The Future of Supply Chain: Insights from Microsoft's Copilot

In the ever-evolving landscape of supply chain management, businesses are constantly looking for innovative solutions to stay ahead. Microsoft's Copilot, as a combination of a large language model and generative AI, supports companies in their development and offers endless opportunities to improve efficiency and decision-making.

During a recent session on the future of Supply Chain, Erik van den Akker and Giel Cuijpers highlighted the opportunities and expected developments in Artificial Intelligence for the Dynamics platform and within it more specifically for Finance and Operations (F&O). In doing so, they discussed the impact of Copilot and AI on the food industry and also how these technologies are reshaping the deployment of Finance and Operations. In this article, we share key insights from their session.

Copilot in Microsoft 365

Copilot provides powerful capabilities to access information from underlying databases and provides valuable insights based on question and answer between user and AI in natural language. With Copilot, we see a shift from traditional data management to insightful analysis. Giel Cuijpers discussed the integration of Copilot functionalities into Microsoft products, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, which helps with tasks such as writing emails, summarizing meetings and generating presentations.

Understanding the concept behind Microsoft 365 Copilot is crucial for any Office user. Copilot pairs a language model with an infrastructure of Microsoft applications. The information provided by the user remains private and is not used to train the AI models, as is the case with direct use of ChatGPT, for example.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is available to Office users and integrates with applications such as Teams, Excel and Outlook, for example. In addition to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilots are available for executing specific business functions possibly directly in Dynamics 365 applications.

Microsoft Copilot for and in Dynamics

The session featured several Copilots focused on execution of specific business functions, such as in the areas of inventory management, sales, service and finance. Some of these Copilots are already available or in “preview,” work with Dynamics 365 or other systems, and offer a range of capabilities to help users perform their tasks in daily operations.

Copilots optimize the user experience in Dynamics 365 by streamlining processes, providing insights and answering questions. In doing so, Copilots for Dynamics present themselves to the user in three different basic forms.

In the form of “contextual assistance,” through a Side Card Chat, real-time recommendations and suggestions are offered, tailored to the user's current task or context. For example, this can help with tasks such as filling out forms, suggesting data entry, or providing relevant documentation. This type of Copilot acts as a virtual assistant that guides users through the application.

Another form involves “Process Automation Copilots,” which focus on automating repetitive tasks and workflows. These Copilots are typically “embedded” in Dynamics functionalities for, for example, summarizing data on a screen or generating activities and alerts based on underlying information. Practical applications can be found, for example, in automatic invoice processing, payment reconciliation and financial report generation.

A third form of Copilots we see as Predictive Insights Copilots. These Copilots provide predictive insights by analyzing historical data and identifying patterns. This helps users make decisions by providing predictions, for example, in the areas of demand forecasting, inventory management or financial trends.

Demand planning, with the recently launched “Microsoft's demand planning app,” has been revolutionized by the integration of Copilot and AI capabilities. This solution uses Dynamics data and historical trend analysis to generate future demand forecasts with intuitive and powerful tools. For example, planners can edit forecasts in parallel and collaborate through Teams to arrive at the optimal demand forecast.

Curious about more insights? Then get inspired by the full report on the Food Inspiration Day in Copenhagen. Download the report for free here.

Reshaping the future of Supply Chain

The session concluded with a discussion on dealing with the uncertainties offered by Copilots. While a Copilot is a powerful tool, it is still essential to verify AI-generated content. In addition, it is important to communicate accurately and clearly with Copilot in order to ultimately generate better results. In terms of security and data privacy, it is important that Copilot respects users' rights and privacy.

In short, Microsoft is reshaping the future of supply chain management with Copilot by providing AI tools that improve efficiency, decision-making and collaboration. Looking further ahead, the possibilities of Copilot and AI in the enterprise world are limitless to achieve a more streamlined and insightful approach to managing the complex dynamics in food industry supply chains. Curious to learn more? Watch the aftermovie of this event below:

Conclusion

Cegeka’s Food Inspiration Day reaffirmed the importance of connection, innovation, and knowledge sharing. As the food industry continues to evolve, AI will undoubtedly play a central role. During the upcoming weeks we will share some more insights from the various sessions that we had during this event, including the future of Finance and Customer Engagement. But we will also share insights from sessions about NIS2, ESG, and a usecase from CZAV and Skytree.

Curious about more insights? Then get inspired by our full report or read the other articles about this event. Discover more about the future of Business Applications & Customer Engagement and insights from sessions on NIS2 & a use case from CZAV. Did you miss the event? We look forward to more inspiring events and continued growth within the food & process sector. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.