At Enavate, our strategy is to leverage new Microsoft technology to reimagine our existing library of solutions for wholesale distribution. We are entering an amazing time where it seems every day brings something new. We are so excited to be able to put this technology in the hands of wholesale distributors to help them drive digital transformation in their businesses.
Check out our video to learn more about what we're doing with Microsoft technology!
How is this all possible now?
As many companies already know, Microsoft has combined Dynamics CRM and Dynamics AX, moved them to the cloud, and created Dynamics 365. Because it runs in the Microsoft cloud, Microsoft partners like ENAVATE now have access not only to the business processes that are supported out of the box by Dynamics 365, but also to the dozens of Azure products and advanced workloads that the cloud enables. Products like Machine Learning, Power BI, Azure Bot Service, Cognitive Services, etc...
The Technology at Work
According to Microsoft: “Machine learning enables computers to learn from data and experiences and to act without being explicitly programmed. Customers can build Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications that intelligently sense, process, and act on information - augmenting human capabilities, increasing speed and efficiency, and helping organizations achieve more.”
One of the most interesting areas where we can apply Machine Learning is helping wholesale distributors increase revenue by automatically offering cross sell and up sell recommendations. Traditionally, the work of identifying affinities between products was either intuitive or incredibly labor intensive. With Machine Learning, the system detects the affinities, makes smart recommendations, and learns which ones are accepted. This allows it to make ever more intelligent recommendations that have higher and higher acceptance rates.
Another interesting application for Machine Learning is improving sales and inventory forecasting. Traditional methods have taken into account historical sales and in some cases promotions. Machine Learning allows us to include additional factors such as weather, and calendar events.
Imagine a scenario where a customer wants to do a status check on an order. Using an Enavate App, the customer can use text, Skype, Facebook Messenger, or other method to reach out to his distributor. The App sees the incoming message, interprets it using natural language processing, uses context such as the phone number the text was sent from to look up the orders made by the account associated with that number and respond with a text about the status. Or maybe a question of its own. This entire dialogue can be happening without the use of any sales or service resources from the distributor.
What if a client replies to a tweet you posted as part of a social media marketing campaign? Using an Enavate App that leverages Microsoft Flow and Office 365, you might automatically add that person as a lead in Dynamics 365 and begin the formal follow up process which can include a reply to the tweet, an email, or a push notification to the client’s account executive to give that client a call.
At ENAVATE, we transform businesses and the lives they touch. To us, it’s personal.
About the Author - Matt Petersen
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Matt Petersen is a Senior Director of Industry Solutions for Enavate and has spent his entire career in the enterprise software industry. Matt was a founding member of the SAP for Wholesale Distribution Industry Business unit and in 2014, he joined Microsoft to lead the U.S. Dynamics Retail and Wholesale Distribution Industry practice. Matt joined Enavate's leadership team in early 2017.
Matt has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Illinois in Urbana - Champaign and a Certificate in Distribution Management from Texas A&M as well as a Certification from INSEAD in Business Strategy and Financial Acumen.
