Dynamics 365 Business Central vs ManEx ERP

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Our analysts compared Dynamics 365 Business Central vs ManEx ERP based on data from our 400+ point analysis of ERP Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Software Tool
ManEx ERP Software Tool

Product Basics

Dynamics 365 Business Central, formerly known as Dynamics NAV, is a widely used ERP platform that benefits businesses of small and medium sizes. It’s a multi-faceted ERP product that assists in the streamlining of aspects such as accounting, contact management and inventory management. This program has high integration capabilities due to its status as a Microsoft product and is currently used by more than 100,000 companies.

Personalization is a key benefit of this tool that is expressed throughout the program’s different modules. For example, you can customize dashboards and reports to ensure that your employees are obtaining useful insights quickly and easily. The program is also highly automated and can reduce human error through its connected systems.

Pros
  • User-friendly interface
  • Seamless integrations
  • Flexible customization
  • Robust financial management
  • Strong reporting capabilities
Cons
  • Limited industry-specific features
  • Potential customization complexity
  • Scalability concerns for large enterprises
  • Reliance on third-party add-ons
  • Potentially high ownership costs
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Manex is an ERP designed specifically for the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) industry that supports supply chain management and data analytics. It uses terminology specific to the EMS industry. It lets users manage compliance for their EMS manufacturing unit. It helps users manage PCB assembly, wire and harness assembly, functional and integrated testing and FGI warehousing.

It is available with cloud-based, web-based or SaaS deployments and has been designed for small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses. It is programmed with a comprehensive dashboard and workflow format that has intuitive navigation. It helps users record material changes and automate communication between different units. It also lets users manage and control shop floor activities.
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Product Assistance

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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Centralized Data: Dynamics 365 Business Central leans in to the essence of ERP software — data centralization. For example, the system’s contract management program maintains a shared database of customers and prospects that can be customized and filtered. The program also removes any duplicates found in the system, which is especially helpful when you have multiple people entering prospect information or liaising with customers. Customized dashboards and visualizations are also available for insights developed across your company. 
  • Accessibility: This software is available either on-premise or as a cloud-based ERP. If you opt to go with a cloud deployment, the solution will be accessible to your employees anytime and anywhere as long as an internet connection is available. This broadly increases the scope of where your employees can complete their duties and access pertinent information. 
  • Forecasting: Dynamics 365 Business Central contains forecasting tools that include the use of historical demand to estimate future demand. This is helpful because it can improve efficiency, reduce spoilage and improve the likelihood that you will be able to fulfill orders from customers. 
  • Simple Integration: As a Microsoft product, Dynamics 365 Business Central is well poised for integration. The software can work with programs such as Word and Excel and is also available across iOS, Android and Windows devices. Microsoft offers a wide variety of software solutions that can be connected to Dynamics 365 Business Central, such as Dynamics 365 for Sales. 
  • Collaboration: Dynamics 365 Business Central provides visibility and control over multiple production sites. This allows you to collaborate with employees located in that facility to determine benchmarks such as optimal inventory level. Additionally, because of Dynamics 365 Business Central’s availability as a cloud-based solution, it is easy for employees to collaborate on and access materials whether they are in a corporate office or at a production facility. 
  • Security: With this program, you can configure user access to different components of the software. For example, if you don’t want an account representative to have visualization of the payroll, you can limit the scope of a user’s access to the application. Disaster recovery tools also assist with security measures. 
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  • Seamless Communications: Manex ERP lets users communicate with suppliers and customers to maintain a long term and mutually beneficial relationship.  
  • Maintains Material Activity: It lets users maintain and track raw materials while recording material activity by manufacturer number, part number, customer number and supplier number.  
  • Reduces Material Cost: Its anticipatory data analytics monitors trends and makes recommendations about how users can lower material costs and equipment downtime and save on labor.  
  • Handles Processes Effectively: It helps prevent problems in processes, quality, scheduling and material availability.  
  • Compliance: Since the EMS industry needs to comply with manufacturing regulations like ISO and IPC standards, Manex helps users conform to those standards by collecting and maintaining proper records.  
  • Tracks Conflict Mineral: It lets users track conflict minerals from the mine to their use in products like electric cars and smartphones. These features ensure that manufacturers can demonstrate that their products are sustainably and ethically sourced.  
  • Monitors Shelf Life: It lets users monitor obsolescence and shelf life of electronic products, helping them reduce the cost of maintaining and tracking inventory.  
  • Easy Implementation: New users can implement Manex ERP in less time than they would to implement other ERPs. It also provides a structured implementation plan with step-by-step instructions to implement the product.  
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  • Sales Order Management: Dynamics 365 Business Central’s sales order management module allows you to alter quantity available amounts based on posted invoices. You can also use the program to create prepayment invoices and to manage partial shipments. 
  • Analysis Reports: The analysis reports tool is based on helping decisionmakers within your company gain meaningful insights that will positively influence daily decisions. With this customizable tool, you can use factors such as customers, items and vendors to view information such as inventory turnover and customer behavior. You can also use this tool to more accurately pinpoint problems across your business that are creating bottlenecks or inefficiencies. 
  • General Ledger: Accounting and financial reporting tools are a commonly requested feature in ERP software. Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a general ledger in its base package that includes internal and external reporting tools, ability to export data in various formats, employee ledger entries, linking to external documents and reporting in your company’s preferred currency format. 
  • Requisition Management: Dynamics 365 Business Central’s Requisition Worksheet allows you to optimize your inventory based on factors such as predicted demand and material availability. You can also set minimum and maximum quantity levels to determine a reordering point in your manufacturing center. 
  • Multi-Site Functionality: With this software, you can track inventory levels across multiple distribution centers, warehouses, production plants, showrooms and more. You can also track inventory as it moves from different locations while accounting for its value during transit. 
  • Contact Management: The contact management feature allows you to input and maintain a list of your business contacts and prospects. The tool lets you know when duplicate contact information is entered, enables you to issue quotes or sales documents, allows for the categorization of people associated with a specific contact and segments people based on profiling questions. 
  • Optical Character Recognition (OCR): Dynamics 365 Business Central includes support for Kofax Invoice Capture Service (ICS) out of the box. This tool can take information from unstructured PDFs, extract it, and turn it into structured data. 
  • Currency Exchange Rates: This system allows you to update currency exchange rates as they shift. This can be done either manually or automatically. Dynamics 365 Business Central supports Yahoo and European Central Bank (ECB) currency feeds out of the box, but you can add other currencies to the tool using the currency exchange rates setup. 
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  • Supply Chain Management: Manex ERP’s supply chain management module helps users boost customer and supplier collaboration by providing information in real time. It helps users implement agile manufacturing, maintain extensive inventories and handle schedule requirements.  
  • Anticipatory Data Analytics: This feature takes users’ big data and interprets it to generate meaningful information to manage manufacturing. This smooths operations and lowers issues that might come up.  
  • Manufacturing Compliance: This feature enables conflict mineral tracking, end of life parts management, shelf-life tracking and environmental compliance maintenance. It helps them manage ISO, IPC, ITAR and RoHS compliance.  
  • PCB Assembly: It handles printed circuit board (PCB) assembly as an integrated process. Manex ERP ensures that all stages of assembly are compatible with each other, ensuring quality standards are maintained.  
  • Wire and Harness Assembly: Manex ERP lets users manage the wire and harness assembly by letting them manage cutting, crimping, stripping, soldering and assembling of wires in a safe routing pattern.  
  • Functional and Integrated Testing: It lets users conduct testing at various stages. Functional testing focuses on design, while integrated testing is conducted to keep manufacturing quality under check.  
  • System and Box Build Assembly: This electromechanical assembly process comprises installation, routing and fabrication of cable harnesses. Manex ERP lets users handle the entire process, ensuring the highest quality standards are maintained.  
  • General Inventory Warehousing: It helps users handle various warehousing operations like arranging a warehouse layout, optimizing stick, speeding up order fulfillment processes and measuring warehouse performance. 
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Product Ranking

#18

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#104

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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 366 reviews
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75%
of users recommend this product

Dynamics 365 Business Central has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 75% when considering 366 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

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3.6 (142)
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3.7 (85)
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4.3 (9)
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3.9 (130)
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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Easy to Learn: Precisely 53% of users say the system has a simple implementation process and helpful training materials.
Extensive Features: Features include BOM management, finance management, document management, reporting, search filters, accounting and other modules, according to 79% of users.
Intuitive Interface: Familiar layout and guided workflows simplify data entry and task completion for non-technical users.
Automated Processes: Reduce manual tasks and errors with automated workflows for finance, inventory, sales, and customer service.
Actionable Insights: Gain real-time visibility into business performance through comprehensive dashboards and reporting tools.
Powerful Integrations: Connect seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Power BI, and other popular business applications for a unified data ecosystem.
Cloud-based Scalability: Adapt to growth with a flexible cloud infrastructure that supports diverse user needs and data volumes.
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Streamlined workflows: Users appreciate how ManEX ERP simplifies and automates many core business processes, from accounting and inventory management to sales and customer relationship management. This centralization helps reduce manual tasks, improve efficiency, and minimize errors.
Customization and flexibility: Users find ManEX ERP adaptable to various business needs and industries. It offers customization options to tailor the system to specific workflows and requirements, ensuring a good fit for diverse operations.
Strong financial management: Users highlight the comprehensive financial management features, including robust accounting, budgeting, and reporting capabilities. ManEX ERP provides clear financial insights and helps businesses make informed decisions.
Reliable inventory control: Users praise the effective inventory management tools that track stock levels, monitor order fulfillment, and optimize warehouse operations. This ensures accurate inventory tracking and timely fulfillment of customer orders.
User-friendly interface: Users find ManEX ERP's interface intuitive and easy to navigate, even for those with limited technical experience. The system's design facilitates efficient task completion and reduces the learning curve for new users.
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User Interface: Of the users who discussed the interface, 46% said it was not intuitive and the layout is old-fashioned.
Glitchy Performance: Approximately 67% of users said the program's overall performance is slow and glitchy.
Industry Gaps: While strong for core ERP functions, may require additional add-ons or integrations for complex industry-specific needs like manufacturing or healthcare.
Customization Curve: While offering customization options, extensive modifications might require developer expertise, increasing costs and implementation time.
Large Enterprise Scalability: While cloud-based and scalable, very large enterprises with intricate operations might encounter limitations or require additional configuration.
Add-on Dependence: Fulfilling specific needs may rely on third-party add-ons, introducing potential compatibility and support challenges.
Cost Considerations: While offering subscription plans, total cost of ownership can be influenced by user licenses, customization needs, and add-on integrations.
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Implementation challenges: Users report that the setup and implementation process can be time-consuming and complex, sometimes requiring extensive training and customization. This can strain resources and delay the system's full adoption.
Limited reporting capabilities: Some users find the built-in reporting tools to be somewhat basic and lacking advanced customization options. This can hinder in-depth data analysis and visualization for those needing more comprehensive reporting.
Occasional performance issues: Users have experienced occasional slowdowns or glitches, especially when handling large amounts of data or during peak usage times. These performance issues can disrupt workflows and cause frustration.
Customer support availability: Some users note that support availability can be limited during off-hours or weekends, which can be problematic for businesses with global operations or those requiring urgent assistance.
Customization costs: While ManEX ERP offers customization, users have found that making extensive changes or adding new features can incur significant additional costs. This can make it challenging for businesses with tight budgets to tailor the system to their exact needs.
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Users appreciated Dynamics 365 Business Central's user-friendly interface and automation capabilities, highlighting its ease of use even for non-technical personnel. The streamlined workflows and intuitive layout simplified data entry and task completion, especially compared to competitor solutions with steeper learning curves. The automated processes proved beneficial in eliminating manual work and errors, boosting efficiency in areas like finance, inventory, and customer service. However, some users pointed to limitations in industry-specific features compared to more specialized competitors like SAP Business One or Acumatica. While Business Central excels in core ERP functions, complex needs in manufacturing or healthcare might require additional add-ons or integrations, increasing complexity and potentially cost. Customization, while available, also presented a potential hurdle. While offering flexibility, extensive modifications could necessitate developer expertise, raising implementation time and costs compared to competitors with more drag-and-drop customization options. Business Central's cloud-based scalability was praised, accommodating growth and diverse user needs effectively. This stood out compared to some on-premise competitors with less flexibility. However, very large enterprises with intricate operations might encounter limitations or require additional configuration compared to solutions like Oracle NetSuite designed for such complexity. Overall, user reviews suggest Dynamics 365 Business Central shines for its user-friendliness, automation, and cloud-based scalability. However, limitations in industry-specific features and potential customization complexity compared to some competitors are important considerations, especially for niche businesses or large enterprises.

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User reviews for ManEX ERP paint a mixed picture. On the one hand, it's praised for its streamlined workflows and robust financial management, with one user saying, "Accounting used to be a nightmare, but ManEX consolidated everything into one system, saving us hours every week." However, the implementation process can be cumbersome, as another user mentioned, "Getting everything set up was a real challenge, and we needed a lot of hand-holding from their support team." While some users find the interface user-friendly, others wish for more advanced reporting capabilities. One reviewer commented, "The basic reports are fine, but for deeper analysis, we have to export data to Excel, which is a hassle." Performance can also be an issue, especially during peak times, and a user noted, "The system tends to slow down when everyone's using it at once, which can be frustrating when deadlines are looming." Compared to competitors like SAP and Oracle, ManEX ERP is often seen as more affordable and easier to customize. One user contrasted it with SAP, saying, "ManEX is much less expensive than SAP, and we were able to tailor it to our specific needs without a ton of coding." However, some users feel that ManEX lacks the feature depth and scalability of larger ERP systems. As one reviewer put it, "If you're a small business with basic needs, ManEX is great, but for larger operations, you might need something more robust." Overall, ManEX ERP seems like a solid choice for smaller businesses seeking a user-friendly and affordable ERP solution. However, businesses with complex needs or those expecting top-tier performance may need to look elsewhere. The key takeaway is to carefully weigh ManEX's strengths and weaknesses against your specific requirements before making a decision.

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