MaxLinear sought to automate approval processes for its 20,000 invoices and purchase requisitions per year to save time and improve agility.
The company uses Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management to unlock operational efficiencies and streamline financial workflows.
Invoice processing time has reduced by approximately 30% and manual effort in procurement processes has been reduced by approximately 70%
MaxLinear (NYSE: MXL), a global leader in broadband access and gateway solutions, has been improving the world’s communication networks with integrated radio frequency, analog, digital, and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for access, connectivity, and wired and wireless infrastructure since its founding in 2003. The Carlsbad, California-based company adopted Microsoft Dynamics 365 to enhance operational efficiencies, streamline financial workflows, and improve supply chain visibility.
MaxLinear products are at the heart of technologies and devices all around you, revolutionizing how people connect and driving faster, smarter networks through engineering innovation. Always at the forefront in using technology to optimize business operations, the company had migrated acquisitions from SAP and Oracle to Dynamics AX 2012 for enterprise resource planning (ERP). But as that application reached the end of its life, the forward-looking company seized the opportunity to fully embrace the cloud with a Dynamics 365 ERP solution. A long-standing Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Sales customer, MaxLinear understood that Dynamics 365 opened new doors and expanded the art of the possible, a philosophy that anchors its culture.
MaxLinear has upgraded to Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management to enjoy an ERP platform that has automated manual processes, reduced time spent on approvals, and improved the company’s agility and overall efficiency.
“Through our adoption of Dynamics 365, we can unlock operational efficiencies, streamline financial workflows, and elevate our supply chain visibility.”
Steve Litchfield, CFO, MaxLinear
For implementation, MaxLinear engaged longtime partner Armanino, whose High Tech Solution for Dynamics 365 met the unique needs of MaxLinear’s complex business model. MaxLinear outsources production, with subcontractors handling everything from raw material sourcing to finished goods and pay points varying based on production. “With Dynamics 365, we have full visibility of all the manufacturing transactions even though it’s a fully outsourced manufacturing operation,” notes Karyn Houle, Senior Director, Business Applications at MaxLinear.
MaxLinear’s migrated its critical integrations from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 to support its manufacturing suppliers. This is the key to keeping millions of units flowing smoothly through the company’s virtual supply chain. Manually tracking each milestone marker, or “lot move,” such as work in progress (WIP) and goods and shipping transactions, would have been time-consuming and subject to error. Instead, all these inbound signals are automated, and markers are updated in Dynamics 365 at least once a day to account for all lot movements. Suppliers are not required to take the time—and devote the human resources—to manually enter data. They embraced the modern, intuitive interface of Dynamics 365 and are enjoying the improved speed and performance of the new system.
With real-time visibility into its supply chain and the ability to track production at the subcontractor level, MaxLinear can easily monitor the costs associated with WIP by tracing and accounting for yield loss, adjust forecasts, and production schedules to maintain adequate inventory and make smarter planning decisions. “Through our adoption of Dynamics 365, we can unlock operational efficiencies, streamline financial workflows, and elevate our supply chain visibility,” says Steve Litchfield, CFO of MaxLinear. “As a fabless semiconductor company, our orchestration of the global supply chain and seamless integration with subcontractors has significantly optimized cost management and ensured scalability.”
“With Dynamics 365, we have full visibility of all the manufacturing transactions even though it’s a fully outsourced manufacturing operation.”
Karyn Houle, Senior Director, Business Applications, MaxLinear
MaxLinear processes over 20,000 invoices per year, making manual invoice approvals a daunting task. In the early days after the upgrade to Dynamics 365, accounts payable staff sent approval requests by email, but had to wait for a response before they could post the approval in Dynamics 365. Now, Dynamics 365 workflow automation sends the email, with all the information an approver needs, including the invoice as an attachment. Alternatively, approvers can access their requests in the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams. Approved invoices are automatically posted in the system. Houle estimates that automation has reduced invoice processing time by 30%.
Purchase requisition approvals were similarly time-consuming in the old system. That process involved a third-party application with limited integration capability, which created inefficiencies and needed IT support. Now, Dynamics 365 sends purchase requisitions for approval automatically, based on preset options like buyer or spend limit, and they can be easily approved in Teams. Approved purchase requisitions are automatically converted into purchase orders, eliminating the need for buyers to rekey data and reducing manual effort in the procurement process by up to 70%.
MaxLinear also uses Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Sales, so approval of sample requests and return materials requests mirrors the Finance approvals process, driving a harmonized user experience.
The company’s Dynamics 365 optimizations have only begun. It’s using Microsoft Power Apps to build an app to handle routing, approval, and versioning of contracts. The app will allow sales, marketing, and technical support teams to use Dynamics 365 Sales and Customer Service to trigger forms like nondisclosure agreements and monitor their status. Houle and her team expect substantial time savings.
An exciting step in MaxLinear’s roadmap is its developing Microsoft Copilot strategy which includes plans to leverage Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management as well as Copilot Studio within SharePoint and custom agents to continue to optimize automation at every turn.
One of the biggest benefits of moving to the cloud with Dynamics 365 is that MaxLinear can take advantage of Microsoft’s continuous release cycle, with new capabilities arriving in a resilient and secure environment. The world’s connectivity needs are growing, and so is MaxLinear. Dynamics 365 guarantees that MaxLinear will always be operating on the latest, most secure system, allowing the company to remain agile and focused on revolutionizing connectivity and engineering solutions for a more sustainable, connected world.
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