Unilever streamlines discount approvals with Dynamics 365 CRM

Unilever engaged Awara IT to deliver a Dynamics 365 CRM solution that automates discount calculation, approval and order-creation workflows across retail channels. The project addressed a high-volume SKU footprint and multi-department approval processes to reduce manual work, eliminate incorrect discounts and provide a full audit trail.

Awara IT implemented Dynamics 365 CRM and Power Platform components to centralize discount logic for ~70,000 product positions, enable simultaneous work across 20 departments, and generate store discount orders directly from the CRM. The result: faster approvals, fewer pricing errors and consistent, auditable discount execution across Kazakhstan and England.

Müşteri / Sektör / Ülke

Unilever is a global personal care product company operating in retail markets; this engagement focused on Unilever teams in Kazakhstan and England, coordinating regional discount operations across ~20 departments and thousands of retail outlets.

İş zorluğu

Unilever’s discount process required calculating variable discount sizes for goods with expiration dates, approving calculated rates across 20 departments, and producing orders for in-store discounting. The catalog covered roughly 70,000 positions, many with time-sensitive pricing rules tied to shelf life.

Processes were fragmented: teams worked with spreadsheets and email, approvals were sequential, and there was no reliable audit trail for changes. This caused slow document preparation, incorrect discounts reaching stores, and elevated reconciliation effort between commercial and store operations. The client required simultaneous multi-department workflows, strict separation of duties, and change auditing to reduce financial leakage and speed time-to-shelf discounts.

Neden Dynamics 365 seçildi

Unilever selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM because it provides a proven platform for sales and commercial processes with native integration to the Power Platform and Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Dynamics 365’s entity model and Dataverse allowed Awara IT to centralize discount rules while preserving product master data across 70,000 SKUs.

Key selection criteria included role-based security, auditable change logs, low-code automation (Power Automate) for orchestrating multi-department approvals, and the ability to integrate with existing inventory and store systems. As a Microsoft partner, Awara IT implemented Dynamics 365 to leverage these capabilities and to ensure maintainability by Unilever’s regional IT teams.

Uygulanan modüller

• Dynamics 365 Sales (CRM) core for commercial entity and workflow management
• Dataverse for centralized product and discount rule storage
• Power Apps custom UI for discount configuration and exception handling
• Power Automate workflows for multi-department approvals and order generation
• Role-based security and audit (Dynamics 365 audit logs)
• Power BI operational dashboards for approvals, error rates and compliance

Entegrasyonlar

• Inventory/master data import (batch CSV and API) to onboard ~70,000 SKUs
• Store ordering system integration (API/flat-file) to create discount orders
• POS/retail partner connectors for order status updates
• Azure AD for SSO and role management
• Microsoft 365 (Teams and Outlook) for approval notifications and collaboration
• Power Platform connectors for downstream reporting and automation

Yerelleştirme ve uyumluluk

The solution included localization for Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom: currency handling (KZT and GBP), local pricing rules, and VAT considerations where applicable. Audit and retention settings were configured to meet UK GDPR requirements and local record-keeping practices in Kazakhstan. User-facing interfaces and documentation were provided in English and Russian to match regional language needs.

İş değeri

The Dynamics 365 CRM implementation reduced operational friction in discount management and materially lowered the risk of incorrect pricing reaching stores. By centralizing rules and automating approvals, Unilever shortened document preparation cycles and increased throughput of discount orders without adding headcount. Full auditability and role separation reduced compliance exposure and simplified month-end reconciliation between commercial and store operations.

Operational gains included faster time-to-discount, fewer write-offs from incorrect markdowns, and a scalable platform that can be extended to additional product lines and markets in the Middle East region.