Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables manufacturers to replace manual, fragmented processes with streamlined, automated operations by improving visibility across production, inventory, and finance. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a cloud-based ERP solution within the Dynamics 365 ecosystem, helps small and mid-sized manufacturers manage finance, production planning, inventory, and supply chain processes from a single platform.
By automating routine workflows and supporting smarter decision-making, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central allows businesses to focus on efficiency, quality, and scalable growth.
How Does Microsoft Dynamics 365 Help in Manufacturing Automation?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central supports manufacturing automation through integrated features like production planning, MRP, capacity management, quality tracking, and BOM control, improving process standardization, accuracy, and operational visibility.
So, here are the top features Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers:
- Production Order Management
Your business’s production order management is the most essential part. It instructs what products to make, how much to make, when to make, etc.
With the help of Business Central, you can automate maximum production management work. These are:
- Tracking the progress of each production order from release to completion
- Automatically generating production orders based on sales orders and demand forecasts
- Receiving real-time updates whenever there are changes in quantities, schedules, or materials
This centralized, automated approach reduces spreadsheet dependency and improves production accuracy. For example, a Bengaluru manufacturer replaced manual tracking with Microsoft Dynamics 365, significantly reducing errors and administrative effort.
- Easy Capacity Planning
Capacity planning refers to ensuring that every machine used in your business is properly assigned to work. It would be problematic if you put a heavy workload on one machine while the other is free. In this way, you waste your resources.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 has reached an ROI of 400%-450% for automated testing within 18 months.
With Business Central, manufacturers can:
- Distribute workloads evenly across machines and work centers.
- Identify capacity constraints before they impact production timelines.
- Adjust schedules proactively based on demand and resource availability.
By improving visibility into capacity usage, Business Central reduces inefficiencies and balances workloads. For example, a Pune-based laptop manufacturer cut overtime by 12% within four months using Microsoft Dynamics 365.
- Smooth Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
While production order management tells what product to be made, the MRP tells how and where to get the materials.
Business Central assists you with MRP by implementing features like:
- You can easily track stocks and their shortages.
- Helps you with purchase plans according to the supplier’s lead time.
- Gives you automated suggestions, like how much to buy and when to buy
This ensures that materials are available when needed, without excessive overstocking or unexpected shortages.
For instance, a steel factory owner got out materials every time. With the help of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, he gets alerts 1 week in advance. Consequently, downtime decreased by 20% in just 3 months.
- Enhancing Quality Control
Quality control is very important for keeping products reliable and customers trusting. If defects go unnoticed or quality isn’t consistent, it can lead to rework, returns, and damage to your reputation.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central helps with quality management by letting manufacturers set quality checks at different points in the production process, keep track of problems, and write down how they fixed them.
Business Central has basic quality tracking features, but it can also work with other Dynamics 365 solutions or third-party systems to meet more complex quality and compliance needs.
Manufacturers can find problems earlier and fix them before they get worse by putting quality checks directly into the production process.
- Easy Management of Bill of Materials(BOM)
Bills are the receipts telling your customer about the product specifications, price, etc. It consists of a list of every part of your product.
Business Central offers amazing features for bill generation, with 97% on-time deliveries. These are:
- Generates simple or level-based bills.
- Connects BOMs to production to improve accuracy.
- Modifies them automatically when a component is changed.
This ensures that engineering changes are consistently reflected across production, purchasing, and inventory processes.
For example, a motorcycle manufacturer in Germany has over 150 models of its product. Now, they switched to carbon fibre for some of their models. Consequently, Dynamics 365 automatically changes all the relevant orders and inventory records.
Saamsha Technologies provides full CRM and ERP tools assistance to grow your business, whether you have a scaling business or a small organization powered by Dynamics 365. Contact us to get assistance from our experts, from strategy making to implementation.
- Controlling the Shop Floor
Shop floor controlling refers to having an eye on what is going on your floor in real-time. This includes your employees’ log tasks, progress reports, and more.
With assistance from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, your business managers can:
- Quickly fix issues
- Evaluate labour usage
- Monitor how the production is following the plan
For instance, an IT company in Florida added tablets to the floor. Therefore, the employees can give real-time updates. Managers can easily track the live updates. Consequently, the Overall Equipment Effectiveness(OEE) increased by 10%.
Why Should You Choose Dynamics 365 for Your Business?
You should consider Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as your next business partner, as it provides benefits from significant business growth to AI-powered solutions. Here are the key reasons:
- Business Growth
Business Central noticeably increases your business’s yearly revenue. A report of International Data Corporation(IDC) says that businesses gain a yearly benefit of $20.6 million each with the help of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
This translates to $7.4 million for every 1000 users. Additionally, this includes a three-year Return on Investment(ROI) of 301%.
- Improves Operational Efficiency
Dynamics 365 enhances your business productivity, reducing asset downtime. According to IDC, Businesses have elevated 27% of manufacturing process automation.
Additionally, this includes a rise of 15% production floor team productivity and a reduction of 94% of unplanned asset downtime.
- AI-powered Business Management
AI integration is the most beneficial feature that Business Central offers. With the help of AI, you can easily manage complicated workflows and get useful suggestions from insights. Therefore, you can eliminate the business disruptions and improve performance.
When Should You Use Dynamics 365 in Your Business?
Although every manufacturing business has unique goals, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is particularly useful in the following scenarios:
- When shop floor teams struggle with fragmented communication and disconnected systems
- When the business relies heavily on paper-based or spreadsheet-driven processes
- When management lacks real-time visibility into production, inventory, and costs
In such cases, Business Central helps centralize data, reduce errors, and improve operational transparency.
Final Words
Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables manufacturers to streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and gain better visibility across production and planning. With features such as BOM management, quality tracking, and process automation, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central helps businesses move away from paperwork and disconnected systems toward data-driven decision-making.
If your manufacturing operations face inefficiencies or limited visibility, Saamsha Technologies offers end-to-end Business Central consulting, from strategy and implementation to integration and optimization, helping you achieve scalable and sustainable growth.
