125 INDUSTRIALS & MANUFACTURING risks and optimise procurement. Meanwhile in Microsoft 365 Customer Service, Copilot delivers contextual responses and speeds up case resolutions. The integration of Copilot provides manufacturers with real-time visibility into supply chain operations and enables proactive decision-making. “Microsoft 365 Copilot can be integrated into various supply chain processes to enhance productivity and visibility,” says Sircar. “For instance, it can be used for supplier collaboration, demand planning and supply chain logistics. By leveraging AI and machine learning, Microsoft 365 Copilot can help forecast demand, optimise inventory and simulate disruptions, thereby improving supply chain resiliency.” The latest Microsoft 365 Copilot updates introduce features that enhance supply chain management, such as advanced agent customisation in Copilot Studio. This allows integration with third-party data sources and enables automated actions, streamlining tasks like ordering parts and managing inventory. “When integrated with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Microsoft 365 Copilot can optimise complex and labour-intensive processes,” says Sircar. “It combines data and AI to identify and mitigate risks in the supply chain, improve the accuracy of demand forecasting, and support autonomous and self-regulated supply chains. The latest capabilities enable supply chain teams to take actions based on insights with conversational help while in the flow of work, ensuring increased productivity and improved collaboration among employees across supply chain and other crossfunctional teams. “The 2024 release wave 2 for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management focuses on copilots in three key areas: planning, procurement and manufacturing traceability. This includes improvements in planning optimisation to calculate capable-to-promise for sales orders faster and without waiting for the next master planning run.” Microsoft Fabric Copilot enhances supply chain operations through advanced data management and analytics. “It transforms data into actionable insights with intelligent tools like Copilot for Data Factory, which generates and explains Mashup code and Copilot for Synapse Data Warehouse, streamlining Transact-SQL explorations,” says Sircar. “Paired with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, it boosts supply chain resilience, security and sustainability by enabling visibility, risk management and improved forecasting using Azurebased partner solutions. “Teams Copilot further strengthens supply chains by enhancing collaboration and decision-making. It enables seamless communication and data sharing across supply chain ecosystems, optimising processes Microsoft’s Nayana Singh provides a snapshot of Microsoft’s Cloud Supply Chain transformation, emphasising the use of distributed ledger technology and AI Future-proofing logistics Microsoft’s cloud business is growing rapidly, supported by the Cloud Supply Chain (CSCP) organisation, which enables the infrastructure powering this growth. CSCP oversees sourcing, demand forecasting, capacity planning, supply chain execution and the management of over 300 global data centre assets. Core functions run on SAP and Azure-integrated systems, including ECC, GTS, MDG and Ariba, which streamline planning, procurement and partner collaboration. Despite advancements, challenges persist in achieving visibility across the n-tier supply chain. Traditional systems are siloed, relying on sequential data flows and fragmented processes. Reconciling data across suppliers, manufacturers and logistics providers is labour-intensive, which limits agility and operational efficiency. The solution lies in implementing a robust business application layer atop a distributed ledger, integrating ERP functionalities to create a unified data platform. This allows end-to-end visibility so manufacturers can capture purchase orders, invoices and goods movement as a single source of truth, driving transparency and collaboration. This transformation provides near-real-time data access, reducing reconciliation efforts and enabling proactive decisions. Supply chain managers can answer critical questions – such as the location of goods and payment statuses – instantly. Enhanced visibility also accelerates procure-to-pay cycles and improves cash management, shifting manufacturers from reactive to proactive operations. Billions of dollars in commodity goods are now tracked on this distributed network, yielding economic benefits at a similar scale. Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to onboard more suppliers, validate ERP integrations and expand partnerships to enable traceability from raw materials to recycling. This innovation optimises sourcing, inventory management and forecasting while improving resilience, agility and cost efficiency. The platform also addresses emerging regulatory challenges, such as forced labour and sustainability laws. Leveraging AI and generative models, Microsoft aims to standardise data, integrate human rights risk information and create an AIpowered fusion platform. This enables secure data processing, risk detection and actionable insights to manage supply chain risks effectively. Nayana Singh is senior director of supply chain innovation and product at Microsoft. Read Nayana Singh’s full viewpoint at: www.technologyrecord.com
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