REDMOND, Wash. — May 14, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Bordine Nursery Ltd., a Rochester Hills, Mich., company that grows, wholesales and retails garden products and nursery stock, has chosen Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 to replace a UNIX-based accounting system that no longer can handle all of the company’s needs. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 will enable Bordine to integrate its separate databases into a single database that will support accounting, sales, production and other functions.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that is designed to simplify and streamline highly specialized business processes for small and midsize organizations. It helps companies automate, integrate and better manage finances, e-commerce, manufacturing, supply chains, accounting, field service, customer relationships and human resources.
Working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Integrated Software Systems Inc. (ISSI) of Novi, Mich., Bordine will implement Microsoft Dynamics NAV in place of its previous Infor ERP FACTS supply chain management software that required the development of separate databases for manufacturing and point of sale, entailing double or triple entry of most data.
Bordine chose Microsoft Dynamics NAV after reviewing 10 software products and participating in demonstrations of systems that included Exact Macola ES and Sage MAS 500 in addition to Microsoft technology.
“In our opinion, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 provided the most flexibility because it could be customized, and the source code could be purchased if deemed necessary,” said Phil Tomczak, vice president of financial administration for Bordine Nursery. “Microsoft Dynamics NAV will provide us with an integrated system in which information will be more timely and relevant than previously, allowing us to make more-informed decisions about the company.”
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is expected to provide an array of benefits to meet the specialized needs of Bordine’s combined wholesale, retail and horticulture processes, including the following:
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Integration throughout the business. All information from Bordine’s four locations in Michigan will be accessible from a single database that eliminates the need for multiple entries of the same data. In addition, employees will gain remote access to data and reports when at home or on the road.
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Accuracy of data. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0’s integration means Bordine no longer will need to enter the same data in two or three different locations. The results are fewer opportunities for error and assurance that everyone is working from the most current version of the data.
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New reporting capabilities. Bordine management personnel anticipate information in their reports will be timelier with Microsoft Dynamics NAV’s forms and reports.
“Our system reporting was archaic and limited in the information we could pull,” Tomczak said. “Now managers will be able to generate their own customized reports.”
Also, for the first time Bordine will be able to easily mine data from its customer loyalty-card program to provide its marketing department with information on buying patterns.
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Better cost accountability during production. The manufacturing capability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV will allow Bordine to use one database to do sales planning, leading to a calculation of production demand, which generates purchase orders for raw materials and a production schedule, resulting in finished materials for inventory. Previously this process required the use of separate production and costing databases. Microsoft Dynamics NAV adds the ability to apply overhead weekly as Bordine’s plants grow, allowing the company to determine and apportion its true costs more easily than before.
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Improved efficiency through cost reductions and time savings. With Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Bordine will be able to measure production against labor expenses to determine its cost per unit, a process that was very difficult to do with its previous system. Managers also will be able to respond rapidly to cost variations, because cost information will be available to analyze in a very timely fashion. Previously the information that managers received was days old and arrived too late to enable them to take effective action. Furthermore, by doing away with multiple data entry, the company will need to pay for fewer labor hours to produce the same information.
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Company growth. With a slowing of retail sales, Bordine is beginning to sell to wholesalers, where margins are much slimmer than they are when selling directly to consumers. Microsoft Dynamics NAV gives the company the ability to determine and thereby control its exact costs as a way to preserve its margins. Bordine also is in the process of considering Microsoft Dynamic NAV’s capacity-planning ability for the areas where it grows plants to use its acreage more efficiently than before.
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Planning. Bordine will be able to carry out its planning more efficiently than before, using an integrated system instead of needing to export and import data between two systems. The ability to mine data from its customer base is expected to allow Bordine to hone its marketing programs to be more effective than previously.
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IT support and management. Because managers can customize and produce their own reports, Bordine’s IT staff no longer will need to develop programs to produce specialized reports. Also, because Microsoft Dynamics NAV is widely used across the globe, Bordine anticipates it will be able to collaborate online with other companies and partners to prevent issues from arising and to discuss innovative applications.
ISSI is implementing a comprehensive Microsoft Dynamics NAV advanced- management ERP system that incorporates modules providing financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, customer relationship management and human-resources functionality.
“Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps specialized companies like Bordine Nursery grow profitability and efficiency as they grow their products,” said Michael Park, corporate vice president for U.S. Dynamics Business at Microsoft. “Evolving from systems with islands of data to fully integrated information sources across a company plants the seed for cultivating better business intelligence, more accurate and rapid reporting, and ultimately products that are more responsive to market demand.”
About Bordine Nursery
Bordine Nursery is a 69-year-old company and still growing, literally. Bordine Nursery owns and operates four premium retail garden centers featuring the best quality plants, unique garden décor and expert gardening knowledge. Its staff, the “Plant Loving Purple People,” know about more than plants; they help people with gardening solutions and make it easy for their customers to create their piece of Eden. Bordine’s also sets itself apart by growing the vast majority of their plants itself. It has a professional staff of cultural experts, state-of-the-art facilities and hundreds of years of combined experience to ensure breathtaking horticultural results.
About Integrated Software Systems Inc.
Since 1981, ISSI has been the provider of choice for hundreds of organizations in the Great Lakes region through a comprehensive portfolio of related products and services, including consultation, strategic planning, project management, project execution, training, ongoing support and customer-specific system design and development. We specialize in manufacturing and distribution-type businesses and have a special knack for addressing the needs of businesses that don’t “fit” into “out-of-the-box” solutions.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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