The retail industry is booming and businesses are leveraging technology to navigate the ever-changing industry challenges. Microsoft has certainly taken notice and has continued to invest in developing and providing solutions powered by Microsoft Cloud for Retail.

By applying recent developments in Microsoft D365 Copilot to business applications often utilized in the retail space (such as Customer Insights, Supply Chain Management, and Commerce), AI powered experiences are being enabled to help retailers enhance workflows and visibility to resolve common issues in the industry.

Applying Copilot to Dynamics 365 Business Applications for Retail

D365 Copilot provides more tools to add to retailer’s belts by providing AI-driven solutions that enhance customer experience, increase employee productivity, encourage smarter decision-making driven by data, and so much more. By applying Copilot to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Applications, retailers ensure they are leveraging cutting-edge technology to stay competitive and future-ready in the rapidly evolving retail landscape.

Dynamics 365 Customer Insights

Retailers are under a lot of pressure to bring marketing and customer experience campaigns to the market quickly and efficiently, yet their tools and processes haven’t progressed enough to meet this high demand. According to Microsoft, “63% of surveyed retailers said they hope they can improve their marketing with AI in the next 18 to 24 months, and D365 Copilot is here to do just that.”

Upcoming Copilot features in D365 Customer Insights will enhance how marketers manage campaigns and projects by increasing productivity, efficiency, and speed. These new components are built on existing Copilot capabilities including content generation, customer data queries, customer segment creation, and more.

These features will allow marketers to jump start their projects by writing campaign objectives in natural language or inputting an existing creative brief then create a project board using the given prompt. Marketers can then manage and build assets from the project board that streamlines and connects all workflows into one centralized location. The project board displays the target audience and segments, as well as any recommendations from Copilot for additional segments not already considered. This will save marketers an abundance of time as well as assist in delivering a personalized customer experience.

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

As for retail supply chains, enterprise AI solutions can provide increased efficiency, productivity, and innovation. Microsoft specifically helps by providing new innovations powered by Copilot through their collaborative platform, helping businesses reduce risk, manage inventory, and make rapid decisions across the whole supply chain. Retailers are successful when their inventory is at the right place, at the right time, and D365 Copilot helps do just that.

Improved demand planning – Create a more flexible, simplified, and intuitive user experience with new demand planning capabilities in D365 Copilot. With these new features, planners can rely more on the generated forecast and reduce excess inventory, while also increasing capital for retailers. Copilot makes sense of complex relationships by using natural language and demand review reports, saving retailers time to focus on other high-priority tasks.

Improve productivity & mitigate disruptions – In November 2023, Microsoft announced new demand planning capabilities in D365 based on insights with conversational help within the workflow. This increases productivity and collaboration across the supply chain and other cross-functional teams to mitigate disruptions and automate their workflows.

Dynamics 365 Commerce

Leverage Copilot to generate enriched product marketing content for e-commerce sites that drives an increase in customer engagement. Creating content can be timely, but with D365 Copilot, marketers can develop intriguing materials, while increasing productivity and the overall number of online orders. Learn more about the ability for B2B and B2C online retailers to utilize Copilot in D365 Commerce, recently released in October 2023.

The Future of Copilot in Microsoft D365

The new Copilot features for D365 Customer Insights that were mentioned will be available the first quarter of 2024 in preview, with general availability by the third quarter of the year. Customer Insight users are able to sign up for the early access public preview program here.

This is just the beginning for Microsoft as they are planning to deliver more content creation, journey testing, and metrics monitoring to enhance campaigns for retailers. Learn more about the future of retail with AI & D365 in this article.