D365 Client Success Story
Global Manufacturer Streamlines Field Service to Boost Efficiency and Cut Order Closing Time by 70%
Industry: Manufacturing
Solution: Dynamics 365 Field Service, Finance & Supply Chain Management
Introduction
Located across six continents, one manufacturer has a 100-year history of developing high-quality machining solutions for job shops and manufacturers. However, aging legacy systems and data silos threatened the company’s progress over time.
To maintain a high level of quality and support, the global machine corporation knew it needed to modernize business at all levels. Here’s how we helped the manufacturer improve visibility and cash flow, reduce errors, and cut order close times by 70%. By deploying intelligent field service in just four months, the manufacturer gained greater visibility, improved planning, and made it easier for management to oversee and support field service technicians.
Challenge
Outdated Service Software
With outdated service software, employees couldn’t share detailed records or enter international addresses due to character limits within fields.
Disjointed Systems
Employees across 10 locations used 14 interfaces to manage everything from purchase orders and service requests to shipping logistics and part numbers. The disjointed systems created:
- Difficulty assigning technicians, tracking work orders, and managing service delivery
- Limited visibility across multiple business areas
- Inventory inaccuracies and tracking complications
- Shipping delays and reduced customer satisfaction
Core struggles
- Outdated Service Software
- Disjointed Systems
Solution
Modernizing the service experience
Dynamics 365 Field Service
Our Strategic Services experts quickly got to work, evaluating the manufacturer’s platform and processes to uncover problems and improvement opportunities. We then used those insights to deploy Dynamics 365 Field Service with tangible improvements to their bottom line. This included quickly improving field efficiency with web support for internal users and a mobile service application for field workers. With intelligent field service, the company could create and manage work orders, streamline technician scheduling, and give management real-time visibility into the service pipeline. Scheduling changes became simpler, errors were reduced, and technicians were better supported in the field. The solution was customized to fit their processes, making it easy to adjust workloads and keep customers informed.
Our strategy and implementation support empowered the company to reduce its work-to-cash cycle, enable collaboration across silos, and better measure organizational performance. The results were so impactful that company leaders highlighted the solution to peers as an example of how digital transformation can directly improve service operations and customer satisfaction.
Connecting disjointed operational systems
Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management
Improving parts and service management
The manufacturer replaced their legacy ERP with Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain, leveraging MCA Connect’s modern data warehouse. Coupled with Power BI, this solution consolidated data and eliminated manual reports by providing easy access for stakeholders.
The initial rollout focused on the manufacturer’s Parts and Finance departments and went live (smoothly and successfully) during the COVID-19 pandemic, our first fully remote deployment.
Improving visibility and accuracy
To increase visibility, our team built integration bridges linking disparate interfaces to the new ERP system. To improve accuracy, we streamlined processes for uploading part numbers and listing these parts in inventory. We also integrated the system with the company’s headquarter data (localed in Japan) to create parts released as part of a mass upload.
For the second phase of the rollout, the manufacturer expanded Dynamics 365 to create better visibility into sales, shipping, and invoicing.
Results
Reduced errors and double entries by moving away from legacy systems
With consolidated data, streamlined processes, and increased visibility across the organization, the global manufacturer:
The manufacturer created a platform that enables stakeholders to measure organizational performance and get actionable insights across demand, performance, and financial results.
MCA Connect and Dynamics 365 is setting us up for success to reach our end goal of having all systems talking together and using a common data source.
– National Service Manager, North America
About MCA Connect
MCA Connect modernizes supply chains end-to-end through transformative consulting, unified data for business insights, process optimization and automation, AI and advanced decision making, and business application implementation.
As Microsoft’s top manufacturing and distribution partner, we combine global reach, seasoned experts, leading-edge tech, and a focus on business strategy.
