It may not feel like it at the moment, but a month ago, we were living in the greatest growth in recent memory. This global pandemic has shown us two things: How fast things can move in a global economy and how quickly this can change. Knowing this, when the epidemic is over, we may be in line for explosive growth in US manufacturing as companies look to re-shore their operations to mitigate future crises.
While this may make for a busy time at your firm, it may also result in your costs growing with it. From modernizing or purchasing equipment to handle new demand to making new hires, avoiding costs that don’t add value to your business should always be a top priority.
Growing Your Business, Avoiding Excess Costs
This could mean finding ways to reduce manual processes, it could mean finding ways to make the most out of your licenses or subscriptions, or it could mean avoiding unnecessary and hidden storage costs.
The Dangers of Unforeseen Storage
In fact, after helping one of our many manufacturing clients take advantage of the cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics 365, the company found that thanks to the increased productivity, their growth resulted in a growing number of emails sent.
The Best Laid Plans
Now, a growing number of small emails wouldn’t be a problem, but when you’re attaching massive PDF quotes, spec sheets, renderings, and other attachments—as manufacturing firms do—storage becomes a concern.
Especially in a Dynamics 365 CRM environment, where storage costs are planned in advance, exceeding said storage limits may result in a few headaches. Luckily, these are able to be mitigated—with the right planning and help.
The Power of Automation
There are many benefits of using Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM. Easier workflows, smarter integration, and as this manufacturing client learned, connection with other Microsoft apps. After seeing their CRM application running out of space, MIBAR technicians recognized an opportunity to save this manufacturing firm thousands each year using one of the most flexible Power Platform applications alongside one of the most frequently used Microsoft solutions.
A State of Flow: Connecting CRM and SharePoint with Power Automate
MIBAR technicians identified the opportunity to take advantage of Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Flow), a standard integration tool that allows customers to create and automate workflows and tasks across multiple applications and services.
Power Automate, able to be used with thousands of third-party processes, is even more flexible to automate Microsoft to Microsoft data flows.
Reducing CRM Storage (and Costs) with SharePoint
By using Power Automate to seamlessly connect CRM with SharePoint, it’s easy to reduce costs—without making significant changes to workflows or business. What if a simple change to the user experience could save you 50% in storage costs? Because for Dexmet, that’s all it took.
Rather than ‘stored’ in the CRM, the file is ‘visible’ in the CRM. Embedding SharePoint in CRM can save thousands each year, all by rerouting the email workflow to “send and store” in a SharePoint library. With the new workflow, they navigate to a different location in CRM to access and download their email attachments.
Learn More: Dexmet Corporation’s Two-Part MIBAR Success
Not many companies give two case studies, but for MIBAR client Dexmet Corporation, this is exactly what happened. Not only did we help them with the initial implementation of CRM, we jumped in to save them even more money. Learn about Dexmet’s journey to powerful, modern CRM from Microsoft and their journey to massive cost savings with Power Automate.
Leverage the Power of the Power Platform with MIBAR
The MIBAR team has gotten to know the Power Platform quite well. From helping our clients see the big picture with Power BI, creating unique applications for unique needs with PowerApps, or connecting operations with Power Automate/Flow, our success with this platform is unmatched. Get to know more about us and contact us for a free consultation.
