Dynamics 365 Business Central-based solution offers real ERP to SMBs

EOS Solutions has been a Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner for over 20 years, helping customers digitally transform their organizations. But when working with businesses of 12 users or less, the partner realized that while a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution like Dynamics 365 Business Central could make a huge impact, these smaller customers did not have the budget, time, or human resources necessary to support an implementation. There was simply no solution designed to meet the unique challenges of early-stage innovators.

To address this underserved market, EOS Solutions developed So Smart, an out-of-the-box, preconfigured cloud solution built on Dynamics 365 Business Central that makes core ERP capabilities accessible to smaller companies. Sold as a flat-rate monthly subscription that can be canceled at any time, So Smart can be deployed in under four weeks with little to no implementation costs. So Smart also comes with 24/7 online support, making it possible to run the solution without dedicated IT resources. “The object-oriented design of Dynamics 365 Business Central makes it easy to develop complex, powerful solutions that are seamless and feature-rich,” said Fabrizio Comino, General Manager at So Smart. “There is no other SMB ERP software that would have allowed us to create such a simple, yet highly functional solution for our smaller end clients.”

A recipe for streamlined operations at My Cooking Box

Since launching So Smart in the Italian market in April 2022, EOS has been adding customers at a rate of approximately 8-9 a month—or roughly 100 per year. One of its very first customers was My Cooking Box, a startup launched in 2015 that creates authentic Italian meal kits. My Cooking Box was growing rapidly and needed a more robust business solution than the Excel spreadsheets it was relying on, but the company didn’t have the budget or resources to undertake an ERP implementation.

After finding and implementing So Smart, My Cooking Box was able to immediately improve employee productivity by eliminating time spent in spreadsheets while simultaneously gaining real-time visibility into orders, inventory levels, and financial performance. The accounting team has been able to reduce month-end close from 2 weeks down to just 3 days, and sales and customer service roles have recouped 50% of their work hours due to the bi-directional update of sales orders between Shopify and Business Central. Operationally, My Cooking Box has seen an average savings of 2 hours of manual spreadsheet work, as well as a significant reduction in expedited shipment of raw materials due to more accurate production schedules.

During the first 16 months in production, My Cooking Box saw revenues grow faster than headcount, and savings in labor costs were able to be re-directed into new products and other critical business investments. The company has expanded sales into Canada, Germany, and the United States, setting up instances of So Smart in each location. In the US, it took just one week to deploy So Smart and start selling. Out-of-the-box integration with Shopify has also allowed My Cooking Box to manage its e-commerce operations in each country with a single click.

“So Smart is a very effective product for day-to-day management. It gives us greater control over our business processes, ensuring effectiveness and reliability. Thanks to easy integrations, we have a 360-degree view of the company,” said Chiara Rota, CEO and Founder at My Cooking Box.

Extending SMB reach through partners

To help empower more small businesses with the So Smart solution, EOS has begun building out a reseller program in Italy. This benefits partners and customers alike, as partners can offer a full-featured ERP solution with no investment or overhead and customers get the functionality they need without a long and costly implementation process. Partner Datago.it has been working with EOS for two years and has deployed So Smart for a dozen customers to date. “A great advantage to our customers is that So Smart is very, very fast for them to deploy and start seeing impact,” said Gabriele Scorpaniti, Account Manager and IT Consultant at Datago.it. “Because of the knowledge EOS built into the solution, we can deliver it quickly and ensure quality results for our customers, freeing up our resources to take on additional projects.”

Based on the success of So Smart in Italy, EOS is now working on expanding the product into an ISV solution that can be easily sold in other markets, with a US launch targeted for July 2024. Like in Italy, customers will be able to try So Smart for free, activate their account for as little as one month, and cancel the service anytime as there are no long-term commitments. “Any Microsoft partner, regardless of their experience with Dynamics 365 Business Central, will be able to deliver our solution to their customers without any risk,” said Comino. “They no longer need to lose deals because small customers can’t afford ERP implementation costs.”

“There is no other SMB ERP software [besides Dynamics 365 Business Central] that would have allowed us to create such a simple, yet highly functional solution for our smaller end clients.”

— Fabrizio Comino, General Manager, So Smart

“A great advantage to our customers is that So Smart is very, very fast for them to deploy and start seeing impact.”

— Gabriele Scorpaniti, Account Manager and IT Consultant, Datago.it

So Smart packages up operational efficiency for even the smallest businesses