Features of the Dynamics 365 application
In the previous article, I have explained why I recommend Dynamics 365 as a CRM system. In that article, I mentioned some of the applications available in Dynamics 365. In this section, I will introduce each application, starting from the sales support system to marketing, support services, project management, and human resources.
Sales support with Dynamics 365 for Sales
Dynamics 365 for Sales is the most popular application in Dynamics 365. It is an application that accumulates sales activity data and encourages optimal next actions. It is used to maximize the profit of the organization generated by the sales force.
Dynamics 365 for Sales provides the following features.
- Conversion from prospective customer to customer information (company information, contact person information, case information)
- Manage prospective customers and negotiation pipeline
- Leveling of sales as a business flow of actions up to receiving an order
- Detailed management of sales activities including emails, phone calls, appointments, memos, etc.
- Management of business meeting accuracy and temperature
- Email tracking function (open, link, attachment confirmation)
- Competitor analysis (analysis of winning and losing business meetings, thinking about competitive strategies, etc.)
- Download quotes and invoices in Word format.
- Manage sales targets.
- Use of dashboards and sales funnels
- Reporting functions, etc.
Recently, AI for Sales, a sales support tool that utilizes artificial intelligence, has also been released.
Quotes from AI for Sales
Dynamics 365 for Sales Case Study
On Microsoft’s official page, four companies are listed as case studies.
Reference: Overview of Dynamics 365 for Sales
Here are the details of each case. (English)
Improving Customer Satisfaction with Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
Dynamics 365 for Customer Service can be used in customer support departments such as customer support and helpdesk. In order to improve the responsiveness, speed, and support quality of the support department, each inquiry from a customer or internal company is managed as a support case, and the details of the phenomenon, cause, and solution are recorded as a ticket (SR: Service Request). As the number of customer support cases increases and tickets accumulate, they become past cases and company assets. Utilizing these case studies will help close the gap in skills and knowledge of support members, and maintain and improve the quality of support services.
It also makes it easy to analyze the current status of the support department and formulate strategies for quality improvement, such as improving response time of the support department, selecting skill sets necessary for service improvement, training new support members based on case studies, and improving service delivery according to the source of the inquiry, by categorizing support cases in terms of time to resolution, customer satisfaction, and importance of the problem.
Dynamics 365 for Customer Service Case Study
The HP case study shows how to improve customer response, share information smoothly from automated AI-based responses to support teams, and use dashboards to analyze customer feedback and unresolved inquiries. HP’s case study shows how AI can be used to improve customer response, share information smoothly from automated responses to the support team, and analyze customer feedback and unresolved inquiries through dashboards.
Reference: Dynamics 365 for Customer Service Overview
Dynamics 365 for Field Service is used in manufacturing and field service
Dynamics 365 for Field Service is an application that can be used in the manufacturing industry for “Monozukuri” (manufacturing), for dispatching technicians for maintenance and breakdown of various electronic devices such as home appliances and computers, and for dispatching drivers for transportation services at inns and hotels. This is an application used in the field of field service. For example, a company that provides tractors used by farmers can use this application to dispatch the closest technician to the site to repair the tractor upon receiving a report of a breakdown, or to accumulate all the data on the manufacturing process to greatly reduce the cost of manufacturing.
Since Dynamics 365 for Field Service can automate scheduling, it can show the daily schedule of all technicians and automatically schedule them to handle a large number of projects with minimum travel time. Technicians will be able to work efficiently throughout the day according to that schedule.
In addition, when the technicians travel to the site, they can use their mobile devices to provide route guidance and visit the customer site on time. Furthermore, by sharing information about the customers they have served (preferences and responses) among the technicians, they can provide higher quality services. With Dynamics 365 for Field Service, you can make the best use of your technicians’ resources to provide services that suit your customers and increase the repeat rate of your services.
In conjunction with IoT, it will be possible to know exactly when the products provided to customers need maintenance and whether there are any problems or malfunctions. In addition, mixed reality will allow highly skilled technicians to remotely solve problems for customers in different areas.
Dynamics 365 for Field Service Case Study
Sodexo uses Dynamics 365 for Field Service in natural gas, oil and natural resources, healthcare and education. Sodexo uses Dynamics 365 in natural gas, oil and gas exploration, healthcare, education, etc. Technicians working in the vast fields follow daily work orders and record them in Dynamics 365 for Field Service on a daily basis in an effort to improve work efficiency.
Reference: Dynamics 365 for Field Service Overview
Here are the details of each case. (English)
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation Manage project resources and schedules
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation is an application for managing projects in various industries, including IT projects where IT consultants and SIers are selling and implementing their own systems and packages. It can be used for IT projects, including projects where IT consultants and SIers are selling and implementing their own system packages.
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation uses the same information as Sales, such as leads, company and customer information, contracts, invoices, etc., to track projects as they are awarded, as well as to manage the resources and skills required for projects. In addition, you can manage the resources and skills required for the project, as well as the schedules and tasks of project managers and technicians. By linking with Microsoft Project, you can create a WBS on the client terminal and synchronize the WBS with the project in Dynamics 365, which will greatly improve your work efficiency.
In addition to your own members, you can also add external subcontractors as resources and manage their costs and operating prices separately, so you can easily calculate profit margins and estimates for each project. Of course, travel and accommodation expenses for engineers dispatched to distant locations can also be managed as part of the project budget. In this way, you can estimate the budget required for a project, optimize your own resources, manage schedules and project progress, calculate expenses and profits, and manage all project-related tasks in one place.
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation Case Study
Project Service Automation is used by companies such as
Reference: Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation Overview
Here are the details of each case. (English)
Other applications provided by Dynamics 365
In addition to the four listed above, the following additional applications are provided.
Dynamics 365 for Marketing
Dynamics 365 for Marketing is an application that supports marketing; by linking with Sales, it facilitates the sharing of information between the marketing and sales departments, helping the organization to expand its business. It can also be used in conjunction with marketing automation tools such as Marketo and Hubspot to analyze and score the actions of multi-channel (landing pages, portals, email newsletters, webinars, events, etc.) lists of potential customers (leads) in order to tailor marketing to each individual lead. When used in conjunction with marketing automation, it is possible to analyze and score the actions of a list of potential customers (leads) created through multiple channels (landing pages, portals, email newsletters, webinars, events, etc.) and conduct appropriate marketing for each lead.
The following video provides an overview of the Dynamics 365 for Marketing features.
Dynamics 365 for Talent
Dynamics 365 for Talent is an application that can be used in HR. There are two types of applications: Attract, which is used for recruiting, and Onboard, which is used to train new hires and help them become familiar with the company and the business. It can help you develop and implement strategies, such as deploying details of open positions to prospective employees, what the current status of the candidate is, and how to track and secure them.
Onboard can also help new employees focus on their work by strengthening employee engagement and minimizing the amount of paperwork required during the onboarding process in order to reduce the time it takes for them to become familiar with the team. By consolidating all necessary entry-level documents, training details, and organizational charts in one place, you can also influence the company more quickly.
Since this is a relatively new application, there are not many examples yet, but here is a video about the product that Microsoft offers.
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
Dynamics AX is now an application called Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, which provides ERP functionality. It can be used to support internal finance and accounting processes. It can be used to automate financial processes such as extracting books and related reports, managing budgets, debts, etc. It can also be used to manage employee cost performance. In the manufacturing industry, it is also possible to visualize the workflow of production-related operations such as quotations, orders, and purchase orders, and to identify areas for improvement in business procedures.
Dynamics 365 for Retail
Dynamics 365 for Retail is a Dynamics 365 application that can be used in the retail industry to manage online stores and across stores, strategies to increase sales, and identify trends through customer information management. It also allows you to accurately manage inventory, product information and pricing in your stores, and to implement trending strategies based on surveys and other data to meet customer needs. Omnichannel support allows for smooth and flexible delivery of products after purchase in stores or online, and customer feedback can be received to increase customer satisfaction and build fans of your brand.
Here is a video about the products that Microsoft offers.
The four applications described below require separate licensing fees, but by making full use of these applications, it is possible to manage various business operations within a single company from a single instance, which is expected to enable active information sharing and collaboration within the company.
These are the applications provided by Dynamics 365. Depending on your company’s issues, you can decide which application is most effective for you.