Food & Beverage
Connect recipes, freshness, ingredient information and customer delivery with the cost of every useful output.
Explore food & beverageMade for the way you work
When the product is complex,
When the product is complex,
the information must be clear.
Batch manufacturers work with changing materials, product specifications and customer commitments. A connected ERP solution should make the important relationships visible to the people making the next decision.
Know what can be used.
Bring stock, batch history and release decisions into the same operational picture.
Understand what was made.
Connect the approved instruction with consumed materials, actual output and quality evidence.
See what the order returns.
Review product costs, useful outputs and customer terms alongside the work required to fulfil the order.
Six industry perspectives
Your industry.
Your industry.
Your operating priorities.
Explore the requirements that make each sector distinctive, from food freshness and chemical safety information to controlled pharmaceutical records and medical device identity.
Chemicals
Keep formulas, material status and hazardous substance information connected from development through dispatch.
Explore chemicalsCosmetics
Bring formulation versions, ingredient records, quality and commercial terms into the path to market.
Explore cosmeticsBiotechnology
Connect development, production and quality decisions with the history behind materials and changes.
Explore biotechnologyPharmaceuticals
Coordinate controlled production, inspection evidence, material status and release responsibilities.
Explore pharmaceuticalsMedical Devices
Follow product identity, quality findings and customer issues through recorded business transactions.
Explore medical devicesThe Microsoft foundation
A connected business.
A connected business.
Industry depth where it matters.
Keep the operational detail of process manufacturing connected with the financial and commercial record. Select the applications around the work your people need to do.
Core business platform
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Business Central
Manage finance, purchasing, sales, inventory and warehouse activity within a common business system.
Financial reporting, budgets and cash management
Customer, supplier, order and inventory records
Lot and serial tracking, with configured FEFO picking
Production planning, capacity and orders with Premium
Projects and, with Premium, service management
Specialist process capabilities
Shape the solution
Shape the solution
around your products.
Add the depth required for formulations, batch rules, inspection evidence and the way material moves through your operation.
Recipe development and manufacturing specifications
Advanced batch attributes and release rules
Product costing and joint production
Controlled records, incidents and supplier evaluation
Mobile capture, packaging and selected integrations
Familiar tools
Connect Microsoft 365 applications with the business record.
Useful insight
Build Power BI reporting around the data and decisions that matter.
Defined workflows
Use approvals and selected Power Automate flows to coordinate work.
Managed cloud
Plan access, updates and extension compatibility around Business Central online.
Microsoft Quality Management provides inspection and nonconforming-stock capabilities. Assess this alongside specialist quality applications to select the appropriate depth. Microsoft services and integrations require the applicable configuration, permissions and subscriptions.
Seven connected capabilities
Control the product
Control the product
through the process.
Use a common operational framework, then apply the rules and level of detail your industry requires.
Open each capability to explore its role in the solution.
01Batches
Know the history and the current status.
Build on lot and serial tracing with specialist attributes, restrictions and recorded changes. Connect purchased materials, production use and customer shipments through the transactions you capture.
Status and availability rules
Batch splits, merges and inherited attributes
Expiry dates and configured FEFO picking
02Production
Turn the formulation into a working instruction.
Combine components and operations in manufacturing specifications. Plan production, filling and repacking, then record material consumption, operational activity and output against the run.
03Quality
Make the result part of the next decision.
Define inspections and sampling, record measured results, and coordinate release or hold decisions. Select Microsoft quality functionality and specialist depth around the product evidence your team needs.
04Costing
Understand the economics behind the product.
Model material, manufacturing and overhead costs before production. Compare expected and actual results, investigate variance and use a structured cost view when discussing pricing or product changes.
Preliminary and actual product cost
Quantity, formulation and pack-size scenarios
Agreed overhead and surcharge rules
05Byproducts
Account for the value in every useful output.
Record main products and secondary outputs from the same process. Retain production and batch relationships, and allocate shared costs using the supported method agreed for your operation.
Joint production within the manufacturing order
Multiple outputs and recorded quantities
Consistent allocation of shared production cost
06Scanning
Capture the transaction where work happens.
Use guided mobile workflows for warehouse, production, inspection and dispatch tasks. Capture identifiers, quantities or results at the relevant step, with validation and feedback configured for the operator.
Receiving, stock movement and picking
Consumption, output and inspection capture
Barcode, device and printer requirements scoped together
Device support, barcodes, connectivity and offline behaviour depend on the selected application and workflow.
07Shipment
Prepare the product for its destination.
Coordinate packaging structures, shipment proposals and dispatch orders. Link shipping units with the required labels and documents, and scope trading-partner or external warehouse connections around your customer commitments.
Packaging materials and handling units
Shipment planning and mobile dispatch
Label printing and electronic document exchange
Add depth where it helps
Connect the work around
Connect the work around
the production run.
The Cloud Factory conversation
Start with the process.
Start with the process.
Build a practical scope.
Bring representative transactions and the people who work with them. A useful demonstration should answer the questions that matter to your operation.
01 / Understand
Walk through your work.
Follow a product from development or receipt to customer delivery. Identify the decisions, handovers and evidence the solution needs to support.
02 / Demonstrate
Prove the important scenarios.
Review batch tracing, production, inspection and commercial transactions using relevant examples. Confirm the application mix and integration responsibilities.
03 / Deliver
Prepare people and data.
Agree the implementation phases, migration, testing and training. Plan acceptance, operational support and how future updates will be assessed.
Before you begin
Questions worth working through.
Is every capability included in Business Central?
The complete proposition combines Business Central with selected industry applications and integrations. The required mix depends on your products and processes. Manufacturing and service management use Premium, while specialist applications and connected services may require additional licence.
Can we implement a focused starting scope?
How does quality management fit into the solution?
Microsoft offers its own Quality Management extension for inspections and nonconforming-stock handling. Specialist applications can add further industry depth. Assess the required tests, batch rules, approval evidence and interfaces together, then demonstrate the agreed process before choosing the application mix.
Can existing laboratory, labelling or logistics systems stay connected?
Does the solution guarantee regulatory compliance?
Software can support controlled records, traceability, inspections and approvals. Compliance and validation depend on the intended use, applicable obligations, configuration and business procedures. Define the responsibilities and evidence with your quality team and relevant specialists as part of the project.
Your next conversation
Your products. Your processes. Your next stage of growth.
Bring one formulation, one batch and one customer order. Let’s explore the controls, information and connections your team needs, then agree a practical starting scope.
