What's new or changed in CTP1 for Microsoft Dynamics AX ...

Microsoft Dynamics AX

What’s new or

changed in

CTP1 for

Microsoft

Dynamics AX

application

version 7.1 This document describes features that are

either new or changed in CTP1 for Microsoft

Dynamics AX application version 7.1.

White paper

August 2016

Send feedback.

www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/

What’s new or changed in CTP1 for Microsoft Dynamics AX application

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Contents

Cost accounting 3

Electronic reporting 5

Expense management 7

Financial management 9

Human capital management 10

Localizations 11

Payroll 17

Planning and scheduling 17

Product master data 18

Retail and commerce 19

Advanced warehouse management in a retail store 19

Enable seamless omni-channel commerce 19

Extensibility 20

LCS subscription estimator 21

POS task recorder 21

Store system: Providing a seamless on-premises store experience 21

Universal Windows Platform app for Retail Modern POS 23

Product recommendations at the POS via machine learning 23

Supply chain management 24

Consignment inventory 24

Vendor collaboration 24

Intercompany order processing 25

Minor feature enhancements in Supply chain management 26


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What’s new or changed in CTP1 for Microsoft Dynamics AX

application version 7.1

This article describes features that are either new or changed in Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) for

Microsoft Dynamics AX application version 7.1.

Note: Microsoft Dynamics AX application version 7.1 runs on Dynamics AX platform version 7.2. Dynamics AX

platform version 7.2 was released in August 2016 and has a build number of 7.0.4230.16130. For details about the

latest version of Dynamics AX, see What's new or changed.

Cost accounting What can you do? Why this is important

Define cost element dimensions,

and import cost element

dimension members.

Cost elements are used in Cost accounting as a function to categorize costs and

document the flow of costs.

The primary cost elements are imported by using either an AX connector to get

main accounts directly from Dynamics AX or a generic connector, where you get

main accounts via Microsoft Excel from any other type of source system. After

main accounts are imported into Cost accounting, they are used as cost element

dimension members.

The secondary cost elements are user-defined and are used in allocations to

document the flow of costs.

Map cost element dimensions. If the main accounts across your legal entities can’t be shared because of

statutory accounting requirements, you can map them after import into Cost

accounting to get a holistic view across the organization.

Define cost object dimensions,

and import cost object

dimension members.

Cost objects are any type of object that costs are assigned to. Typical cost objects

include products, projects, resources, departments, cost centers, and geographic

regions.

You can use either an AX connector to get financial dimensions and values from

Dynamics AX or a generic connector, where you can get dimensions and values

via Excel from any other type of source system. For example, if you use the cost

center financial dimension as the object dimension, all cost centers that are

imported will be the dimension members for the cost object.

Define or import statistical

dimensions.

Statistical dimension members are measured in non-monetary units, such as

machine hours, number of employees, and square. They are used in statements,

or as the basis for allocations and distributions.

https://ax.help.dynamics.com/en/wiki/whats-new-or-changed-in-dynamics-ax-7/


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What can you do? Why this is important

Create statistical measure

provider templates.

A statistical measure provider template is used to transform Dynamics AX data

into statistical measures. The template is then associated with a given statistical

dimension member. The templates are prefiltered so that they show only tables

that are associated with financial dimensions.

Create cost accounting ledgers. A cost accounting ledger is an agnostic ledger that uses its own calendar and

currency. It plays an important role in processing all cost transactions. For

example, a cost accounting ledger classifies costs based on its own cost elements,

and aggregates costs based on its own object dimensions. You can create as

many cost accounting ledgers as you require in order to do management

reporting from various perspectives.

Create cost control units. Cost control units make up the cost structure and define the flow of costs in a

cost accounting ledger. They must be associated with cost object dimensions to

represent the cost object dimensions in the ledger.

Process General ledger entries. To measure actual performance, you must have data. The data is imported by

using the connectors that you define for the cost accounting ledger. When you

process the General ledger entries, the data is imported incrementally.

Process Budget entries. To measure budgeted performance, you must have data. The data is imported by

using the connectors that you define for the cost accounting ledger. When you

process the budget entries, the data is imported incrementally.

Create and apply cost behavior

policies.

You use a cost behavior policy to classify costs as fixed, variable, or semi-variable.

A policy is rule-based and date-effective. By default, all costs are marked as

unclassified until you apply a cost behavior policy and calculate the effects of the

rule. After the calculation, the costs are classified.

Trace costs. To help you understand the impact of cost policies, Cost accounting lets you

trace costs to the source values and applied rules where they originate. This

functionality provides full traceability about when costs occurred, what types of

costs occurred, and which cost behavior rules were applied.

Define dimension hierarchies. You can create dimension hierarchies for either categorization or classification

purposes. For example, you can define a categorization hierarchy that is based on

a cost element dimension and its members. Alternatively, you can define a

classification hierarchy that is based on a cost object dimension and its members.

The reporting structures are used in the following situations:

● You define allocations, cost rates, and cost rollup rules.

● You view statements by using the workspace.

● You define access to view aggregated data.

● You view data in Excel.


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Create statements that can be

viewed in the workspace.

Use the workspace to get a quick overview of actual and budgeted costs, and

also deviations. You can filter the data by period or cost level. The workspace is

designed for managers who are responsible for cost control. It adheres to the

access rules that are defined for the dimension hierarchies.

Create reports by using Excel.

Note: You must run Microsoft

Excel 2016.

You can export Cost accounting data directly to Excel through data entities and

use Microsoft PivotTable to create reports.

Electronic reporting What can you do? Why is this important?

Configure Electronic reporting (ER) reports

to insert data, in several formats, from

Document Management storage into

electronic messages that are generated.

ER reports can insert data into electronic messages that are generated

from the Document Management storage. Therefore, the attachments

of a particular business document can be added to electronic

messages that are generated for the document, in accordance with the

legal requirements. Currently, these attachments can be added in

MIME format to an XML message that is generated and in Base64

format to a binary message that is generated.

Configure ER reports to generate electronic

documents in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft

Word, or PDF format.

One configuration enables ER reports to generate electronic

documents in three different formats: OpenXML worksheet (Excel),

Word, and XML Forms Data Format (XFDF) (PDF). Users can select a

format by adding a format template to an ER report as an Excel, Word,

or PDF document.

Configure ER reports to insert data into

page headers and footers of electronic

documents that are generated in OpenXML

worksheet format, and to control page

breaks.

ER reports can enter business data into page headers and footers, and

also control where page breaks occur. Therefore, the reports can

support static top and bottom sections for pages of the electronic

documents that are generated, and can also support specific paging of

those documents, so that they comply with legal requirements.

Configure the destination of ER reports, so

that the output is sent as email, and so that

business data and ER logic (expressions)

can be used to specify, at run time, the

email address to use.

Previously, when you configured an ER destination, the email address

of the output’s recipient could be defined at design time. You can now

configure an expression in the ER format, and this expression can be

selected in a destination as the source of the email address for each

format configuration and each output component (folder or file)

separately. Therefore, when an ER report is running, each file that is

generated can be mailed to a different recipient, and the email

address can be defined based on ER logic and business data.


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What can you do? Why is this important?

Configure ER reports to use the part of the

electronic document that has already been

generated as a data source for generating

the rest of that document.

You can configure ER reports that create the output in text format to

do the document’s line counting. This information can then be used in

other parts of the document to create lines that include summary

details. The summary information (totals and numbers) can be

computed and printed to the electronic documents that are

generated, without requiring additional transformations of the data.

Therefore, this feature improves the performance of report execution

and helps keep the future maintenance of the configured ER format

easier.

Configure ER reports to specify a particular

file name extension for electronic

documents that are generated in text

format.

You can configure ER reports to create the output in text format, so

that it can be saved as a file that has a particular extension. In addition

to the default .txt extension, you can configure extensions such as .csv

and .prn, in accordance with the format specification.

Create new ER reports that are based on a

specific version of a ER model.

Previously, when you created a new ER format, only the most recent

version of the selected ER model could be used as the format’s data

source location. You can now select any available version of the

selected ER model. This feature lets you maintain ER reports for the

current year and design a new version of the ER model for the next

year in parallel.

Search data sources and formats/models

not only by text but also by selected

artifact in one click.

Proactively resolve rebase conflicts, and

support the resolution of conflicts between

configurations.

Configure ER reports to create multiple

validation messages for errors that are

discovered until report execution is

stopped.

Several user experience (UX) improvements in the ER framework help

users work with ER more efficiently and easily.


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Expense management What can you do? Why this is important

Reassign terminated employee

credit card transactions.

Sometimes, when an employee is terminated, his or her Active Directory Domain

Services (AD DS) account is disabled when active credit card transactions that

must be expensed are imported. In previous releases of Dynamics AX, you can’t

assign a delegate for expense entry or attach the credit card transactions to an

expense report.

You can now use the Credit card transactions page to reassign the employee for

any credit card transaction where the associated employee is terminated. After

you reassign the credit card transaction, the transaction can be selected for an

expense report and paid through the regular process for expense report

reimbursement.

Change the expense credit card

information for pending and

past employees.

You can change Expense management credit card information for pending

workers and past workers. In previous releases, you can change the expense

credit card information only if the worker is an active employee.

Copy an expense report. In the current release of Dynamics AX, you can copy an existing expense when

you create a new expense on the same expense report. You can copy an expense

report and all the associated non–credit card expenses to a new expense report.

You must still perform any required itemizations and attach required receipts,

based on defined expense policies and categories. You can add credit card

transactions to the expense report by selecting to add unreconciled expenses.

Bulk-edit expenses. Some credit card transactions might not be mapped to an expense category, or

they might be incorrectly mapped when they are imported. In this case,

employees must manually change the associated expense category. When you

manage the unreconciled expenses, you can now bulk-edit the expense category

for the selected expenses. Additionally, when you manage selected expenses for

a specific expense report, you can bulk-edit the project and the additional

information.

Change the exchange rate for

credit card transactions.

The actual exchange rate that is used in a credit card transaction might differ

from the exchange rate that is set up in the system. In previous releases of

Dynamics AX, employees can’t change the exchange rate for any credit card

transaction that was imported into Expense management.

You now can set a parameter on the Expense management parameters page to

allow the exchange rate to be changed for credit card transactions.


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Set up anticorruption attestation

for expenses.

Some employees for an organization might have business with government

officials, and some expenses that occur as part of that business might be

perceived as bribery. In Dynamics AX Expense management, you can now set up

an anticorruption attestation that is displayed for selected expense categories,

such as meals and gifts. Employees must select whether expenses that are set up

for anticorruption attestation meet the criteria that are defined by your

organization’s policies.

Prevent manual entry of specific

expense category expenses.

An expense category can be set up to represent a credit card transaction where

the category can’t be changed. An example is a fee for late payment of the credit

card. You can now set up an expense category that allows expenses to be created

only through import. This feature prevents employees from manually creating an

expense for the category, and also doesn’t allow the category to be changed for

transactions that have been imported and use this category.

Attach a receipt to multiple

expenses.

A receipt that is uploaded to Expense management might be related to multiple

expenses. In previous releases of Dynamics AX, a receipt that is related to

multiple expenses must be uploaded one time for each expense.

You can now attach a receipt to an expense that has already been uploaded and

attached to another expense on the same expense report. Additionally, if you

upload a receipt to the header of the expense report, you can select one or more

lines to attach the receipt.

Create future-dated expenses. When you copy an expense report, for example, the transaction date for an

expense might have a future date. Previous releases of Dynamics AX don’t allow

for future-dated expenses.

You can now create and save expenses that have a future date. However, you

can’t submit a future-dated expense.

Configure expense taxes for a

state/province.

In some country/regions, expenses that are incurred in different state/province

might be subject to different sales tax rates. You can now set up the expense tax

configurations at the state/province level, not just at the country/region level. If

you leave the State/Province field blank on the Tax configuration page, the

sales tax group applies to all states/provinces for the specified country/region.

Set up expense credit card

types.

In previous releases of Dynamics AX, there is no form where you can create new

credit card types, such as Visa, MasterCard or AMEX, that can be used with

Expense management.

You can now create credit card types to use with Expense management. The page

is located in the Setup area, in the Calculations and codes section.


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Financial management What can you do? Why this is important

Track fixed asset valuations by

using a single “Book” concept.

In previous versions of Dynamics AX, two separate types of valuation are used to

track fixed asset values: value models and depreciation books.

In the current version, these two concepts have been merged into a single

valuation concept that is named Books. Books have all the functionality of both

value models and depreciation books. This functionality includes the ability to

turn off posting to the general ledger. Books that post to the general ledger are

typically used for corporate financial reporting. Books that don’t post to the

general ledger can be used for tax reporting purposes.

Perform the General ledger

year-end close for multiple legal

entities.

To speed up the year-end closing process, you can now run the year-end close

for multiple legal entities from a “shared” year-end close page. Groups of legal

entities can be defined, together with settings that should be retained from one

year to the next. Additional usability enhancements have also been made to the

year-end closing process.

Take advantage of

enhancements to General ledger

foreign currency revaluation

The following enhancements have been made to the General ledger process for

foreign currency revaluation:

● An exchange rate type has been added to the main account. This exchange

rate type is now used to determine the exchange rate during currency

revaluation. If no exchange rate type is defined, the process continues to use

the exchange rate type that is defined on the ledger.

● It’s now easier to select a range of main accounts and currencies to run the

revaluation process for.

● Revaluation can be run for multiple legal entities.

● The system now maintains a history of every revaluation process that was

performed, as it does for the Accounts receivable (AR) and Accounts payable

(AP) revaluation processes.

View transactions for additional

posting layers.

On the Trial balance list page and the Dimension statement report, you can

now select the additional posting layers that have been added to General ledger.

When you select the additional posting layers, the adjustments for those posting

layers are included in the balances on the list page or report.

Attach “how to” documentation

to the Financial period close

template.

In previous releases of Dynamics AX, you can attach documentation after a task is

completed. For example, you can attach a report that was generated.

You can now also attach a “how to” document to the template. This “how to”

document is then copied to every task in the financial period schedule, so that

the task owner can view instructions about how to complete the task.


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Define the intercompany

accounting setup from a shared

page.

The Intercompany accounting setup page is now shared, so that an

organization can define all the pairs of legal entity that can transact with each

other. Additionally, you can now enter a transaction in the originating legal entity

but not from the destination legal entity. If either legal entity can initiate an

intercompany transaction, the reciprocal pair must be defined. Therefore, the

destination legal entity is also set up as an originating legal entity.

Submit justification documents

for budget plans.

You can create a justification template as supplemental documentation for any

requested budget amounts. Users can fill in the details of the template and attach

the template to the budget plan, so that it can be used during the approval

process.

Enable advanced rules for

budget register entries.

If advanced rules are configured in General ledger, those rules can be used for

new entries and transfers in the budget register.

Human capital management What can you do? Why this is important

Create a performance journal. Before you complete your review, you often gather information about activities or

events that contributed to your success as an employee during the review period.

You can add an entry to your performance journal to document those activities

and events. You can also connect those activities and events to a goal or a

performance review to provide more information to the reviewer.

Create more detailed goals. You have more control over the content of the goals that you set. You can create

measurements for the goals, link performance journal entries to the

measurements, and attach and view documents. You can also add detailed goal

topics that you and your manager can post comments about. Goals can be stored

as templates and reused for quick setup.

Create more detailed

performance reviews.

Performance reviews, which are formally known as discussions, are now flexible

enough to support both continuous feedback and more formal reviews. You can

pull in active goals and post comments about them, add sections for review of

your competencies, and rate your competencies. Additional sections are

provided, where you can add or view measurements, performance journal entries,

attachments, ratings, and signoffs that are related to the review. Reviews can be

stored as templates and reused for quick setup.


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Associate additional position

hierarchies to workflows.

You can associate a workflow with a position hierarchy. You can also modify the

workflow steps to optimize the approval process so that it fits your business

requirements. Therefore, you can define an effective approval structure that fits

the various reporting relationships that your organization uses.

Workflow support for personal

identification number (PIN)

entry in Employee self-service.

Workflow capability for Human resources (HR) has been expanded and now

includes support for PINs. Employees can add/edit their PIN to improve

efficiency. However, HR workers can review this information for accuracy and

completeness before they add it to the employee’s record.

Localizations What can you do? Why this is important

Japan – Group fixed assets when you print the form

26 and its appended tables.

The form 26 must be submitted to each city where the

corporation operates. To save you effort when you print the

form 26, fixed assets can be automatically grouped and sorted

by location.

Japan – See the amounts for accelerated and

additional depreciation on the profile.

The profile can provide an accurate estimate of the amounts

for accelerated and additional depreciation.

Japan – Calculate withholding tax progressively. The Japanese government requires that you calculate

withholding tax progressively, according to the payment

amount.

Japan – Import the postal code file for specific large

enterprise buildings.

The postal code file for specific large enterprise buildings from

the authority can be imported into system. The address can

then be derived from the postal code.


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Localizations for 18 additional countries/regions

are available. Localization for the following

countries/regions is completed:

● China

● Saudi Arabia

● Thailand

We haven’t completed the localization of all

features for the following countries/regions:

● Austria

● Belgium

● Brazil

● Czech Republic

● Estonia

● Finland

● Hungary

● Italy

● Latvia

● Lithuania

● Norway

● Poland

● Spain

● Sweden

● Switzerland

The following countries/regions require the Retail

localization. The Retail localization for these

countries/regions hasn’t been completed but is

planned for the future:

● Brazil

● Czech Republic

● Estonia

● Hungary

● Latvia

● Lithuania

● Malaysia

● Poland

● Sweden

Dynamics AX is available in an additional 18 countries/regions.

An Electronic reporting (ER) feature was introduced in the

February 2016 release.

As part of our effort to make localization easier and more

configurable, more regulatory electronic reports are now

available as ER configurations. Additionally, some regulatory

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports are

also available as ER configurations that have Microsoft Excel

templates. These converted reports are listed later in this

table.

To use ER configurations, import them from the Dynamics AX

resources repository that you can access from the Electronic

reporting workspace. For more details, see Electronic

reporting overview.

https://ax.help.dynamics.com/en/wiki/general-electronic-reporting-ger/

https://ax.help.dynamics.com/en/wiki/general-electronic-reporting-ger/


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Europe localization – updates The following SSRS reports have been converted to ER/Excel

configurations:

● Fixed asset acquisitions

● Fixed asset movements

France localization – updates The following SSRS reports have been converted to ER/Excel

configurations:

● Fixed asset note for France

Austria localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list XML format for Austria

● Intrastat format for Austria

● ISO20022 Credit transfer Austrian format

Belgium localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● BLWI format for Belgium

● EU Sales list XML format for Belgium

● Intervat format for Belgium

● Intrastat format for Belgium

● Invoice turnover report for Belgium

● Ledger transaction export format for Belgium

● SWIFT vendor payment format for Belgium

The following SSRS reports have been converted to ER/Excel

configurations:

● Fixed assets report for Belgium

Czech Republic localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list XML format for Czech Republic

● Intrastat format for Czech Republic

Estonia localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list XML format for Estonia

● Intrastat format for Estonia


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Finland localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list TXT format for Finland

● Intrastat format for Finland

Hungary localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list XML format for Hungary

● Intrastat format for Hungary

● Intrastat simplified format for Hungary


configurations:

● Fixed asset note for Hungary

Italy localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● Intrastat format for Italy

● Project e-invoice

● Sales e-invoice

● ISO20022 Credit transfer Italian format

● ISO20022 Direct debit Italian format


configurations:

● Fixed asset book report for Italy


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Latvia localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU sales list XML format for Latvia

● Intrastat (A) format for Latvia

● Intrastat (B) format for Latvia


configurations:

● Cash receipts usage report (LV)

● Fixed asset category tax depreciation calculation for Latvia

● Depreciation summary report for Latvia

● Fixed asset disposals report for Latvia

● Fully depreciated report for Latvia

● Fixed asset internal transfers for Latvia

● Fixed asset note for Latvia

● Asset record (LV)

● Fixed asset tax depreciation calculation for Latvia

New features:

● EU Sales list corrections XML format for Latvia

Lithuania localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list XML format for Lithuania

● Intrastat format for Lithuania

Norway localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● Collection letter NO

Poland localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● Intrastat format for Poland


configurations:

● Fixed asset table for Poland

● Fixed asset transactions for Poland


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Spain localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● EU Sales list TXT format for Spain

● Intrastat format for Spain

● Project e-invoice

● Sales e-invoice

● ISO20022 Credit transfer Spanish format

● ISO20022 Direct debit Spanish format

Sweden localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● Intrastat format for Sweden

● Bankgirot Autogiro customer payment format for Sweden

● Bankgirot vendor payments format for Sweden

● Postgirot vendor payment format for Sweden

● Postgirot Utland vendor payment format for Sweden

● SWIFT vendor payment format for Sweden

Switzerland localization – not completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● LSV direct debit Swiss format

China localization – completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● GBT24589 Accounting data exchanging


configurations:

● Customer balance Report

● Customer balance by sales groups

● Customer balance by customer groups

● Customer balance by profiles

● Customer balance by dimension

● Customer balance

● Customer aging

● Due amount analysis (AR)

● Aging analysis of receivable payment

● Vendor balance report

● Vendor balance by vendor group

● Vendor balance by profiles


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Saudi Arabia localization – completed The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● Imported letter of credit specific for Saudi Arabia

Malaysia localization – updates The following electronic report formats are available as ER

configurations:

● GST - generating GAF file in xml

Payroll What can you do? Why this is important

Configure pay records and

process payroll by using

functionality that is equivalent

to the functionality of the

Payroll module in Microsoft

Dynamics AX 2012 R3.

You can now configure and process US payroll by using a feature set that is

equivalent to the feature set in AX 2012 R3. One exception involves the ability to

generate payroll positive pay files. However, this functionality should be included

in a future CTP update.

You can configure pay cycles and pay periods, work cycles and work periods,

earning codes and earning code groups, schedules, leave types, and benefit

accrual plans.

You can also set up mandatory deductions, both for benefits and taxes, and

record payroll information for positions and workers for reporting and analysis

purposes.

You can also set up and manage deductions for garnishments and tax levies, and

any associated administrative fees.

Planning and scheduling What can you do? Why this is important

Set default order settings for

sales and purchases, based on

any active product dimension

on the product master.

Therefore, you can define

default order settings for the

stock keeping unit (SKU) or a

partial SKU.

You can specify default order settings that apply to a product dimension or a

combination of product dimensions.

Example

You sell a product that is named Polo T-shirt. This product is available in two

colors: Green and Blue. It’s also available in two sizes: Small and Medium. Color

and Size are active product dimensions for Polo T-shirt. You can block purchases

of all green Polo T-shirts, regardless of their size.


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Product master data What can you do? Why this is important

Set up all default order settings

and site-specific order settings

at the same time from one

page.

This feature provides a better overview of item settings.

Create a nomenclature for

product variant numbers.

You can include elements such as product dimensions, attributes, and characters

in your product variant numbers. When you create a sales order or a purchase

order, you can quickly find the specific product variant.

Search for products and product

variants in sales and purchase

scenarios.

When you create a sales line or a purchase line, you can search for products by

using product dimensions and any product numbers except Global Trade Item

Numbers (GTINs) and barcodes. This search is a full-text search that replaces the

existing “Begins with” search that is used in the sales and purchase lookup list.

This feature lets you find groups of products that have similar properties or a

single product that has unique characteristics. To turn on this feature, select the

Enable lookup for product search parameter on the Search parameters page.

Specify the product variant

directly when you create a sales

or purchase transaction.

Alternatively, you can select

from a list of valid dimension

combinations.

This feature is a productivity enhancement.

Example

You sell a product that is named Polo T-shirt. This product is available in two

colors: Green and Blue. It’s also available in two sizes: Small and Medium. Color

and Size are active product dimensions for Polo T-shirt. When you enter a sales

line for Polo T-shirt that has color Green and size Small, you don’t have to enter

data in the Item number, Color, and Size fields. You can create the line by

following one of these steps:

● In the Item number field, enter the product variant number, the value of a

color, or the size. In the lookup, find the specific variant that you want to sell,

and create the sales line.

● In the Item number field, enter the item number. Go to any product

dimension field. In the Product dimension lookup, you will see all the

released dimension combinations that apply to Polo T-shirt. You can select the

product variant that you want to sell in one step.

Choose whether product

numbers should be shown on

transactional pages.

The transactional pages, such as sales orders and purchase orders, show only the

Item number and Product name fields. If you want to see the Product number

field, select the Show product numbers on forms parameter under Product

information management parameters.


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Retail and commerce

Advanced warehouse management in a retail store

Retailers can use the Advanced warehouse management (WHS) solution in their stores and make the required

updates to the current point of sale (POS) features to support it.

The processes of the handheld solution should work in a store as they do in any other warehouse. All current retail

store inventory processes, and any POS processes that create or update inventory transactions, are updated so that

they use the specific requirements for WHS-enabled warehouses.


Use the POS to look up available

inventory in WHS-enabled

stores.

When you look up inventory, the process should work the same as it worked

before. The lookup should show the available quantities at the warehouse level,

and should not consider the Location, Inventory status, or License plate

dimensions.

Use the POS to process a

product receipt for a transfer

order in a WHS-enabled store.

You can receive transfer orders at the POS for a WHS-enabled store and items.

The user should be able to select the locations to receive into, and should be able

to enter license plate IDs to automatically populate the receiving lines.


product receipt for a purchase

order in a WHS-enabled store.

You can receive purchase orders at the POS for a WHS-enabled store and items.

The user should be able to select the locations to receive into, and should be able

to enter license plate IDs to automatically populate the receiving lines.


shipment of products from a

WHS-enabled store.

You can register transfers from the POS for a WHS-enabled store and items. The

user should be able to select the locations to ship from, the inventory status

should be automatically generated, and license plates should be ignored.

Enable seamless omni-channel commerce

Seamless omni-channel commerce refers to management and order processing across brick and mortar stores,

online storefronts, call centers, and mobile commerce experiences. For this release, the following investments have

been made in this area:

● Improvements to publishing for E-commerce storefronts

● A new consumer-facing mobile app to enable product discovery, account management, and online shopping


version 7.1

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Consumer: The CTP1 release of

the consumer-facing app

enables the product search,

category browsing, social sign-

in, and order history/details

features. Retailers can also apply

their company's branding to the

app and then package it for the

Android and iOS app stores.

This app provides an easy way for the retailers to create a consumer-facing app

that lets their customers browse and search products, sign in and view their order

history, and so on, from their mobile devices. Eventually, the app will also enable

the product buying functionality, so that retailers can connect to and sell to their

customers through an additional channel.

Customer wish lists for

E-commerce online storefronts.

Independent software vendors (ISVs) can use the wish list control to let users

create and manage multiple lists in their online storefront and view/use those

lists in the POS and mobile shopping apps.

Asynchronous customer

creation via E-commerce online

storefronts.

ISVs can now take advantage customer account creation when Commerce Data

Exchange: Real-time Service is unavailable.

Publish channel products from

Retail Server to third-party

storefronts.

Retail Server now supports service-to-service authentication.

ISVs can take advantage of channel product publishing from Retail Server to

third-party storefronts.

Extensibility

● Zero-impact servicing by Microsoft Dynamics Service Engineers (DSEs) and ISVs

● No inline code/schema changes for the POS, commerce runtime (CRT), channel database, proxy, and clients

● Easier deployment and servicing through componentized Microsoft component packages and ISV packages for

the POS, Retail Server, databases, and Hardware stations

● Code separation by services

● Backward compatibility from Microsoft Dynamics AX 7.0 onward


POS: Retailers or ISVs can

extend the POS without making

inline code changes.

To extend the POS without making inline code changes, retailers or ISVs can write

the customization in the extension file for both the UI and the business logic. For

CTP1, the injection engine will be ready. For subsequent releases, we will do it for

all the core scenarios.

CRT/Retail Server: Retailers or

ISVs can extend the CRT or

Retail Server without making

inline code changes.

To extend the CRT or Retail Server without making inline code changes, retailers

or ISVs can write the customization in the extension file for both the UI and the

business logic. For CTP1, we will complete the design and try to complete the

code separation, at least for the Sales transaction service.


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LCS subscription estimator


Identify the main factors for

infrastructure sizing. Consider

transaction volume together

with aggregation, posting, and

many other important factors.

To estimate the infrastructure sizing for Retail, the subscription estimator

currently uses the transaction volume, without considering aggregation, posting,

or any other important factors. For this release, we will identify the main factors

for sizing.

POS task recorder


Retailers can use POS task

recorder to produce training

materials, Business process

modeler (BPM) diagrams, and

Help content to enhance

productivity and do better

analysis and design of

applications.

POS task recorder has been rebuilt from the ground up, and the focus has been

on high responsiveness, a flexible extensibility application programming interface

(API), and seamless integration with consumers of business process recordings.

Store system: Providing a seamless on-premises store experience

Store system is a deployment choice for retailers that helps drive a set of store operations, whether in an on-

premises store, Microsoft public cloud, or the customer’s own private cloud. For Dynamics AX application version 7.1,

the scope is for in-store only.

To better support environments that have slow and unreliable network connectivity, we must provide an option for

retailers to deploy the channel database and Retail Server in the store. In that way, they can continue to run their

core business scenarios even when there is no connectivity to HQ.

Based on the various data points, which included engineering team discussions, customer survey results, and

competitor analysis, we have identified the following solution scope as the ideal fit for our target customers:

● A self-service package is available for Store system.

● The default installation is a one-box deployment, but custom deployment is allowed.

● Enable easy deployment/self-servicing.

● Retail Server and the store database are in the store, together with the Async Client service.

● Retail Server in the store communicates directly with Application Object Server (AOS) in HQ for Store system.

● Support cross-terminal scenarios without HQ connectivity.

● Retail Modern POS and Cloud POS always communicate with Retail Server in the store.

● Support Retail Modern POS and Cloud POS without HQ connectivity.


version 7.1

22

● Support a Retail Modern POS–specific offline database (isolated to each Retail Modern POS instance) without HQ

connectivity.

● Authentication is based on Service-to-service only for Store system.

● Real-time Service calls aren’t supported without Internet connectivity.

● Direct database connectivity of Retail Modern POS to the channel database isn’t supported.

● Enable telemetry/monitoring.


A retailer downloads the Store

system self-service installer from

the channel database page in

Dynamics AX HQ and

downloads the configuration

file.

The retailer can seamlessly download the self-service package.

A retailer installs Store system

by using the self-service

installer.

The retailer can install Store system by using the self-service package.

IT manager configures Store

system in Dynamics AX (channel

database, channel profile, store,

and deployable package).

The IT manager can configure Store system easily and efficiently.

A retailer operates Retail

Modern POS in the on-premises

store and can do real time

operations, such as issue gift

cards, when there is

connectivity.

The retailer can perform real-time actions from Store system when there is

connectivity.

A retailer can sync data from the

on-premises Store system to HQ

whenever there is connectivity.

The retailer can sync to and from Store system when there is connectivity.

A retailer can have secure

communication between the

on-premises Store system and

HQ.

The retailer can communicate from Store system securely when there is

connectivity.

The IT manager and Microsoft

Operations can monitor and

report for the on-premises Store

system (diagnostics and

reporting changes).

The IT manager and Microsoft Operations can monitor Store system securely and

troubleshoot efficiently.


version 7.1

23

Universal Windows Platform app for Retail Modern POS

Currently, Retail Modern POS is available only as a Windows 8.1 application for desktop computers and tablets, and

as Cloud POS for desktop or tablet browsers. In this release, Retail Moderns POS is being converted to a Universal

Windows Platform (UWP) app. This change will enable Retail Modern POS to run on any Windows 10 device

(desktop, tablet, or phone) and even switch between views for Continuum-enabled devices.


Enable important POS

functionality for small form

factor devices.

Retail POS functionality is available for phones and other small form factor

devices that run Windows 10.

Product recommendations at the POS via machine learning

You can improve customer engagement by surfacing product recommendations that are based on the purchase

history of items that are bought together across all channels.


Enable product

recommendations that use

machine learning on a product

details page, customer details

page, and also a transaction

screen at the POS.

Product recommendations should no longer be statically defined as related

products in Dynamics AX. By taking advantage of power of the machine learning,

it learns about customer buying patterns and dynamically updates the product

recommendations for a given product. This functionality helps store associates be

aware of customer buying patterns and improves the chances of upselling

additional products.


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Supply chain management

Consignment inventory


As a vendor, you can store raw

materials at the customer’s

warehouse.

As a customer, you can

postpone the actual purchase

until the raw materials are

actually required for production.

Keeping an inventory of raw materials can be a serious cost. By using

consignment inventory, a vendor can store raw materials at the customer’s

warehouse. The customer can then postpone the actual purchase until the raw

materials are actually required for production.

Raw materials are ordered and received by using a consignment replenishment

order that records physical transactions, but that doesn’t affect the general

ledger. To distinguish between customer-owned inventory items and vendor-

owned inventory items, you can use the Owner inventory dimension.

The change of ownership for inventory is handled by a journal process that

handles the transfer of ownership for raw materials from the vendor-owned

inventory to the customer-owned inventory. This process triggers creation of a

purchase order and a product receipt.

Note: This feature is limited to inbound consignment of raw materials for

production. It isn’t integrated with Warehouse management (WHS) and

Transportation management (TMS).

The vendor gets information

about the amount of consigned

inventory that is transferred to

the customer.

To bill a customer, the vendor requires information about the raw materials that

were purchased from the consignment inventory, and the date of purchase.

Vendor collaboration


Enable vendors to respond to

each purchase order line and

suggest changes.

In some cases, vendors want to accept some purchase order lines but reject

others. Vendors can now manage purchase order lines individually. Each line can

be rejected, accepted, or accepted with changes. For example, vendors can

change the delivery date, split the delivery and quantity, or suggest an alternative

item.

Enable vendors to manage

contact person information.

Vendors can maintain contact person information for their company. This

information includes names, email addresses, and phone numbers. Access to this

feature is granted through a dedicated security role.


version 7.1

25


Share documents that are

related to purchase orders with

vendors.

When you must share a document with a vendor, such as a document about

requirements, it’s convenient to link the document to the relevant purchase

order. The vendor can then share notes and attachments with the customer by

linking the document to his or her response to the purchase order. Document

management is the underlying supporting framework, where only notes and

attachments that are classified as “external” can be shared with vendors.

Intercompany order processing


Define, directly on sales order

lines, where and the demand

should be sourced from, and

how it should be sourced.

Example

Create a sales order line, and

specify direct delivery as the

delivery type. The primary

vendor is added to the sales

order line as the sourcing

point.

The flow for order taking has been improved significantly. You can now define,

directly on sales order lines, where the demand should be sourced from, and how

it should be sourced. You no longer have to wait until all lines have been added to

the sales order.

New options on sales order lines let you specify the delivery type when you specify

a vendor. When you associate a vendor with sales order lines, order chains are

created for delivery from the vendor.

● The vendor can be an intercompany vendor that uses an internal purchase and

sales order, or it can be an external vendor that uses an external purchase

order.

● The delivery type can be Direct delivery or Stock. The Stock delivery type

indicates that the vendor should supply to the local inventory before it ships to

the customer.

Create an order promise

directly from sales order lines.

Example

Create a sales order line that I

sourced from an intercompany

vendor. Leave the line. Delivery

dates are calculated according

to availability in the sourcing

company.

When you create sales order lines that use the new sourcing information, delivery

dates are calculated according to the Delivery date control. For example, if an

intercompany vendor is selected, the availability in the sourcing company is

calculated. In this way, order chains are automatically created together with sales

order lines. This functionality helps guarantee that delivery dates become visible in

the sourcing company, so that the available-to-promise (ATP) profiles can handle

the anticipated demands directly as sales orders are created.

Review product availability

across all sourcing locations,

and select the best sourcing

option.

The Delivery alternatives page has been redesigned, and now provides valuable

information about all approved internal and external vendors. This information

includes sourcing options for vendor procurement. When you select a delivery

mode, the system calculates feasible delivery dates. You can seamlessly select the

best option for the customer and apply this option to every sales order line.


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Minor feature enhancements in Supply chain management


Use new data entities to import

and export data.

You can import and export data by using these data entities:

● Freight invoice

● Aggregate on-hand by warehouse and inventory status

● Inventory charges

● Quotation

Use the enhanced Gantt control

to develop interactive

scheduling scenarios.

The enhanced Gantt control lets you develop new interactive scheduling

scenarios and deliver enhanced APIs that can be used to customize the

appearance of activities. Here are some of the new APIs:

● Vertical drag-and-drop of activities

● Add/remove activities

● Preview booked periods in summary bar

● Change color and style of activity borders

● Change color, style, and background of text in grid

Better handle material and

resource planning.

A few enhancements have been made to material and resource planning:

● The issue margin is now handled when an item is on-hand.

● Overwrite the delivery date when you firm planned orders.

● Prioritize fulfillment of orders over safety stock.

● Prevent scheduling of planned orders in the past.

Report actual consumption for

production, and view inventory

status.

You can view actual consumption for production. Additionally, a new Display

inventory status check box that has been added to Movement on the Work

creation menu item lets you view inventory status.

Calculate volumetric weight, if

the rates for your shipping

carrier are based on volumetric

weight.

A new TMS rate engine that is based on volumetric weight has been added, so

that you can calculate volumetric weight.

Send feedback.

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business

management solutions that enables you and your people to make

business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works

like and with familiar Microsoft software, automating and streamlining

financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes in a way

that helps you drive business success.

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What's new or changed in CTP1 for Microsoft Dynamics AX ...

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