MCA Connect Low-Code Flipbook Low-Code , Low Code, Power Platform , Microsoft , Flipbook

Empower your manufacturing workforce with low-code tools to streamline processes, improve productivity, and reduce operational costs.

Accelerate efficiency and innovation with Microsoft Power Platform

Harness the Power

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Low code empowers manufacturers to overcome their biggest challenges

It’s time for all of that to stop.

Why?

Do people in your organization rely on outdated, homegrown apps, email, and spreadsheets to complete important tasks?

Are they more focused on data management and accuracy than acting on insights?

Do you struggle with manual processes for things like sales orders, production planning, time tracking, or customer service?

Manual processes inhibit growth and profitability

Growing labor shortage:

As 25% of manufacturing workers aged 55+ near retirement, companies are quickly losing expertise in manual processes.

Manual processes drag out lead times and cripple a manufacturer's ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions.

Reduced productivity:

Human errors:

Manual processes can result in more errors and inconsistencies, leading to a lack of trust in the data and hampering decision-making.

Errors create bad data.

When business stakeholders discover unreliable data, they may lose faith in IT's ability to adequately serve the business.

Erosion of trust

Inefficiency eats profit.

According to one IDC study, inefficiency can cost manufacturers 20% - 30% of their revenue.

Workers spend 36% of their time on non-value-add tasks like finding and consolidating information.

McKinsey reports 60% of executives believe their processes are too complex.

Introducing Power Platform

Missing or incorrect information results in mistakes, lost opportunities, and financial loss.

Poor decision-making

Unreliable data can cause delays, increase waste, and hinder informed decision-making.

Operational inefficiency

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Deloitte predicts a shortage of 2.1 million American manufacturing workers by 2030.

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Microsoft Power Platform empowers manufacturers to quickly and easily build modern workflows, customize apps, automate processes, create websites and chatbots, and analyze data using low-code tools. Microsoft Copilot adds AI-powered assistance to further streamline workflows using the latest Azure OpenAI technology.

“I think there's probably no more perfect manifestation of the Microsoft mission statement of ‘empower everyone and every organization in the world to do more’ than low code.”

Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President, Business Apps and Platforms, Microsoft

Simplifies app creation with natural-language AI guidance through Microsoft Copilot.

Provides customizable pre-built templates, components, and intuitive drag-and-drop user experience.

Enables real-time decision-making with full visibility to trusted data sources both on-premises and in the cloud.

Empowers workers to automate the repetitive parts of their workflows with little to no code.

Microsoft Power Platform

Components of the Microsoft Power Platform

Quickly develop and launch high-quality apps and streamline processes with no extra coding. Make edits, add automation, and write code with Copilot.

Copilot Studio

Power BI

Power Apps

Power Pages

Power Automate

Microsoft reports Power Platform reduces development time for both business users and professional developers. And with Copilot, companies increase app success rates by 60% and speed up building by 80% compared to using Excel.

Traditional App Development

Gather requirements

Create system design

Write code

Test code

Deploy app

Fix bugs

See the low-code Power Apps difference

Traditional App Development

Low-code Power Apps

vs.

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Low-code Power Apps

Define requirements

Leverage built-in code, UI and 600+ connectors

Test app

Deploy

See the traditional apps development

Create websites and customer solutions quickly while securely storing and managing data. Easily connect to Oracle or Salesforce with no-code virtual tables that simplify data management with Copilot.

Answer questions, perform tasks, and provide insights based on your data by creating and customizing copilots, or intelligent assistants.

Easily automate repetitive business processes and workflows and quickly identify bottlenecks and automation targets with process mining. Break through process bottlenecks with Copilot insights and recommendations.

Gain insights from your data with intuitive, self-service dashboards and reports. Ask questions in plain English and get answers in the form of charts, tables, or narratives with Copilot for Power BI.

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Part 1:

Why low code?

What can Power Platform do for your manufacturing organization?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Streamline processes, eliminate errors, alleviate bottlenecks, and enhance visibility. Microsoft Power Platform accelerates app and automation development, empowering you to:

Top 3 Power Platform Use Cases in Manufacturing

Use Case 1

Use Case 2

Hyperautomate repetitive processes

Use Case 3

Better connect with customers and business partners

Extend existing business applications

Those legacy systems you’re using – ERP, MES, or CRM – only go so far. Processes change. Companies grow. Customer needs evolve. And when they do, Power Platform helps fill the gaps in existing business applications, just as it did for these manufacturers.

This integration reduced development time by half and eliminated the need for expensive SAP or Salesforce service management applications. The company also experienced fewer errors, improved efficiency, and gained superior access to data for enhanced analytics and strategic planning.

RESULT

Managers can easily assign projects and manage case files with a simple view of work orders synced to SAP.

Case Study

Empowering service professionals in 13 countries with low-code automation surrounding SAP

A semiconductor manufacturer needed to improve service operations, which it managed using Outlook and Excel across 13 countries. The company required an enterprise-grade solution to streamline its service department, including work order assignments, parts ordering, delivery status, and billing processes.

CHALLENGE

By integrating Power Apps and Power Automate with its SAP system, the manufacturer streamlined workflow within Dynamics 365 and Power Apps, enabling supervisors to manage case files and assign projects with ease. The platform also sped up crucial functions like reviewing customer equipment, managing work orders, ordering parts, and handling inventory and billing.

SOLUTION

Case Study

Gaining full visibility to customer orders from shop floor to customer door

A chemical manufacturer struggled with managing customer expectations due to a lack of visibility into potential delays among their 26,000 active orders. As a result, customer satisfaction dropped, and the manufacturer risked losing business and workers.

CHALLENGE

The manufacturer used Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI to create an Order Management Control Tower that integrated into the company’s SAP environment and tracked customer orders from shop floor to customer door. This integration delivered full visibility to customer service, warehouse planning, and logistics.

SOLUTION

As a result, the manufacturer improved productivity, reduced costs by increasing on-time deliveries, and improved customer satisfaction.

RESULT

Case Study

Consolidating data to supercharge efficiency

A sustainable packaging manufacturer struggled with data visibility due to scattered information across multiple systems and unstructured spreadsheets, hindering analysis. With paper reporting in place, production information was days old before business leaders could analyze it. Fulfillment fell behind, and the company missed overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) goals due to a lack of visibility.

CHALLENGE

Hyperautomate repetitive processes

According to Gartner, hyperautomation “involves the orchestrated use of multiple technologies,” including AI and low-code tools, to rapidly identify and automate as many business processes as possible. Here’s how manufacturers are leveraging Power Platform for hyperautomation.

Use Case 1

Use Case 2

Hyperautomate repetitive processes

Use Case 3

Better connect with customers and business partners

To overcome these challenges, the manufacturer consolidated critical data and added modern business intelligence with Power BI. The company gained near real-time visibility to production status and downtime risk, going from 2-3 days to 10 minutes, a 99.77% improvement. They also now meet or exceed OEE targets.

SOLUTION & RESULT

With a simple user interface that enabled engineers to quickly record project time, management gained insight into engineering activities for more precise and profitable pricing. As a result, the manufacturer increased productivity, reduced costs by increasing on-time deliveries, and improved customer satisfaction.

RESULT

Engineers can easily track project time with a simple time-entry tool.

Case Study

Saving time and resources with engineer time-tracking tool

A manufacturer of custom vehicles needed to efficiently assign engineers to design tasks and then track the time spent. The company assigned jobs via email, but their existing systems lacked time-tracking functionality. This left the company with no way to understand each engineer’s utilization or historical data to improve planning and decision-making.

CHALLENGE

To solve this problem, the manufacturer used Power Automate to create workflows from job creation to time tracking and Power Apps to build a time-tracker tool for engineers. Meanwhile, project templates helped managers understand what tasks they’d need to assign and how much time the tasks would take.

SOLUTION

Real-time visibility, increased efficiency, and improved accuracy and lead times drove better business decisions and performance, strengthening the global supply chain.

RESULT

Document automation view enables workers to easily review and edit extracted data.

Case Study

Improving accuracy and lead times for sales order processing

A Fortune 200 manufacturer of equipment components struggled with manual sales order processing and a lack of inventory visibility in their quoting processes.

CHALLENGE

As part of a prioritized plan for modernization, the manufacturer created an automated sales order entry process using Microsoft Power Apps, Power Automate, and AI Builder. They also standardized business processes across eight sites.

SOLUTION

OEE CONNECT™, a proprietary manufacturing solution from MCA Connect, collects and manages machine data, delivers alerts through IoT and machine learning, and integrates feedback from machine operators. Developed with Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Automate, OEE CONNECT tracks OEE and facilitates troubleshooting. It also delivers insights so operators can better manage and prevent equipment failures and delays.

RESULT

With dashboards displaying valuable shop floor insights, workers can better understand equipment health and performance and act accordingly.

Case Study

Leveraging data and automation for real-time visibility to OEE

OEE, or Overall Equipment Effectiveness, is the gold standard for measuring manufacturing effectiveness. It includes equipment availability, performance, and product quality. Factors that can impact these include machine breakdowns, delays, changeover time, and material misfeeds.

CHALLENGE

Process maps provide a clear and visual representation of the activities involved in a process, making it easier for teams to understand the process and identify areas that need improvement.

Enhance operations with Power Automate Process Mining

Automate tasks, optimize warehouse activity, and enhance operations with Power Automate Process Mining, now integrated into Power Automate. This solution analyzes data from various sources such as logs, databases, applications, and user interactions. It provides an overview of the activity flow, processing, and idle time, along with other relevant details. Manufacturers can also zoom in on the individual user level to showcase the steps users take to complete tasks.

Automate simply and quickly with Microsoft Copilot

Streamline workflows and save time with Microsoft Copilot, an AI productivity tool that improves Power Automate by providing a conversational experience, enabling you to create automation through natural language expressions. Copilot helps you build, set up, and run an automation on your behalf so you can focus on more strategic tasks.

This solution not only reduced error risks but also saved time for the supplier and its customers. Moreover, the integration of the website with the company's CRM facilitated automatic reordering, making the process even smoother.

RESULT

Case Study

Connecting customers to their data

One reputable medical research supplier had to manually request details on the products their customers had purchased. When customers requested data, the supplier’s staff used manual processes to look up the data and report back via email. These steps were time-consuming and prone to errors.

CHALLENGE

To address this issue, the supplier implemented Power Pages to build a modern website that allowed customers to find all relevant information, such as age and identifying data, on the supplies they had purchased.

SOLUTION

Better connect with customers and business partners

Microsoft Power Pages is a low-code platform for creating professional websites and portals to automate communication with stakeholders. Here’s how manufacturers are using Power Pages to deliver customer self-service portals and collaborate with partners.

Use Case 1

Use Case 2

Hyperautomate repetitive processes

Use Case 3

Extend existing business applications

WarrantyCONNECT™ supports field-based dealers who perform warranty services and automate submissions for reimbursements. It also enables manufacturers to sidetrack the data-intensive manual processing of warranty claims, automate the process, and integrate claims with their field service application for full visibility.

RESULT

With simple, modern dashboards, manufacturers and their dealers can easily view warranty details, log claims, and track existing claims.

Case Study

Streamlining dealer workflows with automated warranty registration and claims management

With over 150 post-sale warranty claims per month, one Fortune 200 manufacturer of electronic equipment components and devices needed a way to track and automate claims processing.

CHALLENGE

The manufacturer leveraged MCA Connect’s WarrantyCONNECT™, a solution that uses Microsoft Power Pages and Power Automate to streamline claims-related workflows.

SOLUTION

Why MCA Connect?

With color-coded dashboards, users can easily see if an order is on track, in jeopardy, or delayed.

Insights on missed delivery data help with planning and optimization.

Extend existing business applications

“MCA Connect has been instrumental in changing our workflows to be able to get the data to the right people at the right time. I would recommend MCA to any manufacturing company or other company that wants to learn more about their business."

Digital Revolution Lead, Trivium Packaging

Work order flow between Dynamics 365 Field Service and SAP, driven by Power Automate.

Automated entry form enables workers to quickly create sales orders.

An AI Builder for purchase orders further simplifies the sales process.

Case Study

“Copilot augments what you can do, whether it’s automating manual tasks or enhancing your creativity and output. It’s not an autopilot. It’s a real-time collaborator that’s always there to help you accomplish more.”

Leon Welicki, Chief Product Officer, Microsoft

With a modern, self-service website, customers can find information on their supplies, projects, and sales orders.

Use Case 3

Use Case 2

Use Case 3

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Watch Full Story to Hear From the Customer

Leon Welicki, Chief Product Officer, Microsoft

Digital Revolution Lead, Trivium Packaging

Leon Welicki, Chief Product Officer, Microsoft

Acme

Acme Technology Portugal, S.A.

Anne Smith

Tom Johnson

OEE CONNECT™

Why MCA Connect for low code?

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Microsoft Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 manufacturing use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Connecting to modern manufacturing with MCA Connect

Through passion and deep industry expertise, MCA Connect helps manufacturers succeed by unlocking innovation with actionable business insights. Streamline processes in your organization with our award-winning proficiency:

Deep industry expertise: 20+ years in the manufacturing sector

Extensive experience: 1,000+ implementations in 50+ countries

Power Platform proficiency: Ranked among the top 10% of Microsoft-managed partners for Power Platform in the U.S.

Strong Microsoft partnership: Gain early access to technology, Microsoft funding for projects, and more

“MCA Connect excels at helping manufacturers innovate quickly with low-code solutions built on the Microsoft Power Platform. As a Microsoft Solution Specialist in low-code app development, MCA Connect has proven their experience and commitment to delivering practical solutions that help manufacturers achieve tangible results.”

David Burdo, Senior Sales Executive, Microsoft

“Power Platform isn’t just a set of tools. It’s a platform connected to the entire Microsoft ecosystem that empowers everyone in your organization to innovate and solve problems faster and easier than ever before.”

Richard Weck, Managing Director - Power Apps, MCA Connect

Harness the power of

Microsoft Power Platform

We can help.

Jumpstart your process automation and modernization journey with MCA Connect. We can help you explore Microsoft funding to help you get started.

Explore how we can help you get started

Low Code Center of Excellence

Create an app-building team and stand up a Low Code Center of Excellence in your own organization. Our Low Code experts can provide extensive training to help your internal team of non-developers:

for Low Code

With an average of 22 years of experience in manufacturing, our Strategy experts will leverage their expertise to study your organization and map out a path forward. Learn more here.

Three ways to get started with Power Platform

Schedule a free 30-minute Low Code discovery assessment today to explore how we can help you harness the power of Microsoft Power Platform.

Ready to get started?

Explore how we can help you get started

Get setup with Microsoft Power Platform to become your organization’s ultimate power users

Step

Gain expertise to effectively use the Microsoft Power Platform

Step

Use Microsoft Power Platform to solve existing and future challenges within your organization

Step

for Low Code

With an average of 22 years of experience in manufacturing, our Strategy experts will leverage their expertise to study your organization and map out a path forward. Learn more here.

Power App-in-a-Day Workshop

See how Microsoft Power Apps can help your organization become more efficient.

It starts with a Gemba walk, a Six Sigma approach to observing your manufacturing facility and recording opportunities for improvement.

Step

Next, the MCA Connect team will prioritize the improvements, starting with those you can implement the most quickly with the biggest impact.

Step

The end deliverable is a comprehensive list of efficiency changes you can make by leveraging Microsoft Power Platform, including recommendations for how and when to make them. This is a simple and effective approach to bringing Kaizen principles for continuous improvement into your manufacturing process quickly.

Step

Low Code Center of Excellence

Create an app-building team and stand up a Low Code Center of Excellence in your own organization. Our Low Code experts can provide extensive training to help your internal team of non-developers:

Power App-in-a-Day Workshop

See how Microsoft Power Apps can help your organization become more efficient.

MCA Connect’s team will spend the first morning in a brainstorming session with you, learning what challenges you’re facing, and what results you want to achieve.

Brainstorm Session

Next, our developers team up to quickly create a solution for the issue you want solved. By the end of one day – maybe two – you’ll have a working Power App ready to add value to your organization.

Power App-in-a-Day Workshop

See how Microsoft Power Apps can help your organization become more efficient.

Low Code Center of Excellence

Create an app-building team and stand up a Low Code Center of Excellence in your own organization. Our Low Code experts can provide extensive training to help your internal team of non-developers:

for Low Code

With an average of 22 years of experience in manufacturing, our Strategy experts will leverage their expertise to study your organization and map out a path forward. Learn more here.

Create Working Power App

Part 1:

Why low code?

Part 2:

Introducing Power Platform

Part 3:

Top 3 use cases

Part 4:

Why MCA Connect?

Part 1:

Why low code?