Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics for Supply Chain Management

Every successful business owes it to the efficiency and organization of the business management. Whether it is a large or small business, the organization of tasks is the single most important factor which contributes to the well being of the company. How do we get our business organized?

It obviously can’t be done by opening a Microsoft Excel document and listing out the things to do. You need much more than that and using the right software is very important. Not just any software, but intelligent software which understands your exact business needs, the multiple stages it involves and the factors that go into efficient handling.

What is Microsoft Dynamics for Supply Chain Management, and what does it do?

Microsoft Dynamics for Supply Chain Management is software that helps you organize the sales functionality for your business. By sales functionality we mean that it helps you organize every minute in detail for the sales process. It can help you in delivering sales and services to customers, managing inventories and even helping in the negotiation process with clients and partners. It helps you organize all these details in stages, and cuts out all possible barriers standing in the way of productivity.

There are different types of solutions offered by the Microsoft Dynamics supply chain Management Software. They are

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Microsoft AX Dynamics has a lot of inbuilt tools such as the AX Enterprise Portal, AX Commerce Gateway, AX Logistics, AX Master Planning, AX Product Builder, and the AX Production. These multi- dimensional functionalities enhance your Business Development by streamlining purchases, production, inventory and inventory control, as well as warehouse management and other important factors. It enables a smooth workflow, allowing employees to access information and contracts, customers, vendors and business partners. An Enterprise Portal role makes it easy for the employees to understand the system, and it doesn’t require a great deal of training.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps your business by planning and reorganizing your production to meet customer’s demands. It helps you plan distribution processes, supplies to the customers, inventory management, and warehouse needs. It has several in built features like:

Business notification, Manufacturing, and distribution. It also offers some inbuilt sheets like Automated Data Collection, Business Notifications, Distribution, Manufacturing needs, returns management etc. These forms have predetermined fields, which consider all the factors in a business cycle.

Microsoft Dynamics GP

Microsoft Dynamics GP helps in streamlining the distribution, shipping and inventory controls. You can meet the customer’s demands on time and place by using this feature. You can cut down excess costs by estimating the right amount. It can also speed up your sales process and estimate correct costs, which results in cost reduction overall. The integrated e-commerce system speeds up the sale process.

Microsoft Dynamics SL

Microsoft Dynamics SL offers a complete solution for Distribution Processes right from inventory controls to delivery. It also helps in the management of purchases along with predictive tools for sales. The business does not face concentrated needs, and it is a much more diversified scenario. This tool helps you meet all the challenges. You can manage and control the inventories, measure customer satisfaction, and measure performance accordingly. These kinds of data come a long way in allowing businesses to draw up the big picture and enhance their prospects. When this data is analyzed the results could be used to infer the reasons for failures and successes.

How does it help your supply chain?

Microsoft Dynamics Supply Chain is a powerful tool for planning you resources and their management. It helps your staff to maintain better relationships with trading partners. It accumulates information in regards to the entire financial lifecycle of the business and also the manufacturing process. Data is readily available for analyzing the health of the business, and it also allows for better financial planning. Microsoft Dynamics has a lot of inbuilt features which include;

Trade:

The business can automate the sales and purchase process. It can regularize the entire process, which will help improve trade relationships. This will give you a better cost control because one system handles everything for you. Your inventories will get more organized, and you can establish appropriate trade agreements with this feature.

Managing you warehouse:

You can streamline you warehouse processes using the Microsoft Dynamics for supply chain management to manage the layout and cut costs by fitting it to your individual needs.

Maintain Vendor Relationships:

Microsoft Dynamics for supply chain management helps you and your team work in coordination with vendors, suppliers and business partners efficiently. It covers everybody in its spectrum, and everyone involved benefits. If your business has the need for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and if your business partners have it, then the Microsoft Supply Chain Management tools help you incorporate your EDI needs with your vendors or trade partner’s EDI. This saves you the cost of implementing your own EDI interface.

Microsoft Supply chain Management software provides better access to your employees, and it is great for vendor communication, agreements and commitments along with providing tools which help them communicate better with vendors.

It helps you monitor the productivity and also suggest improvements. The Microsoft supply chain management tool empowers your business by streamlining all the factors like demand management, productivity, improvisations, vendor management etc; this way you can make sure that your vendors also work towards the success of your business.

Maintain logistics:

Purchases, production, demand, supply, inventory and other key areas of your business can be streamlined using the Microsoft Dynamics supply chain management tool. All these factors can be coordinated with each other and made to work with each other using this software tool.

E Commerce tools:

The Microsoft Supply Chain Management tool has many e-commerce tools which enable you to keep your business relationships abreast of technologies. It uses a feature called Microsoft BizTalk server which gets information, and helps you keep updated with changes and helps your business meet the changing demands. In addition to the BizTalk server, Microsoft also offers tools called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology.

The RFID uses radio waves to automatically detect people or objects. The chip is extremely small or minute, like a particle of sand. It is installed in a microchip. Most of the current day products already come with it.

However, this is considered to be a futuristic tool and industry specialists predict that by 2010 most of the products will have it. This tool will change business prospects for any business by leaps and bounds. Because of the amount of information available, the profits gained by companies will be substantial. Businesses can also build large databases which store information on their customers.

Customer Satisfaction:

Customer satisfaction is the best reward any business can get. Every business needs to stay on the top of the competition to reach this goal. You can compete successfully by giving your employees important sources of information to keep your customers satisfied.

In your business you would want to make sure that your products and services meet the customer’s expectations. You should also be able to meet their demands and supplies efficiently. The customers should be able to receive the products or services when and where they want it for the present and future. A business will need a lot of analytical data to determine all these possibilities and act accordingly. The Microsoft Dynamics supply chain tool helps a business track all this crucial information, and it also helps the business serve the customers and ensure customer satisfaction.

An added feature to all this is the Human Resource Management Software. With the help of this software, you can maintain a database of employees in a structured way which will be easily accessible and retrievable. You can document other related Human resources issues.

Use the information to recruit more efficiently, and learn from previous examples. Identify the skill sets and fill in the gaps, and know where your organization is lacking and help overcome them.

Rate your employees, prepare score cards, document work responsibilities, and identify and monitor skill sets and delegate responsibilities according to the skills. You can also design online surveys and take a consensus or collective opinions.

The Microsoft Supply Chain Management Software effectively integrates performance management and supply chain management. It meets all the demands for the modern day business. Today the business landscape is globalizing. An efficient process like supply chain management is intelligent and can take charge of the business and steer it towards profits. You can connect your office virtually to hundreds of different geographical locations, time zones and other businesses globally.

Before investing it is important to find an expert or a consultant who can be a partner, someone who understands your business landscape, the local market and the industry in general. He should also have the experience and involve you in all the functionalities.

You can then list your needs and optimize the package. Once the package is complete your partner should be able to guide you through the implementation by testing, customizing data interfaces, training the end users and successfully launching the software to start working for your business.

You can find out more by contacting their local offices for Microsoft Dynamics business software and how it can help people and businesses succeed.