Zoho Desk Navision integration: how Alphatron Marine gets work orders into the service desk with one click
A ship is in port and the radar needs checking. In Navision the work order is ready, with the ship, the equipment, the work and the engineer. The service desk wants that information in the ticket. In the past that meant retyping. Now it takes one click.
The challenge
Before Zoho Desk, Alphatron Marine's service desk worked from email inboxes. Service requests came in by email and were handled by email too. A central overview of open questions and jobs was missing.
On top of that, the work orders were in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. For every work order, the service desk had to retype the details by hand. Customer, ship, equipment, work, planning and engineer: everything was copied manually.
1 click
To put a complete work order from Navision into Zoho Desk, without retyping.
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Ways to update with the widget: a full synchronisation or just the engineer.
24/7
Alphatron Marine's worldwide service: support, maintenance, repairs and class surveys.
From retyping to one click
Mobile XL is a Dutch partner for digital transformation. We help organisations in the Netherlands and Flanders with Zoho, process automation and low-code solutions. For Alphatron Marine we built a Zoho Desk Navision integration that puts work orders from Microsoft Dynamics NAV straight into Zoho Desk. A purpose-built widget then keeps those work orders up to date.
In this customer story you can read how the integration works, what the widget does and how Alphatron Marine's service desk benefits from it every day.
About Alphatron Marine
Alphatron Marine is a world-leading supplier of integrated bridge systems for shipping. The company supplies navigation and communication equipment, automation, safety systems and sensors. Alphatron Marine is part of JRC.
Its head office is in Rotterdam. Alphatron Marine also has locations in countries including Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Poland, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and the United States. Its customers are in deep-sea shipping, offshore, inland shipping, yacht building, fishing and cruise.
Service is an important part of the work. Alphatron Marine provides 24/7 support, maintenance, repairs and class surveys worldwide. Every service job starts with a work order, and every work order needs to reach the right people quickly and correctly.
Project background: integration as part of a larger programme
The Zoho Desk Navision integration is part of a larger digitalisation project at Alphatron Marine. In this phase we focused on Zoho Desk and the integration with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, better known as Navision.
The integration itself was delivered in January 2026. In October 2026 we added a widget that keeps work orders up to date after the first synchronisation as well. The service department in Rotterdam currently uses the solution. The aim is to roll it out worldwide in the future, with several Navision environments connected.
Inboxes and manual retyping
Objective: the right information, quickly and easily
The main goal was to remove Navision's drawbacks for the service desk. Service staff needed to get the right information quickly and easily, in the place where they work: in Zoho Desk.
| Area | Objective |
|---|---|
| Service desk | From email inboxes to a central environment in Zoho Desk |
| Work orders | Work order data from Navision in Zoho Desk in one action |
| Up to date | Easily update changes from Navision in Zoho Desk |
| Reliability | No overwriting of data once a work order has reached a certain phase |
The solution: Zoho Desk with custom modules, an integration and a widget
The solution consists of three parts that together form a complete whole.
How the Zoho Desk Navision integration works in practice
The integration supports two moments: fetching a work order for the first time and updating it when something changes in Navision.
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Fetching a work order from Navision
- A service request comes in and becomes a ticket in Zoho Desk.
- The service employee enters the Navision work order number in the ticket.
- The employee presses the button in the ticket.
- The integration platform on Zoho Catalyst fetches the work order from Navision through the API.
- All data ends up in the custom modules in Zoho Desk: customer, ship, equipment and serial number, work, planning, engineer and status.
With a single action, the complete work order is in Zoho Desk. Retyping is no longer needed.
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Synchronising work orders with the widget
After the first synchronisation, plenty can still change in Navision. A different engineer is scheduled, the work is adjusted or the planning shifts. With the widget you bring in those changes easily.
- The employee opens the ticket, the work order or the job in Zoho Desk.
- In the widget on the right of the screen, they click the sync button.
- They choose between a full synchronisation or only updating the assigned engineer.
- The widget fetches the current data from Navision and updates Zoho Desk.
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Protection per phase
Not every change is wanted in every phase. Updating the engineer is only allowed up to a certain phase of the work order. Once that phase has been reached, the widget blocks the synchronisation. That prevents data from being overwritten while the job is already in progress or completed.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration via API
Navision is the only external application in this phase of the project. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration runs through the API of Navision's cloud environment. Mobile XL's integration platform on Zoho Catalyst handles the communication, the translation of the data to the custom modules in Zoho Desk and the logic behind the widget.
For now the integration runs in one direction: from Navision to Zoho Desk. Navision therefore remains the source for work orders. In a next step the integration becomes two-way, so that information from Zoho Desk can go back to Navision too.
The platform is also prepared for growth. Alphatron Marine wants to use the solution worldwide in the future, with several Navision environments connected to Zoho Desk.
Results of the Zoho Desk Navision integration
Alphatron Marine's service desk in Rotterdam now works from Zoho Desk instead of email inboxes. These are the main outcomes.
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One click, no retyping
Work orders from Navision are in Zoho Desk with one click, without retyping.
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All data comes along
All relevant data comes along: customer, ship, equipment, work, planning, engineer and status.
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Updating with the widget
With the widget you update a work order when something has changed in Navision.
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Full update or just the engineer
You choose between a full synchronisation or only updating the engineer.
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Protected against overwriting
The widget protects work orders against overwriting once a certain phase has been reached.
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Ready for the next step
The integration is ready to become two-way and to support several Navision environments.
What this means for Alphatron Marine's service desk
The time saved is considerable. Retyping work orders by hand has disappeared completely. Service staff spend their time helping customers and coordinating engineers, not copying data.
The quality has gone up too. Because the data comes straight from Navision, it is always correct. And with the widget it stays up to date, even when the planning or the engineer changes.
Finally, the solution provides a solid foundation for the future. Alphatron Marine works worldwide, with locations from Rotterdam to Singapore and Houston. The integration is set up so that other locations and Navision environments can easily connect. That way the Zoho Desk integration grows with the organisation.
Want to connect Zoho Desk to Navision too?
Does your service desk work with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and is data still copied by hand? With a Zoho Desk integration you bring in work orders with one click and keep them up to date. Mobile XL helps you from analysis to go-live, with integrations, widgets and complete process automation. Also see how we connected the service desk of Chubb Fire & Security with RPA.
Frequently asked questions about the Zoho Desk Navision integration
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Yes. Mobile XL connects Zoho Desk to Navision through its own integration platform on Zoho Catalyst. That platform communicates with Navision through the API and puts the data in Zoho Desk.
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At Alphatron Marine, this includes the customer, the ship, the equipment and serial number, the work, the planning, the engineer and the status. Which data you include is agreed per project.
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The service employee enters the work order number in the ticket and presses a button. The integration platform then fetches the work order from Navision and fills the custom modules in Zoho Desk.
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The widget sits on the right of the screen with the ticket, the work order or the job. With a sync button you bring in changes from Navision. You choose between a full synchronisation or only updating the engineer.
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Then you update the work order in Zoho Desk through the widget. Updating the engineer is possible up to a certain phase. After that the widget blocks the synchronisation, so data of a job in progress or completed is not overwritten.
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At Alphatron Marine, Navision runs in the cloud and the integration runs through the API. Whether an on-premise environment can be connected depends on how it can be reached. We look at that case by case.
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For now, the integration at Alphatron Marine runs from Navision to Zoho Desk. A two-way integration is planned, so that information from Zoho Desk can go back to Navision too.
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Business Central is the successor to Navision and also works with APIs. The principle of the integration therefore applies well. Which adjustments are needed, we look at per project.
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The integration platform runs on Zoho Catalyst. As a result, hosting, security and GDPR safeguards fall within Zoho's infrastructure. The connection with Navision runs through the secure API.
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That depends on the amount of data, the modules and requirements such as a widget or a two-way integration. In a first conversation we give you a realistic planning.