Building a resilient supply chain with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights

We are in the middle of a global supply chain crisis. From the scarcity of raw material and labour shortages to the backlog of shipping containers at international ports, disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have exposed deep vulnerabilities in the supply chain. In Canada, these vulnerabilities have only been compounded by extreme climate conditions in British Columbia that have shut down major transportation routes in and out of Vancouver.

Nearly 70 percent of supply chain leaders say they have been constantly responding to disruptions since the beginning of 2019, according to recent research from Gartner. If these challenges have taught us anything, it’s the importance of having a robust, nimble and transparent system that can withstand radical changes in supply and demand, and that can anticipate and work around such changes before they create a widescale impact to consumers and businesses.

Successfully navigating today’s supply chain landscape will require new levels of visibility across an organization’s entire supply chain. At Microsoft, we’re working alongside our customers to reimagine the future of global supply chain management. We recently introduced Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights, which enables organizations to create a digital representation of their physical supply chain and enhance the end-to-end visibility of their entire value chain.

This out-of-the-box solution breaks down data siloes by connecting and taking inputs from existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain systems across the organization. Businesses can also invite suppliers to securely share data and gain visibility into their first, second or third-tier suppliers. This connectivity creates a resilient digital supply chain by enhancing operational visibility, improving planning agility and maximizing asset uptime. It also unifies data from almost any source in real-time and generates intelligence by leveraging AI and machine learning to proactively detect opportunities and develop a long-term competitive advantage.

End-to-end visibility: Daimler Trucks North America

 For Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in the United States, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights will enable the organization to predict supply chain issues before they happen, allowing them to proactively mitigate them to meet their commitments to the dealerships and customers.

With data coming from trucks, in-house ERP and supply chain systems and suppliers, the company wanted to bring this all together to gain actionable insights and optimize operations on the production floor as well as across the supply chain. With Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights, DTNA can break down siloes by inviting suppliers to share real-time supply chain data. This matches against demand signals and helps uncover potential supply shortages. It increases collaboration with suppliers and production teams to mitigate constraints and deliver on their commitment to customers.

By making their process more efficient end-to-end, DTNA is reducing downtime, decreasing parts shortages, automating more processes and predicting potential issues earlier. This is creating efficiencies and helping Daimler make faster, more informed decisions. With extensive visibility into their supply chains across multiple tiers of suppliers, they can get data in near real-time, allowing them to assess risks and mitigate problems before a massive disruption occurs.

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

 Manufacturers who were already embracing digital transformation have been more agile in weathering these global supply chain challenges. And now, more and more companies are realizing the urgent need to accelerate their move to digital. These investments in technology are also generating an explosion of data, which offers opportunities to harness the power of the cloud to unlock innovation. With Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, now available in preview, manufacturers have the flexibility to adopt specific capabilities that address their most pressing business needs, be it building more agile factories, empowering the hybrid workforce to engage customers in new ways, or delivering new services and business models. And to help create a more resilient supply chain, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights is included as part of Cloud for Manufacturing’s modular capabilities.

To learn more, visit Mitigate disruptions with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Insights