As supply chains grow more complex and customer expectations change, ERP systems are now essential in retail. These systems help businesses connect different sales channels, such as stores, online shops, and mobile apps, to create the smooth, unified experience customers want. Since shoppers value speed and up-to-date product information, retailers need to replace disconnected systems that can lead to delays or mistakes.

When core business functions are brought together on a single platform, ERP systems provide the entire company with a single, reliable source of information. This setup enables data to move quickly between departments, helping leaders make faster, better decisions. As a result, businesses can fulfill orders more accurately and offer a smoother customer experience that keeps up with today’s fast-changing market.

Therefore, in retail, ERP must be more industry-specific than ever. Specifically, it must consider ERP and CRM integration. That’s where the Dynamics ecosystem comes in handy.

Factor 1: You can “befriend” your ERP and CRM

Many retailers rely on a combination of specialized software, including customer relationship management (CRM), point-of-sale (POS), and warehouse management systems. Integrating these systems with the ERP platform to form a unified ecosystem requires a high level of technical expertise, and compatibility issues can occur between the new ERP system and existing technologies.

befriend your ERP and CRM

To connect separate systems and bring everything together, Microsoft offers several specialized products. Here, Dynamics 365 Commerce serves as the key tool that keeps retail operations in sync across all channels.

Inventory Visibility

Customers get real-time info on product availability across warehouses, physical stores, and online platforms. At the same time, retailers can track performance in real-time too, allowing them to adjust strategies quickly based on current market demands or customer feedback.

Decision Making

Detailed insights into demand patterns help retailers optimize their inventory allocation and reduce operational waste.

Omnichannel Benefits

If an item is out of stock online, the system can locate a nearby store that has it, allowing options such as BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) or BORIS (Buy Online, Return In-Store), curbside pickup. Meanwhile, “Commerce Headquarters” enables centralized management of discounts, loyalty points, and pricing.

Factor 2: You choose an ERP that centralizes and automates your operations.

A global retail system that brings together financial management and daily operations is needed. With a unified view of inventory, retailers can avoid stockouts, overstocking, and unsold goods.

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (Supply Chain Management) provides this critical infrastructure, transforming disparate data into a synchronized engine for optimized supply chains and high-precision financial planning.

Automate Supply Chain

  • The system connects sales and purchasing with production, logistics, and warehousing. It simplifies the “procure-to-pay” process and includes a planning optimization feature that assists businesses in detecting shifts in demand and workforce capacity, ultimately enhancing cash flow.

  • Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management streamlines picking and packing processes. It leverages machine learning to address out-of-stock and overstock issues and connects with Power BI for real-time warehouse performance analytics.

  • This feature offers a consolidated view of inventory throughout the organization. It leverages actionable insights to improve replenishment, cut carrying costs, and deliver an accurate inventory value report.

Centralize Financial Data

  • Retailers often manage complex financial matters, including multiple entities, currencies, and tax rules. With this system, they can easily manage these challenges and operate globally. It also helps automate budgeting and forecasting.

  • The system improves financial oversight by giving real-time updates on cash flow, expenses, and profits. Retailers can use advanced tools to accurately compare actual spending with budgets. This clear view helps spot hidden losses and adjust pricing quickly, keeping margins strong even as the market changes.

Dynamics 365 Finance

The complete ERP tools provide global scalability and digital intelligence to help you grow at your own pace

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

Accelerate innovation and respond quickly to quality issues, changing customer specifications, and obsolete parts to ensure compliance and mitigate delays.

Factor 3: You adopt AI as an assistant for ERP

AI and Machine Learning are no longer just futuristic ideas. Today, they are built into modern ERPs, helping retailers work more efficiently and connect better with customers.

In the Dynamics ecosystem, Microsoft Copilot is the cornerstone of AI-enabled activities across the previously mentioned products.

Supply Chain Management

  • Copilot analyzes external signals and internal sales data to predict demand shifts, helping you avoid stockouts during peak seasons.

  • It helps managers optimize fulfillment by suggesting the most efficient picking and packing routes to meet delivery deadlines.

  • Copilot helps retailers spot potential supply chain issues early and put backup plans in place, so their businesses can keep running smoothly.

Financial Operations

  • It automatically matches unmatched bank statement lines with ledger entries and suggests G/L accounts for any remaining differences.

  • Copilot summarizes retail statements and highlights risks like “returns without receipts” or unusual price overrides that need an audit.

  • By automating routine data entry and validation, finance teams can close their books significantly faster.

Factor 4: You have a reliable foundation

The foundation of this ecosystem is Microsoft Azure, which offers strong security and a global network to support large-scale ERP operations. Moving quickly from on-premises hardware to the cloud has made retailers more flexible by enabling easier scaling and access to systems from anywhere. With cloud-based ERPs, retailers can grow their businesses without spending heavily on new infrastructure.

Summary

There are 4 factors that make your ERP retail-oriented.

Unified Commerce Integration

By “befriending” your ERP and CRM through Dynamics 365 Commerce, you eliminate data silos, delivering a seamless omnichannel experience and ensuring real-time inventory visibility and consistent pricing across all digital and physical touchpoints.

Centralized & Automated Operations

Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management replaces fragmented manual processes with a unified platform that automates complex financial structures and supply chain management.

AI-Driven Intelligence

With Microsoft Copilot as your assistant, you move from reactive to proactive management, where AI predicts demand shifts, automates financial reconciliations, and mitigates supply chain risks before they impact your bottom line.

A Scalable Cloud Foundation

Built on Microsoft Azure, your ERP gains enterprise-grade security and the flexibility to scale across new regions or digital channels without the prohibitive costs of traditional on-premise infrastructure.

FAQ

The Commerce Headquarters is the centralized administrative back-end of Dynamics 365 Commerce. It serves as the “brain” of the operation, where retailers configure their organizational structure, manage products, and define business rules. Unlike traditional systems, where you might have to update the website and the physical store separately, Headquarters lets you manage discounts, loyalty programs, and global pricing in one place, pushing those updates to all POS registers and e-commerce sites simultaneously.

Traditional ERPs are reactive—they tell you what happened (e.g., you ran out of stock). Copilot makes the ERP proactive by analyzing external signals, such as global events or weather patterns, alongside internal sales data. For example, if a shipment is delayed due to a port strike, Copilot not only reports the delay; it proactively suggests alternative sourcing options and adjusts fulfillment routes before the customer experience is affected.

The system uses machine learning algorithms to analyze historical picking data. It can suggest a “Heat Map” for your warehouse, recommending that high-velocity items be moved closer to packing stations to reduce the distance workers walk. This turns the warehouse into a “synchronized engine” that ships orders faster with lower labor costs.

Published On: / Categories: Blog, ERP, Retail /

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Upgrade your business strength with Dynamics 365

OntargIT is an official Microsoft partner for the implementation of Dynamics 365 technologies. With our experience in various industries, we will provide an individualized approach and effective solutions that will perfectly meet the needs of your company. Leave a request now, and our team of experts will help you take advantage of all the benefits of Dynamics 365.

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Upgrade your business strength with Dynamics 365

OntargIT is an official Microsoft partner for the implementation of Dynamics 365 technologies. With our experience in various industries, we will provide an individualized approach and effective solutions that will perfectly meet the needs of your company. Leave a request now, and our team of experts will help you take advantage of all the benefits of Dynamics 365.