ERP pivot offers new opportunities for customer transformation

Nexus Innovations was founded as a custom development service provider focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Quebec digitally transform their business processes. Nexus quickly realized that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems were central to organizational operations, and to affect the change the company wanted in customer environments, it needed to grow a practice around this core technology.

Because Nexus was focused on SMBs, it chose to concentrate its new ERP practice around Dynamics 365 Business Central. The Microsoft partner hired an ERP expert who trained for 12 months on Business Central, helping develop an ERP methodology that met the needs of SMB customers, who are typically risk-averse and have limited budgets. This methodology includes:

A specific warranty for cost estimates for each stage of a Business Central deployment, from discovery to implementation, creating upfront transparency and accountability
A proven process for delivery that Nexus has further honed over time, creating trust that projects will start delivering business impact quickly
Custom development expertise to extend Business Central core capabilities to meet any business challenge

“SMBs see moving to a new ERP system as an enormous risk and disruption to their business, so they need to trust that their implementation partner will be able to complete this complex transition on time and on budget,” said Samuel Lapointe, Partner at Nexus Innovations. “Business Central helps us immediately address their core operational concerns, and our expertise in custom development, Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft 365 makes it possible for us to ensure that this solution can support broader organizational challenges now and in the future.”

Ingram Micro boosts Business Central practice growth

Nexus built its initial momentum for its Business Central practice by landing projects with several non-profit organizations, building a strong reputation for excellence and steadily growing its pipeline. In January 2025, Nexus enrolled in the 365 Talent Portal's Business Central Practice Accelerator program offered by Ingram Micro, an initiative that provides tools and guidance to increase Business Central success. “Working with Ingram and 365 Talent Portal has had a solid impact, helping us make strategic alliances with managed service providers (MSPs) and service firms that don’t have Business Central expertise,” said Lapointe. “This has helped us build our customer pipeline much more efficiently.”

Since joining the program, Nexus has added 29 active Business Central opportunities to its pipeline valued at almost USD$1 million, taken 12 customers live, trained six Business Central consultants, and earned its Microsoft Solutions Partner designation for Business Applications. The Accelerator program also provided a boost in go-to-market efficiency through marketing support and guidance that cut campaign execution time by 70 percent. “What used to take us weeks now only takes days,” said Lapointe. “We are able to generate quadruple the leads in less than half the time leveraging the Ingram Micro partnership.”

Microbrewery uses Business Central as ingredient for operational transformation

One of the customers that Nexus has helped transform operations is MicroBrasserie Charlevoix, a Quebec-based creator of craft beers that also operates a popular restaurant, Le Saint-Pub. MicroBrasserie Charlevoix was using a niche ERP software designed for discrete manufacturing, which was not able to address its expanding requirements around planning, production, and sales management. The microbrewery wanted a modern solution that would increase efficiency for its financial management, manufacturing processes, and distribution workflows; provide better visibility into performance indicators; and integrate seamlessly with its Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Power BI.

Working with Nexus to implement Business Central, MicroBrasserie Charlevoix now has the perfect recipe for streamlining daily operations. Staff can manage routine bank reconciliations with a few clicks, get real-time visibility into inventory levels, and provide a centralized view of financial and operational data to the management team. Business Central has also helped:

Optimize production planning, including detailed management of ingredient inventory
Automate EDI-based communications with major distributors and external carriers
Create a single source of truth for inventory by incorporating point of sale (POS) and supplier data through external connectors for Shopify and Pivohub
Improve product tracking and traceability with automated batch number management that supports first in, first out (FIFO) methodology

“We believe that the future belongs to those who know how to combine tradition and innovation. With Business Central, we are entering a world where data is becoming as essential an ingredient as malt, a lever for inventing the microbrewery of tomorrow,” said Sylvain Duquet, CPA-CMA and General Manager at MicroBrasserie Charlevoix.

New opportunities with AI and industry offer positive signs for growth

One of the areas where data is essential to driving success is AI—and Nexus sees Business Central as an important foundation to enable AI-powered innovation in SMBs. For Nexus, AI-led conversations are increasingly serving as a foot in the door to discuss business challenges with these customers. “There is so much interest in Microsoft Copilot,” said Lapointe. “It demos well and customers can easily see how it can benefit their Dynamics 365 or Microsoft 365 solutions. There is a huge opportunity for us to build pipeline and extend engagements with agentic AI.”

Nexus is also anticipating increased interest in Business Central in both non-profit and healthcare verticals. “We have a lot of structural changes happening in these sectors in Quebec, which will provide more flexibility and autonomy to hospitals, government agencies, and non-profits related to health and professional services,” continued Lapointe. “Business Central is going to be instrumental in helping these organizations retire dated ERP systems and embrace the new era of AI.”

“With Business Central, we are entering a world where data is becoming as essential an ingredient as malt, a lever for inventing the microbrewery of tomorrow.”

— Sylvain Duquet, CPA-CMA and General Manager, MicroBrasserie Charlevoix

“Business Central is going to be instrumental in helping these organizations retire dated ERP systems and embrace the new era of AI.”

— Samuel Lapointe, Partner, Nexus Innovations

Nexus offers transformative ERP for SMB customers with Business Central