Enterprise application consulting firms rely on pre-sales teams to initiate new implementations successfully. These teams serve a hybrid function, bridging sales and delivery by persuading clients to adopt new software, such as Microsoft Dynamics and providing accurate estimates of project costs and timelines. When working on a prospect, pre-sales teams face a fundamental challenge: balancing the need for thorough analysis with the constraints of time and resources.
Pre-sales teams are expected to deliver compelling proposals and precise project estimates to potential clients. However, if they invest too much time in analyzing client requirements upfront, they become a financial burden to the company, absorbing resources that may not yield a return if the deal is lost. On the other hand, if they conduct only high-level discovery and avoid in-depth analysis, their estimates risk being inaccurate, potentially leading to scope creep, budget overruns, or misaligned expectations once the project begins.
This creates a dilemma:
How can pre-sales teams win new deals while providing prospects with accurate cost and time estimates without spending excessive time and resources on pre-sales activities?
In this post, we will discuss strategies to implement during the pre-sales phase of a Dynamics project.
Identify Core Business Model & Industry-Specific Complexity
Different industries have inherently different levels of complexity in their enterprise software needs. For example:
Retail and eCommerce:
Companies in this industry require complex inventory management, omnichannel and 3PL integration, and typically manage high transaction volumes, which often drive the need for sales order management automation and supply planning.
Manufacturing:
Complexity depends on whether they operate discrete, process, or mixed-mode manufacturing. Advanced production planning, multi-site operations and capacity planning, shop floor data collection, and quality control add additional complexity.
Professional Services:
Organizations in professional services like legal, accounting, or consulting are likely to need project-based accounting, time tracking, and resource scheduling. These companies often need integrations with project management tools.
Distribution & Wholesale:
Wholesale and distribution companies require advanced warehouse management, EDI (electronic data interchange), and supplier collaboration tools. Wholesalers often need robust traceability and product recall features, rebates, and integrations with 3PL or logistics platforms.
Construction:
Project-based workflows with contract management, retention payments, and service management, including field service and complex inventory management.
Each industry has common process patterns that can be used to start the estimation effort without needing a complete business analysis. This first step can also help Microsoft CSPs (cloud solution partners) selling Dynamics products identify whether the client is a good fit for their organisation.
Business Process Complexity
Some businesses operate by following industry-standard processes, while others require have developed intricate workflows. Pre-sales teams should evaluate whether the prospect follows industry standards or deviates from common business processes because Dynamics applications are redesigned to support best practices and industry standards.
Typically, organisations that operate with outdated software applications developed in-house or heavily customised off-the-shelf applications are more likely to use unusual business processes. Complex processes are not always a problem to avoid or fix.
Sometimes, organisations choose to operate differently to better compete in their market. In this case, a fit-to-standard approach will backfire.
To learn more about Fit-To-Standard, check my other post here: https://www.d365training.com/post/fit-to-standard-vs-business-process-reengineering-in-dynamics-365-which-path-leads-to-success.
Below are some questions that help identify elements that drive complexity to business processes:
Order-to-Cash
Do the companies sell configurable products, or do they purchase what they sell without any rework?
Do they operate on a just-in-time policy, or do they procure and store inventory in their warehouse?
Do they process large B2B orders with long lead times or frequent small B2C transactions that require next-day delivery?
Do they ship inventory on consignment?
Billing and Revenue Recognition
Is billing straightforward (e.g., invoicing based on sales orders)?
Do they require milestone-based billing, contract billing, or subscriptions?
Do they handle multi-element revenue recognition (e.g., IFRS 15 compliance)?
Procure-to-Pay
Do they have a simple purchasing process, or do they require RFQs, vendor scorecards, and compliance tracking?
Are purchase approvals multi-tiered?
Do they need vendor-managed inventory?
Warehouse & Inventory management
Single warehouse vs. multi-location with regional stock transfers.
Single vs multiple costing methods, batch/serial tracking with expiration date management or catch weight.
Do they need barcode scanning or RFID integration?
These questions help classify projects into simple, standard, or complex implementations, which industry verticals can also drive. For example, a food manufacturer will require complex inventory management with expiration dates and catchweight, while a legal firm will likely need complex revenue recognition and billing requirements.
Multi-Entity & Global Operations
Companies operating with multiple legal entities and in several countries require significantly more effort due to regulatory, tax, and localization requirements. Here are some elements that will affect complexity:
Number of Legal Entities: More entities typically mean complex intercompany transactions, consolidation, and reporting challenges.
Multi-Currency & Tax Compliance: Companies operating in multiple regions need localized tax reporting, VAT/GST handling, and currency revaluation.
Intercompany Transactions: If they trade between entities, automation for intercompany orders, invoices, and settlements adds complexity.
Regulatory Compliance: Industries like healthcare, finance, and pharmaceuticals have specific compliance requirements (e.g., Intrastat, FDA validation, Sarbanes-Oxley).
User Base & Organizational Readiness
The number and type of users influence implementation effort:
Number of Users: More users require additional training, security role configuration, and change management. Users also affect the licencing and the environment strategy.
User Roles & Permissions: If the company has strict segregation of duties, setting up role-based access control (RBAC) can be complex.
IT Maturity & Internal Resources: Does the company have an IT team that can support the implementation? If so, the delivery will be smoother. Teams that have implemented enterprise technology before can provide valuable assistance to the delivery team. Lastly, the involvement of subject matter experts and top management can help drive the adoption of new technology.
A company with low IT maturity will need more assistance from the delivery team, increasing the effort needed for change management and training.
Transaction Volume & Data Migration Complexity
Volume is a more significant factor than just the number of SKUs or customers. A large number of transactions, such as sales and purchase orders, payments or production orders, typically drive the need for more automation and business rules that are not typically found in the standard features of Dynamics applications and must be developed using other tools, such as Power Automate or Extensions.
Here are some examples of things to check:
Daily Transaction Volume
A company processing 1,000 orders per day has a very different business process than handling 50 orders per day. Fulfilment, order promising, and backorder management will likely require more effort. High transaction volume increases the likelihood of requiring automation, such as batch processing, EDI, and business process automation.
Data Migration Scope
The complexity will increase if the organisation needs to migrate historical data, for example, five or more years of transactions instead of just the opening balances.
Suppose the prospect wants to consolidate multiple legacy systems into one ERP. In that case, more time will be required to close the balances and rework the data before it can be imported into the new application. In this case, data migration support or even user acceptance testing (UAT) will drive more complexity and hire costs. Lastly, is the organisation changing the chart of accounts? If so, preparing the opening balances will require more effort.
Pre-sales teams often avoid discussing data requirements with prospects, but doing so exposes the team to the risk of missing deadlines and increasing costs.
Reporting & Analytics Needs
Standard ERP reporting is limited and may not be enough for most clients looking to upgrade to a cloud ERP or CRM. Here are some elements that can drive complexity:
Business Intelligence: Do they need real-time dashboards, or can they work with daily incremental updates?
Standalone vs embedded BI: Are they replacing an advanced BI tool (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) or looking for embedded analytics? Simple embedded analytics are part of the standard features of most Dynamics applications; using standalone analytics will create additional complexity.
Single vs Multiple Units: Do they require consolidated reporting across multiple business units? If so, the configuration of financial dimensions will be more complex.
Highly customized reporting needs can increase both implementation and post-go-live support requirements.
Customization & Extensibility Expectations
One of the biggest challenges that pre-sales teams must face is estimating the effort related to customisations or extensions: Most prospects expect an out-of-the-box solution, but in reality, most Dynamics projects require extensions that enhance the standard capabilities of the standard features. In contrast, others expect the ERP to be tailored to their exact processes. Regardless of the reason, estimating extensions is impossible without going through a thorough analysis of the business requirements.
Yet, some elements can help determine whether the extensions can be delivered in a few days or weeks. Here are some of the key complexity drivers that affect customisation.
Scope of the customisations:
Custom approval workflows in Dynamics applications are not complicated to create; sometimes, standard approval workflows can be configured to support even complex requirements. Are there custom fields that need to be recreated in the new application? New fields and tables drive more complexity, which scales if the new fields and tables are linked to additional business logic.
Do they need cross-app automation? For example, when a business event occurs in the CRM, another event is created in the ERP. Such requirements are uncommon, but they will create complexity.
Custom APIs
While Microsoft provides a large set of standard APIs for Dynamics applications, creating new APIs is not that complex. Microsoft Graph allows the extension of APIs for Dynamics apps that organisations can use to create custom integrations with their applications.
To learn more about Microsoft Graph, check this blog from Microsoft MVP Laura Kokkarinen: https://laurakokkarinen.com/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-microsoft-graph/
Mobile apps
Thanks to integration with Power Apps and Dataverse, creating mobile apps for Dynamics applications is now more manageable. However, app development using Power Apps requires specific skills and expertise. Dynamics developers and technical architects who develop extensions do not typically develop mobile apps.
Customizations also drive the ongoing maintenance costs because any custom development must be maintained; Microsoft's release plan requires that any extension be regularly maintained to ensure it complies with the latest versions.
Practical Application for Pre-Sales Teams
Instead of conducting a full requirement analysis, pre-sales teams can categorize prospects based on a scoring model. For example:
Characteristic | Low Complexity | Medium Complexity | High Complexity |
Legal Entities | 1 | 2-5 | 5+ (More if multiple compliance frameworks) |
Multi-Currency | No | Some | Multiple Regions |
Transaction Volume | < 100/day | 100-500/day | 500+ /day |
Warehouse Complexity | 1 site | Multi-site | Bonded Warehouses/ 3PL |
Order Management Complexity | Standard | With approvals | Configurable products |
Data Migration Needs | Balances Only | Partial History | Full Transaction History |
By using a structured approach like this, pre-sales teams can estimate effort based on predefined complexity categories rather than requiring in-depth analysis for every prospect.
Expanding the Complexity Model: The Impact of Additional Applications in Scope
While enterprise software projects are centred around an ERP implementation, their scope often extends beyond a standalone system. Other applications in the scope, such as CRM, mobile apps, reporting tools, and legacy system integrations, can introduce additional complexity and drive up costs. Pre-sales teams must assess these factors early to refine project estimates accurately.
The Role of Additional Applications in Project Complexity
The number and type of external applications that need to interact with the ERP significantly impact project effort. This complexity arises in several ways:
Integration Requirements – How many third-party applications require data exchange with the ERP? Are they cloud-based or on-premises?
User Access & Mobility – Will users require access via mobile apps or portals?
Parent-Company or Group-Level Reporting – Does the ERP need to integrate with a corporate financial consolidation tool?
Data Synchronization & Real-Time Processing – Will integrations be batch-based (simpler) or real-time (more complex)?
By evaluating these factors, pre-sales teams can estimate the degree of complexity associated with multi-application environments.
CRM & Customer-Facing Applications that drive complexity
Many organizations have existing CRM systems that need to work seamlessly with their new ERP. The complexity depends on:
Existing CRM vs. New CRM
Are they keeping their current CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot), or will they implement a new one like Dynamics 365 Sales?
Implementing a new CRM alongside ERP adds effort but provides a cleaner data model.
Integrating an existing CRM requires mapping data structures, defining synchronization rules, and potentially resolving conflicts.
Lead-to-Cash Process Alignment
Does the CRM drive sales orders that need to sync with the ERP?
How will pricing, discounts, and promotions be handled across systems?
Do sales reps need real-time inventory visibility within the CRM?
Customer Self-Service Portals
Will customers be able to place orders, check order status, and view invoices via a portal?
Does the portal require live integration with ERP data?
The more deeply CRM is integrated into financials and operations, the greater the complexity of the project.
Mobile Applications for Sales & Field Service Teams
Many organizations require mobile apps to extend ERP functionality to sales reps, field technicians, or warehouse staff. Key questions:
Pre-Built vs. Custom Mobile Apps
Can the client use standard mobile applications (e.g., Dynamics 365 Sales, Business Central Mobile)?
Or do they require a fully custom mobile experience with offline capability?
Field Service & Work Order Management
Do service engineers need real-time scheduling and parts tracking?
Will they capture digital signatures or generate invoices on-site?
Sales Team Mobility
Do sales reps require mobile quoting, product catalogue access, and order entry?
Will they need GPS-based customer visit tracking?
The need for custom mobile applications often introduces additional development and testing cycles, increasing project costs.
Parent-Company & Group-Level Financial Consolidation
For companies that are subsidiaries of larger organizations, integrating ERP with corporate financial systems is often mandatory. Complexity arises from:
Group-Level Reporting Requirements
Does the parent company use a specific tool (e.g., SAP BPC, Oracle Hyperion, Workday Adaptive Planning)?
What format does the parent company require for financial reports and consolidation?
Intercompany Transactions
Will intercompany invoicing, transfer pricing, and eliminations be automated?
Are transactions processed in one ERP and synchronized to another?
Tax & Compliance Differences
If the subsidiary operates in a different tax jurisdiction, are localized compliance rules required?
Projects that involve corporate-level reporting integrations tend to require additional finance expertise and testing cycles.
E-Commerce & Marketplace Integrations
If a business sells products online, e-commerce integration becomes a critical factor in ERP implementation complexity. Common scenarios:
Direct E-Commerce Platform Integration
Does the company use Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, or a custom-built platform?
Does the ERP need to manage inventory, pricing, and order fulfilment in real time?
Will customer order history and invoices sync between ERP and e-commerce?
Marketplace Integrations (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, etc.)
Does the business sell on third-party marketplaces with order data flowing into ERP?
Will pricing, tax handling, and commission structures be automated?
Are there product configuration options to be included in the interface?
E-commerce integrations often require extensive API work and high-volume transaction handling, adding complexity that pre-sales teams can estimate without going through in-depth analysis.
Supply Chain & Logistics Integrations
Many companies rely on external logistics providers and warehouse management systems that must be linked to the ERP. Below are some considerations to evaluate such integrations:
Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Integration
Does the ERP need to exchange shipment, tracking, and inventory data with a 3PL provider, or do they need simple order management?
Will ASN (Advanced Shipping Notice) and EDI transactions be required?
Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) & Automation
Does the business need full WMS functionality, or will essential ERP inventory management suffice?
Are automated picking, scanning, and conveyor systems integrated with ERP?
A tightly integrated supply chain adds testing effort and requires alignment between multiple systems.
Industry-Specific Software
Some industries rely on niche software that must integrate with the ERP, such as:
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES): Real-time shop floor data tracking.
Point of Sale (POS) Systems: Retail checkout systems syncing with ERP financials.
Regulatory Compliance Tools: Systems for handling environmental reporting, safety compliance, or traceability
Practice management systems: Systems to manage healthcare providers
Custom integrations with industry-specific applications require additional development effort and specialized domain expertise.
Business Intelligence & Advanced Reporting
Most ERPs provide basic reporting, but many businesses require enhanced analytics:
Pre-Built ERP Reports vs. Custom Dashboards
Will the company use built-in ERP reporting, or do they require custom Power BI/Tableau dashboards?
Will financial consolidation reports be built inside the ERP, or will they export data to another system?
Data Warehouse & ETL Complexity
Does the client need a central data warehouse for long-term storage and reporting?
Are ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes required to aggregate data from multiple sources?
Highly customized reporting environments add extra effort in data modelling, security, and performance tuning.
A Structured Approach to Pre-Sales Estimation
Here is an Application Complexity Scoring Model for pre-sales teams that need to provide an estimate for a complex solution landscape with multiple applications in scope
Category | Low Complexity | Medium Complexity | High Complexity |
CRM Integration | None or standard sync | Bi-directional standard tables | Bi-directional custom tables |
Mobile App Needs | None | Standard ERP mobile apps | Custom-built mobile apps |
Parent-Company Reporting | None | Financial reports | Consolidation & intercompany processing |
E-Commerce Integration | None | Basic Shopify/WooCommerce | Multi-platform, real-time API integration |
Logistics & WMS Integration | Basic ERP stock tracking | 3PL/WMS integration | Complex warehouse automation |
Business Intelligence | Standard reports | Power BI dashboards | Data lakes integration & ETL |
By scoring prospects against this model, pre-sales teams can quickly estimate effort without a detailed analysis.
Conclusion
Pre-sales teams don't need to analyze every detail of a prospect's business to create an accurate estimate. Instead, they can focus on key characteristics that drive complexity, such as industry, legal structure, transaction volume, and integration needs.
By developing estimation frameworks and scoring models, pre-sales teams can quickly categorize prospects, improving both efficiency and accuracy in the estimation process while reducing the cost of pre-sales efforts.
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