to manufacturers THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IS GROWING For British manufacturers, 2016 ended strongly with growth at a 30-month high.

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1 HSO.COM Microsoft Dynamics 365: Bringing transformative technology to manufacturers DELIVER A MORE CONNECTED MANUFACTURING EXPERIENCE Manufacturing has changed dramatically in recent years with the focus on the customer throughout the production process rather than just at the end. Now there is an ongoing need to develop a relationship with the consumer. Combining the best of ERP and CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables this relationship to flourish by allowing you to track customer information in real time from a single database. This whitepaper takes a look at how Microsoft Dynamics 365 is eliminating data silos and giving manufacturers familiar productivity tools that provide an organisation-wide consistent view of customers, suppliers and partners. THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IS GROWING For British manufacturers, 2016 ended strongly with growth at a 30-month high. According to a Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI report: New export business rose for the seventh successive month in December* Employment in the manufacturing sector rose for the fifth consecutive month in December* The pace of jobs growth accelerated at its fastest in 14 months* SMEs saw the steepest expansion of staffing levels, although large-scale producers registered a modest increase too* This presents the potential for manufacturers to drive positive change in their industry. And by utilising Microsoft Dynamics 365, your business can make the most of this opportunity. MANUFACTURERS LOOK TO THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) IDC predicts the global IoT market will be worth $1.7 trillion by Therefore, it s not surprising that manufacturers are looking to see how they can capitalise on this connected industry. Traditionally, launching new product lines can be difficult. Global sourcing can put a strain on your supply chain and hinder your ability to produce the right products in the necessary quantities. It s crucial to produce goods at the optimum time and at a price that s attractive to potential buyers. Page 1 of 5

2 44% view field service technicians as qualified lead generators** To do this, you need real-time visibility into your global operations to make fast decisions based on accurate data. By leveraging cloud technologies to connect employees, customers, partners and devices, manufacturers can receive and analyse real-time analytics from IoT on the manufacturing floor and across the supply chain. And your ERP plays a crucial role in helping organise, view, and manage the data. DELIVERING WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTS From your devices, connected as part of the IoT, comes the data that could provide you with more intelligence on how consumers are using their products. With this information you can refine your offerings to better suit customer groups or markets. And by using cloud ERP, you can gather the data strands that connect operations, from sensors on the shop floor to the sales teams mobile devices to drive business growth. One example of this is the Scott Fetzer Electrical Group who decided to build smart products to enable them to track service requests. With the information this initiative generated, they were able to build better products. The first step the company took to roll out this new business model was to upgrade their back-office systems including their ERP technology. With the right ERP in place, the company achieved the integration it needed to take advantage of the data they now had access to. THE GROWTH OF SERVITISATION IN MANUFACTURING This type of initiative leads naturally to servitisation. Servitisation refers to companies that decide to offer services in addition to their traditional products. Often a step towards servitisation develops from a manufacturer s need to remain profitable in a competitive marketplace. An example of servitisation in action is Rolls-Royce s TotalCare airplane engine program. The company switched to a power by the hour service, meaning customers pay a set amount based on the number of hours an airplane is flown, and Rolls-Royce provides the support and maintenance to ensure the aero engine continues to deliver power. This model secures a long-term relationship with customers and has brought in more than 50% of their revenue. Interestingly, a recent cross-industry field services report showed that a third of respondents earned 35% or higher in profits from services** These findings show the value of servitisation in terms of selling new services and utilising the potential for technicians to develop new contracts. With a servitised business model, a manufacturer can build a profitable business with a constant stream of additional, incremental revenue. And by gathering the data these new services generate, they re able to gain useful insights into future research and development by analysing performance and using the information to instigate continuous product improvement. Page 2 of 5

3 HOW MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 FOR MANUFACTURING CAN DELIVER THIS Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps you take advantage of new manufacturing opportunities by connecting business systems and giving you far better sight of all up operations - information that makes it easier for you to identify whether it s in the interest of the business to make a particular decision, or not. The software applications of Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps manage fundamental business areas from sales and marketing through to customer management by seamlessly integrating these functions in a unified cloud platform and analysing the data generated. Different users in your business gain tools linked to their roles and business processes that enable them to change, adapt and enhance their working style to fit in with the modern world of manufacturing. In turn, you can use mobile technology to give your customers and suppliers more control of their own journey via apps. With enterprise-ready intelligent business apps from the cloud, Microsoft Dynamics 365 allows you to provide a connected experience by: Giving customers control of every stage of their buying journey through the combination of slick digital technology, highly responsive supply chains and fast, low-cost deliveries Improve operations by seamlessly connecting your staff with customers and suppliers Drive up sales by improving customer experience Capture data from customer touchpoints Track leads generated through different mediums Personalise all your business interactions WHY YOU NEED MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 FOR MANUFACTURING By bringing your business processes together into one comprehensive service, you can choose the purposebuilt apps you need for functions like finance, sales, customer service, and supply chain operations. This way, each role within your organisation can access the functions and the data they need to action on gathered intelligence to enable greater productivity and profitability. And because it uses existing Microsoft technology, it s a modern and familiar experience for anyone already using Dynamics CRM online or Dynamics AX. Cloud-computing means apps are designed to be easily and independently deployed, so you can begin with the areas you need right now and scale as required. This platform supports future growth because it allows manufacturers to proactively adapt to evolving market, business and service needs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 also provides the ability to focus on specific customers based on insights and predictive intelligence received. Pairing this with meaningful customer behaviour analysis can help you offer a more personalised experience. THE TECHNOLOGY OF MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 Even though Microsoft Dynamics 365 represents a huge shift from traditional CRM and ERP solutions, it s important to note that it isn t completely new technology instead it has evolved from tried and tested Microsoft solutions that have been proven to succeed. Page 3 of 5

4 Manufacturers earned 50% or higher in profits from services** At its core, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the next generation of business apps in the cloud powered by Microsoft Azure. The Azure cloud platform offers a common application and data model from which you can access business intelligence and Cortana software within your apps. These apps connect users and customers directly to your organisation through their devices and it s this connectivity that allows you to make intelligent business decisions based on the data generated. THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING THE RIGHT PARTNER It may be clear that your manufacturing business is in need of digital transformation but it s not always plain sailing when it comes to deploying the right IT solution. After all, not everybody is an expert, so why would they be expected to plan, design and implement such a vital project? In fact, when independent researcher Vanson Bourne surveyed financial and IT decision makers*** it became apparent that many of them didn t understand the market well enough to make a decision: 48% find the range of solutions confusing 50% level of flexibility the solution has is often unclear 39% lack of clarity about the costs 35% lack of clarity about the scheduling 33% unsure about the level of honest and transparent advice being offered Outsourcing the problem takes the pressure off your workforce and ensures it s in the hands of professionals. To ensure success you want to find a provider that not only has experience of implementing solutions developed specifically for the manufacturing industry, but one who will work in partnership with you. The right partner will take the time to analyse the requirements of your manufacturing company and work with you to understand your current operational processes. Only then will they start to develop a solution and implementation strategy that works for your business. Page 4 of 5

5 ABOUT HSO HSO is a Microsoft Gold Partner with over 25 years of experience in implementing Dynamics solutions. We ve been named a member of the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics partners for nine consecutive years. Specialising in implementing, integrating, optimising and maintaining ERP and CRM solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Office 365, we re ahead of the game when it comes to the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics 365. Learn more at: SOURCES: *Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI report **Field Service Europe 2014 report ***ERP Study HSO.COM E: info-uk@hso.com T: +44 (0) st Floor, Green Park, 100 Brook Drive Reading, RG2 0TD FOLLOW US