Tabellae boosts Microsoft Configurable Business Documents (CBD)
Tabellae best practice package and methodologies
Microsoft’s free solution for business documents is elevated to a new level
For 14 years, Tabellae has built what is likely the world’s largest competence center in document management for ERP systems. More than 70 specialists exclusively work on Document Management and ERP prints, such as invoices, delivery notes, labels, electronic invoicing, and international document standards.
The focus has so far been on the Lasernet software, which Tabellae recommends for companies with complex needs. However, now Microsoft Configurable Business Documents (CBD) has also come under Tabellae’s expertise umbrella.
A specialized team
One of Tabellae’s consultants within MS Configurable Business Documents, Malte Slot Lauridsen.
A vitamin boost for CBD
Microsoft CBD is free standard software that can address simple business needs, including clean financial documents such as bank statements, order confirmations, and invoices
The solution receives an extra boost at Tabellae, enriching the software with the business understanding and experience the company has built. Additionally, there are a number of best practice packages developed based on the company’s 600 international customer cases.
Thus, Tabellae is the only one in the market to offer the same professional setup for Microsoft CBD as with the professional Lasernet solution.
“We want to provide a safety net between the very simple document management solutions and the more complex ones. Our experience is that companies are a bit left in the lurch today because there is not much interest or experience in document management. Therefore, many projects suffer in terms of time, budget, and choice of solution,” says Malte Slot Lauridsen, one of Tabellae’s Microsoft CBD specialists.
Be aware of the risk
Requires a lot of work
“CBD is a really good solution, which we always consider for our customers. However, our experience is that it requires a lot of work, even though the solution is marketed as code-free. There are many clicks and details to deal with, so you actually need to be a developer to set up the solution. I would not recommend tackling the task yourself unless you have plenty of time, coding experience, and contact with someone familiar with the data model in Dynamics. There is surprisingly little information on the internet and in forums, so you are essentially working on your own and risking making mistakes,” says Malte Slot Lauridsen.
CBD can do ‘something,’ Lasernet can do ‘most things’
Some companies can use CBD as starting software, but relatively few can suffice with Microsoft’s standard package
However, these are just a few reasons why a company almost never gets around to customizing configurations. According to Malte Slot Lauridsen, it requires quite a bit of insight to assess what, how much, and especially how to customize—and whether the solution can meet business needs now and in the future.
“Our advice and services are based on the knowledge we have accumulated about what is typically overlooked in an implementation process. We look at Document Management with the specialist’s eyes and can precisely say what is needed and how it is best solved. Therefore, we always start with the business needs rather than the software. That is the best starting point if you want a good, durable, and future-proof solution with low total costs,” says Malte Slot Lauridsen.
Tabellae is involved in several CBD projects
Some of the companies fit perfectly into the CBD framework and can get a well-functioning solution with relatively few adjustments. In other of Tabellae’s CBD cases, companies choose to start with CBD, even though the solution has some limitations compared to their business needs.
“For example, we are working on a project for a trade and manufacturing company that is upgrading to Dynamics 365 F&SCM. They have focused on saving license costs from the start and have therefore chosen CBD, which is initially the cheapest solution. They are aware that the solution has some limitations and have consciously chosen CBD, which can do ‘something,’ rather than Lasernet, which can do ‘most things.’ Even though there is a risk that business requirements may either need to be redefined or coded if they hit the ceiling in the solution. If that happens, based on our experience, we know where the shoe pinches and what can be done about it,” says Malte Slot Lauridsen.
A pre-analysis shows if you can manage with Microsoft’s built-in solution. Tabellae Software Selector makes it easy to avoid costly mistakes.
