Until about thirty years ago you really had to be a large corporation to be active across borders. And to call yourself a ‘multi-national’. But since the introduction of the internet this has changed dramatically. In today’s world, medium sized and even small companies can sell and deliver their products and services all over the world. That has of course an impact on the scope and the deployability of their IT systems. That’s why it is important when selecting a new ERP solution to always check if your potential vendor has an international offering.

Although our world is rapidly globalized over the last 2 decades, the differences between countries are still impressively large. And that is not limited to obvious aspects like language and currencies! Almost every single country has particularities in accounting, tax rules and specific reporting. And on top of that there are always the well-known differences in culture.

The impact of these differences on international implementations are drastic. If you want to use a global ERP solution that is not localized for all your countries, you run the risk of not being compliant. Alternatively, using different local solutions for every country will result in a loss of overview, a complex organization and much higher cost.

It is better not to fall into the trap of starting with a local vendor in your home country and immediately run into problems on the first step across borders. Unfortunately, however, many companies have had to learn this important lesson the hard way.

Microsoft has an attractive international offering for her Dynamics 365 solutions, including:

• Localized versions for her Dynamics 365 solutions for 49 countries around the world (April 2021). Localized means the local language, the local currency and the local laws and regulations – all on an ongoing basis;
• The availability of local implementation partners in all these countries who know the localized version inside-out, speak the local language and understand the local culture
• Access to a local helpdesk that delivers support in local language and in the local time-zone

As you can imagine, these are all aspects that will improve the quality of your implementation and international roll-outs.

Finally. You might run a local operation today. And you might think that this message is meant for someone else. But for a minute, just consider where the future growth of your company is. In the next 3, 5 or maybe even 10 years from now. No idea right?

So when you’re selecting a new ERP solution, why should you limit yourself in advance?