Help organizations manage and optimize their case to resolution processes with Dynamics 365

Applies to: Dynamics 365 Commerce, Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Customer Service Insights, Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Human Resources, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

This article introduces the case to resolution end-to-end business process. It outlines how Dynamics 365 products can help organizations manage and optimize their case to resolution processes. This end-to-end business process has the number 20 in the business process catalog. Learn more at About the business process catalog for Dynamics 365 apps.

Case to resolution overview

The case to resolution process is a critical business process that enables organizations to effectively manage customer or employee inquiries, complaints, and issues. The process involves various steps, such as engaging with customers, logging the case, assigning it to the appropriate team or individual, investigating and resolving the issue, and closing the case. However, managing this process can be challenging, particularly as organizations grow in size and complexity, which is where technology solutions like Dynamics 365 come in.

Microsoft Business Applications including Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft 365 are a powerful platform that can support the case to resolution process by automating and streamlining many of its key steps. For example, Dynamics 365 Customer Service can enable organizations to engage in conversations with customers through various channels, including email, phone, chat and social media, identify and authenticate customers, answer customer questions, run transactions on behalf of customers, log cases and automatically assign cases to the appropriate team or individual based on predefined rules. It can also provide real-time visibility into case status and progress, enabling managers and teams to track performance, identify bottlenecks, and optimize the process for greater efficiency and effectiveness. Dynamics 365 Human Resources has functionality to help employees and managers communicate effectively through cases to manage common requests and issues. Likewise, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management includes cases management tools to help with the process of managing issues with customers and vendors for example, including complex issues like a product recall. Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management also include tools to help with the effective management of returns, exchanges, credits, price matching, and more.

However, it's important to note that Dynamics 365 is just one component of a broader case to resolution process. The process involves multiple stakeholders, such as customers, employees, managers, and support teams, who may have different roles, responsibilities, and workflows. Moreover, the process may differ depending on the type of case, the industry, or the organization's specific requirements. Therefore, it's important to have a well-defined and flexible process that can adapt to different scenarios and needs, and to ensure that Dynamics 365 is integrated with other systems and processes for maximum effectiveness.

Every organization has variations to the case to resolution process. Here, we define the basic outline for any organization looking to implement a technology solution to support the case to resolution.

Impact

A well-designed case to resolution process can have significant positive effects and impact on an organization. It can lead to improved customer or employee satisfaction, as cases are resolved quickly and efficiently, and stakeholders are kept informed of progress and outcomes. It can also lead to greater operational efficiency, as cases are deflected whenever possible or routed to the appropriate teams or individuals, and redundant or unnecessary steps are eliminated. Moreover, it can provide valuable insights into customer or employee needs, preferences, and pain points, which can inform product development, marketing, and other business decisions. Overall, a well-designed case to resolution process can enhance an organization's reputation, competitiveness, and profitability, making it a critical component of a successful business strategy.

Stakeholders

There are several stakeholders who should be involved in implementing Dynamics 365 to support the case to resolution process:

  • IT Department

    The IT department is responsible for configuring and maintaining Dynamics 365, ensuring that it integrates with other systems and processes, and providing technical support to users.

  • Business Process Owners

    The business process owners are responsible for defining the case to resolution process and ensuring that it aligns with business objectives and customer or employee needs. They are also responsible for communicating the process to stakeholders and monitoring its effectiveness.

  • Customer or Employee Support Teams

    The customer or employee support teams are responsible for managing cases and resolving issues. They are the primary users of Dynamics 365 and require training and support to use it effectively.

  • Managers and Supervisors

    Managers and supervisors are responsible for overseeing the case to resolution process, monitoring performance metrics, identifying bottlenecks, and making data-driven decisions to optimize the process.

  • Customers or Employees

    Customers or employees are the ultimate stakeholders in the case to resolution process, as they initiate cases and expect timely and effective resolution. Dynamics 365 can provide them with real-time updates on case status and outcomes, enhancing their experience and satisfaction.

Case to resolution benefits

When your organization plans to implement Microsoft Business Applications to assist with the case to resolution process, there are several benefits the solution can help provide. These key benefits should be used to determine if the solution is a good fit for your business and to drive the specific business requirements for implementing the solution. As a side effect, these benefits can be used to create a baseline for your goals and objectives for the project so that you can measure the success of implementing solutions to meet those business requirements.

Improved customer or employee satisfaction

Dynamics 365 can help ensure that customer conversations lead to cases being resolved quickly and efficiently, and that stakeholders are kept informed of progress and outcomes, leading to greater satisfaction. Omnichannel for Customer Service provides voice, chat, and social media channels so customers can conveniently initiate a conversation, while Dynamics 365 Customer Service can read mailboxes and convert emails into cases automatically. Dynamics 365 Commerce and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management allow store clerk and call center agents log customer complaints in the context of Commerce and Supply Chain operations, respectively.

Increased operational efficiency

Dynamics 365 can streamline and automate many of the steps in the case to resolution process. Power Virtual Agents or Azure Bots can engage in the conversation and serve customers and employees with information and self-service transactions. When a bot can't address customer need, conversation is escalated to agents equipped with Customer Service Workspace, which provides agents with a Knowledge Base and a set of AI tools to understand and address customer needs. Dynamics 365 Customer Service or Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management supports the required tasks of the case management process, such as logging cases, routing them to the appropriate teams or individuals, and tracking progress, leading to greater efficiency.

Enhanced data analysis and insights

Dynamics 365 and Power BI can provide valuable data and insights into customer or employee needs, preferences, and pain points, which can inform product development, marketing, and other business decisions. Dynamics 365 provides real-time visibility directly in the application into case status and progress, enabling managers and teams to track performance, identify bottlenecks, and optimize the process for greater efficiency and effectiveness. For larger/complex deployments, an analytical data store like Azure Data Lake and Azure Synapse Workspaces can be fed with Dynamics 365 data and become a richer data source for Power BI dashboards and reports.

Integration with other systems and processes

Dynamics 365 can integrate with other systems and processes, such Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or line-of-business systems, enabling agents to run transactions on behalf of customers. A 360-degree view of a person that can be consolidated using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, providing a unified view of the customer or employee, while Microsoft Teams integration with Dynamics 365 Customer Service enables greater collaboration and coordination across departments.

Next steps

If you would like to implement Dynamics 365 solutions to assist with your case to resolution business processes, you can use the following resources and steps to learn more.

  1. Define the goals and objectives of implementing an case to resolution technology solution. Learn more at Implementation strategy.

  2. Define the business process scope of your project. Learn more at Process-focused solution.

  3. Request a demo or get a free trial of Microsoft Business Applications solutions for the case to resolution process. Learn more at Request a demo.

  4. Get an overview of the case to resolution business process areas. Learn more at Case to resolution business process areas.

You can use the following resources to learn more about the case to resolution process in Dynamics 365.