The development of information technology has led to the emergence of various new data that affect the work of companies and can be used to improve the quality of automated management. And the ability to use such new data allows companies to best respond to challenges in today’s realities.
The fundamental difference between our time is that digital data is generated in large quantities by different sources. And this volume is growing every year. Information is collected from users’ smartphones, social networks, production and storage equipment, smart devices, data channels of suppliers and partners, etc.
The ability to competently collect and use available data provides significant opportunities to improve the predictability and management of the company, and thus increase the chances of success in fierce competition.
So what is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and what capabilities does this system provide?
Supply Chain
The solution provides the comprehensive functionality needed by manufacturers, distributors and retailers to meet the needs of their supply chain. This includes a full range of tasks – from product information management, planning, inventory, sales and procurement to integrated management of production, warehousing and transportation. Everything you need for complete control and detailed management based on reliable, complete and operational information.
What is special about Microsoft customers? Let’s start with the beginning of the chain of travel of our goods and materials.
Control of input chains
Many products can come to us from very distant places and travel for a long time. On the way they help to get to us various services, ships, trains, etc. And at every step there may be a delay.
Previously, we could not control such stages. But today the information about the state of our cargo is processed by delivery, insurance and other services in electronic form and, most often, is available to us automatically.
Today, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management allows you to register agreed routes and obtain information about the location of the product at each stage. This allows us to correctly calculate the date of arrival of our order to our warehouses, and thus ensure timely shipment to the customer or delivery to our own production.
And in case of delays at some stage – in time to learn about it and take the necessary measures to correct the situation.
Control of additional costs and cost formation
It is no secret that for imported goods the cost can be much higher than the selling price of the supplier. The cost of delivery, insurance, and processing at intermediate points, which will eventually fall on the price of the goods, can be up to 40% or more of the base price.
And Dynamics 365 Supply Chain provides control of additional costs at every step of the entire supply chain to our warehouses, as fully and accurately forming the correct cost of goods.
Each line in each order, regardless of total or individual delivery, differences in routes or calculation methods will be calculated based on the correct methods in accordance with the rules of cost allocation. And if you suddenly incur additional costs on the road, you can easily reflect this in the current routes, ensuring accurate accounting.
In this way, you better understand and control pricing, providing both profit maximization and the ability to control the reduction of selling prices without working at a loss.
Microsoft’s supply chain management platform
The benefits of Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management do not end with its advanced features. The solution is part of the Microsoft ecosystem and provides users with special features.
Power Platform – another trend in modern digital technology – can significantly reduce the cost of developing and maintaining small applications, integrate software products, create mobile solutions or chat bots, and easily develop interactive reports. And all this is available to business users without the involvement (or with minimal involvement) of professional developers.
In addition, there are targeted, ready-made boxed solutions for specific processes that connect to Dynamics family products. Do you need to additionally automate a special task in your field? Find solutions in the AppSource Affiliate Store. Most likely, you will be able to find several proposals that are already developed and ready to use with your system.
How to combine different data of your and third-party systems without exhausting tracking of variables and formats? How to ensure timely exchange? What if new sources or consumers appear? The answer is yes! Common Data Model – a single data model for all programs and information sources. Once you describe the data entity model for each source or system, you get a “universal translator” that allows different systems to communicate in a single language. At the same time, connectors to many existing systems are already available, industry standards are supported, and scalability is ensured.
This allows you to combine separate tools to solve common problems in integrated processes without losing data, failures and waste of time and resources.
Thus, stopping your choice of automation system on a Microsoft product, you choose not only the solution, but also the benefits of the platform, both for your needs and those that you will definitely want to automate in the future.
