Supply Chain Resilience in the face of Globalization
AlfaPeople DE |
Feb 27, 2023

Supply Chain Resilience in the face of Globalization

How Microsoft Dynamics can help businesses to navigate the complexities.

Manufacturing companies all over the globe are facing a number of challenges related to supply chain management.

One of the more prevalent challenges is the increasing complexity of the supply chain, as many manufacturers are now sourcing materials from a larger number of countries and suppliers. This makes it more difficult to mange risks and disruptions that occur along the way.

In this blog post we’ll be taking a closer look at how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management can help businesses to navigate the complexities of a globalized supply chain by providing real-time visibility, better forecasting and decision making tools.

Navigate complexity with visibility

It’s crucial for any manufacturing company to have insight into the supply chain in real-time if it’s to be able to handle the growing complexity brought on by larger numbers of suppliers and countries that provide materials for production.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management helps businesses navigate the complex supply chain by providing them with up-to-date information about their supply chain operations. Real-time visibility allows businesses to quickly identify potential disruptions and take corrective action before they affect manufacturing processes.

Henrik Bo Christoffersen, Principal Solution Architect at AlfaPeople Denmark, explains that real-time visibility is critical to the success of businesses in navigating the complex supply chain. However, he also explains that the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management might need to be done in parts if the manufacturing company operates internationally.

“International companies often have different business models in each country. For example, they may produce in one country and sell to multiple others. This means that a master solution is implemented in the headquarters or main production country, and then only necessary modules are expanded to other countries,“ Henrik Bo Christoffersen says.

Advanced analytics capabilities

When managing a supply chain with multiple suppliers and markets it’s important for manufacturers to be able to make informed decisions about their supply chain operations.

This can be supported by the advanced analytics capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management including features such as:

  • Predictive analytics: Based on past data future supply chain performance can be predicted making it easier for companies to make business decisions.
  • Dashboards and reports: Real-time dashboards and reports that enable manufacturing companies to monitor their supply chain performance and make data-driven decisions.
  • Data visualisation: Data visualization tools help businesses to quickly identify trends and patterns in their supply chain data.

However, Henrik Bo Christoffersen, underlines that the functions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management are closely connected to other solutions in the Microsoft technology stack.

“Normally you use the supply chain management module in combination with other tools from the Microsoft Business Applications suite such as Business Intelligence and the Finance module,” he says.

Making informed decisions

The forecasting and planning tools provided by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management can help businesses adapt more to the changes in the supply chain operations brought on by globalisation.

By leveraging forecasting and planning tools, businesses can make informed decisions about their supply chain operations, including inventory levels, production schedules, and delivery times, Henrik Bo Christoffersen says.

“Businesses will be able to mitigate disruptions on the demand side by knowing when it historically increases and also on the production side by having an overview of the available production capacity,” he says.

A digital twin

Related to forecasting and planning the supply chain operations it might be valuable for the manufacturer to test changes in the processes before they are implemented in the actual business.

The digital twin functionality in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Managment enables businesses to simulate different scenarios and make informed decisions about their supply chain operations by creating a virtual representation of the supply chain, Henrik Bo Christoffersen says.

“The idea is that you could potentially identify problems with a new product before it goes into production thereby prevending a disruption to your manufacturing processes,” he says.

Are you unsure as to how you should leverage digital technologies such as IoT and AI? Read this blog post to learn more about how you can implement new technologies in your supply chain management.