From Excel to Dynamics 365

Lack of up-to-date information? At Fabric we find that this is the single biggest reason why boards of directors decide to switch from relying on Excel spreadsheets to working with Dynamics 365. And they are finding that the switch is saving them significant sums within 12 months, as two recent examples make clear. 

Months become minutes

Management spreadsheets in Excel are typically updated at the end of the month, often using information from other spreadsheets, plus managers’ gut feelings and a variety of random sources such as production systems and shipping receipts.

The contrast with the Dynamics 365 experience could not be clearer or more dramatic. Dynamics provides real-time updates from the production systems using API integrations, with team members entering information as they complete each task. As a result, managers are able to make decisions in minutes that previously took a month or more.

Dynamics in action, case study 1

In one recent example, a manufacturing client with £125,000 of stock on the warehouse floor had been accustomed to finding a 35% discrepancy in stock. After implementing Dynamics 365 for Operations they had a real-time view of what was available for the first time.

Result: they were able to reduce the amount of stock held by £73,000  – leading to enhanced productivity and greater profit, with a return on investment of £5 to every £1 spent within the first year.

Dynamics in action, case study 2

Our second recent example features a construction company that was using paper-based systems for the CVI (confirmation of verbal instruction) process.

Each construction site collected all the CVIs and posted them back to the head office each week, where  the head office admin resource would manually input them into a spreadsheet. It was not unusual for crucial information to be missed off either the initial reports or the final spreadsheet.

After the implementation of Dynamics 365 for Field Service, site staff began to enter the information straight into the system using the Dynamics 365 app  on iPads. The app delivered the CVI via a process-driven flow, ensuring that all required information was captured at the outset. Suddenly there was no need for admin staff to enter the information at all.

In addition to benefiting from more accurate reporting, the company found that, by using its admin resource more efficiently, the business saved around £40,000 in year one.

Perhaps you are wondering how much your organisation could save by ditching Excel and switching to Dynamics 365. Find out today – contact the Fabric team for a free, no-obligation chat.