How to Manage CAPA Cases with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
In Part 1 of this blog series, you learned about why a strong CAPA management software system is important and why Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management is an extremely effective option.
In this part, you will learn more about the ins and outs of configuring CAPA management capabilities within D365 and how you can most effectively manage cases within your system.
The Importance of Setting Up Case Components
Let’s start by analyzing CAPA case components in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. Understanding these components will help you develop a more effective management strategy. Defining the components for your cases ensure you can effectively manage quality issues from identification to resolution.
Let’s look at these components and detail why they are important. To follow the individual steps on how to set up and configure each of them, you can refer to the official Microsoft Documentation.
CAPA Worker Groups
CAPA worker groups organize users into functional teams—such as Investigators, Approvers, or Implementers—who are responsible for different stages of the CAPA process. Each group can include a default worker and define permissions, such as whether members can move cases between stages.
When a CAPA stage or activity becomes active, the assigned worker or group automatically receives an email notification, keeping everyone aligned and accountable. You can also import a standard set of worker groups from the D365 template and customize them to match your internal roles.
This setup not only streamlines communication but also ensures that tasks are assigned consistently across all CAPA cases.
CAPA Categories and Subcategories
CAPA categories make it easier to group and analyze cases based on the type of issue—such as customer complaints, supplier nonconformances, or product defects. By organizing cases this way, teams can quickly identify recurring issues and access known resolutions or knowledge articles.
Dynamics 365 also supports subcategories, including both predefined options and custom “user-defined” types, allowing organizations to tailor how they classify and track quality events. This structure feeds into the system’s trending analysis tools, helping quality teams measure whether specific problems are improving or recurring over time.
CAPA Processes
CAPA processes define the step-by-step path that each case follows, from investigation through resolution and verification. Each process is made up of sequential stages—like Root Cause Analysis, Implementation, and Verification—and can include specific activities within each stage.
You can assign worker groups, define mandatory tasks, and set notification rules at both the stage and activity levels. This ensures that every CAPA follows a standardized, auditable workflow, while still allowing flexibility for complex investigations.
D365 also provides out-of-the-box process templates that can be used as a starting point or fully customized to meet regulatory or organizational needs.
Supporting Setup Elements
Several supporting components round out the CAPA framework in Dynamics 365:
- CAPA Resolution Types let you categorize how each case is resolved—such as “Process Change” or “Training Update.”
- CAPA Sources track where the issue originated, whether from an internal audit, external audit, or customer feedback.
- CAPA Types and Classification Codes allow further refinement of case tracking and reporting, making it easier to analyze trends by severity or scope.
- Root Cause Codes document the underlying reason for each issue, helping prevent recurrence through data-driven insights.
Together, these setup elements make the CAPA process more transparent, measurable, and aligned with quality and compliance standards.
How to Effectively Manage CAPA Cases in D365 Supply Chain Management
Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) is a critical quality process that helps organizations identify, investigate, resolve, and prevent issues. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, CAPA case management provides a structured, auditable framework for handling quality incidents across customers, vendors, products, or internal operations. Below is a walkthrough of how to set up, execute, and analyze CAPA cases in D365.
1. Use the CAPA Case Workspace: Your Control Center
The CAPA case workspace is your central hub for managing everything CAPA-related:
- View & filter by cases or activities assigned to you
- See open cases, cases active this week, or due items
- Search CAPA cases by customer, vendor, sales/purchase orders, or products
- From this dashboard you can open cases, change status, or progress a case to the next stage
It’s the go-to place for monitoring progress, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
2. Creating New CAPA Cases: From Origin to Assignment
You can start a CAPA case from multiple origins:
- Customer or vendor records
- Sales orders, purchase orders, return orders
- Released product pages
- Or even directly from the CAPA case lists (All Cases / My Cases)
When creating a case, you’ll specify fields like:
- Name/Contact (often tied to the originating record)
- Status (default = Opened)
- Description / Priority
- Category / Subcategory (for trend analysis)
- CAPA Process (which defines the workflow stages and activities)
After creation, the case is ready to be moved into active processing.
3. Working Through a CAPA Process: Stages, Activities & Workflow
This is where the CAPA process structure you defined during setup really pays off.
- Start the Case – Change status from Opened to In process. This triggers the generation of the first stage’s activities.
- Activity Assignment & Notifications – Based on your process definition, the system assigns workers (or worker groups) to each activity or stage and emits email notifications that include direct links.
- Execution & Logging – Workers access (via email or workspace) their assigned tasks, add notes, complete forms, upload evidence, and mark activities as finished.
- Stage Progression – Once all required (mandatory) activities in a stage are completed, a user with permissions moves the case to the next stage. (Optional: you can skip forward, though you can’t go backward.)
- Closure – At the final stage, document your resolution, set the case status to Closed, and optionally enforce or review electronic signatures for critical transitions (closing, canceling, reopening).
Throughout this lifecycle, the system maintains an automatic log of key events (creation, status changes, activity completions) and lets users manually add entries for transparency.
Also, the process tree view (within the CAPA case detail) gives you a visual hierarchy of stages and activities, letting users expand and navigate through the workflow.
4. Monitor, Report & Learn: CAPA Analytics
A CAPA system is only as strong as its feedback loop. D365 includes built-in analytics and trend reporting:
- CAPA Management Workspace – Statistics Tab: see dashboards with case counts, trends over time, and category breakdowns.
- Trending Analysis Page (Inventory → Inquiries & Reports → CAPA Trending): define date ranges and view charts by category or subcategory to identify problem areas.
By regularly reviewing bottlenecks, frequent case types, or recurring root causes, you can fine-tune processes and reduce future CAPA burden.
With the CAPA case management capabilities in D365 SCM, organizations gain control, visibility, and consistency in how quality issues are managed. By combining structured workflows, assigned responsibilities, real-time notifications, and analytics, CAPA becomes more than reactive troubleshooting — it becomes a proactive engine for quality excellence.
Ready to Start Using CAPA Management Capabilities in D365 Supply Chain Management?
Reach out to us today! Our experts can help you integrate these features and tools into your current processes to empower you with structured, traceable processes for identifying, correcting, and preventing quality issues – helping you improve compliance, reduce risk, and drive continuous improvement.
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