AGR and Advantage Business Systems have announced a strategic partnership to bring inventory optimisation and demand planning to UK small and medium-sized businesses running Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The partnership combines AGR’s forecasting and automated ordering platform with Advantage’s long-standing Business Central expertise. As a result, Advantage customers can reduce stock holding, cut the time spent on manual purchasing and release working capital currently tied up in inventory.
The decision layer on top of Business Central
Business Central gives businesses an accurate record of what they have sold, bought and hold. Deciding what to order next is a different problem. For many SMEs that decision still sits in a spreadsheet maintained by one person. When it goes wrong, the cost shows up as cash tied up in slow-moving lines while best sellers run out.
AGR adds the decision layer on top. It picks the best-fit forecast for every item and location, and it recalculates safety stock each order cycle against the service level the business sets. It then produces order proposals that already account for minimum order quantities, order multiples and container fill. Approved orders flow straight back into Business Central with no re-keying, so planners approve orders rather than rebuild them.
Across AGR’s customer base, businesses see inventory reduced by up to 30% and planning time cut by up to 80%. Newitts reduced its stock holding by 15%, and Regal Wholesale improved its service level from 82% to 92%.
“Advantage has spent more than 25 years helping UK SMEs get the most from Microsoft Dynamics, and their customers trust them to get it right. This makes Advantage a natural partner for AGR. We turn the data those customers already hold in Business Central into AI driven forecasts and order proposals their buyers can act on, starting with wholesale and distribution businesses where the cash tied up in stock is greatest. With a three-month proof of value using their own data, customers see the impact before they commit” – Duncan Gordon, Partner Enablement Director at AGR
“Our Business Central customers can see exactly what they’ve sold, but deciding what to buy next is too often a spreadsheet and a gut feeling, and that’s where the cash goes. AGR closes that gap without changing their ERP. It gives our customers a practical, proven way to hold less stock, run out less often and free up working capital, with Advantage continuing to support them every step of the way.” – Richard Goddard, Marketing Director, Advantage Business Systems
The partnership will focus first on wholesale and distribution businesses, where the working capital tied up in stock is usually greatest, and it is open to any Business Central customer who wants better control over what they buy. Advantage stays the customer’s Business Central partner, with AGR as the inventory specialist alongside. Customers can start with a three-month proof of concept on their own data, so they see the impact on their stock before making a longer-term commitment.
About Advantage Business Systems
Founded in 1999, Advantage Business Systems is a UK Microsoft Solutions Partner working exclusively with small and medium-sized businesses. It delivers Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft 365, AI, cloud, security and managed IT services, helping organisations modernise, secure and scale.
Website: www.advantage.co.uk
