Dynamics 365 Business Central as a solution for manufacturing and distribution companies.

This article is dedicated for entrepreneurs from the SME, whose basic operations relate to the production and distribution. The article describes selected Dynamics 365 Business Central functionalities in the area of the supply chain.

Nowadays, supply chains and distribution channels are becoming more and more complex. Distributors need an integrated solution to manage the company. The technology allows to improve processes and, as a result, reduce costs, improve communication and support the decision-making process.
Business Central is a solution that integrates most of the processes in an enterprise (procesess are very diverse in the production and distribution sector). In times of globalization and digital transformation, processes in an enterprise are usually based on many distribution and supply channels). This situation requires meeting specific challenges.
A few examples are given below:
• Establishing personalized relationships with suppliers,
• Categorizing suppliers providing services at various quality levels,
• Operating in different countries, languages or currencies,
• Customers can request personalized products or diversified packaging, e.g. depending on the distribution channel,

The key is to integrate data occurring in various areas of the company’s operation into one cohesive ecosystem.

Selected functionalities in the field of Supply Chain Management

• The ability to search and compare data across the entire supply chain (eg. Information about customer, production data, information about the level of available resources, inventory data, financial data, etc.).
• Cost analysis, eg analysis of business partners activities (suppliers, carriers, etc.) in order to find potential savings and identify problems.
• Data processing using known tools, eg Excel, Outlook.
• Integration with Power BI. Supporting productivity management (OLAP, multidimensional analyzes, report creator, KPIs).
• Improving the process of receiving goods. Connect a purchase order document with accounting  and stock approval.
• Controlling the release of goods based on established criteria, e.g. the level of sales or consumption of a specific product
• Controlling the issuing or sending of goods. The first-expired / first-out (FEFO) principle, which checks the expiration dates of products for determining the order of dispatch.
• Development of a production and supply plan based on data. The production volume and duration of specific processes can be compared with demand data. As a result, flexible production plans help you to increase profitability.
• Integration of the specificity of materials with bill of materials (BOM). Thanks to that, appropriate materials / spare parts / components are available at the right time in the right place.
• Connect Information about sales returns with inventory levels. In addition, it is possible to classify damaged goods and wastes.
• Auomatic creation of shipping labels.
• Shortening processes between the supply chain and invoicing, by eliminating manual procedures. Shortening such cycles as order-payment or supply-payment.
• Increased work efficiency in a production or warehouse hall through the use of radio frequency identification (RFID), automatic data storage systems, and the use of bar codes.

Summary
Business Central is a comprehensive and integrated solution for small and medium enterprises that helps in raising profitability and gaining a competitive advantage. It allows you to create a coherent structure that, apart from streamlining internal processes, allows you to optimize your contacts with business partners. In addition, thanks to the modular structure of the application, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be adapted to the specific needs and pace of development of the organization.