Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has always been about streamlining business processes, and sales order processing is no exception. For many business owners and IT managers, handling sales orders can be time-consuming and prone to errors. The Sales Order Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central emerges as a game-changer, an AI-powered assistant that can automate and transform your ERP’s sales order processing. It reads incoming sales inquiries, creates quotes or orders automatically, and helps your team respond faster with greater accuracy. In this blog, we’ll explore Dynamics Business Central’s new Sales Order Agent, what it is, the enhanced features it brings to the table, and how a trusted Business Central partner like Folio3 can help you leverage it effectively.
What is a Sales Order Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central?
The Sales Order Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central is an AI-driven agent (or intelligent automation tool) designed to assist with creating and managing sales orders. Think of it as a smart virtual sales assistant embedded in your ERP. It can monitor a designated inbox for customer emails, interpret unstructured data, and automatically generate sales documents such as quotes or orders.
In practical terms, once a customer’s email request is received, the Sales Order Agent will identify the customer in the system, check product availability and pricing, then draft a sales quote based on the request. It can even send the quote back to the customer for approval, and if approved (or configured to skip approval), convert that quote into a confirmed sales order, all with minimal human intervention. By automating these steps, the agent reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and speeds up order fulfillment. Sales teams and customer service reps spend less time tediously copying information from emails and more time on higher-value tasks like building customer relationships. In short, the Sales Order Agent enables companies to capture sales orders faster and more accurately, enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction in the process.
Feature Enhancements to the Sales Order Agent
Microsoft has introduced several enhancements to the Sales Order Agent (as part of a recent Business Central update) that significantly boost its capabilities. These new features allow the agent to handle more complex scenarios on its own and further reduce the need for human intervention. Let’s look at the key enhancements, and how each feature improves the sales order automation workflow:
Attachment Processing
One powerful new capability is attachment processing. The Sales Order Agent can now read and interpret email attachments (such as PDFs or image files) that contain sales inquiries or quote requests. For example, if a customer sends a PDF purchase order or a scanned document listing the items they want, the agent will extract the relevant information from the attachment and automatically generate a sales quote based on that content. This means your team can handle inquiries sent in less structured formats without manual data re-entry. It speeds up response time and ensures that even orders coming in via printed forms or screenshots are captured accurately in Business Central.
Support for Multiple Ship-To Addresses
Many customers have multiple shipping addresses on file. With this enhancement, the agent intelligently handles multiple ship-to addresses. If a customer’s email specifies a particular shipping location (for instance, “Please ship this order to our Los Angeles warehouse address”), the Sales Order Agent will detect that and apply the correct pre-registered address to the quote or order. This improves the accuracy of sales documents and saves you from having to clarify which location the customer meant. Fewer follow-up emails for address confirmation means a faster quote-to-order process and a better experience for the customer.
Capable-to-Promise Responses
The Sales Order Agent is now smarter in how it responds to product availability inquiries. It can provide capable-to-promise responses, not just simple available/not-available answers. In practice, when a customer asks if an item is in stock or requests a certain quantity, the agent can include in its reply what can be promised within a reasonable timeframe even if the full quantity isn’t currently on hand. For example, if a customer wants 100 units but only 50 are in stock, the agent might respond that 50 are available now and the remaining 50 can be delivered by a future date (based on lead times or upcoming stock). This is powered by Business Central’s planning tools and is enabled via a new setting. It helps you avoid losing sales – instead of saying “we can’t fulfill that now,” the system offers a promise for later delivery, keeping the dialogue with the customer productive and informative.
Automatic Email Processing
Efficiency is further improved with automatic email processing. Previously, when the agent detected a new inbound email from a customer, a user might need to manually confirm or initiate the processing. Now, the Sales Order Agent can be configured to automatically start processing emails from trusted, recurring customers without waiting for any manual confirmation. In other words, if the sender is a known customer that you regularly do business with, the agent will immediately get to work reading the email and drafting the quote/order. This zero-touch automation is ideal for scenarios where you have established customers who frequently email orders – it accelerates order capture dramatically. (Of course, you have control: an administrator can turn this feature on or off via a setting, depending on what’s appropriate for your business.)
Resume with User Input
Not every sales inquiry is straightforward, and sometimes human intervention is needed. The good news is the Sales Order Agent can now resume with user input seamlessly. If during the process the agent encounters something it’s unsure about – say an ambiguous request or missing information – a user can step in, make an edit or provide guidance, and then let the agent continue without restarting the whole job. In practice, you (or your sales rep) can type natural-language instructions or clarifications into the Agent’s interface (for example, “Use the premium pricing tier for this customer” or “the item mentioned corresponds to our Product ID 12345”). The agent will take that input, understand the context of your manual change, and carry on with processing the quote/order using your guidance. This minimizes workflow disruptions. It combines AI automation with human insight, ensuring that even if the agent hits a snag, the overall process keeps moving smoothly with a quick assist from a person.
Direct Sales Order Creation
For organizations that deal with repeat orders or have established purchase agreements, the Sales Order Agent now supports creating a sales order directly, skipping the quote confirmation step. Normally, the agent’s flow is to draft a sales quote and send it to the customer for approval before converting to an order. With this enhancement, if certain conditions are met (the agent has all necessary details and your configuration allows it), the agent can bypass the need for the customer to formally approve the quote and immediately generate a finalized sales order from it. This is especially useful for recurring customers or subscription-type scenarios where the quote approval is just a formality. By skipping straight to order creation, you reduce the turnaround time and administrative overhead for orders that you know will be accepted. Of course, this feature is configurable – you can choose when it’s appropriate to use, ensuring it fits your business process without sacrificing necessary approvals in other cases.
Custom Email Signature
When the Sales Order Agent sends out emails (such as a quote to a customer), it’s important that those communications feel professional and on-brand. The new custom email signature feature allows administrators to define the email signature that gets appended to the agent’s outgoing emails. Instead of a generic or system-generated signature, you can include your company’s standard sign-off, branding, contact info, or any personalization you desire. This small touch helps maintain consistency with your company’s communication style, so even automated emails feel like they’re coming from your business rather than a robot. It reinforces credibility and professionalism in every quote or order email the agent sends.
Daily Email Processing Limit
To maintain control over the agent’s activity and avoid overloading the system or your staff, admins can now set a daily limit for the number of emails the agent will process. For example, you might cap the agent to processing (say) 100 emails per day. If more inquiries come in beyond that limit, those will be automatically held and processed the next day. This feature ensures the Sales Order Agent operates at a pace that your organization is comfortable with. It can be useful for phasing in the automation or preventing a sudden surge of automated quotes if you get an unexpected flood of requests. Essentially, it gives you a throttle to manage the volume of automated processing, adding an extra layer of oversight.
Folio3: Your Dynamics 365 Business Central Partner for Implementation & Support
Implementing new AI features like the Sales Order Agent can feel daunting, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Folio3 is a certified Dynamics 365 Business Central partner that specializes in helping companies get the most out of Dynamics 365 solutions. Our team provides expert Dynamics Business Central consulting to tailor the system to your specific needs and smooth Business Central implementation from start to finish. With deep experience in Dynamics 365 Business Central, Folio3 has helped businesses of all sizes modernize their ERP processes – from initial setup and customization to training users and fine-tuning workflows.
If you’re looking to leverage the Sales Order Agent and other intelligent features, having a partner who understands both the technology and your business domain is invaluable. Folio3’s dedicated support team is just a call or email away whenever you need assistance or have questions. Visit our Business Central support page to learn more about our support offerings.
FAQs
1. What is the Sales Order Agent in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
The Sales Order Agent is an AI-powered tool in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that automates the creation of sales quotes and orders from customer emails and attachments, streamlining sales order processing.
2. How does the Sales Order Agent improve sales efficiency?
It reduces manual data entry, handles email-based sales inquiries automatically, and speeds up quote and order creation, enhancing response times and accuracy.
3. Can the Sales Order Agent process email attachments like PDFs?
Yes, with recent updates, it can extract data from attachments such as PDFs and images, allowing it to generate sales quotes based on the information they contain.
4. Is it possible to automate responses without manual review?
Yes, automatic email processing can be enabled for trusted customers, allowing the agent to handle their inquiries without requiring user confirmation.
5. Does the Sales Order Agent support multiple shipping addresses?
Yes, it can detect and apply the correct ship-to address based on the customer’s email, reducing back-and-forth communication.
6. How can Folio3 help implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Folio3, a certified Business Central partner, offers expert dynamics business central consulting, business central implementation, and ongoing support. Learn more on the support page.
