105 IN FOCUS: DYNAMICS 365 solutions to improve its business operations. With assistance from partner KPMG, the organisation created a framework that utilises Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain Management and Commerce to support its merger and acquisition projects. This has already helped it with the buyback of Nespresso distribution rights in Saudi Arabia. “Thanks to built-in automations and functionalities in Dynamics 365, productivity increased in boutiques, call centre and aftersales activities, drastically removing paperwork and allowing employees to spend more time on value-added tasks, which improved both customer service and profitability,” says Manuel Sancho, global acquisitions and business development manager at Nespresso. Dynamics 365 is also helping organisations drive change in their local communities. For example, NC Fusion, a non-profit organisation that provides sports programmes to youth and adults in North Carolina, USA, used Dynamics to reduce the number of girls quitting youth football leagues in the state. Chris Barnhart, leader of IT services at NC Fusion, uploaded player registration data to Power BI and found that 40 per cent of girls had quit their team by the age of 15. Barnhart created a media campaign to convince girls to stay in the sport which included a television advert that aired in stadiums in the local area during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He then used Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights to write an accompanying email that was sent to thousands of families that use NC Fusion’s services. “We’re inspired by NC Fusion’s campaign,” says Emily He, corporate vice president of business applications at Microsoft in a blog post on the Microsoft website. “It underscores the critical role generative AI capabilities like Copilot can play in enabling a local organisation to create content that connects with audiences in new ways.” Convenience with Copilot More than 63,000 organisations tried out the Copilot features of Dynamics 365 within the first six months of its introduction earlier this year. Copilot offers a range of potential benefits, from enhancing customer experience to improving employee productivity. For instance, the addition of Copilot in Sales and Viva Sales allows users to write AI-assisted email responses to clients, meaning they can save time and focus on other tasks. Meanwhile, in Business Central, Copilot is helping streamline the creation of product listings that are tailored to the desired tone of voice, format and length. “Copilot brings the power of next-generation AI capabilities and natural language processing to Dynamics 365, working alongside business professionals to help them create ideas and content faster, complete time-consuming tasks, and get insights and next best actions just by describing what’s needed,” says He. Indeed, saving time is the ‘most valued’ change that workers would like to see, according to a survey completed for Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index: Annual Report. But in addition to the time-saving benefits, Copilot in Dynamics 365 has the potential to support organisations when unexpected problems arise in areas such as their supply chains and warehouse operations. According to He: “In recent years, many businesses discovered that their current supply chain technologies are ill-equipped for an environment characterised by ongoing disruptions, constraints, and shortages. AI-enabled supply chain management can provide unprecedented visibility and insights, helping to solve disruptions before they happen.” For example, in Supply Chain Center, Copilot uses intelligence from the news module to flag potential issues such as weather, financials and geography that may affect warehouse operations. Predictive insights can then show the orders impacted by these variables. “ Copilot brings the power of next-generation AI capabilities and natural language processing to Dynamics 365” EMILY HE, MICROSOFT Image: iStock/treety
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