Real-Life Power Apps Use Cases for Enhancing Dynamics 365 ERP
A well-implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system like Dynamics 365 lays a strong foundation for running your business, but it doesn’t have to stop there. With the Power Platform, you can build on that foundation to create faster, smarter, and more flexible processes tailored to your needs.
In this blog, we’ll start with a high-level overview of the Power Platform, touch on why it’s a valuable toolset for enhancing ERP processes, and then focus on real-life use cases that show how organizations are using Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Pages to solve everyday ERP challenges.
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Before we dive into the use cases, let’s start with a quick look at what the Power Platform is and why it matters in the context of ERP.
A Quick Overview of the Microsoft Power Platform
Microsoft’s Power Platform is a low-code, cloud-based suite of development tools that empowers a wide range of users, not just professional developers, to build apps, automate workflows, and analyze data. While some technical knowledge can be helpful, the platform is designed for rapid development and ease of use, making it accessible and powerful for solving real business challenges.
Let’s take a closer look at the tools that make up the Power Platform, and which ones we’ll be focusing on today.
What’s in the Power Platform Toolbox?
The Power Platform includes five core tools: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, Power BI, and Copilot Studio. Each plays a unique role in helping businesses analyze data, automate tasks, and build solutions. In this blog, we’ll zero in on Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Pages, the tools best suited for extending and enhancing your Dynamics 365 ERP system through real-life, low-code solutions.
Once you understand what the Power Platform is, the next question is: why use it alongside your ERP system? The answer lies in its flexibility, speed, and ability to solve practical business challenges without the overhead of traditional development.
Why the Power Platform Makes Sense for ERP
Here are a few compelling reasons organizations are turning to the Power Platform to extend and enhance their ERP systems:
- Lower Development Costs - Low-code tools reduce the need for deep technical expertise, which can significantly cut down on development expenses.
- Faster Customization - Build and deploy solutions more quickly than traditional ERP customizations, getting business improvements in front of users faster.
- Improved Workflow Efficiency - Identify and streamline key business processes to reduce friction and improve day-to-day operations.
- Meet Workers Where They Are - Surface ERP data in a Power App without needing a full ERP license, or embed Power Apps directly into your ERP system for a smoother user experience.
- Reduced Licensing Costs - Avoid over-licensing by giving users access to the data they need through custom apps rather than full ERP seats.
- Better Mobile Experience - Create mobile-friendly tools for teams on the go, from warehouse workers to field sales, without sacrificing usability or performance.
Let’s bring this to life with real examples. Seeing how others have applied these tools can help you start to imagine what’s possible in your own ERP environment.
Five Real-World Use Cases That Solve Everyday ERP Challenges
In the next section, we’ll walk through five practical scenarios where organizations used Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Pages to solve common ERP problems, saving time, cutting costs, and improving the way their teams work.
1. Simplifying Time Management
Background
Many businesses rely on employees to manually track their work hours and submit time-off requests through separate, often disconnected processes. This typically involves juggling spreadsheets, paper forms, or multiple systems that don’t communicate well with each other.
Common Problems
Manual time tracking is tedious and time-consuming. It’s prone to errors and inaccuracies, making payroll and scheduling more complicated. The approval process for paid time off (PTO) often involves back-and-forth emails or forms, which slows down decision-making.
Solution
By leveraging a custom Power App integrated with Outlook and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O), employees can pull their calendar events directly into a user-friendly time entry interface. They can also submit PTO requests within the same app. Managers receive automatic approval notifications, and once approved, the time off is reflected on the employee’s Outlook calendar. This approach reduces manual entry, improves accuracy, and streamlines the entire time management process.
2. Streamlining Warehouse Order Entry
Background
In warehouse settings where customers purchase products onsite, employees need an efficient way to check inventory, create orders, capture customer signatures, and seamlessly send orders to the ERP system for invoicing.
Common Problems
Customers often face long wait times due to slow order creation processes. Warehouse staff may struggle with limited visibility into current inventory, leading to inaccurate availability information. Disconnected systems frequently require duplicate data entry, adding frustration and inefficiency.
Solution
A mobile Power App can provide warehouse workers with real-time access to inventory and allow them to create orders directly from their devices. The app can capture signatures electronically and automatically push orders into the ERP system once completed. This eliminates redundant steps, reduces wait times for customers, and ensures accurate, up-to-date inventory and order data throughout the process.
3. Automating and Customizing Approval Workflows
Background
ERP systems like Finance & Supply Chain Management (F&SCM) and Business Central offer native workflow capabilities, but these can often be clunky, inflexible, and not very user-friendly. Approvals within these systems require specific workflows and templates that don’t always align smoothly with real-world business needs.
Common Problems
Many organizations struggle with workflows that are difficult or impossible to customize. Approval status visibility is limited, leading to delays and confusion. Notifications can be inconsistent or get lost in the shuffle, especially when users rely on multiple systems to track pending approvals.
Solution
Using Power Automate, you gain the flexibility to fully customize your business workflows, defining each step in the approval process exactly how it should run. Notifications can be tailored and sent via the channels your employees actually use, whether that’s Microsoft Teams, Outlook, or others, ensuring timely updates. Finally, once approvals are completed, Power Automate can write the results back into your ERP system, keeping your data accurate and in sync.
4. Customer Portal for Self-Service Access
Background
Customers increasingly want direct visibility into key information stored in your ERP system, such as invoices, order history, and account statements. Providing this access improves transparency and empowers customers to manage their accounts on their own time.
Common Problems
Sales and customer service teams often spend too much time answering routine questions from customers, reducing their ability to focus on higher-value work. There’s typically no centralized place for customers to submit requests or issues, resulting in lost or delayed follow-ups and inconsistent communication.
Solution
Power Pages lets you build a customer portal where your customers can securely access their ERP data, including invoices, order history, and account statements. You can tailor what data each customer persona can see through role-based security. Additionally, integrate Power Apps views to support your sales and service teams with real-time customer data. Using Power Automate, you can route customer requests submitted through the portal to the right internal teams, ensuring consistent tracking and timely follow-up. This creates a seamless, self-service experience that reduces routine inquiries and improves customer satisfaction while keeping ERP data as the trusted source of truth.
5. Order Entry for Tech Support Teams
Background
Customer service teams, especially tech support, spend a lot of time on calls helping customers troubleshoot and solve issues. To do this well, they need quick access to relevant customer and order information stored in the ERP system to have informed conversations and resolve problems efficiently.
Common Problems
Without easy access to customer purchase history and order details, service reps have to flip between their CRM and ERP systems, which slows down calls and frustrates customers who want fast, efficient support.
Solution
Build a Power App that surfaces a relevant subset of ERP data, like order history and product details, directly within the CRM or service interface. This way, tech support can quickly see what the customer purchased without switching systems. The app can also include simple order entry forms so reps can create new orders and send them back to the ERP for fulfillment. Additionally, integrate payment acceptance tools in the same interface so payments can be collected and applied to invoices or prepayments within the ERP. This streamlined workflow improves customer satisfaction by reducing call times, empowers your support team, and avoids the need to purchase costly ERP licenses just to view order data.
With these practical Power Platform solutions already driving efficiency and improving workflows, it’s worth exploring how the latest AI innovations, like Microsoft Copilot, are further enhancing these tools and shaping the future of ERP automation.
Microsoft Copilot and AI Potential for Businesses
As the Power Platform continues to transform ERP processes, it’s important to recognize the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in this evolution. Microsoft Copilot is already integrated across Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Pages, bringing AI-driven assistance directly into the tools you’re using every day.
Copilot isn’t just a future promise; it’s here now, helping businesses automate complex tasks, generate intelligent suggestions, and improve decision-making faster than ever before. The AI capabilities within these applications are continually evolving, offering more ways to boost productivity and innovation without needing advanced technical skills.
For organizations committed to leveraging AI, investing in the Power Platform means gaining access to these powerful Copilot features and Microsoft’s expanding ecosystem of intelligent agents. This synergy enables you to amplify your ERP system beyond traditional automation, empowering your teams with smarter, context-aware tools that help get work done more efficiently and effectively.
Conclusion
The Power Platform opens the door to smarter, more agile ERP systems, ones that adapt quickly to business needs, reduce manual work, and improve how people interact with data and processes. Whether you're streamlining time entry, simplifying order management, or improving customer self-service, these tools offer practical, low-code ways to drive real results.
And with AI now seamlessly integrated across the platform, the opportunities go even further. Businesses can move from reactive to proactive, automating not just workflows, but insights and decision-making as well. By embracing the Power Platform, you're not just enhancing your ERP system; you're setting the stage for ongoing innovation, efficiency, and long-term growth.
For More Information
If you're ready to explore how the Power Platform can amplify your Dynamics 365 ERP system, we're here to help. At Stoneridge Software, we combine deep product knowledge with real-world experience to design solutions that work for your business. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your existing setup further, our team can guide you every step of the way. Contact us today to start the conversation and discover what’s possible.
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