Microsoft Supply Chain Platform: New Approach To Designing Supply Chains For Agility, Automation, And Sustainability

Microsoft Supply Chain Platform: It’s time to transform supply chain operations to tackle customers’ most urgent supply chain issues.

Although supply chain disruption is not a new phenomenon, its complexity and rate of change are outpacing organisations’ ability to address global issues. Many current solutions are narrowly focused on supply chain execution and management and are unprepared to support this new reality. Petabytes of data are spread across legacy systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and custom solutions, resulting in a fragmented view of the supply chain.

The agility and resilience of an organisation's supply chain will be determined by their ability to connect data and orchestrate actions across all relevant systems in order to respond quickly to changing market conditions. Supply chain software must be truly agile in order to increase visibility across data sources, predict and mitigate disruption, streamline collaboration, and fulfil orders in a sustainable and secure manner.

source: microsoft.com

What is Microsoft Supply Chain Platform?

Microsoft Supply Chain Platform enables organisations to maximise their existing supply chain investments through an open approach by bringing the best of Microsoft AI, collaboration, low code, security, and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications to a scalable platform. We are also announcing the preview of the Microsoft Supply Chain Center as part of the new Microsoft Supply Chain Platform. The Supply Chain Center enables customers to get started quickly by providing them with a ready-made “command centre” that integrates natively with existing supply chain data and applications.

The Microsoft Supply Chain Platform: An open, cohesive, and customizable platform for data and supply chain automation.

Microsoft provides a wide range of capabilities across Microsoft to enable companies like Grupo Bimbo, Mercedes-Benz, and Tillamook to create their own custom supply chain solutions. Microsoft is making it easier for customers to use the entire Microsoft Cloud to improve their supply chain with today’s announcement.

The Microsoft Supply Chain Platform provides building blocks for customers to adopt capabilities that address their specific supply chain needs across Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams, and the Power Platform. Customers can use Dataverse’s hundreds of data connectors to gain visibility and act across their supply chain. Custom workflows, data reporting, and applications that connect to existing supply chain systems are also possible with the Power Platform.

Microsoft Supply Chain Platform Demo

Introducing Microsoft Supply Chain Center – let’s take a look at how it works, watch the demo below:

source: Microsoft YouTube Channel

Collaboration to engage customers in supply chain transformation

The Microsoft partner ecosystem will remain critical in enabling customer supply chain resilience and agility. Partners can use Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Teams, and the Power Platform in conjunction with the Microsoft Supply Chain Platform to create integrated solutions. The Microsoft Supply Chain Platform connects to Blue Yonder, Cosmo Tech, Experlogix, Flintfox, InVia Robotics, K3, O9 Solutions, SAS, Sonata Software, To-Increase, and many more to help customers find the best solution for their supply chain needs.

Customers with existing Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management contracts will automatically gain access to the Supply Chain Center.

The Supply Chain Center includes pre-built modules that address supply chain disruptions across supply and order fulfilment:

• Through supply intelligence, the supply and demand insights module predicts upstream supply constraints and shortages using advanced Azure AI models. Organizations can use data from their supply chain network to run simulations to predict being out of stock, overstocked, or missing order lines. Supply chain practitioners can make decisions and plan with real-world event information and historical insights for product demands when combined with smart news insights, which provide relevant news alerts on external events in the Supply Chain Center.
• Customers can easily unlock specific solutions such as freight visibility from Overhaul by having partner modules built into the Supply Chain Center. Because everything runs on Dataverse, the data is consistent regardless of which module you use. This eliminates the need to copy and paste information and reconcile which reports have the most up-to-date information.
• The Supply Chain Center order management module intelligently organises and automates fulfilment with a rules-based system that leverages real-time omnichannel inventory data, AI, and machine learning. By extending their capabilities with pre-built connectors to specialised technology partners for order intake, delivery, and third-party logistics services, organisations can quickly meet future order volumes and fulfilment complexities. At launch, existing Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management customers will have automatic access to the Supply Chain Center and the order management module.
• Customers can mitigate supply constraints by collaborating in real time with external suppliers to secure new supply sources, troubleshoot transportation issues, and communicate upstream and downstream impacts based on changes, thanks to secure, built-in Teams integration.

Creating long-term supply chains with Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

One of the most significant opportunities for organisations to reduce their carbon footprint is through sustainable supply chains. However, it is one of the most difficult areas to address because decision makers lack the data and insights needed to optimise supplier, route, fulfilment, and product selection. Customers can make long-term decisions on product sourcing, package-free returns, transportation logistics, manufacturing and warehouse automation, and more by leveraging Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Order Management in the Supply Chain Center.

Microsoft can help you reimagine your supply chain.

We believe that supply chain agility is critical for survival in today’s economic environment. This entails comprehending and taking real-time actions based on supply chain data in a secure and sustainable manner. We’re excited to take the first step in reimagining the supply chain with our customers and partners.

Source: Introducing the Microsoft Supply Chain Platform, a new approach to designing supply chains for agility, automation and sustainability