What the solution is
dynamic commerce comes from dc AG in Kulmbach, Bavaria, and consists of two parts: an extension to Business Central and the storefront software itself on the web. The vendor states that more than two hundred and fifty mid-sized companies use the platform, and dc AG is also a Business Central partner, which explains how closely the product sits to the ERP.
The platform covers three setups of the same software: a consumer store, a B2B portal and closed employee or dealer stores. Several channels, regions, languages and currencies are part of the product rather than an add-on.
How the integration works
What separates the solution from the other separate platforms in the catalogue is where the features live. dynamic commerce extends Business Central with commerce features, meaning campaign management, vouchers and online payment, instead of putting them in a storefront module of their own. Business Central thereby becomes the ecommerce back office, and accounting, inventory management and order processing are part of the commerce flow rather than something that follows it.
Price, tax and currency logic is executed by Business Central. The customer's order creates a quote or an order directly in the ERP, and the customer records are synchronised to the portal so the customer can be sent access details.
Only Business Central online is documented. dc AG also works as an ERP partner, so the technique for working against a local environment is likely present, but we have found no written coverage for it. If you run on-premises, that should be settled first.
Prices, discounts and agreements
Because campaign management sits in Business Central, something rare applies to this solution: campaigns, promo codes, free gifts and time-limited offers are also set up in the ERP. Marketing therefore has to go into Business Central, but in return there is only one place to maintain a price.
Customer-specific prices, volume discounts, discount groups and agreed prices are decided by Business Central. There is no flat price matrix to keep fresh, and the scaling trap of customers times items therefore does not exist.
Product data starts in Business Central and is extended with marketing content in the platform, meaning copy, images, video, downloads and cross-sells. That is a sensible division of labour: figures and terms in the ERP, sales material in the storefront.
The order and the finance function
The order can be created as a quote or as a sales order in Business Central, and that is a setting. From there it runs in the ERP's own flow, so partial shipments, back orders and credit memos are Business Central's responsibility.
The customer gets access to orders, invoices and returns in their logged-in area, and that information comes from the ERP. It is the feature that most often removes the largest amount of phone work in a sales department, and it is included as standard.
Freight can be configured per store, per country and per customer group. Card payment, PayPal and Klarna are supported, which covers the ordinary payment methods in the German-speaking market. Reconciling the payment settlement against the general ledger is still a separate job.
Who the solution fits
The solution fits a mid-sized company in Germany, Austria or Switzerland running Business Central and wanting both consumer and business selling from the same platform. The centre of gravity is clearly German-speaking, which is a strength if you sell in that market and a question you have to ask if you do not.
It also fits if you want to keep all pricing logic and all campaign management in one system. That is an unusual property in the catalogue, and for a company that has been burned by disagreeing prices in two systems, it is the main argument.
The solution fits less well if marketing has to work without opening Business Central, or if you need support in Danish. Support is German and English, and partner coverage is concentrated in the DACH region.
What to settle before you decide
Pricing is public and starts at 399 euro a month for the subscription, hosting and maintenance included. That is among the lowest entry prices in the catalogue. Implementation is not in that figure, and our implementation band is an estimate with low confidence.
Ask to have it confirmed whether Business Central on-premises can be supported, and ask what an additional channel site costs. Several channels are described as part of the product, but the price structure behind several stores is not public.
Finally, ask for a named reference customer outside the German-speaking market if you sell outside DACH. The product is clearly built for German conditions, and a reference shows whether it has been tried elsewhere.