Industry · Manufacturing
Promise dates you keep and service that earns its margin
A manufacturer runs two businesses: the plant that builds the product and a Service Operation that keeps it running for customers with spare parts, repairs, and plant maintenance. Ludia Consulting is a Microsoft solutions integrator focused on Service Operations. Our senior consultants connect planning, the plant, parts, aftermarket service, and finance so promise dates hold and your people run it without us.
Sources: Institute for Supply Management, Manufacturing PMI report, Sept 2026; National Association of Manufacturers, Q2 2026 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, June 2026; Boston Consulting Group, aftermarket services, Feb 2025. Ludia’s own numbers: more than ten manufacturing clients, and one Finance and Supply Chain rollout across three countries.
Orders are up, costs are up, and the plan still lives in a spreadsheet
Demand is growing. The manufacturers that win that volume promise dates they can keep, and know what each product really costs to make and to serve.
Costs moved first. In NAM’s second-quarter 2026 survey, 83.1% of manufacturers named raw material costs their top challenge, up from 57.5% one quarter earlier. When freight and duty post as one lump, nobody can say which products still make money.
Planning lags the floor. When the bill of materials and the capacity plan don’t reflect real constraints, planners expedite and stock out at the same time. On-time delivery slips, and inventory piles up where nobody needs it.
The aftermarket is where the margin is, and it often runs on its own tools. BCG found industrial manufacturers earn about twice the gross margin on services that they earn on new equipment. If service doesn’t know which units you sold and where they are, the parts and the service contracts go to someone else.
A manufacturer’s margin is made in the handoffs between plant, parts, and service
Sales can hit its number and the customer still waits on a spare part. We connect the five links, so the promise sales makes is one the plant, the warehouse, and the service team can keep.
- 1 · Customer service
Customer Service (opens Microsoft’s site)
Contact Center (opens Microsoft’s site)Warranty and order-status calls answered the first time
Calls from dealers, distributors, and end customers open with the order and the unit’s service history, so a warranty claim or a return starts with the facts.
Agents at work: service reps hand case setup and intent to the Case Management and Customer Intent agents (generally available), and keep the warranty decision.
- 2 · Aftermarket service
Field Service (opens Microsoft’s site)
Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)Every unit you sold, known and serviced
Equipment is tracked from the original sales order, so installations and repair calls land on the right asset with the right technician.
Agents at work: service managers review schedules drafted by the Scheduling Operations Agent (preview, not for production use yet) and keep the final call.
- 3 · The plant
Supply Chain Management (opens Microsoft’s site)A plan the floor can actually build
Bills of materials, capacity, and plant maintenance live in one place, so promise dates reflect real constraints and a down machine shows up in the plan.
Agents at work: maintenance leads ask knowledge agents built in
Copilot Studio for procedures and past repairs, and keep the call on when a machine is safe to run. - 4 · Parts and supply chainSupply Chain Management (opens Microsoft’s site)
The spare part ships before the customer calls twice
Spare parts and finished goods share one inventory, so service draws from the same stock sales promises from.
Agents at work: buyers let the Procurement Agent (preview) chase supplier confirmations and late deliveries, then decide what to expedite.
- 5 · Finance
Finance (opens Microsoft’s site)One set of numbers across plants, entities, and service
Costs and service billing post to one ledger across entities, so margin shows by product and by service contract.
Agents at work: controllers use the Finance Agent for reconciliation and variance review, and still sign off the close.
Across every link
Agents take the lookups and follow-ups between the plant, the warehouse, the service desk, and the office; your people make the calls. See the connected Service Operation →
Underneath it all
Azure (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Foundry (opens Microsoft’s site)
Dataverse (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Azure is the secure cloud every link runs on: identity, integration with the systems you keep, and the data that ties them together. In Microsoft Foundry we build, test, and govern the custom AI agents and models your operation needs beyond the ones inside Dynamics 365. They work from your own data and are evaluated before they touch the work. How we build AI →
The work, as your plant and service teams do it
Four jobs your people do every day, and what changes when the record goes with them.
Line operator
Production reported as it happens
Output, scrap, and material consumption are reported on the floor tablet at the station, not keyed from a paper traveler at the end of the shift.
Their call: when to stop the line.
Maintenance technician
Breakdowns with the machine’s history
Breakdown and preventive work orders carry the machine’s history and downtime reason codes, so repeat failures show up before they become a week.
Their call: the repair and when to release the machine.
Quality technician
Holds and lots in one click
Quality orders, holds, and lot genealogy live in the system, so a hold blocks the inventory and a recall is scoped to the right lots.
Their call: release or reject.
Aftermarket service technician
The unit as it was built
The installed base starts with the sales order, so the field technician sees the serial number, configuration, and parts list of the unit in front of them.
Their call: the fix on site.
What changes for your CEO, CFO, and COO
For the CEO or owner
Grow service revenue and add plants without rebuilding the back office
Add a region, a plant, or an acquired product line on the same template, one phase at a time. Parts and service contracts become a revenue line you can see and grow.
For the CFO
True cost by product, and a close on one set of numbers
Freight and duty post where they happen, so margin shows by product and by customer. And you know what the work costs and returns before you sign.
For the COO or VP of operations
Promise dates the plant can keep, and machines that stay up
Planning reflects real capacity, maintenance history sits with each machine, and the service team sees the installed base. That means fewer expedites and fewer surprises on the floor.
Ludia’s senior team knows manufacturing from first meeting to results
Four things decide results for a manufacturer, on the plant floor and in the aftermarket.
The right people
Consultants who talk with planners and plant managers in their terms
Senior, US-based consultants who know a traveler, a frozen window, and a service contract. The person who plans your work stays to deliver it.
The right knowledge
They know how a mixed-mode plant makes money
Discrete and batch production, lots and shelf life, engineering changes, landed cost, and aftermarket parts, plus deep Dynamics 365 know-how and a standing feedback loop with its product teams since 2018.
The right tools
One template, rolled out a region or division at a time
Microsoft’s 
Success by Design practices and a phased rollout, so each phase proves itself before the next one starts. Automation and AI only where they earn their place.
The right outcome
A team that runs it after we step back
We measure success by your satisfaction and by how well your team runs things after we step back.
Where manufacturers see results first
The six problems we see most often across our manufacturing clients, and what we do about each.
Off an aging system, one region at a time
Many manufacturers still run AX 2012 or older systems across regions. We document what you run, build one global template, and roll out by region or division.
Promise dates that match real capacity
When material and capacity plans ignore real constraints, on-time delivery and inventory both suffer. We tune planning and finite capacity so the dates sales quotes are dates the plant can build.
An aftermarket that knows its installed base
Record each unit from the sales order, then run installations, planned maintenance, and repairs against it, with parts drawn from the same inventory.
Field Service →Plant maintenance with the machine’s history in one place
Maintenance work orders and history often sit outside the business system. We bring them into Dynamics 365 Asset Management, with project tracking for larger repairs.
Customers who check their own orders
Distributors and OEM customers call for order status, invoices, and availability. A secure portal shows them their own data, straight from Dynamics 365, without copying it.
Senior support after launch
Regulated and multi-entity manufacturers need a steady bench once the project team leaves. Senior architects document what you run, fix what breaks, and support you at a predictable cost.
Agility and enablement
Your people make the next change without calling us.
Manufacturing changes fast: a new product line, a new plant, or a cost change that lands overnight. Your planners, controllers, and admins should be able to set those up themselves.
Your admins train alongside our consultants from the first sprint. Every design decision is written down with the reason behind it. Planners and controllers get a runbook for adding an item, a site, or a new cost.
How we work →
After launch · The right tools
Stabilize first, then add the agents.
A system people don’t trust gets worked around. Batch jobs fail, releases collide, and planners drift back to spreadsheets. Agents added on top of that only automate the errors.
A specialty life-sciences manufacturer started with an audit of its live system and fixed what the audit found. It kept Ludia on as senior support across finance, supply chain, and reporting, and has since scaled that support up about 75%.
How we decide where AI belongs →
Where we’ve done this work
Ludia has worked with more than ten manufacturers, from consumer products and specialty pharmaceuticals to steel, packaging film, and HVAC components. Client names stay confidential.
Consumer products
A global consumer-products manufacturer across North America and Asia-Pacific is moving off AX 2012 to Finance and Supply Chain one region at a time. Strategy and architecture work with Ludia came first.
Life sciences
A specialty life-sciences manufacturer audited its live system, then kept senior managed support across Finance and Supply Chain, Power Platform, and reporting.
Specialty pharmaceuticals
A European GMP specialty pharmaceutical manufacturer chose a phased rollout across two divisions over its incumbent partner’s all-at-once plan.
Food ingredients
A global food-ingredients manufacturer rolled out finance, supply chain, and production across three countries, then added plant maintenance and small-parcel shipping.
Metals and packaging
A North American steel mill connects 20 to 30 applications to Finance and Supply Chain, and a US packaging-film manufacturer ships small parcels from inside Dynamics 365.
Equipment and components
Makers of towing and recovery equipment, imaging equipment, traffic technology for public agencies, and HVAC components, from planning and architecture to the design of a customer portal.
Manufacturing · Supply chain
On-time-in-full up from 95% to 97%, and finished-goods inventory down about a third.
A towing and recovery equipment maker plans production to real capacity and carries about a third less finished stock
After a proof of concept with Ludia, the maker’s planners schedule to finite capacity in Finance and Supply Chain, so promise dates match what the plant can build.
Manufacturing · Supply chain + Finance
A phased rollout across North America and Asia-Pacific
A global consumer-products manufacturer moves its regions onto one finance and supply chain system, one at a time
After strategy and architecture work with Ludia, the manufacturer is replacing AX 2012 with Finance and Supply Chain, one region at a time.
Manufacturing · Supply chain + Finance
Support scaled up about 75% after the audit
A specialty life-sciences manufacturer stabilizes its live system and scales support to match the business
The manufacturer audited its live system with Ludia, kept managed support across Finance and Supply Chain, Power Platform, and reporting, and chose to expand it.
Power PagesCounts from Ludia’s client records, Sept 2026.
Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365
The Microsoft products behind each part of your Service Operation. Each one links to Microsoft’s own page.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain ManagementParts, inventory, and procurement, planned from the service schedule.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 FinanceBilling, job cost, and the close, on the same numbers the field uses.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field ServiceWork orders, scheduling, and the technician’s mobile app, from dispatch to completion.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer ServiceCases, knowledge, and service agreements, so every request reaches the right person.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project OperationsInstallations and projects: quoting, staffing, time, cost, and project billing.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Delivered the way Microsoft recommends, with FastTrack (opens Microsoft’s site) and Success by Design (opens Microsoft’s site).
For your IT team: what Dynamics 365 covers in a plant, and where it stops
Dynamics 365 runs most of a mid-size manufacturer, but not every specialist system on the floor. Our architects tell you where the line is before you plan around it.
One instance runs assembly and batch plants
Generally available. Supply Chain Management handles discrete, process, and lean manufacturing together: formulas and co-products, batch attributes, potency, and shelf life, with Planning Optimization.
Production floor execution is not a full MES
Operators report labor and material on tablets in real time. Regulated electronic batch records and equipment connections at line speed still need a dedicated MES.
Quality orders are built in; a full QMS is not
Quality orders and nonconformance live in Supply Chain Management. CAPA, document control, and lab results usually stay in a dedicated quality or lab system, connected to batch attributes.
Part 11 support, with your validation
Dynamics 365 supports Part 11 requirements such as electronic signatures and audit trails. Validation is performed by the manufacturer, and we plan change control around it.
Plant maintenance and aftermarket service share the data
Generally available. Asset Management runs maintenance work orders and history per machine. Field Service runs customer-site work and draws parts from Supply Chain Management warehouses.
Agents: some ready, some in preview
Finance reconciliation in 
Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available, and the Procurement Agent’s supplier communications are in preview. Agents you build in Copilot Studio are available now, and continuous updates mean regulated plants need a standing test cadence.
Status as of Sept 28, 2026, from Microsoft Learn on the Procurement Agent’s supplier communications, the Supply Chain Management 2026 release plan, Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 announcements (Sept 23, 2026), and the AI at Work roadmap. Microsoft now ships changes continuously, so we re-check status before every plan.
Manufacturing insights
Aftermarket
Your aftermarket starts on the original sales order
Why parts capture and contract renewals depend on recording the installed base the day the unit ships.
Managed services
Stabilize first, then add the agents
Agents on an unstable system automate the errors. What to fix first after launch.
Enablement
Five decisions to write down so your team can change course without consultants
The choices your admins will need to understand when the business changes next year.
Questions manufacturing leaders ask us
Can one Dynamics 365 system run our assembly lines and our batch plants?
Yes. Supply Chain Management runs discrete, process, and lean manufacturing in one instance, and mixed-mode plants are common. We design the item, formula, and costing model with your planners before anyone builds.
Is production floor execution enough, or do we need an MES?
For many plants it’s enough: operators report labor, material, and scrap on tablets as they work. If you need regulated electronic batch records or line-speed equipment connections, you need a dedicated MES, and we’ll tell you so.
How do aftermarket service and the plant share spare parts?
They draw on the same inventory. A service warehouse or a technician’s van is a warehouse in Supply Chain Management. A part used on a work order is consumed and billed once.
We’re still on AX 2012. What’s the realistic path?
A phased move: one global template, rolled out by region or division. A global consumer-products manufacturer across North America and Asia-Pacific built that plan with us.
Will our own people be able to run it after launch?
Yes. Your admins build alongside our consultants, and each design decision is documented with its reason. By launch, your team can add an item, a site, or a cost change without us, and managed support is there if you want it.