Transforming Manufacturing: How Dynamics 365 Business Central Solves Key Challenges

In manufacturing, there are always competing factors among supply, demand, pressure to meet production deadlines and inventory management. Companies appear to embroil in convoluted procedures whereby they cannot optimize workflows, implement effective resource management, and satisfy end users. This is a narrative that looks towards how Dynamics 365 Business Central can revolutionize the manufacturing sector and provide order and ease within the business chaos.

The Battleground of the Manual Processes

First of all, meet Evergreen Manufacturing which is a midsized manufacturer that makes sustainable packaging. Order volumes kept increasing, as did their dependence on fragmented systems, - spreadsheets, manual logs, and an archaic application that did not come close to meeting their needs. The company’s ability to manage inventory levels accurately became a matter of luck. Production planning was no longer about being proactive but rather about responding to challenges as they came. Too much time was wasted on manual procedures which were detrimental to both productivity and staff morale. And so, something had to change.

When Evergreen Manufacturing went to incorporate Dynamics 365 Business Central, their observations were that they were in an unconsolidated environment in which they could control every aspect of their business – from inventory to production scheduling – on a single platform.

Real-Time Visibility

Keeping current information is one of the greatest headaches in their manufacturing and simply comes with ever increasing costs for Evergreen. The team at Evergreen frequently worked with obsolete information, which caused stock-outs and production setbacks. They were able to see their entire operation in real-time thanks to Dynamics 365 Business Central. Inventory levels, available raw materials, and order statuses were all NOW available to anyone that needed them. This transformation turned out to be revolutionary as they could finally make informed decisions when scheduling their production runs, which is what they had long been striving to do. 

The risk of delay was now eliminated, and the team could confidently rely on current stock levels, lead times, and customer demand rather than outdated figures. Such a new perspective opened the way for Evergreen to take a more offensive approach to controlling stocks, virtually eliminating both overstock and stock-out situations. 

Ease in Production Planning

Another challenge was coordination of production schedules. Evergreen’s scheduling team could not cope, as there were many orders and many different ways of manufacturing the products. They were in a never-ending cycle of rescheduling and overexertion of resources trying to keep everyone's orders on schedule. As soon as an order was received Dynamics 365 Business Central announced a production ordering feature that linked sales orders to a production schedule upon receipt of the order. As a result, when an order was made, the system was able to determine how much materials and resources would be required, the period needed and automatically notify everybody involved in the process.

Out of the blue, the planning group had more opportunities to work on process optimization because now they understood that the system would take care of time conflicts and alterations of the capacity. It was quite a switch from the previous state of constant confusion to a smooth production planning process.

Efforts Towards Automation of the Financial Aspects

Businesses in the manufacturing sectors usually operate in small profit margins and so was Evergreen. There was a more efficient way to analyze expenses as well as profitability for specific production runs. In this case, Dynamics 365 Business Central provided a module for financial management that was stimulating as it combined all expenditures, sales, revenue and all operational costs associated into one screen. This meant that Evergreen’s financial management was able to track the profitability per job so as to be able to make adjustments as and when necessary to avoid incurring losses and maintain business growth. 

As a result of being provided with financial information at all relevant levels, the team was able to notice areas where savings could have been made and such opportunities had not been detected earlier on. They began to determine which of the products were moving, which cost which should be moderated, and which investment should be increased to increase the returns on investment.

Scalability in Support of Growth

As Evergreen Manufacturing has expanded, so have their requirements. Fortunately, Dynamics 365 Business Central was growing at the same pace. New employees could begin work with no trouble, and new lines of production and suppliers could be incorporated into the system without too much difficulty. What was a remedy for current challenges matured into the platform for future expansion.

Conclusion

Evergreen Manufacturing experienced dramatic shift when they integrated Dynamics 365 Business Central— They went from struggling with piles of everyday operational issues to enjoying crystal clear operations. Their focus has shifted to innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction with the logistical headaches becoming history. For manufacturing sector firms confronted with comparable difficulties, Dynamics 365 Business Central offered responses to short term problems but more importantly, a partner for long term growth.