Microsoft Dynamics

Dynamics 365 Enterprise Finance & Operations Modules - An Overview

Written by Nancy Phillippi | Apr 11, 2018 5:00:00 AM
The  release of the new Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain (formerly Dynamics AX) as been a challenge for us for only one reason  - the name! The name is too long and the list of modules, features and functionality is long too - which is a good thing.  It's a business software solution that can exceed business requirement needs across many different lines of a global business including finance, discrete, process and mixed mode manufacturing, distribution, services, and even retail.  Deploy on the Microsoft Cloud or on your own servers.

Core Functionality of Dynamics 365

Ranked at the top of the Nucleus Research ERP Value Matrix for ease of use, your employees will find Dynamics 365 easy to learn and use for fast benefits.  The ERP software is easy to use and provides the tools you need to manage and keep your customers happy, streamline and modify processes, expand your opportunities and have a real time view of the company's key performance indicators.

Below are the core modules available in Microsoft Dynamics 365  for Finance and Supply Chain Management.  There is a plethora of module details on the Microsoft Docs site.  I have attempted to provide the 'best of' list of modules and features that are available in the Unified Operations Plan (that’s the name of the plan that replaces AX functionality).  This does not include the Dynamics CRM, Project Automation (now named Project Operations), and Field Services.  Typically you do NOT need those additional modules since Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain already has the functionality as it always has had, however your license may change.  It's always best to talk to a partner like Clients First about licensing. 

Financial Management

  • Sales and marketing 

    • Use as little or as much of these modules as desired.  No bulky additional CRM is needed for most manufacturing companies.  
    • Sales orders
    • Sales agreements
    • Sales quotations (can be used for make to order, MRO, services, etc.)
    • Returns
    • Sales and marketing tasks

  • Service management

    • Resource scheduling
    • Dispatch
    • and a lot more

  • Time and expense tracking 

    • Project, Services, Sales, Executives, etc. time and expense entry
    • Now available with the Project Operations Module

  • Transportation management

    • Shipments, Loads, 
    • Inbound and outbound logistics
    • Containerization and palletization
    • Clients First has written the Pacejet integration which is available on AppSource  

  • Intelligence and Analytics

    • Attachments and OCR
    • Financial reporting with Management Reporter
    • Power BI integration
    • Regulatory reporting

  • Development

    • Extensibility
    • Data integration
  • Data management
  • Office 365 integration
  • Mobile App (create your own mobile apps)
  • Demo data
  • Lifecycle Services (LCS: monitor and tune your environments, deploy features, and stay up to date with recent hotfixes. Configure security, and manage when processes run. You can also use LCS when you are called on to support business intelligence and reporting, mobile apps, Office, and other integrations.)

Supply Chain Management

  • Cost management
  • Inventory management
  • Constraint Based Configurator
  • Quality Management and Non Conformance Management
  • Master planning
  • Procurement and Sourcing
    • Catalogs
    • Request for Quote and Vendor Portal
    • Requisitions and approvals
  • Vendor and Customer Rebates
  • Product information management (PIM)
  • Production control
    • Resource scheduling
    • Mixed mode planning
    • Subcontractor management
    • Lean manufacturing
    • Process manufacturing (formulas and recipes)
    • Discrete manufacturing
    • Project manufacturing (happens to be Clients First area of expertise)
      • Maintenance, repair and overhaul
      • Service management (can be used for internal equipment and external or customer repairs)
      • Integration with Microsoft Projects
      • R & D - keep track of staff time, quality tests, production, inventory, etc. for a true product cost

  • Lot and serial number tracking and traceability

  • Warehouse management

    • Integrated support for source documents for sales orders, returns, transfer orders, production orders, and kanban
    • Flexible, inbound and outbound material workflow support based on queries
    • Full integration with the Manufacturing and Transportation offerings
    • Full control of location stocking limits and location volumetrics
    • Inventory properties controlled by inventory status
    • Full batch and serial item support
    • Various item receiving capabilities
    • Multiple picking strategies
    • Out-of-the-box support for the next generation of barcode scanners
    • Pallet/container types for warehouse processes
    • Advanced counting capabilities
      Label printing and label routing with Zebra ZPL support
    • Business intelligence integration into Power BI
    • Manual and automatic movement of inventory
    • Fully-integrated quality control (QMS)
    • Full traceability of workers' material handling
    • Outbound wave processing
    • Manual packing and automatic containerization support
    • Cluster picking
    • Simple cross docking

As economic and operational challenges continue to define the health of today’s organizations, business leaders need to look beyond legacy solutions to address the challenges in a more agile and faster manner. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Enterprise for Finance and Supply Chain is a formidable solution for organizations looking to develop innovative products and services and expand into new markets while improving efficiencies and keeping costs down.

Contact the experts and Clients First Business Solutions to help you navigate through the evaluation of Dynamics 365 Enterprise solution: Finance and Operations.  Call us at 800.331.8382 or email info@cfbs-us.com.
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