Let’s be honest, juggling supply and demand is a right headache for manufacturers.
Getting this balance spot on is crucial for keeping costs down, operations ticking along, and meeting what customers want.
It’s no walk in the park though – customer demands go up and down like a yo-yo, supply chains throw wobblies at the worst moments, and keeping track of stock needs hawk-like precision.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a proper game-changer for sorting these manufacturing headaches. By bringing all your business bits together and showing you what’s happening right now, Business Central helps you get things running smoothly.
The Business Central manufacturing module is a flexible and user-friendly solution designed for small to medium-sized manufacturers.
It’s got brilliant tools for planning production, managing stock without the faff, and getting your supply chain working like clockwork.
Additionally, it helps optimize processes by integrating tools like Power Automate with ERP systems to automate repetitive tasks and facilitate customized solutions.
This clever system doesn’t just help you predict what customers will want – it makes sure your stock levels are just right, so you’re not caught short or drowning in excess inventory.
With Business Central at your fingertips, you can react sharpish to market changes, keep customers happy, and drive your business forward. After completing production, the finished product is moved into inventory, ready for sale or distribution.
Want to take your manufacturing operations from stressed to streamlined? Business Central might be just the ticket for balancing your supply and demand challenges.
Introduction to Manufacturing Module
The manufacturing module in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive tool designed to streamline and optimize manufacturing processes.
This module is specifically tailored to meet the needs of manufacturing companies, providing them with the ability to manage production orders, inventory, and supply chain operations efficiently.
By utilizing the manufacturing module, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency.
The module integrates all components of the manufacturing process, from production planning and scheduling to inventory management and supply chain optimization.
What is Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one business management solution from Microsoft that brings together your finances, sales, service, and operations.
Perfect for small to mid-sized businesses, it gives you a clear view and proper control over everything that’s happening.
With its robust features and seamless connections to other systems, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central helps us make smart decisions, boost productivity, and grow our business.
These powerful tools facilitate integration, automation, and optimization across various processes, ensuring that companies can maintain quality and compliance while effectively managing their production workflows.
Looking to simplify your business processes while improving oversight? Business Central offers the comprehensive solution you need without unnecessary complexity.
How does Business Central suit Manufacturers?
We know manufacturers face unique challenges – complex supply chains, keeping quality top-notch, and dealing with customers who change their minds. Business Central tackles these head-on with features specially designed for manufacturing.
- Production Planning and Scheduling: We’ve got advanced planning tools that help you create detailed production schedules, use your resources wisely, and cut downtime. By managing production capabilities within the manufacturing module, including work centers, this keeps production running smoothly and gets products out the door on time.
Effectively managing the resources required for fulfilling customer demands is crucial. Tools like Microsoft Dynamics ERP aid in capacity planning and resource allocation to meet delivery expectations.
- Inventory Management: Keeping the right stock levels is crucial for balancing demand and supply. We give you real-time visibility of your inventory, helping you maintain optimal stock levels, avoid tying up cash in excess stock, and prevent those dreaded stockouts. Your cash flow improves and customers stay happy.
- Supply Chain Optimisation: With Business Central, we streamline your supply chain by automating purchasing, managing supplier relationships, and tracking where everything is.
This cuts lead times, lowers costs, and ensures you’ve got the materials you need, when you need them.
Make-to-order businesses can effectively use demand forecasting to plan for production needs and start production only when actual orders are received.
Ready to transform your manufacturing from reactive to proactive?
Let Business Central help you achieve that perfect balance that boosts both profits and customer satisfaction.
Eliminate Stockouts and Overproduction
Gain real-time control over your inventory and production plans.
Understanding Supply and Demand
In manufacturing, supply means anything coming in – stock, purchases, assembly, production process, transfers coming your way, and items customers return.
Demand covers anything going out – items for sales orders, components needed for production, and technical bits like negative inventory and purchase returns.
Effective management of the production process is crucial for operational efficiency and responsiveness.
Additionally, integrating relevant data into a single platform can provide actionable insights and streamline audit preparations, allowing companies to effectively track their performance metrics and ensure compliance.
Inventory Profiles and Planning
Business Central organises your supply and demand into two timelines called inventory profiles. These profiles sort and balance supply and demand events.
Each supply event, like a sales order line or production order, matches up with corresponding demand events to create a balanced supply plan.
Additionally, using a capacity journal helps track labor and material usage, ensuring efficiency and precise resource management throughout the manufacturing workflow.
Want clearer visibility of your manufacturing pipeline? Understanding these profiles gives you the insight to proactively manage both sides of the equation.
Moreover, managing a detailed production bill is crucial to handle numerous components, customization features, and ensure accurate communication with the production floor to avoid delays and material shortages.
Key Features for Balancing Supply and Demand
Process Orders Before Planning Start Date
-
Description: We make sure all supply and demand events that happened before your planning start date are counted as part of inventory or already shipped. This stops the system suggesting daft things about orders you’ve already processed.
-
Benefit: By getting your historical orders right, you avoid making too much or too little, making your inventory management much more efficient. We use your actual history as the starting point for future planning, not some theoretical ideal. This also helps you manage shift capacity effectively, ensuring that your production schedules align with actual demand and resource availability.
Load Inventory Profiles
-
Description: We load all your supply and demand events due on or after your planning start date into inventory profiles. Then we sort them by what matters most – due date, location, and order priorities.
-
Benefit: This organised approach means your most urgent and important orders get sorted first, helping you meet deadlines and keep operations running smoothly. You’ll be allocating resources where they actually need to go. Additionally, integrating machine centers into your workflow can further streamline operations, improve product quality, and reduce production costs.
Handle Reorder Policies:
-
Description: The system uses various reorder policies to top up stock based on current levels and your planning parameters. This includes managing minimum and maximum stock levels, reorder points, and safety stock.
-
Benefit: By automating replenishment, you’ll always have the right amount of stock on hand, avoiding both stockouts and excess inventory. This keeps your carrying costs down while making sure you can deliver when needed.
Serial and Lot Numbers:
-
Description: We manage serial and lot numbers with pinpoint accuracy. More specific demands, like those needing particular serial or lot numbers, get matched first, while we keep flexibility for other order-to-order links.
-
Benefit: This precise tracking ensures you meet industry regulations and maintain traceability, while still fulfilling orders efficiently. You can track individual items throughout your supply chain, maintaining quality control and accountability.
Order-to-Order Links:
-
Description: This feature ensures that linked supply must be used for its intended demand. If a supply order is linked to a specific demand order, it can’t be pinched for something else.
-
Benefit: This prevents conflicting messages and ensures each demand gets the right supply, making your order fulfilment more accurate and reliable. No more robbing Peter to pay Paul in your inventory management.
Manufacturing Bottlenecks? Not Anymore.
Sync your demand and supply with automated planning tools.
Advanced Planning Capabilities
Forecast Demand Reduction
-
Description: Sales orders automatically reduce forecast demand, ensuring you’re meeting actual demand without overproducing.
-
Benefit: This helps align your production schedules with real market demand, cutting waste and improving efficiency. Your forecasts adjust based on actual sales, helping you predict future needs more accurately, enabling informed decision making.
Safety Stock Management
-
Description: Safety stock gets used to meet demand and quickly topped up, maintaining inventory levels to handle unexpected situations.
-
Benefit: This ensures you can respond to surprise demand spikes without throwing your operations into chaos. Your safety buffer protects against stockouts while keeping production running. Additionally, key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to monitor and manage safety stock levels effectively.
Order Prioritisation
-
Description: The system prioritises orders based on type and state, ensuring your most critical demands get sorted first.
-
Benefit: This prioritisation helps you focus on fulfilling your most important orders, improving customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. You’ll allocate resources more effectively and meet customer expectations.
Inventory Management
Effective inventory management is crucial for manufacturing companies to ensure that they have the necessary raw materials and components to meet production demands.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s inventory management module allows businesses to track inventory levels in real-time, enabling them to make informed decisions about production schedules and material procurement.
The system also provides features such as automatic replenishment, safety stock management, and lead time tracking, which help to minimize material shortages and reduce costs.
By optimizing inventory management, manufacturing companies can improve product quality, reduce lead times, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Production Planning and Scheduling
Production planning and scheduling are critical components of the manufacturing process. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s production planning and scheduling module enables businesses to create production orders, manage production schedules, and allocate resources efficiently.
The system provides features such as finite loading, capacity planning, and material requirements planning, which help to optimize production processes and reduce costs.
By utilizing this module, manufacturing companies can improve operational efficiency, reduce lead times, and enhance product quality.
The system also provides real-time insights into production processes, enabling businesses to make informed decisions about production planning and scheduling.
Supply Chain Optimization
Supply chain optimization is essential for manufacturing companies to ensure that they can deliver products to customers on time and at a competitive cost.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s supply chain optimization module enables businesses to manage supply chain operations efficiently, from procurement to delivery.
The system provides features such as order tracking, supplier management, and logistics management, which help to minimize lead times, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction.
By optimizing supply chain operations, manufacturing companies can improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance product quality.
See more information about balancing demand and supply in Business Central by clicking here.
Balancing demand and supply is absolutely critical for manufacturers – it directly impacts your efficiency, profit margins, and how happy your customers are. Business Central gives you the tools to manage this balance properly.
From advanced production planning and inventory management to streamlining your supply chain and detailed order tracking, we’ve built a comprehensive solution that tackles the unique challenges you face in manufacturing.
Bringing Business Central into your manufacturing operations doesn’t just streamline processes – it gives you valuable insights that drive better decision-making.
As a result, you’ll achieve that sweet spot between demand and supply, leading to sustained growth and success even when markets get choppy.
Want to see how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can transform your manufacturing operations?
Get in touch with us today. We’re here to help you unlock the full potential of your manufacturing processes and drive your business forward.
