Dow Enhances Supply Chain Efficiency and Cost Management with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Dow Reimagines Productivity and Supply Chain Efficiency with Microsoft 365 Copilot

This case study details how Dow, a global leader in materials science, leveraged Microsoft 365 Copilot to significantly enhance its supply chain operations, focusing on cost management and operational efficiency.

Executive Summary

Dow faced substantial challenges in managing costs and improving efficiency within its vast supply chain. With significant spending on logistics, the company sought a solution to increase billing accuracy, streamline processes, and mitigate costly overcharges. Dow adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI-driven tool, to empower its employees with intelligent insights and automate various tasks across different departments. Specifically, Copilot assists in logistics by reviewing freight rates, identifying billing discrepancies, and optimizing workflows. The company anticipates achieving millions of dollars in cost reductions for shipping operations within the first year of implementation. Employees have reported considerable time savings, more streamlined processes, and increased productivity, contributing to a broader shift towards operational efficiency and sustainability.

The Challenge: Optimizing Logistics and Cost Management

Dow's commitment to sustainable innovation and operational efficiency led them to identify opportunities within their supply chain. The company's logistics spending, amounting to billions of dollars annually, presented a prime area for optimization. Key challenges included:

Cost Management: Ensuring accurate billing and preventing overcharges on freight.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlining the complex processes involved in logistics and invoice processing.
Data Analysis: Manually reviewing large volumes of freight rates and invoices to identify discrepancies.

The Solution: Implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot

Dow integrated Microsoft 365 Copilot into its operations to harness the power of AI for business transformation. The adoption strategy involved:

AI-Driven Insights: Empowering employees with AI to analyze data and make informed decisions.
Workflow Automation: Automating repetitive tasks, such as invoice review and discrepancy flagging.
Phased Rollout: Initially deploying Copilot to a smaller group of employees, with a rapid expansion to 20% of the workforce due to its success.

Melanie Kalmar, Corporate Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Digital Officer at Dow, emphasized the company's commitment: "We're doubling down on Copilot by educating our employees even further so they can get more productivity out of the capabilities."

Transforming Logistics with Copilot

Copilot has made a significant impact on Dow's logistics operations, particularly in freight cost reduction:

Invoice Analysis: Copilot reviews freight rates, accrued costs, and invoice rates to ensure alignment with negotiated terms.
Discrepancy Identification: It automatically flags billing discrepancies in real-time, preventing overcharges.
Time Savings: Employees are freed from manual data reviews to focus on more strategic tasks.

Tami Sowle, Logistics Operational Excellence Manager at Dow, noted, "Now with Copilot, discrepancies are highlighted instantly, which allows us to correct issues more proactively." This proactive approach saves time and resources, aligning with Dow's goals for efficiency and sustainability.

Beyond logistics, Copilot has also transformed individual employee workflows:

Research Acceleration: Innovation Specialist Radhika Tawade reported that Copilot significantly reduced the time spent on data gathering and report reading, allowing her to focus on delivering informed recommendations.

Shaping a Smarter Supply Chain with AI Agents

Dow is further optimizing its supply chain by developing AI agents within Copilot Studio:

Prompt-and-Response Agent: Analyzes freight invoices to flag discrepancies and reduce costs. Sowle estimates, "By optimizing this process, we anticipate Copilot will save us millions of dollars on shipping operations in the first year."
Autonomous Agent: Processes PDF invoices from emails, automatically detecting and routing mismatches for correction 24/7.

Jeff Tazelaar, Global ISC Innovation Director at Dow, highlighted the strategic importance: "We're using Copilot Studio to create and connect agents to Copilot, helping drive an autonomous and sustainable supply chain... The system is helping us not only audit and analyze but align our processes with broader goals around cost efficiency and sustainability."

Mike Weideman, Senior IT Director at Dow, added, "We're transforming how we work, not just making tasks easier. Copilot helps us drive digital literacy and productivity, which brings our Digital Dow strategy to life."

Key Outcomes and Future Outlook

Dow's experience with Copilot demonstrates the transformative potential of AI in revitalizing operations:

Significant Cost Savings: Anticipated millions in savings on shipping operations.
Increased Productivity: Employees save time and focus on higher-value tasks.
Enhanced Efficiency: Streamlined processes and proactive issue resolution.
Sustainability Goals: Contribution to operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Kalmar concluded, "This is just the beginning as we continue to reshape our supply chain and business processes with Copilot, driving both operational efficiency and sustainability."

Discover More Details

Customer: Dow (www.dow.com)
Products: Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Studio
Organization Size: 10,000+ employees
Country: United States
Business Need: Artificial Intelligence
Industry: Chemicals

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