Benefits of a Customer Portal Integration with Dynamics AX

Introduction

The benefits of a customer portal integration with Dynamics AX include internal operating efficiencies and dynamic customer experiences that foster loyalty. Customer portals give B2B customers a private window into a given company where they can order in a simplified way, research products, review past orders, pay invoices, view custom content, store shipping information for multiple shipping addresses, request price quotes, and connect with third-party experts and business associates. Integrating all operating software and business applications is the first step in building a responsive, useful, and convenient customer portal system.

Why B2B Companies Need Full Integration to Build a Rewarding Portal

Customer portals are only as good as their development and connections allow. Full integration powers the applications that improve customer self-service with a customer portal. A fully integrated B2B platform enables customers to use portals to obtain account information, work offline, request price quotes, and view custom product displays, special catalogs, personalized product recommendations, and specialized, curated content. Integration allows B2B companies to offer their customers direct connections with third-party resources such as shippers, companies in the supply chain, third-party services, and business intelligence resources.

Many companies settle for a point-to-point integration offered by many software vendors, but a full, custom integration such as one with Clarity Connect™ can connect with multiple databases, older software applications, and proprietary systems where invaluable data are stored.

The Microsoft Dynamics Software Portals Framework

Microsoft offers its Dynamics customers a portals framework (Dynamics 365 portals, now Microsoft Power Pages) for sharing information among Microsoft software applications including Dynamics 365, SharePoint, and Dynamics CRM. This framework makes it easy to build custom apps and access information from these different software applications. [1] The utility makes it easy to build portals that can display information, custom content, and appealing features. Microsoft Dynamics AX makes it easy to improve customer self-service with a customer portal.

Essentially, the Microsoft Dynamics Software Portals framework allows customers expanded self-service options and the ability to insert new data from any device including mobile phones. Clarity Connect provides the integration framework to bring any line of business application into the mix as well, including inventory management, CRM, marketing automation, or any other application.

The Benefits of Fully Integrated Customer Portals

Customer portals first and foremost provide customers with a customized interface where they never have to identify themselves continually to access their account information, browsing habits, stored searches, and custom product catalogs. Customers can find information about products that are specially organized and formatted for their needs. B2B buyers can even personalize their portals with company logos and color schemes. The benefits of a fully integrated customer portal include:

Automated Imports of Critical Data

• Portals can store and display critical information that B2B companies publish such as sales incentives, delivery schedules, pricing information, and ordering information. The information that an integrated system gathers about customers is disseminated throughout internal systems including CRM software. Many CRM applications are now able to learn about customers by applying machine learning capabilities. This enables companies to predict buyer behavior and forecast product demand in the marketplace more efficiently.

Increased Customer Engagement

• Customers can't help but be impressed with companies that provide them with a custom interface for ordering. Customers can request special services such as dynamic pricing, custom-built products, and product personalization options. Companies can request customer feedback on their products, services, and prices, and customers can express their opinions, make suggestions and file complaints without an invitation.

Enhanced Security

• Portals can be designed with the strongest security features because patient portals for medical companies and healthcare practices must meet strict security guidelines to protect confidential health records. B2B customer portals offer similar security. Portals can be designed with built-in limits for different customer stakeholders in the buying process--such as maintenance departments, engineering experts, and marketing staff. Full integration enables standardized web content to be added to any page so that customers can see all the information that they're authorized to access.

Performance Metrics

• Portals can share analytical information about partner performance, KPIs, and other reports.

Simplified Searches

• Customer portal development simplifies searches in several ways. Past purchases are instantly available for reordering. Other search options include providing custom catalogs, branded catalogs, saved searches, and personalized product recommendations based on buying history and the buyer's profile.

Administering Compliance and Certification Requirements

• Portals can be designed for each customer to include compliance requirements, certifications, custom forms, product wizards, and other customer-specific applications.

Meeting or exceeding customer expectations consistently is the key to long-term business success. That's especially true in B2B sales where a long-term buying relationship can be mutually beneficial and lucrative for both parties. A 2015 Microsoft survey found that 90 percent of consumers expect a self-service customer support portal. [2] Improving the self-service capabilities of customers is a top priority of most B2B companies. It's easy to improve customer satisfaction with a customer portal. A dedicated portal for ordering makes full use of the data in these two statistics to improve the customer experience and satisfy customer buying preferences. Customer self-service portals are further supported by the fact that consumers view companies with mobile-friendly self-service options more favorably than their counterparts.

Simplified Customer Portal Development

Clarity can help you with the implementation of any solution you choose to offer better customer service. Ideally, a full integration is the best choice. Microsoft Dynamics AX software (which reached the end of extended support in January 2023 and was succeeded by Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management) provides access to its development framework, and Clarity can use this, along with its Connect platform to speed web development, integrate all your business applications, and build a responsive customer portal and any other customer apps that you might need. Your IT team can collaborate seamlessly with Clarity using Microsoft Dynamics AX and 365 applications to improve customer satisfaction with a customer portal.

References:

[1] Hso.com: Dynamics Portals - HSO Innovation

https://www.hso.com/innovation/dynamics-portals/

[2] Fonolo.com: 5 Stats that Prove the Impo rtance of Self-Service