How to improve business for consumer goods companies

Consumer product goods (CPG), food and beverage, and retail companies are all interconnected within the broader consumer goods industry. From business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C), each industry has its distinct roles and functions, but they also share similarities and face common challenges, including:

• Increasing competition: for new companies or existing companies expanding their product offerings. Any business needs to innovate and differentiate their products.
• Changing consumer preferences: As consumers become more health-conscious, environmentally conscious and demand personalized experiences. This forces CPG companies and retailers to adapt their products and marketing strategies to meet consumers' changing needs.
• Supply chain disruptions: The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for CPG companies to get their products to market. This has led to shortages and higher prices for consumers.
• Rising costs: Raw materials, labor and transportation costs are all rising, putting pressure on CPG companies' margins. Companies must find ways to reduce costs or pass higher costs on to consumers.
• Cybersecurity risks: CPG companies are increasingly exposed to cybersecurity risks, such as data breaches and cyberattacks. This can damage their reputation and lead to financial losses.

To meet these challenges, companies need to improve their business operations, supply chain management and customer experience. Microsoft Dynamics 365 business applications enable CPG businesses to do just that.

Dynamics 365 Commerce is a cloud-based commerce platform that helps CPG B2B and retail B2C companies create personalized and omnichannel experiences for their customers. It offers a wide range of features, including:

• A headless commerce architecture that allows for flexibility and scalability
• A unified commerce experience across all channels, including online, in-store and mobile
• A powerful personalization engine that can deliver relevant content and offers to each customer
• A robust order management system that can handle high volumes of orders
• A comprehensive set of reporting and analytics tools that can help businesses track their performance

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain is a cloud-based supply chain management solution that helps CPG B2B manufacturing and distribution companies optimize operations with a wide range of features, including:

• Real-time visibility into inventory levels and demand
• Advanced planning and forecasting tools
• Automated ordering and replenishment
• Integrated transportation and logistics management
• Sustainability reporting

Maximize your Microsoft investment

Investing in any new software or platform takes time, effort and resources. Working with an experienced systems integrator and implementation specialist is essential to maximizing the Microsoft platform's full benefits.

With clear communication, well-defined goals and a strong relationship, organizations can reap great benefits, including:

• Knowledge: access to specialized knowledge and experience for seamless integration of diverse technologies
• Efficiency: streamline workflows, automate processes and optimize resource utilization
• Cost savings: reduce maintenance, licensing and operational expenses through integrated solutions
• Scalability: build adaptable systems that grow with your organization, avoiding future disruptions
• Innovation enablement: working with a systems integrator, companies are introduced to innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, IoT or advanced analytics

Mazars system integration and implementation solutions enabled by Microsoft solutions help CPG, food and beverage, and retail businesses improve their business operations and customer experiences by:

• Omnichannel customer experiences: By providing a personalized and omnichannel experience, CPG companies can create a more seamless and convenient shopping experience for customers. This can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty.
• Increased operational efficiency: By optimizing their operations, CPG companies can reduce costs and improve efficiency. This can free up resources that can be used to focus on other areas of the business, such as innovation and marketing.
• Reduced risk: With real-time visibility into inventory levels and demand, CPG companies can reduce the risk of stockouts and overstocks. This can help them improve their bottom lines and avoid customer dissatisfaction.
• Increased compliance: By automating their supply chains, CPG companies can reduce the risk of noncompliance with regulations. This can help protect their brand reputation and avoid costly fines.
• Improved sustainability: Using Dynamics 365 Supply Chain, CPG companies can track their carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. This can help enable more sustainable decisions and improve environmental performance.

In addition to the benefits described above, Mazars can help CPG companies launch new products and services faster, expand into new markets and improve financial performance.

How customers leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365

A large retailer embarked on a digital transformation journey by migrating its business functions, from IT data centers to warehouse inventory and point-of-sale checkout, to Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365 suite. By adopting Dynamics 365 Commerce, Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, the retailer experienced remarkable outcomes. The company’s cloud investment has positively impacted business performance through greater staffing efficiency, faster and more flexible customer service, and increased inventory awareness.

A food and beverage client must centralize its business processes and operations on a single platform. Initially, it was managing the different franchise chains independently. This resulted in multiple challenges managing finances, supply chain and inventories, all of which slowed down processes across brands and offices. Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Finance and Operations, the client was able to streamline its financial records and achieve greater supply chain efficiencies.

Summing up, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce and Supply Chain are powerful tools that can help consumer product goods, food and beverage, and retail businesses unify their back-office, in-store, e-commerce, and call center experiences. The result? A more personalized and seamless customer experience.

If you’re a CPG company looking to improve your business operations and customer experiences, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a great place to start. Mazars can help.

Mazars’ Microsoft advisors leverage experience and knowledge with industry-specific solutions. We offer strategy, development, management, and implementation services for the full suite of Microsoft intelligent business solutions focused on maximizing Dynamics 365 data-driven insights and decision-making tools.

Learn more: Schedule a demo today.

The information provided here is for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, legal advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal or other competent advisers.