How Does a Manufacturing Company Use 365 Business Central in Production?

An ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can help a manufacturing company manage and optimise their production processes efficiently.

Here is an example of how a manufacturing company can use Dynamics 365 Business Central to manage the production process in five simple steps. Note that the steps can be adapted to the company’s specific needs.

Before we dive into this article, it is important to note: If you use C5 and are considering a migration to Dynamics 365 Business Central, it would be a good idea to read our article before you make any decisions – read more about migrating from C5.

Let’s dive into it – here are the processes related to production in 365 Business Central.

Creating a bill of materials

The manufacturing process starts with the creation of a bill of materials (BOM), which is a detailed list of all the raw materials, subassemblies and components required to produce a finished product. In Business Central you can create a bill of materials for each product using the BOM Worksheet feature. The bill of materials contains detailed information about each component, such as name, description, quantity, unit price and unit.

Creating a production order

Once the bill of materials has been created, a production order is created in Business Central. The production order contains information such as product name, quantity and expected completion date. The production order can also contain detailed instructions about the manufacturing process and work instructions for the employees on the shop floor.

Resource planning

The next step is to plan the resources required to manufacture the product. Resources can include machines, labour and other equipment. In Business Central you can use the capacity planning and finite loading features to plan and allocate resources efficiently.

Using these tools, you can plan and monitor capacity on the shop floor and take the necessary measures to prevent overloading or underutilization of resources.

Material planning

After the resources have been planned, the necessary materials are planned and ordered. In Business Central you can use the material requirements planning (MRP) feature to plan and order materials. The MRP tool uses information from the bill of materials, the production order and the capacity planning to calculate which materials are required, and when they need to be ordered. You can also configure the MRP tool to take factors such as lead time, minimum and maximum stock levels and seasonal variations in demand into account.

Read more about MRP on Microsoft’s page about MRP management

Releasing the work order

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central you can manage the production process efficiently by releasing the production order to the shop floor once resources and materials have been planned. Using the shop floor module, you can easily manage the production process at the different workstations or work centres that make up the shop floor. Each workstation can have different tasks and processes, and by dividing up the shop floor in this way you can achieve a more efficient and optimised production process.

What should you pay particular attention to in this process in 365 Business Central?

Bills of materials

• It is crucial to create an accurate and detailed bill of materials (BOM) that states all the raw materials, subassemblies and components required to produce the finished product.

• The bill of materials must be easy to read and understand for all employees in production.

• It must be updated regularly when changes are made to the production process or the product.

Capacity planning

• It is important to have a clear plan for which resources (machines, labour, equipment, etc.) are required to manufacture the product and when they are available.

• The capacity planning must take seasonal variations in demand, holiday periods and other factors that can affect the production process into account.

Material planning

• It is important to have an effective plan for managing material stocks and making sure that the necessary materials are available when they are needed.

• Material planning must take lead times, minimum and maximum stock levels and other factors that can affect material stocks into account.

Quality control

• It is important to have a clear plan for quality control of the finished product in order to ensure that it meets the required quality standards.

• Quality control can include tests, inspections and other methods, and it must be documented and filed accurately.

Reporting and analysis

• It is important to have effective reporting and analysis in order to monitor the production process and identify any problems or bottlenecks.

• Business Central contains various reporting and analysis tools that can help monitor and optimise the production process.

Automation

• It is important to automate as many of the manual tasks as possible in order to reduce the time spent and the margin of error and to increase efficiency in the production process.

• Business Central contains various automation features that can help automate tasks such as planning, material ordering, reporting and analysis.

365 Business Central in brief

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a cloud-based solution designed to help manufacturing companies streamline their processes and increase efficiency. Key features include:

• Integration
  Customise and integrate with other solutions

• Project management
  Plan and manage projects, resources and finances efficiently.

• Inventory management
  Manage stock and purchasing processes in order to minimise costs.

• Production and operations
  Optimise production planning, capacity management and quality control.

• Scalability
  Easily scale the solution in step with the company’s growth and development.

Getting started with a Business Central.

If you do not have a Business Central, you can easily buy access to one. It is easy, and something you can do yourself via Microsoft’s website. The solution can be operated with whatever knowledge you may already have, or you can access plenty of “how to” videos

Do you need a partner?

Do you need help exploring a 365 BC? Some specific configuration that you cannot do yourself. Customisations or something else – then you will most likely need a partner. Read our guide on finding a 365 Business Central partner.

How can an integration help you stand stronger with a 365 Business Central solution?

There are different types of solutions and systems that a manufacturing company may need to integrate with their ERP system. Some of the most common integrations include:

E-commerce and customer portals

Integration with e-commerce platforms and customer portals can help synchronise customer account data, prices and stock between the ERP system, which ensures a consistent customer experience.

PIM

A Product Information Management (PIM) system acts as a central repository for all the product data used by customers in the different systems you offer. The PIM system is often used to gather and organise product information, which ensures consistent and high data quality across all platforms.

CRM

A manufacturing company can use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for a range of purposes in order to improve business processes and customer relationships. Here are some of the most important ways in which a manufacturing company can benefit from a CRM:

Customer information

The CRM system gives the company the ability to keep track of customer information such as contact details, purchase history, preferences and interactions with the company. This helps the company tailor its communication and offers to the individual customers.

Sales management

The CRM system can help the sales team keep track of leads and sales opportunities, so they can prioritise their efforts and close more deals. It can also help automate the sales process and give management insight into sales activities and results.

Benefits a manufacturing company achieves with an integration between their 365 BC and other systems.

Improve communication and collaboration:

Integrating Business Central with other ERP solutions can improve communication and collaboration between different departments in the company, including the production department, the purchasing department and the warehouse department. This can help improve coordination and avoid delays or misunderstandings.

Optimisation of planning and management:

By integrating Business Central with other ERP solutions, the company can gain access to more features and tools for optimising the planning and management of the production process, including capacity planning, material planning, production planning and quality control.

Increase data insight and analysis:

By integrating Business Central with other ERP solutions, the company can gain access to more data and more options for analysing the production process. This can help identify problem areas and opportunities for improvement in the production process.

Reduce manual tasks:

By integrating Business Central with other ERP solutions, the company can reduce manual tasks and automate more processes, which can increase efficiency and reduce the margin of error.

Improve the customer experience:

An ERP integration can also help improve the customer experience by improving delivery times, reducing production errors and increasing the quality of the finished product.

Conclusion

An ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an important solution for a manufacturing company, since it can help automate processes, improve the overview of the production process, manage material stocks, integrate different systems, analyse data and renew the technology in the company. All of this can lead to more efficient processes, increased quality and competitiveness, and a more satisfying customer experience.