Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update
Accordingly to the Dynamics 365 update of October 1st, 2019, Microsoft split Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations into two separate licenses: Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. Combined, both have the exact same functionality as Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.
Read our blog about the Microsoft update for Dynamics 365 Finance.
Here are some of what I consider the most impactful Microsoft updates for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
Inventory on hand service
This update will allow users to access inventory on-hand information in real-time. Utilizing a micro-service that facilitates integration with 3rd party’s systems. Inventory on-hand service enhances response and reduces the performance impact on Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
Dynamics 365 Asset Management
This is a big one that has been requested by many clients. Through this Dynamics 365 update, users will now have a robust asset management tool fully embedded in D365 Supply Chain Management (SCM). Maintain your equipment, issue work orders, purchase items or reduce on-hand stock. Limit risks by automating managing maintenance in workflows. Visualize production performance that allows customers to plan in advance. Asset Management provides helpful insights that assist in decision making, while displaying a complete overview of item consumption on assets and financial information regarding cost control, locations, faults, work hours, orders, etc.
Auto-release shipment for cross-dock
Create a shipment and cross-dock work by automatically releasing sales orders to the warehouse. Setup the cross-dock template to opportunistic, and when the user completes the report on a mobile device, the system will be enabled.
Calculate PO delivery date based on lead times and working days (public sector)
Track vendor compliance through reports based on original proposals and commitments. Automatically calculate the delivery date on the resulting purchase order when the vendor submits a lead time on an RFQ.
Hazardous materials product information management and shipping documentation
Companies that handle hazardous or dangerous goods must deliver additional information about their products such as a CAS number. This information includes regulations for shipping and handling, item description, an enhanced bill of lading, CMR document, multimodal dangerous items document, packing list, and Verified Gross Mass document.
Self-billing invoice control procurement and sales
Trade partners will be able to pay and receive payment for goods accordingly to trade terms such as the receipt of the product. That avoids sending a specific invoice document. They will have a reconciliation process to deal with exceptions.
Purchase agreement enhancements
Identify the employees responsible for purchase agreements’ maintenance. Closed agreements can be marked as no longer actively used, and users won’t be able to release orders from the purchase agreement. Users can determine an invoice matching policy for purchase orders released from a purchase agreement.
Zone threshold replenishment
Zone-based replenishment uses a min/max replenishment strategy that evaluates warehouse zones instead of individual locations. This allows replenishment in dynamic locations. The Dynamics 365 update specifies if the threshold should be evaluated per location or per zone to set up a minimum inventory that triggers a replenishment work order for specific items.
Quality management for warehouse processes – item sampling
Create a quality order with quality associations upon the receipt of inbound inventory and manage the criteria in how each item is set up (per load, shipment, or order). When a quality order is created, the work to move the inventory from received dock to the quality location is enabled, and the inventory won’t be able to move until the quality order is processed and completed.
Outbound sorting
Sort packed containers accordingly to a pallet after the packing station to build a packing hierarchy. The worker can choose the pallet category a packed container should be put in, the maximum number of containers, and how many pallets are needed for each situation. Also, the user must provide a packing policy and a sorting location profile. Together, this feature creates flexibility in managing containers.
Inbound quality check
Quickly performed quality checks when receiving to the inbound dock area. This Dynamics 365 update assists you in evaluating if products are faulty before you stock them in the inventory. The faulty inventory is moved to the quality check location. To address inventory as faulty you must reject the scanned license plate.
Put to wall/Put to store
This Dynamics 365 update allows numerous put positions that cluster picking. The put-to-wall workflow directs products to a sorting location to distribute in various containers. The picked products are sorted depending on quantity, destination, shipment, or load. The sorting also goes according to the warehouse management setup.
Packing vs. storage dimensions
The new field, Physical Dimensions, allows tracking specific processes such as:
- Storage: Determine how many items can be stored in a warehouse.
- Packing: Determine how many items can fit into different container types.
- Nested packing: Utilize this dimension to track packing processes that need multiple levels.
Flexible warehouse-level dimension reservation
Keep the optimization-focused method for picking batch-tracked products for daily operations while setting overrides based on customer requirements. Allow employees to take sales orders accordingly to the customer’s request to re-order a specific batch number.
Planning Optimization for distribution
Build a hyper-scalable multitenant service that allows multiple tenants to simultaneously cooperate to calculate a plan. Also, the planning service will eliminate the load of master planning and work with a data stream that diminishes server load.
Warehouse slotting
Replenish Picking locations before releasing orders to the warehouse. After identifying the demand, the slotting process will assign them to pick locations. The second part of this feature will allow linking to any incomplete replenishment work.
Material handling/warehouse automation
Outbound warehouse events subscriptions (work creation, cancellation, completion), and track them using a queue that can be configurated up to 10 lines of specific records. Execute work one line at a time while supporting pick and location override.
RFQ activities
This Dynamics 365 update allows the user to assign tasks, appointments, and events (to develop in RFQ documents) to other users. This capability facilitates user collaboration.
Advanced transportation planning
To enhance transportation planning processes, allow several loads to be grouped into a single trip. If multiple legs are required for the transportation process, one trip can be created with three loads. Each load can be tracked individually, and the trip can consolidate all the journey’s data.
RF dynamic load building
Create loads using the RF scanner in the WMA mobile app.
There are many more updates for Microsoft Dynamics 365 that you may find interesting and surprising in the second release wave, which is been launched from October 2019 to March 2020 for Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
I hope this article sheds some light on the new updates Microsoft is bringing for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and provides some insight on what to expect from these new changes.
If you wish to learn more about the new updates, Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, and Pangea Group, please contact us.