Why are Manufacturers Choosing Dynamics 365 to Solve Business Challenges?

"The year 2023 and beyond is going to be about minimizing the workforce shortage and building supply chain resiliency. These are the two factors that will reshape the manufacturing sector.”

Manufacturing is a dynamic sector that continually experiences challenges. According to the 2023 manufacturing industry outlook by Deloitte, 72% of executives in big manufacturing firms believe that the ongoing supply chain disruptions and persistent shortage of critical materials continue to be the biggest uncertainties for the manufacturing industry. The same is expected to remain so for the coming years!

However, the use of modern technology, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for manufacturing, can present a powerful solution to overcome these problems and keep on building what matters the most with no hesitation.

By streamlining manufacturing operations, reducing costs, and increasing revenue, Dynamics 365 can deliver numerous benefits to manufacturers in the USA, and the world at large.

So, whether you're a manufacturing leader, a business owner, or the founder of an industry, this blog will be an insightful read to uncover how Dynamics 365 and other technologies like Azure IoT, Power Platform, and more can make a significant impact on the future of manufacturing.

Let’s move forward to learn how Dynamics 365 can create opportunities for unprecedented growth of your manufacturing business.

What is Dynamics 365 for Manufacturing?

Dynamics 365, along with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing is a complete cloud-based solution for manufacturers. It helps them manage their business processes; from supply chain and inventory management to financials, production, and customer relations.

In broader terms, Dynamics 365 is a suite of business management applications offered by Microsoft. Whereas Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing is an advanced cloud solution specially designed to further boost manufacturing businesses.

The Dynamics 365 business management suite includes both – enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (Microsoft Dynamics CRM) modules.

For example, the ERP modules like Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations cater to core needs of modern manufacturers.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps manufacturers enable:

• Real-time monitoring
• Predictive maintenance
• Remote collaboration
• Agile decision-making
• Sustainable production
• Intelligent supply chain
• This enables manufacturing companies to manufacture a smart manufacturing ecosystem that is not only sustainable but also resilient for years to come.

What are the key components of Dynamics 365 for Manufacturing?

As mentioned earlier, Dynamics 365 is a set of ERP and CRM modules, it has various components to support manufacturing processes like asset management, quality control, logistics, and more.

Here are the key components of Dynamics 365:

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales: A comprehensive sales management solution that helps you learn about customer journeys and provide them with what they need.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing: This is a cloud-based CRM automation application that helps your sales team make an impact by providing them with necessary marketing tools, insights, analytics, and more.

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (D365 F&O): Popularly known as Dynamics AX, this business management tool provides comprehensive coverage to your financials and operations.

Note: D365 F&O is now available in two separate modules: Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management: Earlier part of D365 F&O, this is an end-to-end supply chain management solution that enables manufacturers to optimize their inventory management, production management, warehouse management, distribution, and beyond.

Dynamics 365 for Finance: It is a comprehensive financial management tool. This finance ERP software is designed to help companies to improve their informed decision-making, accounting, budgeting, financial reporting, invoicing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash flow management, bank management, tax management, global compliance and regulations, and more.

How can Dynamics 365 benefit manufacturers?

Dynamics 365 ERPs come with built-in advanced business management tools that help your team to focus on what matters the most and automate the rest. It has many features that can bring fruitful results, such as:

• Increased efficiency and productivity
• Enhanced flexibility and customization
• Improved sustainability and resilience
• Better safety and security
• New business opportunities and revenue streams

How can Dynamics 365 help you take your manufacturing to the next level?

Microsoft is innovating and developing cloud solutions tailored to the manufacturing-specific needs of a business. With Dynamics 365, manufacturers across various industries can strengthen their manufacturing business by connecting different business systems and data.

By bringing everyone on the same page, organizations can easily anticipate change, minimize disruptions, and reduce time to market based on real-time insights.

This will not only help them build better customer relationships but will also help create a better and more resilient future for everyone involved.

Here are the core manufacturing areas in which Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing can help manufacturing businesses:

Design and Training

Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps you launch new products and services quickly. Besides that, this cloud-based manufacturing solution also assists in:

• Centrally managing product information
• Streamlining engineering change management processes
• Improving safety, quality, and productivity with hands-free work instructions

Planning and Sourcing

You can keep your line moving by anticipating issues before they arise. Dynamics 365 comes with robust built-in features that empower your strategic planning and sourcing.

Not only Dynamics 365 and Power Products helps you strengthen your resource planning, but you can also:

• In-memory services can be used to schedule production and delivery in close to real time.
• Use AI-enriched demand forecasting to cope with evolving market
• With low-code interfaces, combine your data from different systems.
• Contract management, essential supply redundancy, and vendor selection based on historical data are all features of simplified procurement processes.
• Low-code apps can be used to streamline and automate tedious procedures.

Production and Distribution

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Supply Chain Management (formerly, Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations) is an advanced solution for you to make your supply chain intelligent.

You can seamlessly meet the changing needs of your customers by bringing agility into your supply chain management system.

Here's how you can make your supply chain smart:

• Obtain assistance with lean, mixed-mode, discrete, and process manufacturing.
• Drive sustainable production with IoT and AI-connected factories.
• Increase resilience and scale with edge computing
• Effectively fill orders using intelligent order and warehouse management
• Manage inventory with real-time data

Asset Management

Asset management is crucial to any business. It can increase resilience by connecting assets.

Dynamics 365 ERP modules like Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (earlier, Dynamics AX or D365 F&O) are designed and developed to help you:

• Enable predictive maintenance using sensor data and Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI).
• Use robotic process automation (RPA) to automate boring processes.
• Enhance learning and onboard faster with mixed reality (MR).

Sales

The easy way to boost sales is to build trust and strengthen relationships with your customers. It also helps you attract new customers as the word gets out and spreads to the public.

Here's how Dynamics 365 CRM modules like Sales, Marketing, Service can help manufacturers of all sizes make the impossible possible and win new customers:

Automate and streamline the sales process with Dynamics 365 Sales to sell new leads and find possibilities with current clients.

Real-time analytics allow you to monitor relationship demands and relationship health.

To establish and preserve enduring relationships, personalize consumer interactions across a variety of media.

Service

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service and Dynamics 365 for Customer Service are a modern CRM solution that increases customer loyalty by providing exceptional service.

Dynamics 365 can help your service team with:

• Proactive field service including AI-optimized scheduling
• Real-time, remote support with mixed-reality annotations
• Omnichannel and self-service customer service

What are the challenges in ERP implementation?

It may seem like an easy process to select, buy, and implement an ERP solution that suits your business. That’s, however, not the case in practice. ERP implementation is complex since it involves many challenges, including:

• Technical complexity and compatibility
• Data privacy and security
• Skills and talent shortages
• Integration with existing systems and processes
• Cost and ROI uncertainties

Examples of Dynamics 365 for manufacturing in Action

Manufacturing companies prefer Dynamics 365 across different industries, such as:

Metal and alloy manufacturing industry

Dynamics 365 ERP is transforming the metal and alloy manufacturing industry by integrating IoT, IIoT, Azure, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies into the supply chain and production processes.

Image Source: Winsoft

Dynamics 365 ERP provides a comprehensive platform that integrates these technologies into a single system.

By connecting production, supply chain, finance, and customer service data, Microsoft Dynamics ERPs enables manufacturers to have a complete view of their operations. This information can be used to make strategic decisions that optimize processes, reduce costs, improve quality, and increase customer satisfaction.

Construction and industrial machinery

Dynamics 365 helps the construction and industrial machinery industry with smart equipment management, asset tracking, predictive maintenance, and job costing.

Through equipment management, businesses can track their equipment's location, usage, and condition, enabling them to schedule regular maintenance and make informed decisions about when to replace older equipment.

Asset management in Dynamics 365 ERPs provides real-time visibility into the location and condition of assets, allowing businesses to mitigate equipment theft or loss.

Healthcare and life sciences

Dynamics 365 can help healthcare and life sciences organizations improve patient outcomes, streamline operations, and drive growth.

Here are some core issues that healthcare and life sciences organizations mitigate with Dynamics 365: Patient engagement, Care coordination, Clinical research, Supply chain management, Regulatory compliance (such as HIPAA and GDPR), and more.

By leveraging real-time data and predictive analytics, healthcare providers can make informed decisions that improve patient outcomes and drive growth.

Which Dynamics 365 module is best for my manufacturing business?

This question most of the time cannot be answered in a vague way. Rather, it takes a lot of input from the customer's end, such as the complexity of business operations, the type of products manufactured, the size of the business, and more.

However, for manufacturers, the preferred Dynamics 365 module is Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, which is designed to optimize production planning, scheduling, and inventory management, improve quality control, and increase supply chain visibility. It also includes features like predictive maintenance, which can increase machinery uptime and reduce downtime.

Bonus: If you are already using Microsoft products like Power BI, Office 365, or Dynamics 365 F&SCM, you can opt for Dynamics 365 Finance at an additional licensing cost of USD 30 per user per month."

What is Dynamics 365 Pricing and Licensing?

The pricing and licensing for Dynamics 365 varies based on factors such as the edition, application, and number of users. Dynamics 365 offers both per user/month and per app/month licensing options. The per user/month option allows small and medium size manufacturers to access any application within the Dynamics 365 suite, while the per app/month option grants access to a specific application.

The pricing for Dynamics 365 starts from $20 per user/month for Business Central Essentials, while the highest-priced edition is Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Plan which costs $115 per user/month. There are also additional costs for add-on features and services.

Microsoft also offers different licensing models, including the Unified Operations Licensing model, which allows customers to license by workload, and the Dynamics 365 Devices Licensing model, which provides licensing for devices that will be used by multiple users.

Below are the detailed pricing plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 products:

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Pricing

Dynamics 365 Finance Pricing

Dynamics 365 Sales Pricing

Dynamics 365 Marketing Pricing

Dynamics 365 Service Pricing

For Complete Details of Dynamics 365 Pricing, visit: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Pricing

If you’re finding it difficult to get started with Dynamics 365 ERP, get in touch with us. We, at Dynamics Square, are a team of Microsoft Dynamics Partner who can assist you to make an informed decision about investing in an ERP solution for your manufacturing business.