Amber Hickman |
When engaging in business-to-business (B2B) commerce, retail organisations can implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce to take advantage of a range of unique capabilities to streamline their business operations.
“For example, there are templates available for B2B customers with recurring orders, or you can set up a specific catalogue for a customer who only orders from a certain assortment,” says Chris Segurado, manager of system integration Microsoft at Mazars.
There are also features that allow omnichannel businesses to maintain accurate inventory visibility across their organisation.
“One feature, inventory visibility, provides an accurate picture of inventory across channels in near real time,” says Segurado. “You can also place soft reservations so that customers aren’t caught by surprise if something suddenly appears out of stock.”
According to Andrew Reeck, manager of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Retail and Commerce at Mazars, Dynamics 365 B2B Commerce benefits from being built upon existing systems such as Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management.
“It’s not just a different tool that’s added on,” he explains. “Dynamics 365 is part of one large ecosystem, meaning it always has access to the most up-to-date information on customers, products and so on, and allows retailers to take advantage of different tools that benefit their organisation.”
Businesses outside of the retail industry are also beginning to leverage the tools offered by the platform.
“For example, the inventory management capabilities on the mobile point-of-sale system can be used to track internal consumption of personal protective equipment (PPE) at a manufacturing facility,” explains Segurado. “An employee can clock in and create a $0 sales order for the PPE they need, meaning the inventory count is accurately and automatically updated which makes it easier to reorder efficiently.”
So, how does an organisation get started on its journey with Dynamics 365 Commerce? According to Reeck, organisations need to “pinpoint where they are currently, identify where they need to get to, and define what success looks like”.
“Showing an interest in growing with the Microsoft ecosystem of applications is a great way to push your organisation into taking the next step of the Dynamics 365 journey,” he says.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.