer, we prioritized the tasks based on the customer’s internal resource constraints. Our team then systematically addressed each issue, restoring the system to a stable, operational state.

Results

The intervention successfully revived the Dynamics NAV system, making it stable and fully operational. The furniture retail chain not only resolved their immediate technical challenges but also regained the confidence to expand their business. Since the project’s completion, the company has rapidly opened new locations along the East Coast—something that seemed unattainable at the time of the initial system failure.

Conclusion

This case study underscores the critical importance of thoughtful customization in ERP systems and the potential risks when modifications are not carefully managed. By bringing in expert intervention, the furniture retail chain was able to overcome significant technical challenges that had hindered their operations. Through strategic consultation, in-depth analysis, and systematic problem resolution, our consulting team not only restored the functionality of their Dynamics NAV system but also paved the way for the company’s continued growth and expansion. This project serves as a testament to the value of expertise in navigating complex system implementations and ensuring long-term business success.