Embracing Generative AI with Microsoft Dynamics: The future of Supply Chain, Finance, and Professional Services operations

... comes as no surprise that there is real momentum in Generative AI (GenAI) uptake at the moment.

In fact, the same report highlighted that 22% of respondents are planning to adopt AI technology over the next 12 months.

Not only that, but the Professional Services, Finance, and Supply Chain industries and functions, in particular, will see a significant leap in productivity according to Bain & Company, with an estimated 41%, 36%, and 13% of labour time that can be automated using GenAI, respectively.

Of course, there are numerous tools and services available to help you incorporate GenAI within your business. However, if you’re looking to achieve sustainable growth, make smarter decisions, and boost efficiency, look no further than Microsoft Dynamics Copilot - it's the key to revolutionising your operations.

Let’s explore how GenAI with Microsoft Dynamics Copilot can transform operations across the Supply Chain, Finance, and Professional Services industries.

Generative AI for Supply Chains

Following the successful launch of Copilot capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management last summer, Microsoft released further functionality towards the backend of 2023.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Copilot now enables businesses to:

• Plan with confidence thanks to AI-powered forecasting that accurately predicts demand.
• Quickly adapt to demand shifts in a timely, sustainable, and cost-effective manner.
• Highlight suppliers that are unable to meet demand and downstream customer impact.
• Forecast upstream supply bottlenecks and shortfalls.
• Predict out-of-stock and over-stock scenarios.
• Enhance inventory visibility enabling promised orders with improved accuracy.
• Efficiently handle changes to purchase orders at scale and assess the impact and risk to help optimise procurement decisions.
• Increase productivity and improve collaboration among employees across the supply chain and other cross-functional teams.
• Enjoy a more flexible, simplified, and intuitive user experience.

Generative AI for Finance

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance optimises your financial operations for all users, and when combined with Copilot, users can further enhance productivity and streamline processes.

Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance enables businesses to:

• Empower collections managers with quick access to credit and payment history so they can prioritise and personalise customer communication.
• Increase successful collection rates and proactively keep customers in good standing.
• Prioritise which customers need attention with AI-generated summaries of customer accounts, overdue invoices, and payment history.
• Personalise customer communication using AI-generated emails to save time and increase overall efficiency.
• Reduce the time reviewing collections details for customers.
• Increase more timely payments to enable better cash flows.
• View reports on key trends and proposed what-if scenarios with Excel Copliot.
• Identify bottlenecks and suggested areas for improvement.

Generative AI for Professional Services

The Professional Services sector is poised to benefit the most from GenAI, with 41% of labour time expected to be saved by automation, as mentioned above.

Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations enables businesses to:

• Save valuable project management time thanks to automatically created project tasks and duration based on historical data.
• Ensure consistent and frequent progress reporting with automatically created project process reports.
• Review and action risks with recommended mitigation thanks to continuous project monitoring.
• Streamline and expedite workflows from the frontline to the back office, optimising operational efficiency for service delivery organisations.
• Empower consultants, sales personnel, project and resource managers, and project accountants with intelligent, natural-language interactions.
• Meet employees where they are most productive with enhancements that extend beyond business applications to productivity tools like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Excel.