Every month we publish a "feature of the month" where we ask one of our consultants to highlight a feature in MILAS AX (our specific ERP modules for Microsoft Dynamics AX). This month Bartek Cach shares his insights.
In a business as international as the nutrition industry and commodity trade it’s essential to have an accurate and precise overview of the various resources. Most traditional ERP or logistical solutions can’t manage the business flows of a global organisation. Being an industry specialist, Adifo develops dedicated modules for Microsoft Dynamics AX.
One of the many challenges international commodity traders face every day is making sure they have sufficient amounts of resources at any point in time. It speaks for itself that the impact of low stocks on the business process can not be underestimated. To guarantee the availability of resources, procurement managers need to take many different factors into account. When done correctly the procurement department can minimize risks whilst guaranteeing availability, without creating expensive stock surplus.
To help procurement and logistical managers to keep track of the necessary and available stock Adifo has developed specialized modules within MILAS AX. One of the features that was specifically designed to support the international nutrition industry and commodity trade is ETA calculation.
ETA calculation in Dynamics AX
To reduce the risk of running out of stock in the long term and to increase the accuracy of the commodity position, Dynamics AX users rely on the ETA calculation functionality.
Whenever a procurement manager creates a new purchase contract MILAS AX requires information about origin and destination. This information enables the automatic calculation of the estimated time of arrival for the commodity at the destination. When considering the available stock for production or trade MILAS AX takes both the current and the expected stock information into account to help procurement managers make accurate business critical decisions. After all: orders may have been placed but the commodity may not yet be available at its final destination.
Real-life scenario
A procurement manager closes a contract for corn for September 2016 from Santos, Brazil to be delivered in Hamburg, Germany. As the shipment takes 40 days to reach its destination, the purchase position cannot be based, as in most ERP, on the starting date of the contract. If this would be the case, it would be possible to schedule the corn for production or trade on October 5th even though the shipment is still only halfway up the Atlantic. MILAS AX avoids these mistakes. Through the use of the ETA calculation functionality users will only be able to allocate the raw materials starting from the actual day of arrival.
The ETA calculation functionality in Dynamics AX allows procurement managers to focus on what they do best without having to worry about production or other traders wanting to allocate the raw materials before they are actually available. A real-life approach to commodity trade allows organizations to optimize their business flows to be more precise, efficient, and ultimately, more profitable.