TL;DR

Dynamics 365 Business Central’s Sales Order Agent enhancements automate how sales orders are created from email by processing attachments, recognizing alternative ship-to addresses, providing capable-to-promise responses, and reducing manual review. These improvements streamline order entry, improve accuracy, and help teams respond faster without disrupting existing workflows.

I want to show you the new Sales Order Agent enhancements in Dynamics 365 Business Central. These are the enhancements we’re going to look at today.

Key Enhancements Covered in This Demo

Attachment Processing from Email

First, we’ll look at attachment processing, which allows the Sales Order Agent to read information directly from email attachments and use that data to create a sales quote.

Alternative Ship-To Address Recognition

We’ll also look at the ability for the Sales Order Agent to recognize alternative ship-to addresses for a customer. If a customer has multiple ship-to locations, that information can now be specified directly in the email sent to the Sales Order Agent.

Capable-to-Promise Responses

We’ll review the agent’s ability to provide capable-to-promise responses back to the customer, allowing them to see item availability and expected delivery timing.

Automatic Email Processing

In addition, we’ll cover automatic email processing. This enhancement allows the Sales Order Agent to begin processing emails as soon as they arrive in a shared mailbox, while still giving users control over how that processing occurs.

Sales Order Creation Without Quote Confirmation

Finally, we’ll look at the ability for the Sales Order Agent to create sales orders without requiring quote confirmation back from the customer.

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Sales Order Agent Setup in Business Central

Here is my Business Central system. Let’s start by looking at the Sales Order Agent setup.

Shared Email Mailbox Configuration

This is the shared email mailbox. Every time an email arrives in this mailbox, the Sales Order Agent evaluates it. If the email appears to contain an order, the agent begins processing it.

Processing Rules for Existing Customers

You can see several new configuration options here. One option allows the Sales Order Agent to start processing emails from existing customers automatically. You can define whether the agent processes messages only from registered senders, meaning customers already in your customer database.

Review and Approval Options

If you choose the no-review option, the Sales Order Agent begins processing the email as soon as it arrives. It creates a draft response, but it does not automatically send that response to the customer. A user still has the opportunity to review it first.

There are additional options available. The “all” option requires all incoming emails in the shared mailbox to be reviewed by a user before the Sales Order Agent begins processing. There is also an option to require review only for the first message in a thread.

These same settings can also be applied to emails from customers that are not yet in your customer database.

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Demo Configuration Used in This Scenario

For this demo, I’ve configured the Sales Order Agent to process all emails that come from existing customers. This means the agent immediately begins processing incoming emails from known customers and prepares a response, while still allowing a user to review that response before it is sent.

I’ve also enabled the option for the Sales Order Agent to provide capable-to-promise information back to customers.

In addition, I’ve configured the system so that quote confirmation from the customer is not required. In this setup, the Sales Order Agent creates a quote when appropriate, and a user can then convert that quote into a sales order.

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Supported File Formats and Response Customization

The Sales Order Agent can process information from email attachments in PDF, PNG, and JPEG formats. There is also an option to customize email signatures in the responses sent back to customers.

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End-to-End Sales Order Processing Example

Let’s activate the Sales Order Agent. Once activated, it begins running. As the agent processes information, makes decisions, and responds, you’ll see the activity recorded in a conversation thread.

Customer Email with Order Attachment

In this scenario, a customer sends an email to the Sales Order Agent through the shared mailbox. The email includes an attachment containing item descriptions and quantities.

Automatic Email Evaluation and Processing

As soon as the email arrives, the Sales Order Agent begins processing it based on the configured rules. It prepares a response but does not send it yet, since user review is still required.

Notifications and Review Workflow

Once processing is complete, the agent waits for user input. A notification appears indicating that an email has been processed. This notification appears even if the Sales Order Agent pane is not open.

Reviewing the Draft Customer Response

Opening the processed email shows a draft response that has not yet been sent. The agent correctly identifies the customer based on the sender’s email address and extracts the requested items.

If an item is not currently available, the Sales Order Agent includes information about when it will be available so the customer is informed.

Customer Confirmation and Follow-Up

After reviewing the response, the email is sent to the customer. The customer replies confirming that they would like the items shipped. The customer could also change quantities or add additional items, and the Sales Order Agent would continue responding accordingly.

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Sales Quote and Sales Order Creation

Automatic Quote Creation

After the customer confirms, the Sales Order Agent processes the response and creates a sales quote.

Converting the Quote to a Sales Order

Because the system is configured not to require quote confirmation, the quote can immediately be converted into a sales order.

Before converting it, we can review the quote to confirm accuracy. The customer information and items are correct.

Alternative Ship-To Address Handling

The order is set to ship to an alternative ship-to address associated with the customer rather than the main address. The Sales Order Agent correctly identifies this alternative ship-to location based on the information provided in the email.

Final Sales Order in Business Central

Once converted, the new sales order opens in Business Central as a standard sales order created from the interaction between the customer and the Sales Order Agent.

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Reviewing the Complete Conversation Thread

You can view the entire conversation thread associated with the sales order. It starts with the original customer email, followed by the Sales Order Agent’s response, the customer’s confirmation, and finally the creation of the sales quote and sales order.

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Summary of Sales Order Agent Enhancements

In this demo, we reviewed several new enhancements to the Sales Order Processing Agent in Dynamics 365 Business Central. These included:

• Processing information from email attachments

• Identifying alternative ship-to addresses

• Providing capable-to-promise responses

• Automatically processing incoming emails

• Creating sales orders without requiring quote confirmation from the customer

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Next Steps

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