Manufacturers across North America that continue to run older versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are being urged to review their enterprise resource planning (ERP) plans, according to Dynamics Square Canada, a Microsoft Solutions Partner. The firm says many of these systems have supported day-to-day operations for more than a decade, and growing manufacturers are increasingly finding they can no longer keep pace with the business.
The pressures are familiar across the sector. As operations grow, older NAV versions can slow accounting and manufacturing tasks, make reporting and invoicing harder to manage, and limit how well the system connects with everyday tools such as Excel, Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Leaders also lose the accurate, timely view of the business they need to make decisions. There is a support risk as well: Microsoft ended support for NAV 2013 and NAV 2013 R2 in January 2023.
Dynamics Square Canada recommends Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as the natural next step, since it gives NAV users a modern platform for finance and operations with a familiar Microsoft foundation. The company provides Business Central implementation, consulting, migration, upgrade and support services for Canadian organizations evaluating their next ERP environment.
One example comes from North America's aerospace supply chain. In a Dynamics Square project, a manufacturer of aviation fluid handling components that had outgrown NAV 2013 moved to Business Central, with its data migrated from NAV and its Office 365 tools integrated. The company now manages its business processes from a single dashboard, staff complete accounting tasks without lag, and real-time data reaches the people who need it. The details are available in the NAV 2013 to Business Central case study.
"Older NAV versions were built for a different stage of growth," said Darshan Mungekar, Senior D365 Solution Architect at Dynamics Square Canada. "Business Central gives finance and operations teams one place to work. For a manufacturer, that means fewer delays and a clearer view of the business."
Dynamics Square Canada advises manufacturers to review their current NAV version, customizations and data before setting a timeline. This allows the upgrade to be planned around the needs of the business rather than forced by it. Organizations running an older version of NAV can request a personalized assessment and roadmap for their Dynamics NAV to Business Central upgrade from Dynamics Square Canada.
As part of the broader Dynamics Square organization, the company supports Microsoft Dynamics 365 initiatives across multiple markets, including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information about Dynamics Square Canada, visit https://www.dynamicssquare.ca.
