Over the years, in working with clients implementing ERP systems, I have more than once encountered a situation where the ERP decision was “forced” upon a Division or Business Unit of a company. In those situations it was clear to the team doing the implementation that the system selected was sub-optimal for their particular business model. However, in the broader corporate picture, it made sense from a standardization perspective.

Today, with Microsoft Dynamics AX, companies can have the best of both worlds. Corporate HQ can maintain their legacy ERP system for global visibility, and at the same time implement Dynamics AX at the Division, Region, or Business Unit level for the ultimate in what we like to call “Process Entrepreneurship”, for local control and locally optimized workflows and processes to the particular needs of the business unit.

As proof of this strategy, this is exactly what Microsoft is doing themselves, running SAP as their corporate solution, along with a number of business units running Dynamics AX. This could be the right solution for you as well!

One Size Does Not Fit All – Making the Case for Two-Tier ERP – Microsoft Dynamics ERP “The Edge” Blog – Community Home – Microsoft Dynamics Community.