D365 F&O integrates nicely with D365 CECustomer Engagement is the collective title of D365 first party apps built on CRM technology (Sales, Service, Marketing, etc). (via Dual Write/Dataverse) and the process of doing so is getting even easier with the latest updates. With Microsoft long holding a spot in the top three global CRMCustomer Relationship Management is a technology used to manage interactions with existing and potential customers. providers, it’s easy to see why D365 CECustomer Engagement is the collective title of D365 first party apps built on CRM technology (Sales, Service, Marketing, etc). would be the go-to solution for a Microsoft-first organisation in need of such functionality, alongside D365 F&O as the ERPEnterprise Resource Planning software is used by businesses to manage day-to-day activities..
That said, your CRMCustomer Relationship Management is a technology used to manage interactions with existing and potential customers. requirements might not be that extensive; perhaps you only have/need a small commercial team, or perhaps yours is a high-touch business model with a small (albeit high-value) client base. In one of these scenarios, maybe there is no need to use license, implement, manage, and maintain another dedicated system.
CRM functionality in F&O
Outside of our traditional ERPEnterprise Resource Planning software is used by businesses to manage day-to-day activities. core workstreams of Finance1, SCMSupply Chain Management (SCM) is the centralised process of managing the flow of goods, services, and information, from production to consumption. and HR, it’s easy to forget that there’s a substantial amount of CRMCustomer Relationship Management is a technology used to manage interactions with existing and potential customers. functionality within F&O.
Besides the widely-used customer, contact, and sales order functionality nestled within the Sales and marketing module, there are standard forms for:
- Prospects, i.e. a potential customer (usually organisations) identified for business.
- Leads, i.e. a potential piece of business, with either a prospect or existing customer, that requires qualifying.
- Opportunities, i.e. a qualified lead, with estimated value and win probability.
- Quotations, i.e. a formal offer for provision products or services.
- Campaigns, i.e. coordinated marketing actions using data.
- Telemarketing, i.e. direct marketing via phone calls.
- Mailings, i.e. emails and mass mailings to customers.
- Commissions, i.e. payments made to SDRsSales Development Representative is an inside sales role, focusing on outreach, prospecting, and qualifying leads. or BDMsBusiness Development Managers in sales identify and pursue new business opportunities to grow an organisation. for winning an opportunity.
Out-of-the-box reports include:
| Deleted orders | Worker activity analysis | Sales targets |
| Prospect turnover | Campaign response frequencies | Telemarketing summary |
| Top 100 customers | Customer turnover report | Customer/item statistics |
Within setup – again, besides more commonly used functionality – we have the ability to configure features such as:
- Source types
- Sales units/teams
- Responsibilities
- Activities
- Lead types
- Qualification process
- Email groups
- Email templates
- Probabilities
- Business classifications (for prospects)
- Sales districts
- Cross-sell variables
Conclusions
There are no prizes for the transaction-focused D365 F&O interface versus that of the friendlier, model-driven D365 CECustomer Engagement is the collective title of D365 first party apps built on CRM technology (Sales, Service, Marketing, etc). interface.
That said, you could utilise PowerApps to create straight-forward, user-friendly functionality for your team to capture key information, whilst your data and reports are kept back in D365 F&O.
Another easy option would be using the Microsoft Dynamics Office Add-in, to allow users to batch add or modify prospects, leads, or opportunities, keeping on top of their records within the familiar interface of Microsoft Excel, whilst still bound by the security roles and data rules implemented in D365 F&O.
As with everything, it all depends on specific client requirements, but I’d argue there’s definitely a use case for using D365 F&O on its own.
What do you think? Would you use D365 F&O in lieu of a dedicated CRMCustomer Relationship Management is a technology used to manage interactions with existing and potential customers. system?
- Of course, Finance typically includes a Quote to Cash (Q2C), Order to Cash (O2C), or similarly named process area, but there can be a great deal more that happens before issuing a quote or an order! ↩︎