Driving Your Business Forward with Microsoft Dynamics 365

Return on investment (ROI) has long been considered the defining metric of commercial success, but in today’s marketplace, businesses need to consider much more than profitability if they want to stay healthy and competitive. Today, crucial metrics for business growth range from customer acquisition costs to employee engagement and retention – and it’s important for commercial enterprises, across all industries and sectors, to understand and monitor them all. This isn’t to say that tracking revenue and ROI should fall by the wayside, but it’s evident that businesses need to take a more holistic approach to success than they once did.

Of course, monitoring a broader range of key performance indicators (KPIs) means adopting new and innovative business management practices. For many modern businesses, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions reign supreme, with industry-leading suites like Microsoft Dynamics 365 revolutionising many traditional commercial practices.

Harnessing the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 can achieve fantastic results for your business, with the many applications, modules and functionalities available offering intelligent ways to streamline day-to-day operations, foster long-term customer relationships, identify lucrative opportunities and protect against financial fallout.

What Is Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Before we tap into the many commercial benefits of utilising Microsoft Dynamics 365, let’s first introduce the product line and its functionalities. Effectively, what do we mean by Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a suite of interconnected, modular business applications and services covering a wide variety of business processes. It includes two ERP products – Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV) for mid-size businesses and Finance and Supply Chain Management (formerly Microsoft Dynamics AX) for the enterprise market – and a host of other solutions that effectively connect your entire enterprise from finance, operations, logistics and human resources to sales, marketing and customer relations.

The modular nature of Dynamics 365 allows you to use only the capabilities you need and pay only for what you require. While seamless integration with Microsoft Office 365, Power BI, PowerApps, and the Microsoft intelligent cloud helps you create a single environment, accelerating productivity and collaboration within your business.

With many possible options available, working with a dedicated Dynamics consultant is the most effective way to identify a suitable Dynamics 365 package for your organisation, but it pays to understand some of the key benefits of this industry-leading software and how, when properly implemented and integrated, it can drive your business forward.

How Enterprises Can Harness the Power of Microsoft Dynamics ERP to Drive Commercial Growth

Monitor the Health of Your Business and Identify Areas for Improvement

One of the key benefits of utilising Business Central (BC) and Finance and Supply Chain Management (F&SCM) is that both business management software types are designed to provide better insight into commercial health. By offering a more centralised way to track everything from goods production to customer complaints, it is much easier and more efficient for employees and managers to make sensible business decisions quickly – and with the appropriate data to back them up.

It’s worth noting that larger businesses may lean more towards Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM, while smaller organisations are typically better suited to Business Central. Nevertheless, with both solutions able to integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Power BI, they are both well-equipped to present company-wide data from one user-friendly interface. This accessibility is one of the most attractive qualities of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 product line!

We’ve spoken about how an ERP system could optimise your business operations, and with Microsoft Dynamics 365 being one of the most impressive and expansive suites available, enterprises are afforded plenty of scope to take advantage of key enterprise resource planning functionalities.

Shine a Light on Emerging Consumer Markets – and Tap Into Them Successfully

Refusing to adapt to changes in customer behaviour and demand can leave your business vulnerable in ever-changing, unpredictable and, of course, competitive markets. The world moves quickly, and a product or service that once satiated the needs of your target audience may now be redundant. Nothing has highlighted this more clearly than the Covid-19 pandemic. While the telecommunication and virtual entertainment industries were amongst those that thrived throughout 2020, many sectors struggled to keep meeting consumer demand – unless they could adapt.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic and its far-reaching effects were both unexpected and unprecedented, one thing is clear: for sustainable commercial growth, businesses must be able to monitor and react to changes in consumer demand as quickly as possible. This is where Microsoft Dynamics 365 comes into its own.

While both ERP packages are designed to help businesses forecast with better financial oversight, Dynamics 365 also includes other tools such as Customer Insights platform. It allows companies to analyse consumer behaviour at every stage of the supply chain, identify areas of client dissatisfaction and take actionable steps to cater to changing demand. Your customers will thank you, and so will your profit margins!

Build Long-Term Customer Relationships With a Client-Centric Approach to Sales and Marketing

On the topic of happy customers – you need to have them! It costs five times more to source and attract new customers than to retain your existing client base, so focusing your efforts on client retention over acquisition is a crucial way to secure long-term relationships and protect against financial loss. Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers many functionalities designed to streamline this essential process, with both ERP and CRM capabilities available.

With a host of applications designed to engage with your clients (D365 Sales, D365 Customer Insights, D365 Customer Service and others), Dynamics 365 allows businesses to build and foster great relationships with returning customers, with modules built to capture and analyse feedback, create personalised client profiles and automate rewards. Full client oversight also makes it possible to predict what your existing customers might require next, offering lucrative opportunities to adapt your product and service line accordingly.

Secure Profitable Business Partnerships With Innovative Sales Processes

Of course, finding loyal customers begins with the initial acquisition process, so your dedicated sales staff must be well-prepared to convert leads into paying consumers. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of the supply chain, with many factors influencing your potential new customers’ purchasing behaviour. Some of these factors will be out of your organisation’s control, but many can be navigated by sales staff with the data, insight and skill to do so.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is here to make seamless sales a cornerstone of your business, with intelligent modules and functionalities built to make client-centric interactions as accessible as possible. By implementing modules such as Dynamics 365 Sales, your employees can target the people most likely to convert, engage interested parties with real-time company data, and track all interactions in one simple place for cohesive selling.

Integration with other useful platforms, such as Microsoft Outlook, LinkedIn, etc. will keep meetings, emails and to-do lists from multiple domains on one easily accessible dashboard. Driving your business forward requires a top-tier sales process, and for many organisations, implementing Microsoft 365 is the answer.

Create an Engaging Work Culture and Retain Talent

Customers are often touted as the lifeblood of a business, and while they hold great importance, a successful organisation also relies heavily on engaged and satisfied employees. High employee turnover is one of the most expensive costs to a business, with the financial losses associated with employee downtime (e.g. during colleague handovers, employee onboarding and new starter training) often exceeding tens of thousands of dollars per staff member.

With this in mind, it’s evident that businesses must consider their general work environment and culture as important metrics for long-term growth. Of course, there are two obvious ways to do this: ease employee workloads and show them they’re valued. ERP software, specifically Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC or F&SCM, can assist with both.

By automating manual processes and clearly presenting the information your employees need to manage client interactions and hit targets, Dynamics 365 is equipped to take much of the strain out of your workforce’s day. However, its Human Resources application also allows managers to monitor and boost employee satisfaction from higher up in the business. Building comprehensive employee profiles can encourage a more holistic approach to workplace interaction, which can be integral to the happiness of your team and of course, overall productivity.

Choose ICS for Professional and Experience-Led Microsoft Dynamics ERP Implementation and Integration

Harnessing the power of Dynamics 365 can bring about extraordinary change for organisations across many exciting industries, but working alongside an ERP consultant is imperative to ensure a smooth and effective implementation process. At ICS, we’re proud to be the top choice of consultants for many industry-leading businesses and are dedicated to bringing our experience in the field of ERP to projects of all scales and complexities.

As Microsoft Gold Partners, we are well-positioned to help your organisation choose and implement a Dynamics 365 solution that caters to your commercial needs. Our specialist Dynamics developers can further customise packages to offer a tailored approach to enterprise resource planning.

To learn more about the many successful Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM implementations we’ve handled, or to discuss your requirements in more detail, contact us today.