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Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management for Equipment Repair

Clients First Business Solutions Aug 14, 2024 2:16:18 PM

supply chain management for equipment repair

Why IS Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management for Equipment Repair Companies a Good Fit?  

The heavy equipment repair industry often encounters unique challenges when choosing all-in-one software for running the business. Our clients benefit greatly from our extensive experience implementing ERP solutions for manufacturing and equipment repair companies. The ERP solutions we support enhance productivity, streamline operations, decrease costs, and boost profits. This article explores how our customers have utilized the powerful combination of Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (Dynamics 365 SCM) and our ProMRO solution for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) operations.

Dynamics 365 SUPPLY Chain Management and ProMRO

Equipment repair companies can greatly benefit from Dynamics 365 SCM, which is securely hosted on the Microsoft Azure Cloud and can be accessed seamlessly via web browsers. It is also available for on-premise deployment with a perpetual license. Because of its ease of use and functionality, Dynamics 365 SCM is recognized as a leading ERP solution. It recently received an accolade in the 2024 Gartner Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards. If you're considering an upgrade, include Dynamics 365 SCM on your list.

Is Dynamics 365 scm a good fit for your company? 

Dynamics 365 SCM is ideal for equipment repair companies that are US-based or international and may have multi-currency, multi-location, and multi-language requirements growing from mid-market to enterprise levels. Here are some reasons equipment repair companies choose Dynamics 365 SCM:

1. Streamlined Operations: Dynamics 365 SCM seamlessly integrates all facets of the company's operations, spanning inventory management and procurement to production and service management. This integration streamlines processes and reduces manual errors, ultimately boosting efficiency across the board.

2. Inventory Management: Effective management of spare parts and equipment components is essential for the smooth operation of an equipment repair company. Dynamics 365 SCM provides powerful inventory management features, guaranteeing timely availability of the necessary parts and minimizing downtime.

 3. Enhanced Service Management: The system offers functionalities for organizing and overseeing service requests, monitoring repair progress, and preserving service records. This enhances service excellence and boosts customer satisfaction levels.

4. Real-Time Insights: Equipped with advanced analytics and reporting functionalities, Dynamics 365 SCM provides immediate visibility into operational performance. This empowers decision-making, trend-spotting, and precise demand forecasting, ensuring informed and strategic actions are taken.

5. Supply Chain Optimization: This solution is crucial in optimizing the supply chain by enhancing supplier collaboration, streamlining procurement processes, and minimizing lead times. As a result, repair operations run smoothly without any delays caused by supply chain issues.

6. Scalability and Flexibility: As your business expands, Dynamics 365 SCM can grow with you, seamlessly adapting to meet your evolving needs. Its modular structure enables easy integration of new functionalities ensuring that the system continuously evolves alongside your company.

7. Integration with Other Microsoft Products: Dynamics 365 SCM integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products such as Office 365, Power BI, and Azure. This integration enhances productivity and provides a cohesive technology ecosystem.

8. Compliance and Risk Management: The platform helps ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards, reducing the risk of non-compliance. It also provides tools for managing and mitigating risks associated with supply chain disruptions.

9. Customer Relationship Management: Dynamics 365 SCM includes features for managing customer relationships, which is crucial for maintaining a loyal customer base and providing exceptional service.

10. Cost Savings: The company can save significantly by optimizing operations, improving inventory management, and enhancing service delivery. This includes reduced labor costs, minimized waste, and improved resource utilization.

Dynamics 365 SCM is an enterprise solution for organizations with over 50 end-users and scaling up to thousands depending on the industry. The minimum subscription is 20 licenses, with the flexibility to deploy the software in the cloud or on your servers. Built on Azure, Dynamics 365 SCM facilitates seamless data connectivity across your organization, allowing for industry-specific customizations and business transformation through predictive insights. It is designed to help you meet and adapt to local and global business requirements.

Is promro a good fit for your company? 

ProMRO is designed for heavy equipment repair (MRO) operations and is integrated seamlessly with Dynamics 365 SCM. It is ideal for large organizations seeking a global MRO solution that can be replicated across multiple locations and new acquisitions.

The real value of ProMRO is that your routine Sales, Operations, Production, and Finance processes are linked from start to finish. Here are several key reasons companies choose ProMRO: 

1. Improve Sales Productivity: ProMRO allows you to move from the quote through sales to post-sales support efficiently. All activities are visible to your sales, customer service, and shop floor teams. Your contacts, communications, and activities are conveniently accessible within the system. Your team can have a clear view of all activities with a customer and/or prospect through the lifecycle of the sale, including shop quotes and approvals.  

For post-sale questions, your customer service team will find a 360-degree view of the customer (including their job and equipment history) especially helpful.

Sales Operations Benefits include Full Account, Contact, and Quote Management:

    • Quote workflow streamlines estimate requests from any department that provides input or approvals
    • Improve accuracy and quote speed
    • Track, inquire, and view customers’ equipment history as well as record user-defined engineering values
    • Satisfy every customer quote format with easy editing for both simple and complex jobs
    • Templates to include the services you offer
    • Approval-controlled templates can be comprised of unlimited labor and parts
    • Quick functionality to process parts-only sales
    • Easy transformation of estimates to sales for small jobs
    • Complete pick/pack/ship workflow to fulfill orders and track back orders
    • Integrated Document Management
    • KPI, Reporting, and Dashboards

2. Operational Efficiencies: Once a quote is transformed into a project in ProMRO, you get unparalleled transparency to both the shop floor and the customer. ProMRO includes defined Service Profiles so your time estimates, labor types, material estimates, and miscellaneous expenses are already planned out. The shop floor will know what was sold and what services need to be accomplished by having clearly defined tasks (task cards for aviation) to be followed within a project to monitor the budget in real-time. You can quickly identify whether a task was started, how long was spent on it, who charged the time, and when.

 

Service Profiles functionality includes the following benefits:

    • Templates to standardize how you quote work
    • Services can be priced at standard or customer-specific rates
    • Accurate costs of Services allow you to price your work profitably
    • Prospect-friendly quote language can be added to each service
    • Activities can include labor, materials, and miscellaneous expenses
    • All required tasks, time estimates, and actuals are clearly visible
    • Dashboards help monitor your profitability by service type, equipment type, make, and model
    • Dashboards help identify problems quickly to help prevent any costly end-of-job surprises
    • Track services and profits in real-time

3. Powerful Inventory Control: ProMRO gives you full control to meet a variety of circumstances for you and the customer with the following benefits:

    • Inventory tracking with full traceability for serialized and batch-control inventory 
    • Inventory tracking for multiple warehouses, types of warehouses, and even customer or subcontractor locations
    • Avoid inventory obsolescence by defining the date controlled (log expiration dates)
    • Reporting to show inventory aging reports and other reports to show locations, quantities, values, and more
    • ProMRO supports non-stock items and kits
    • Implement the full Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain warehouse management module for complex warehouse scenarios

4. Production Management: If your business includes discrete, process, lean, and mix-mode manufacturing, ProMRO fully integrates with the Dynamics 365 SCM cost controls, with costs accumulated under the main project/work order. Having production management within your ERP also supports multiple lines of business, which is important for the enterprise customer. Multiple companies, currencies, and lines of business are all available with Dynamics 365 SCM and ProMRO, including:

    • Bills of Materials and Routers
    • Purchase and production orders linked to the job for tracking, costing, and profitability calculations
    • Replenishments are automatically calculated through Material Requirements Planning (MRP) to schedule purchase and production orders
    • Accurate forecasts

5. Finance: ProMRO allows you to control how the invoice was created to keep track of the funds needed behind the scenes for invoicing services. ProMRO helps you streamline your accounting: 

6. Comprehensive Reporting: The software provides robust reporting and analytics tools. This enables companies to track key performance indicators (KPIs), identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve their operations.

7. Mobility: With mobile access, technicians and managers can access the system from anywhere, allowing for real-time updates and more flexible working conditions.

These advantages make the Dynamics 365 SCM integration to ProMRO a popular choice for equipment repair companies looking to enhance their operational efficiency, customer service, and overall business performance.

Dynamics 365 and ProMRO in Action

Here's a highlight of one of the many clients who upgraded to Dynamics 365 SCM and ProMRO with incredible results.  

Company: SulzerWhat is ProMRO for Dynamics 365

Expertise: Turbine Maintenance

Deployment: 24+ global locations

Software Implemented: Upgrade from Dynamics AX (formerly Axapta) to Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management and ProMRO

For over a decade, "...Clients First is our trusted Dynamics 365 partner and understands how to design and implement the software specifically for our complex customer project and MRO needs.”

“After our successful Houston implementation...Sulzer has since utilized Clients First for our other service facilities in the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, and The Netherlands.”