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Today’s supply chains are more global and interconnected than ever before, yet they also face heightened risks of disruption. Supply chain leaders are constantly challenged to enhance productivity, bolster resilience, and foster innovation amidst rising costs and labor pressures.
According to Forbes, supply chain digitalization and transparency are among the top concerns of business leaders in today’s unprecedented times. The 2023 State of Manufacturing Report indicates that 55 percent of businesses prioritize improving supply chain visibility, while 48 percent feel increased pressure to enhance sustainability. To meet these demands and keep pace with the changing trends shaping the future of supply chain management, businesses must take proactive steps to reduce costs, optimize their operations, and enhance customer satisfaction.
In this dynamic landscape, embracing new technologies and revamping business models is the way forward. Microsoft offers an ideal solution to address these challenges, empowering organizations to modernize their supply chain processes and drive efficiency and innovation.
Microsoft empowers its customers with its open, flexible, and collaborative platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, which prioritizes AI-first capabilities to mitigate risks, optimize inventory management, enhance agility in planning, and facilitate swift, informed decision-making across the entire supply chain.
The recent introduction of Copilot capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management marks a significant milestone, revolutionizing every aspect of business processes alongside new demand planning functionalities.
Further readings: Make your supply chain sustainable with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
In this blog, we will explore these innovative capabilities, discovering what’s new and how they can benefit your supply chain operations.
Exceed customer demands with advanced demand planning in D365 Supply Chain Management
Now more than ever, organizations face the critical task of accurately predicting demand and swiftly adapting to shifts in demand, all while maintaining sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Failure to meet customer needs promptly risks losing them to competitors.
D365 Supply Chain Management, with its new demand planning capabilities (now available in public preview), can help meet this challenge. Powered by AI and machine learning models leveraging external data sources, demand planning capabilities enable organizations to forecast demand, ensure inventory availability, and effectively meet customer needs. This is done through the AI-driven forecast model, which automatically selects optimal algorithms and parameters for each product, with planners having the flexibility to fine-tune parameters to suit unique business requirements.
Wondering about accuracy? That problem is solved! The demand planning and forecasting capabilities feature best-in-class forecasting algorithms and models, enhancing the accuracy of predictions. With its robust user interface, the demand planning app offers intelligent reports and analytics, facilitating informed decision-making. This new feature empowers organizations to leverage Artificial Intelligence in supply chain management and establish an agile, resilient, and sustainable demand planning practice driven by intuitiveness and collaboration.
The new demand planning capabilities don’t just stop here. Some of the features worth exploring include:
No-code approach to demand planning
With an intuitive, guided, no-code approach, users can confidently tailor forecast inputs and simulate the impact of model changes before implementation. Additionally, customers can integrate their own custom-built machine-learning models. These enhancements result in a more flexible, simplified user experience, fostering increased trust among planners in the generated forecasts. Ultimately, the demand planning capabilities reduce excess inventory, thereby optimizing working capital.
Data unification
Effective planning requires the ability to consolidate and shape data. With modeling and import capabilities, planners can effortlessly craft their planning model and integrate data from diverse sources, enhancing planning accuracy and reducing wastages and inventory holding costs.
Integration with Microsoft Teams for smooth collaboration
The new demand planning features streamline collaboration within Microsoft Teams, minimizing the time spent aligning with stakeholders.
Planners can now achieve consensus on demand plans more efficiently, with every edit and comment captured within the solution. With the ability to revert to previous forecast versions in just a few clicks, teams can communicate effectively and ensure faster replenishment cycles and shorter delivery lead times through continuous supply planning processes.
Microsoft has further enhanced its demand planning capabilities through Copilot, empowering planners to explain the forecast creation process and identify patterns and anomalies more effectively. Additionally, planners gain insights into complex correlations across datasets through natural language interactions. This automation of mundane tasks saves planners valuable time, allowing them to redirect their efforts toward high-impact activities.
Exploring new copilot capabilities in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
Supply chain forecasting and demand planning aren’t the only enhancements in D365 SCM. Copilot, a powerful feature in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, empowers supply chain teams to act on insights through intuitive conversational interactions within their workflow.
Copilot in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management enhances team productivity and fosters better employee collaboration across the supply chain and other cross-functional teams. Available for public release since November 2023, this functionality enables users from various functions to proactively address disruptions and streamline workflows.
Moreover, it significantly enhances user experience by eliminating the need to leave their workspace or switch between multiple tabs to act on insights. This seamless integration simplifies processes, leading to broader adoption among both new and existing users.
Microsoft has introduced new Copilot capabilities to enhance inventory visibility and enable businesses to fulfill orders with greater accuracy. Available for public preview since November 15, 2023, these features play a crucial role in elevating consumer buying experiences for the brands.
Elevate your supply chain operations with Confiz
Experience the transformative power of Copilot and demand planning capabilities within Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. Equip your team with the tools to navigate supply chain complexities, fostering agile manufacturing and distribution processes that enhance throughput, quality, uptime, and sustainability. Through harnessing Copilot’s efficiency alongside demand planning capabilities, your manufacturing business will witness heightened productivity, collaboration, and performance across all organizational levels.
Unlock the full potential of Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management with Confiz’s specialized expertise. Book a Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management demo to witness the solution in action. For further details on our Dynamics 365 Supply Chain consulting services, contact us at marketing@confiz.com. Let us empower your team to elevate supply chain operations, achieve more, and innovate rapidly.
