Microsoft recently introduced Dynamics 365 Copilot, an AI assistant designed to help every department save time and boost productivity. Copilot provides interactive support across various business functions – including sales, supply chain, and operations – and is the world’s first copilot integrated in both CRM and ERP.
But you’re probably wondering: What does that mean for manufacturing? How will it simplify day-to-day operations? What can it help you do? While the technology is still new, here are the top four ways we’re excited to see Copilot help manufacturing customers.
Better supply chain agility
One of Copilot’s key benefits is the ability to provide predictive insights. With Copilot’s news modules and capabilities within Microsoft Supply Chain Center, you can uncover issues that may affect orders across materials, inventory, carriers, and distribution networks. For example, natural disasters, financial concerns, or civil unrest. Minimize the impact of potential disruptions and build supply chain agility by taking a proactive approach.
Easier to manage orders and suppliers by exception
Copilot will also help manufacturers identify and manage exceptions more easily. For example, you can train machine learning algorithms to identify patterns in order and supplier data and detect anomalies or exceptions that require attention. This could include significantly delayed orders or suppliers that consistently provide subpar materials. Minimize the impact on production and customer satisfaction by identifying these exceptions early on and proactively addressing issues.
Faster fill rate
Copilot helps write efficient algorithms that analyze supply chain data and will recommend where to stock inventory across your network. This helps ensure you meet your customer demands faster, in full, and on time, even if a disruption impacts the original distribution center.
Optimized communications
Copilot also offers contextual email outreach, generated by the Azure OpenAI Service, to help solve supply chain problems in real-time. When disruptions occur, supply chain managers can send customized and contextual emails to impacted suppliers to quickly identify new estimated arrival times and re-route purchase orders. For example, if bad weather creates disruption, your managers can collaborate with suppliers to find alternative shipping methods or routes. You can also automate supplier collaboration with predictive insights and AI-suggested email drafts.
So what’s next?
While Copilot features for Microsoft Supply Chain Center are new with an expected April release, Dynamics has a long history of AI capabilities. These include cash flow prediction, planning optimization, relationship insights, lead scoring, and more. To learn more about how we’ve helped manufacturers build resilient supply chains with Microsoft Dynamics and AI (and how you could be next), contact us today.
Author: Dag Calafell, Director, Azure Solutions
