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Procurement Goals: We Don’t Need Any Toner

Procurement Goals: We Don’t Need Any Toner Table of Contents Procurement Goals: We Don’t Need Any Toner A former coworker and good buddy of mine is a Purchasing Manager for a mid-size manufacturing company. He always had a lot on his plate and more often than not, he would greet fellow colleagues to his office with “I can’t take it no mo’!”, “Please. Leave. Now.” or “I don’t want your ____”. I leave you to fill in the blank. While always said with a smile on his face, we all knew he was trying to stay on top of numerous rush purchase order orders, pushy sales reps, expedite requests and receiving issues. These situations aren’t new to procurement and purchasing teams. Fortunately, there are numerous modules and features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 which can help handle all the ______. Request for Quotation Good, Fast or Cheap. While typically used in project management, the principles of the Iron Triangle are certainly applicable to procurement. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the Request for Quotation process. D365’s RFQ functionality allows purchasing to send out requests to multiple vendors, track progress, record the responses and then compare all the results to pick the best option. The winning RFQ is then converted into a purchase order so the team has full visibility of the purchasing lifecycle. Purchasing Agreements Purchasing agreements are contracts between the customer and vendor which set special pricing and discounts for meeting certain quantities or dollar values. Once an agreement has been established in D365, the contract can be selected upon purchase order creation. The requirements and details are automatically populated into the order. Manual calculations, convoluted Excel formulas and time consuming phone calls and emails can be eliminated as all the necessary data resides in the system. Master Planning MRP is nothing new. However, a surprising number of companies fail to use it to its full potential, if at all. D365 Master Planning uses data from all areas of the company to generate planned purchase and production orders to reduce missed delivery targets, accommodate production schedules and flag any problem orders. Coupled with Demand Forecasting, procurement can place orders on in-house demand as well as forecasted demand from historical orders. By utilizing Buyer Groups, team members can filter planned orders by department, team or individual. Master Planning can also be configured to search for purchase agreements to make price and quantity adjustments. Purchasing Workflows Obsolete parts, incorrect purchase quantities and exceeded credit limits can be easy mistakes to make when placing orders. This is especially true when a coworker is covering for someone on vacation or sick-leave. One of the ways D365 can mitigate these issues is through workflows. Robust and customizable, workflows allow organizations to require approvals on purchase requisitions and orders to account for spending limits, missing information, vendor approval, etc. Quality Orders Nothing makes a customer service or production manager’s heart stop like a quality assurance issue. Thousands of questions begin whirling around and there’s usually precious little time to get them answered. D365 Quality Management allows mistakes and defective material to be caught before it gets to the production line or – worse yet – in the customer’s hands. Organizations can develop custom tests based on qualitative and quantitative measurements to track the material, batch & serial number, employee and vendor associated with each test. Additionally, material can be automatically directed to the quality department upon receipt to ensure nothing “slips through the cracks”. All of these are extensive topics which need to be covered in more detail. That being said, if procurement is facing any of these challenges, then perhaps the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is worth looking into. When paired with an experienced partner like Ascent Innovations, D365 can reduce the stress and make your procurement team a more efficient department within your organization. Now, if you don’t mind, Please. Leave. Now. Author: Matthew Newcomb Solution Consultant Icon-linkedin Latest Posts You might also like:

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Unlocking Business Agility: How the Power Platform Empowers Business Users

Unlocking Business Agility: How the Power Platform Empowers Business Users Table of Contents Empower Business Teams to Build Custom Apps Back in the mid-80’s, my mom brought an electric drip coffee maker up to our cabin in Minnesota. Before that, my family would use the mid-century kitchen staple: the stovetop percolator. Without getting into the details, making a decent cup of coffee in a percolator is time-consuming and requires monitoring.  Even then, the chances of burning the coffee, or making it too weak or too strong are high. An electric drip coffee maker is a huge improvement. Add coffee, add water and turn it on. Done.   My grandfather was skeptical, but he decided to try it. Then, one morning, at 5:00, he woke up my mom to say the coffee maker wasn’t working. He forgot to plug it in. However, after a little bit of training he got the hang of it and, wouldn’t you know it, he was a fan. The coffee maker removed several steps from the process, automated the brewing and created consistent results.   So why am I sharing this story about coffee makers? For years, we stuck with the same process to make coffee with varying degrees of success. Then, a new product came around to simplify the process and improve consistency. From a business operations perspective, that’s where Microsoft’s Power Platform steps in. With Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Pages, business users get the power (pun intended) to create custom applications, automate tedious tasks, analyze real-time data, and engage with customers—all with minimal coding.   This means teams can solve their own problems faster while IT focuses on keeping systems running smoothly. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. While these tools put power in business users’ hands, IT and partners can play a crucial role in getting the first apps into production. The Challenge: Slow, Inefficient Business Processes It starts as a one-off. Some says, “Let’s just put together a quick spreadsheet so we can track the data.” Before you know it, there’s 7 versions with different initials, numbers and “-FINAL” in the file name. Endless spreadsheets, clunky email approvals, and manual data entry slow everything down. Traditional software development takes too long, and by the time IT gets around to building what you need, your business needs have already changed.   What’s the fix? Give teams a way to quickly build custom applications, automate workflows, analyze data, and collaborate seamlessly without being stuck in IT’s backlog. The Solution: The Power Platform Microsoft’s Power Platform is a suite of four interconnected tools designed to help organizations digitally transform their operations: Power Apps lets business users create custom applications with little to no coding, integrating seamlessly with tools like Excel, SharePoint, and Dynamics 365. Power Automate takes the grunt work out of daily operations by automating repetitive tasks, ensuring smooth data flow across applications. Power BI delivers powerful business intelligence and analytics, so teams can track KPIs, monitor trends, and make data-driven decisions. Power Pages helps build secure external portals where suppliers, customers, and partners can access business data and services without complex IT intervention. Real-World Use Cases: How Supply Chain Teams Benefits Supplier Coordination & Purchase Order Approvals The Problem: Slow supplier responses and approval delays. The Fix: A Power Apps supplier portal to centralize communication, Power Automate workflows to speed up approvals, and Power BI reports to track supplier performance. The Impact: Faster decision-making, stronger supplier relationships, and fewer bottlenecks. Supplier & Customer Portals for Shipment Coordination The Problem: Disconnected communication between suppliers, customers, and logistics teams leads to shipment delays and confusion. The Fix: A Power Pages supplier and customer portal where stakeholders can track shipments, submit inquiries, and receive automated updates. Power Automate sends real-time alerts, while Power BI provides visibility into shipment performance. The Impact: Fewer delays, smoother coordination, and happier customers. Real-Time Logistics Monitoring The Problem: No clear visibility into shipment status. The Fix: A Power Apps logistics dashboard that pulls real-time shipment data, Power Automate alerts for delays, Power BI analytics for tracking performance, and Power Pages for customer and supplier inquiries. The Impact: Proactive supply chain management reduced operational risks, and better logistics performance. Building Your First Apps—A Little Help Goes a Long Way Getting started with Power Platform doesn’t mean teams need to figure it all out alone. IT and partners can help by: Building Your First Apps – Partners can collaborate with business teams to design and launch their first apps, solving immediate problems while teaching best practices. Training & Upskilling – Hands-on, real-world learning is invaluable, but structured training ensures long-term success. Next Steps: Transform Your Business with Power Platform The Power Platform is changing the way companies innovate, collaborate, and operate. By equipping business users with low-code development tools, automation capabilities, advanced analytics, and secure portals, companies can move faster and stay ahead—without waiting on IT to solve every challenge.   Ready to put Power Platform to work in your business? Let’s talk about how you can start automating, analyzing, and optimizing today! About the Author Matthew Newcomb is a seasoned and certified Microsoft Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant, specializing in Advanced Warehousing and Production. His extensive experience in Dynamics 365 planning and implementation projects informs his approach to enhancing Dynamics 365 environments with the Power Platform. By leveraging tools such as Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI, Matthew enables businesses to automate processes, build custom applications, and gain deeper insights into their operations, thereby driving efficiency and innovation. Matthew Newcomb Microsoft Dynamics 365 consultant Icon-linkedin Latest Posts You might also like:

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D365 Supply Chain Management: Because Guesswork is Not a Strategy

D365 Supply Chain Management: Because Guesswork is Not a Strategy Table of Contents D365 Supply Chain Management: Because Guesswork is Not a Strategy Supply chain management is a delicate balancing act. Too much inventory? You’re stuck with pallets of unsold product gathering dust. Not enough? Customers are left empty-handed, and suddenly you’re in crisis mode, scrambling to make up for lost sales. If you’ve ever had to explain to an executive why a crucial shipment is still “in transit” (translation: no one knows where it is), you know that supply chain visibility is everything.   That’s where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (D365 SCM) comes in. It replaces the spreadsheets, outdated reports, and “fingers-crossed” planning with real-time data, predictive analytics, and automated processes—all designed to keep your supply chain running like a well-oiled machine. Goodbye spreadsheets, hello real-time visibility Let’s be honest: Excel is great, but it was never meant to be a real-time supply chain management tool. Trying to track inventory, supplier performance, and logistics in a collection of shared spreadsheets is like trying to navigate a highway using hand-drawn maps. It works… until it doesn’t.   D365 SCM pulls live data from across your supply chain—inventory, warehouse management, production schedules, supplier lead times, and customer demand—all into a single system. No more waiting for weekly reports or manually refreshing data. Instead, you get instant visibility into what’s happening right now. What that means for you No more “Where is it?” moments – Track shipments, inventory levels, and supplier updates in real time. Fewer stockouts and excess inventory – Forecast demand accurately and adjust purchasing before problems arise. Automated replenishment – Let the system handle reorders based on demand patterns, rather than last-minute panic buys. Predictive analytics: seeing the future (sort of) Reactive supply chain management is a nightmare. Something goes wrong, and suddenly everyone is in fire-drill mode. The magic of predictive analytics in D365 SCM is that it helps you spot risks before they become problems.   Using AI and machine learning, D365 analyzes historical data, market trends, and supplier performance to forecast demand, detect potential disruptions, and recommend adjustments—before you’re knee-deep in an inventory crisis. Is it a crystal ball? No. But does it keep you on top of market trends? Absolutely. Supplier delays? Get alerts and alternative sourcing recommendations before it’s too late. Sudden demand spike? Adjust production schedules and distribution in real time. Warehouse bottlenecks? Identify inefficiencies and optimize layout and workflows. Automation: because you have better things to do A lot of supply chain headaches come from manual processes—rekeying purchase orders, chasing approvals, and updating inventory counts by hand. D365 SCM automates the busywork so you can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets. Some of the best time-saving automations in D365 SCM Automated procurement – The system tracks vendor performance, pricing, and lead times to suggest the best suppliers and auto-generate POs. Intelligent order fulfillment – Orders are routed automatically based on warehouse location, inventory levels, and shipping costs. AI-driven demand planning – The system adjusts stock levels and reorder points based on real-time sales trends and forecasts. A smarter, more resilient supply chain D365 Supply Chain Management isn’t just about keeping things running—it’s about building resilience. Whether it’s handling supply disruptions, optimizing warehouse operations, or making smarter purchasing decisions, it takes the guesswork out of managing your supply chain. So, next time someone asks, “Where’s that shipment?” you won’t have to answer with, “Let me check the latest version of our Excel tracker.” Instead, you’ll have real-time, AI-powered insights at your fingertips—because guesswork is not a strategy. About the Author Matthew Newcomb has been navigating the twists and turns of ERP implementations long enough to know that supply chains run on data, not wishful thinking. As a Microsoft Dynamics AX & 365 Trade & Logistics Functional Senior Consultant, he helps businesses cut through the chaos with real-time insights, automation, and a little common sense. Whether it’s optimizing operations or figuring out why half your inventory is stuck in a warehouse 500 miles away, he ensures companies get the most out of their Microsoft solutions—without the headaches. Matthew Newcomb Microsoft Dynamics 365 consultant Icon-linkedin Latest Posts You might also like:

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Committing to Accurate Barcodes: Because Royal Doulton Looks Weird Next to a Sippy Cup

Committing to Accurate Barcodes: Because Royal Doulton Looks Weird Next to a Sippy Cup Table of Contents Share Committing to Accurate Barcodes: Because Royal Doulton Looks Weird Next to a Sippy Cup Take a moment and think about the most exciting and joyful moment of your wedding. If you aren’t married, then try to imagine it. What did you pick? The expression of your love and faithfulness to your spouse? While that’s a sweet sentiment, you’re wrong.   Throwing a party for your family and friends? Barring the judgmental looks from Great-Aunt Ethel, sure, that’s fun. However, the price can sap away some of the enjoyment. So, no. Still wrong.   What about the cake? Surely something so simple, honest and delicious has to be the right answer. Nice try, but still no.   No, the most exciting and joyful moment of your entire wedding is setting up a wedding registry and walking around the store with a scanner. You get to pick all the things you like, decide in that moment you are absolutely going to host weekly candlelight suppers for 12 guests, and shoot laser beams out of a handheld device.   The entire experience hinges on two very important principles: Commitment and Accuracy. If you and your spouse aren’t in love with the Royal Doulton with the hand-painted periwinkles, then you might be stuck with that pattern for a long time. Likewise, if you want twelve place settings and find out much later the store doesn’t quite have twelve of everything, then one of your guests is going to have an awkward dining experience. Similarly, a successful inventory barcode process heavily relies on commitment and accuracy to ensure a dependable and long-lasting implementation within your organization. Commitment On the surface, one might think that developing an inventory barcode process is pretty simple. Take some key data, translate it into a barcode or QR code, print it on a label and slap it on the box. Done. However, a barcode label is a commitment to a static set of parameters and a narrow interpretation of that data. Let’s take some typically requested fields and put them into context. Logo: Putting the company logo or name on a product label is very common. However, think of the potential ramifications once that package leaves your dock. Do you have customers that demand private labelling? That logo is going to lead to some angry phone calls. Does the competition have access to your client’s facilities or inventory? Don’t make it easy for them to cross-reference your product. Space: Once you have committed to a certain label size, make sure all the fields are tested. If one line on the label can only fit 45 characters but the form field has a 60-character limit, you risk wrapping to the next line and most barcode scanners cannot read that information. Even worse, the extra characters may get cut-off entirely leaving incomplete data and a non-readable barcode. Description: This is a helpful field. While an item number means something to procurement, it might be useless to a warehouse worker. The description should very clearly indicate what the item is. That said, does it really need a barcode? Perhaps that extra space could be utilized elsewhere. Date: A date is good, especially for items with a shelf-life. Which date do we use? Purchase date? Receipt date? Label print date? This should be clearly indicated on the label. Remember, we want to leave as little open to interpretation as possible. Alternatively, consider relying on batch and/or serial numbers, as that data can be easily traced to the originating documents and journals. Quantity: This is commonly requested and very tricky. Let’s assume we’re receiving one box of twelve tubes of sealant. As long as we always commit an entire box in our sales or production process, there’s no issue. However, as soon as we remove one tube from that box, our label is incorrect and that can lead to serious inventory issues and the segue to our next topic. Accuracy Simply put, bad data is asking for trouble. Printing a barcode and placing it on a box is capturing a moment in time. Once any of the variables change, the label is no longer accurate. If the label is inaccurate, then it’s only a matter of time before your physical inventory no longer matches your database inventory. Timing: When are labels reprinted? Assuming the original label is printed upon product receipt, when, if ever, is an updated label generated? If we remove certain fields such as quantity or date, we can avoid bad reporting. Reprint Functionality: If a label is to be reprinted, what is the process? A warehouse worker may think they are being helpful by reprinting a missing label. However, if they assume the serial or item number, we may have a serious problem. There needs to be a safeguard in the business process or at the label generation point to ensure the correct data is printed. Warehouse Dimensions: While it may seem like a good idea to print the item’s location at receipt, that data can become problematic after the fact. Let’s say the inventory was received into Bin 1 but was moved via transfer journal to Bin 2 for space optimization. Without reprinting the label, a worker may think he found an item in the wrong location and move it back. Special Characters: Ampersands, slashes and hyphens are great for shortening and delineating descriptions but they can wreak havoc on a barcode. If the scanner cannot read special characters, then have them removed from the barcode programmatically or consider reformatting the form field. When developing a barcode label, the most important thing to remember is that data is dynamic and labels are static. As managers and consultants, our goal is to make a user’s job as easy and foolproof as possible. Labels can help, but they can hinder as well. Inaccurate inventory counts, loose reprint procedures and poor formatting can lead to questions which then lead to assumptions and inefficiencies. … Read more

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From Cozy Coupe to the Real Deal: Why Training is the Key to Success

From Cozy Coupe to the Real Deal: Why Training is the Key to Success Table of Contents Share From Cozy Coupe to the Real Deal: Why Training is the Key to Success Twenty-five years ago, almost to the day, I was the picture of pure excitement. It was my 15th birthday, and I was standing in line at the DMV, ready to get my driver’s permit. After years of studying car magazines, playing with Matchbox cars, and perfecting my laps around the house in my Cozy Coupe, I was convinced I was ready. I couldn’t wait to slide behind the wheel of the family’s 1998 Saturn SL2, pop in my Discman-to-tape-deck converter, and blast Led Zeppelin. Best of all, in my fantasy world, the state of Illinois and my parents would recognize my extensive “training” and let me skip driver’s ed entirely. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts—including a PowerPoint presentation decked out in dazzling WordArt—there was no getting around the most critical part of learning to drive: actual training. The same logic applies to enterprise-wide software systems like ERP and CRM systems. No one in their right mind would toss a teenager the keys to a car without lessons, yet many organizations hand over a brand-new system without providing real training. What looks easy from the passenger seat can be overwhelming and dangerous when you’re in the driver’s seat. The Classic Excuses We’ve all heard them. Maybe we’ve even said them: “They’ll figure it out once they play around with it.” “Just send a write-up with some screenshots.” “We’ll hold a quick Teams meeting and call it a day.” This kind of thinking is short-sighted and, frankly, a disaster waiting to happen. Training isn’t just a checkbox—it’s an opportunity to ensure a successful implementation. Skimping on it is like skipping driver’s ed and expecting no one to crash. Why Intensive Training is Non-Negotiable? 1. Preparation The last thing management or a VAR wants on go-live day is a room full of people standing around in a panic. Training helps users get familiar with the system, understand processes, and recognize why certain decisions and features were implemented. 2. Buy-In Most users are skeptical of any system upgrade. “Everything was working fine before—why do we need this?” Training is the time to turn skepticism into excitement by showing users how the new system will actually make their lives easier. 3. Collaboration System upgrades often feel like marching orders from the C-suite, which can create resistance. But training turns the transition into a shared effort. When employees feel involved, the upgrade becomes a team-building opportunity instead of a source of frustration. 4. Reprieve A well-trained team reduces the burden on both management and the VAR. When multiple employees understand the system, they become in-house resources, making troubleshooting and ongoing training much easier. 5. Course Correction Hands-on training gives decision-makers direct access to the people who actually use the system. These frontline users often catch potential issues, risks, and areas for improvement—something that, of course, was totally covered in the pre-project surveys and documentation. (Right?) Building an Effective Training Approach There’s no one-size-fits-all method for training because corporate cultures vary. What works for a small industrial manufacturer won’t necessarily work for a multinational chemical company. That said, the most effective strategy I’ve seen (outside of the training method I once tried to sell before the state of Illinois shut me down) is getting on the floor with the users: Get to know them. Become someone they can approach without fear of reprimand or embarrassment. Explain why the system is changing—not just how. Walk through real-life examples. Listen to their concerns and answer their questions (seriously, don’t flake on this). And for the love of all that is good, be encouraging! If a user figures out a process on their own or explains a workflow correctly, celebrate it. That kind of enthusiasm spreads, and before you know it, the whole organization is engaged. Training is the Key to Success A well-managed, comprehensive training program will make or break a system implementation. When users are empowered and the “because management said so” barrier is removed, companies build stronger systems, foster collaboration, and turn employees into system experts. Plus, leadership and the implementation partner gain a more proactive, informed workforce, making go-live far smoother. So don’t just toss the keys to your team and act surprised when someone crashes through a chain-link fence. Train them first. About the Author Matthew Newcomb is an experienced and certified Microsoft Dynamics AX & 365 Supply Chain Functional Consultant, specializes in Advanced Warehousing and Production, who’s been navigating the twists and turns of ERP implementations long enough to know that training makes all the difference. As a functional solution architect, business analyst, and project wrangler, he helps companies get the most out of their Microsoft Dynamics solutions—without the headaches. When not untangling digital roadmaps, you might find Matt getting the Led out.   Author: Matthew Newcomb Senior Solution Consultant Icon-linkedin Share Latest Posts You might also like:

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Business Insights for Employee Evaluations or: Why No One Cares What You Think, KAREN!

Business Insights for Employee Evaluations or: Why No One Cares What You Think, KAREN! Table of Contents Business Insights for Employee Evaluations or: Why No One Cares What You Think, KAREN! When people think of Business Insights—specifically Microsoft Power BI—they typically associate it with financial or sales analysis. And why not? Money makes or breaks a business. But let’s not forget that people drive sales, control costs, and manage customer satisfaction.   So, how do you track people? Informally, you get vague, off-the-cuff comments (“Karen’s just not great at her job. Also, I think she may be keeping a cat in her file cabinet.”). Formally, you have lengthy peer and self-evaluations—great for self-reflection, but also a fantastic way to create anxiety as coworkers try to figure out who gave them a bad review (I’m on to you, Karen). While subjective reviews provide valuable insights, anyone who has managed a team will tell you: numbers add credibility. That’s where Power BI steps in—transforming raw data into meaningful, reportable, and actionable insights. From Spreadsheets to Smart Analytics I used to keep massive spreadsheets filled with daily order-entry counts, quotation follow-up reports, and order-expediting calls. Manually updating formulas and charts was a time-consuming headache, especially when sensitive data had to be shared selectively. I also watched others attempt similar tracking methods, only for the system to fall apart once a supervisor became too busy to maintain it.   Enter Microsoft Power BI. Instead of manually updating reports and wasting time on formatting, Power BI automates data pulls, updates dashboards in real time, and distributes reports efficiently. It’s faster, more accurate, and far less frustrating than maintaining endless Excel sheets. Power BI: Connecting the Dots Power BI can pull data from just about anywhere. Call logs? Pulled from a VOIP system. Quotes and follow-ups? Imported from your CRM or SQL database. Daily billing records? Integrated and matched against Accounts Receivable error reports. The data you need is probably already stored somewhere in your organization—Power BI simply connects to it and keeps it up to date with scheduled refreshes.   Beyond pulling data, Power BI turns it into something useful. Instead of confronting an employee with vague complaints about billing errors, you can use Power BI to pinpoint exactly where they’re struggling and identify patterns over time. It also balances the data by highlighting areas where an employee is excelling, creating a well-rounded view of performance. With real-time dashboards, employees can track their own progress, giving them visibility into how they’re doing. From Metrics to Motivation Power BI isn’t just about tracking performance—it’s a tool for motivation. Setting up sales or shipping contests using weekly ratios? Done. Aligning performance data with pre-established goals? Easy. When positioned correctly, these numbers tell a much bigger story, helping employees understand where they stand and how they can improve.   Managing people and evaluating performance is tough, but a good manager combines hard data with subjective feedback to help employees grow. A tool like Power BI transforms cold, abstract metrics into a visual, comprehensive representation of performance—and, in some cases, the suspiciously high cat-to-file cabinet ratio. About the Author Matthew Newcomb is an experienced and certified Microsoft Dynamics AX & 365 Trade & Logistics Functional Senior Consultant who knows that when it comes to ERP implementations—and employee performance—data makes all the difference. As a functional solution architect, business analyst, and project wrangler, he helps companies move beyond gut feelings and guesswork, using Microsoft Dynamics and Power BI to turn raw numbers into meaningful insights. Whether it’s optimizing operations or tracking the mysterious disappearance of office supplies (looking at you, Karen), Matthew ensures businesses get the most out of their Microsoft solutions—without the headaches. Author: Matthew Newcomb Senior Solution Consultant Icon-linkedin Latest Posts You might also like: