How a Major North American Fresh Food Producer Unified 22 Sites with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
Client Overview
A large-scale North American producer of ready-made salads and fresh prepared foods operates across more than 22 production facilities, supplying the food service, retail, and deli sectors. The business works with 280 independent and family-owned growing partners, making it one of the most complex fresh food supply chains on the continent. With over 24,000 employees spread across multiple regions, the organisation needed its technology to match the pace and precision of its operations.
Case Study Details
Industry: Food and Beverage
Region: North America
Microsoft Platform: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Microsoft Power BI
The Challenge: How Legacy ERP Created Supply Chain Fragmentation Across 22 Fresh Food Production Sites
The core problem was not the software. It was the operational fragmentation that the software could no longer hold together. With 22 separate production locations running on a legacy on-premises ERP environment, the business faced a growing gap between the speed its customers demanded and the speed its systems could support.
Inconsistent data and processes across facilities made it impossible to get a unified view of inventory, production, or distribution in real time.
Orders in the fresh food sector routinely arrive just hours before fulfilment is required, leaving no margin for slow or disconnected systems.
Integrating new acquisitions into the existing infrastructure was slow and costly, limiting the company's ability to grow.
Data silos between growing partners, production facilities, and distribution networks made coordinated supply chain management extremely difficult.
The Solution: How Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Finance Solved It
The approach centred on a full platform migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Dynamics 365 Finance, replacing the legacy on-premises environment with an integrated cloud-based solution. Rather than configuring an off-the-shelf system, the implementation involved a deep re-engineering of core processes to reflect how this business actually operates.
A single item master for planning data was established across all regions and business segments, creating consistency in how products are described, tracked, and managed from farm to facility.
Warehouse management capabilities were extended with bespoke reservation and allocation logic to handle last-minute product reallocation, a critical requirement in fresh food distribution.
Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Power BI were integrated to centralise reporting, giving employees real-time visibility through configurable dashboards.
AI agents and Microsoft Copilot are currently in evaluation for applications including pricing management, margin analysis, and warehouse optimisation.
The Results: What Did Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Finance Implementation Deliver Across 22 Sites?
Four-hour farm-to-shipment
Standardised processes now support fulfilment within hours of harvest, enabling rapid response to demand.
Real-time visibility across 22 sites
A single data model eliminates reporting delays and enables faster operational decisions.
Faster employee workflows
Streamlined workspaces and Excel integration reduce manual effort and increase productivity.
Improved traceability and compliance
Standardised production data supports consistent food safety tracking across all locations.
Acquisition-ready platform
New facilities can be integrated quickly without disrupting operations.
Flexible production across sites
Volumes can be reallocated between plants to reduce waste and improve fulfilment rates.
Working with a Dynamics 365 Partner for Multi-Site Food Supply Chain Transformation
Transformations like this show what is possible when complex, multi-site food supply chains are supported by a unified cloud ERP platform.
Yes Dynamic works with food and beverage businesses facing similar challenges such as fragmented systems, limited visibility, and the need to operate at speed across distributed production environments. With expertise in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Dynamics 365 Finance, and the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, Yes Dynamic helps organisations design and implement solutions that deliver real-time visibility, standardised operations, and scalable growth.
For businesses managing perishable goods, seasonal demand, and strict traceability requirements, Yes Dynamic follows a process-first approach. This ensures that technology supports how the business actually operates.
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Implementation: Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does a Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management implementation take for a large multi-site food business?
Implementation timelines typically range from 9 to 18 months, depending on the number of locations, process complexity, and integration requirements. Phased rollouts, starting with one or two pilot sites, are standard practice and reduce the risk of disruption across the wider network.
2. Can Dynamics 365 handle last-minute order changes in a fresh food environment?
Yes. Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management supports real-time inventory visibility and flexible allocation logic to handle short lead times. Warehouse management capabilities can be extended with tailored reservation and allocation configurations, enabling businesses to respond quickly to last-minute demand without compromising fulfilment accuracy. Yes Dynamic specialises in exactly these types of implementations.
3. How does Dynamics 365 support food safety and traceability requirements?
Dynamics 365 includes built-in traceability features that track product movement from raw material to distribution. Combined with standardised data capture across production sites, the platform supports compliance with food safety frameworks including FSMA and HACCP while maintaining operational efficiency.
4. How does Dynamics 365 standardise data across multiple manufacturing sites?
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management uses a single item master to align planning data across all regions and business segments. This means every site works from the same product definitions, inventory records, and reporting structure, eliminating the inconsistencies that typically arise when each location manages its own data independently.
Standardise Your Supply Chain with Dynamics 365
If your operations are spread across multiple sites and struggling with visibility, speed, or integration, it’s time to move to a unified platform. Speak with a Yes Dynamic expert to explore how Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Finance can transform your operations.