AX2012 R3 CU8 introduced exciting new cross-docking functionality for product packages. This post describes the end-to-end process from creation of a purchase order through to shipping of the transfer orders, including the setups that must be in place for cross-docking to work in the warehouse.

Product Packages

Product packages are defined combinations of products/variants which are purchased from one vendor.

They are set up under Retail > Setup > Replenishment > Product package.

Two product packages exist in the R3 demo data. They are each purchased from vendor 1001, and they each contain different quantities of two different styles of product T-0010. We will use one of these packages in this example.

Cross docking location

A location in the warehouse must be defined as the cross-docking area. The location X-DOCK has been setup as the cross-docking area in the demo data.

This location has a location profile X-DOCK, where ‘Use license plate tracking’ and ‘Allow mixed items’ are enabled.

Location directives

Location directives are used to direct where goods will be put or picked from.

Two location directives are used for cross-docking. The first, which will be used when goods are received, has a Work order type of Purchase order.

The PO X-DOCK PUT is the location directive which will direct where incoming items for cross-docking are put.

The query behind the directive identifies the receipts to which the directive should be applied i.e. the purchase order lines which have been marked for cross-docking. These purchase lines can be identified by the Cross-docking field in the WHSPurchLineTable (Purchase order additional fields).

The query behind the location directive actions specifies the put-away location (X-DOCK)

The location directive for issues TransOutXDockPick has a Work order type of Transfer issue.

Again the directive query identifies the transfer orders for which this directive applies.

The transfer order lines which have been marked for cross-docking can be identified by the Cross-docking field in the WHSInventTransferLine(InventTransferAdditionalFields) table.

The goods should be picked from the X-DOCK location. Note that the Strategy is LP Guided.

Mobile device menu items

Two mobile device menu items are required for receiving – License plate receiving and LP Packing (Pack to nested license plates).

The ‘Transfer pick’ menu item is required for the outbound process. Note that ‘Handle by license plate’ must be enabled (This is not enabled in the demo data).

Cross-docking Process

The process beings with the creation of a purchase order for product packages. The transfer orders to distribute these packages to other warehouses are then created, and the cross-docking packing structure is defined.

The goods are received into the warehouse on the parent LP, and put in the cross-dock location. The operator uses the LP packing menu option on the mobile device to assign a LP to each individual package, based on the information in the packing structure.

The transfer orders can then be released for picking, picked from the cross-docking location and shipped.

Create a purchase order

The cross-docking process starts with the creation of a purchase order. The packages in the demo data are purchased from vendor 1001, so we select this vendor. On the Purchase order line menu, there is an option to Create lines from packages.

This open displays the available packages, and allows you to select the quantities of each.

In the screenshot below, 10 of the 2^nd package in the demo data has been specified and order lines have been automatically created for 50 Retro style and 30 modern style TVs.

Create the cross-docking transfer orders

The next step is to define the quantity of packages to be sent to each receiving warehouse and to create the transfer orders. On the Retail tab of the Purchase order, the Functions > Cross docking packages menu option displays the screen below, where that information can be entered. In the example below, I have allocated 5 of the 10 packages ordered to the Atlanta store and the remaining 5 to the Boston store.

Once the quantities have been specified, the option to ‘Create orders’ creates the transfer orders.

Create the packing structure

The cross-docking packing structure must now be created. This structure is similar to that of an ASN received from a vendor. The structure is created from the Load planning workbench (Located under Warehouse management > Common> Waves > Load planning workbench). The purchase order should first be added to a load. The menu option ‘Create cross-docking packing structure’ on the ‘Ship and receive’ menu can then be used to generate the packing structure. Once the packing structure has been created, the ‘Packing structure’ menu option can be used to view it.

The screenshot below shows the packing structure for my purchase order. A license plate (USRT-000000001 to USRT-000000010) has been created for each package and a parent license plate (USRT-000000011) has been assigned to the whole shipment.

Receive the goods into the DC warehouse

When the goods arrive at the DC, the mobile device operator first selects Inbound on the mobile device menu, and then selects LP receiving. He scans the parent LP.

Details of the items expected to be received are displayed on the mobile device.

Once the receipt is confirmed, the operator is prompted to take these goods from the receiving bay

and put them in the X-DOCK location.

When the receipt has been completed, the On Hand stock enquiry shows that it has been received on the parent LP.

Assign a LP to each package

The last step in the receiving process is to run the LP Packing mobile device menu option. This will ‘move’ the stock from the parent LP to the nested LPs, assigning a LP to each carton.

The operator must select ‘LP Packing’ on the mobile device, and scan the parent LP.

After the LP Packing has been completed, the On-Hand stock shows no stock on the parent LP, and 5 Retro TVs and 3 Modern TVs on each ‘child’ LP.

Release the transfer orders for picking

At this point, the transfer orders can be released for picking. This can be done from the Periodic menu in Warehouse management.

The next step to be taken depends on whether ‘Automatically process’ is enabled in the Transfer Issue work template. This may be the case if the outbound dock is designated as the cross-dock location where no staging area is required. In this case, the pick and put transactions are automatically completed, and the transfer order can be shipped immediately.

If ‘Automatically process’ is not enabled, the operator is prompted to pick each child LP and put the package in the bay.

Finally, the transfer orders can be shipped by confirming the loads, and the cross-docking process is completed.

You’ve probably already heard the buzz around AXUG Summit 2016 in Tampa, FL.  Being held October 11-14^th, AXUG Summit will again be the destination for Dynamics AX users to connect with other users and engage in hundreds of Dynamics AX - focused break-out sessions. 

Early Bird Registration is open and valid through April 28^th, 2016. 

AXUG Member Early Bird Pricing is $899 - saving you up to $400 per registration.

Registration is open so invest now in Early Bird registration and save. Be sure to tell your colleagues.

See you in Tampa!

Good day everyone!

Lately Ihave seen agrowingdemand from customersaskingprofessionals withknowledge in Microsoft Azure and since  I was looking forward to set up my own MS Dynamics AX 2012 server for study and blog purposes I decided to give it a try and deploy my test enviroment on azure. Today I will show step-by-step how I did it.

Everything I have done here I did using an Azure Free Trial.

1. First of all, this is the new Azure portal face.
   
2. Click on Virtual Machines and then click on Add.
   
3. Here the portal will show a list of pre-built VMs that are ready for deployment, select Dynamics AX 2012 R3 (preview). For now, only Demo is available.
   
4. The portal will show a brief description about Dynamics AX and information about LCS. Just click in Create
5. Now we will set some information about our deploy, start by writing you Deployment name and then follow these steps:
   1. Select your subscription.
   2. Select the datacenter location.
   3. Create or select a new LCS project.
   4. If you don’t have one, click on +sign to create a new project.
   5. Write some information about you project like name and description.
   6. Click OK.
   
6. The next step is to set the Pricing Tier, which you can’t change at the moment, the server it is automatically set to use a D3, which has 4 cores and 14Gb and it costs 0,56$/hr on east US. This specs are perfect for a test enviroment and I wouldn’t change it (even if I could).
   
7. Now you have to review the pricing details and legal terms, if you agree click on Buy and then Create.
   
8. Now it will start processing, wait until it finishes.
   
9. Now, to check you project, you either click on the pin you added on the main page or you click on Browse > Dynamics Lifecycle Services projects.
   
10. Select your project, and then the portal will display informations like project name, status, LSC project, users and a list of deployment servers.  The initial status for our server is “Initializing…”, click on the server.
    
11. Click on the triple-dot and then Go to enviroment
    
12. Here we have some detailed information about our VM, our newly created VM status should be Deploying…
13. After ~45 minutes the status changed to Succeeded and it provided additional information like VM Name, username and password. Click on the VM name to access it.
    
14. To access the server use the username and domain builtin\Administrator, to know the password click on the eye next to your password.
    
15. And we are done! Now you have an enviroment ready to go with all the necessary tools like Visual Studio, Microsoft Office and more!
    

I was really surprised about how easy it was to set up a demo enviroment and this is only the tip of the iceberg! Microsoft already showed us a bit more of what there is to come on Microsoft convergence 2014 and it is amazing! Really looking forward to it.

When opening the new Dynamics AX client, you see that we have a nice set of navigation menus and options in the top of the screen.

But if you would like to limit the navigation options for the user, try to add the “&limitednav=true” to the URL.

As you see, the menu-bar is then changed, and the user cannot see the menu buttons, search and settings any more. We have a limited navigation.

Let’s further extend this ability by also adding the “&mi=action:WHSWorkExecute“. For those that have not heard what WHSWorkExecute is, it is the form used for simulating a Warehouse Mobile Device. The form existed in AX 2012, and it also exists in AX 7.

In the AX ‘7’ preview demo environment try the URL:
https://usnconeboxax1aos.cloud.onebox.dynamics.com/?cmp=usmf&mi=action:WHSWorkExecute&limitednav=true

You then have a quite nice RF device without the navigation options. Simple can often be the best J

Happy DAX’ing

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Curious about new features in the Dynamics AX 2016 Release?  Learn more here »

Microsoft’s 2016 Dynamics AX release is one of the most highly anticipated product releases the Dynamics community has seen for a very long time.  This latest video shows some of the Tweets and other conversations around the 2016 Dynamics AX new version.

Dynamics AX is Microsoft most powerful enterprise solution and can be customized to fit the needs of complex financial structures in any industry, with a focus on Manufacturing, Retail, Distribution, Life Sciences and Professional Services.

Curious to see Dynamics AX in action?  Check out the current version for your self in this free and easy Dynamics AX trial. 

About RoseASP

RoseASP provides hosted Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM applications, specializing in heavily regulated industries and publicly traded companies. Since 2000, RoseASP has hosted systems for small and mid-sized companies and a growing number of Microsoft Partners around the world. With a highly skilled and experienced team of experts in hosting financial and accounting systems and related modules, RoseASP takes pride in customer service and providing The Human Touch in a Digital World.  For more information about RoseASP, visit www.roseasp.com.

The post Microsoft 2016 Dynamics AX Release: Are you ready? appeared first on goERPcloud.

Industry fluctuations force project manufacturers to pursue growth opportunities while at the same time seeking cost control measures in order to stay ahead of the curve. An ERP implementation can help project manufacturers enhance their production efficiencies through the use of centralized tools and software and get a consolidated view of the entire production process.

Dynamics AX is one of the most sought-after ERP systems in the project industry, providing manufacturers with the agility and responsiveness to expand their operations and differentiate their business. With special focus on supply chain, finance, resource planning, and operations management, Dynamics AX incorporates a gamut of capabilities, ideal for your project organization:

• Document Management: Dynamics AX offers an integrated document management system enabling manufacturers to save all project related data in specific folders for each project. So, project members have the ability to make modifications and track costs associated with each modification then seamlessly share those updates with other team members. Dynamics AX has the functionality to convert quotes easily into work orders so you can continue to carry out the production processes.
• Customizable Variables: Since project companies deal with numerous projects, they need to have a set of customizable variables that define the complexity and characteristics of each project. Dynamics AX offers a plethora of such customizable variables that can be used as inputs by project manufacturers to understand project schedules, calculate costs and view a consolidated list of completed projects.
• Job Tracking and Scheduling: Dynamics AX encompasses an integrated job tracking and scheduling function that enables project managers to have a consolidated, real-time view of jobs and task status. Have the freedom to allocate resources and make adjustments to keep the production process running smoothly. Ensure availability of resources such as people, skills, machinery and tooling, to meet current customer demands and also gain visibility into future demands by using advanced planning and scheduling.
• Real-time Reports: Access to real-time reports that provide deep insights into each job on the production line is vital for project manufacturers. Dynamics AX offers real-time reporting that presents up-to-date information on key data metrics while maintaining an appropriate level of performance for operational processing. Additionally, the built-in BI capabilities enable you to predict industry trends, uncover customer insights, and operate your production processes efficiently round-the-clock.
• Personalized Dashboards: With Dynamics AX’s personal dashboards, you can provide employees with information that is most relevant to them. With BI data at your fingertips, you can know where your sales is headed, how your inventory is stacked up, understand project projections, and determine your production schedule based on demand to make smarter decisions faster.
• Materials Requirement Planning: Having the right materials in the right place at the right time is imperative to ensure smooth operation of the production process. With Dynamics AX, you can evaluate supply and demand, and gain complete control over project planning to ensure there is enough supply of materials to meet customer demand. Based on supply, you can create new manufacturing orders, cancel existing orders, change quantities, and transfer inventory, minimizing cost and schedule overruns.
• Project Execution Tracking: Dynamics AX offers specialized capabilities that integrate all aspects of your project execution environment and allow you to plan and track time and resources based on project requirements, while maintaining integrity and quality of the production process. Get complete visibility and process control of your shop floor and assess manufacturing conditions and constraints to expedite solutions as soon as possible.
• Cost Analysis: In order to ensure profitability, it is critical for project manufacturers to constantly track and analyze manufacturing costs. With Dynamics AX, you can count your direct and indirect costs that are shared across projects and manufacturing orders and track expenses to arrive at a cost-benefit analysis. By centralizing administrative functions, you can have a centralized accounting department attached to your entire production unit that runs a single, integrated system and gives you a consolidated view of all your costs.
• Integration with other Systems: Dynamics AX enables you to output your job status and seamlessly share real-time information with other systems for on-time and quality delivery. Additionally, you can also share job related information with the customer, without giving away proprietary and confidential information.

Achieve Unparalleled Project Success with Dynamics AX

Unprecedented challenges like increasing customer demands and shorter product lifecycles mount to global competition and regulation in the project manufacturing industry. Dynamics AX helps you meet all your business challenges with a powerful combination of technology and pre-integrated business applications that have been developed specifically for project manufacturers. Now synchronize supply and demand, offer faster response times, streamline operations and maximize ROI across your project organization and achieve unparalleled success while exceeding customer expectations.

by Indusa