Dynamics AX 2012 R2 to R3 Features

AX 2012 R2 to R3 New Features

 

Some of the features that have been introduced by Microsoft in AX 2012 upgraded versions after the release of AX 2012 Feature Pack

This document is divided in 4 Parts as follows

a)     New Features in AX 2012 R2

b)     New Features in AX 2012 R2 CU 6

c)     New Features in AX 2012 R2 CU 7

d)     New Features in AX 2012 R3

Reference document by Microsoft has been referred to for drafting of this document which can be accessed at Customer Source portal

Document Name : New, Changed, and Deprecated Features for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 

a)     New Features in AX 2012 R2

Accounts payable	You can adjust the taxes that are calculated on an invoice line before you post the invoice.·  You can use a payment calendar to control due dates for payments. You can also use the date control to make sure that the calculations of grace periods for interest and fees for payments start on the nearest business day.·
Accounts receivable	You can add freight and other charges to each line in a free text invoice, and distribute charges to dimensions and ledger lines.
Budgeting	You can use budget planning in AX 2012 R2 to establish a base budget, prepare and evaluate budget plans, and approve or revise budget plans.
General ledger	Inter unit accounting can be used to identify a financial dimension as balancing, so that a balanced balance sheet can be generated for the selected financial dimension.·  Legal entities can have more than one consolidation account.·  Tax registration numbers can be defined at the level of the party address record.·  For each main account in a specific chart of accounts, you can designate a default financial dimension value as a fixed value for each company that uses the chart of accounts.·  You can set up default descriptions for automatic posting.·  There is a new framework for importing exchange rates· The General ledger reports have been updated to display amounts in both debit and credit columns.  You can configure a recurring schedule batch job to clear purchase accrual for product receipt source documents.·  General ledger balances are updated when a process requires balances.·  You can enter a language translation for the main account name and the custom description of the financial dimension value·
Inventory management	The performance of the Inventory close and Recalculation batch jobs has been significantly improved.
Procurement and sourcing	There are enhancements to the change management process for purchase orders.·  An option has been added that lets you define data partitions during the upgrade of Order management data.·  The amount of information that employees must provide before they can submit a new vendor request has been reduced.·  Order management features have been updated in AX 2012 R2.·  In AX 2012 R2, the sales return order line can be associated with the sales agreement line that is related to the order.·  Requisition demand can be fulfilled by means other than a purchase order, such as a transfer order or a production order.·  Product search on the Employee Services site has been improved.·
Product information management	The Configure line form in Product configurator is easier to extend.·  You can now view the relationships between actions on planned orders. You can also view relationships to orders that are already approved.·  Fields and controls have been added to the Edit job list form to provide shop floor supervisors with a better overview of the production information that is involved in production orders.·  There are additional modeling capabilities in Product configurator.·
Combine XPO	The Combine XPO Tool is a command line program that combines a set of interdependent XPO files into a single XPO. It was moved from Information Source into the product in AX 2012 R2.
Database split	AX 2012 R2 has two databases. The business database contains transaction data and master data. The model database contains application objects, which are managed as model files. The model database replaces the application file store (AOD) that previous versions had. You can name the business database. The model database has the same name as the business database, but _model is appended. Both databases must be stored on the same instance of Microsoft SQL Server.
Data partitioning	AX 2012 R2 enables data isolation by using data partitions.
Upgrade enhancements	There are several enhancement to the upgrade process in AX 2012 R2:  Support for data partitioning·  Enhancement code upgrade toolset·  Division of a database into data and metadata·  Enhanced international support·  Multi-version support for Retail POS deployment·

22)     New Features in AX 2012 R2 CU6

Accounts payable		Generate positive pay files to help banks prevent check fraud.·  Prepay 100 percent of a purchase order amount.·  Recover pending invoices that have unsaved changes.·
General ledger		Multiple reporting currencies can be displayed on financial statements when you use Management Reporter for Microsoft Dynamics ERP.·  Updates to list pages for trial balances·  Financial reporting options·  Suspended or inactive financial dimension values are not displayed in lookup forms.·
Product information management	The expression editor has been updated to comply with the industry standard that a product designer expects for building expressions in Microsoft Dynamics AX.·  When you work with product configuration models, you can now use calculations to test the impact of different decimal numbers when you configure a product.·
Update installer	Automatic selection of applicable application updates only.·  Support for filtering hot +fixes to install by module, country/region or configuration key.·  Conflict summary for each hotfix displays the number of potential conflicts for a hotfix.·  Conflict details provide further information about potential conflicts.·

33)     New Features in AX 2012 R2 CU7

Accounts payable	New options for configuring workflows for vendor invoices.
Accounts receivable	External documents can now be sent as email to a customer or vendor by using the email address that is specified by the address purposes. Any report can be sent as email to an internal employee by using the worker title.
Budgeting	You can create a budget plan worksheet template for Excel by using a wizard in Microsoft Dynamics AX.·  The budget allocation process is easier, because you can use ledger allocation rules for budgets.·  Budget planning workflows can be set up so that they can’t be accidentally deleted or reset.·  Budget planning workflows can be set up so that they require a parent budget plan.·  You can specify whether budget planning user groups (XDS policies) are used for budget planning. You can also specify the number of associated budget plan lines to include when budget plans are exported to Excel.·  You can view worksheet and justification documents from the Budget plan page in Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX.·  The process of creating a budget plan from an existing budget plan is enhanced.·
Fixed assets	You can now transfer more than one fixed asset at the same time.·  The acquisition cost of fixed assets can include a miscellaneous charge amount.·  The process for acquisition proposals or depreciation proposals for fixed assets can now be run in a batch process.·
General ledger	An Excel template for journal entries is included on the virtual machine for demo data.·  More understandable posting messages for journal lines that have errors in the account combination.·  Delete an un posted journal that contains lines.·  View advanced rules for a main account.·  Easier dimension setup for Excel integration.·  Display dimensions in a specified order in Management Reporter·
Inventory management	New On-hand entries cleanup batch job can be used to delete unused entries for serialized on-hand inventory, helping to improve the performance of queries for on-hand inventory.·  You can combine two or more inventory batches into a new or existing batch.·  Added new Role Center for costing and inventory valuation·
Procurement and sourcing	Financial dimensions can be specified on sales agreements or purchase agreements.·  A Totals Fact Box is added to the Purchase orders list page.·
Product information management	You can determine prices using a product configuration model.
AxBuild.exe	AxBuild.exe accomplishes a full X++ compile to p-code on the AOS, and is much faster than compiling on the client.
Backup and recovery	We have added functionality for backup and recovery for cumulative update 7 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2.
Data import, export, and migration	As of cumulative update 7 for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, the Data Import/Export Framework is shipped as part of Microsoft Dynamics AX instead of as an add-on.
Reporting	Power Shell command for integrating multiple Reporting Services instances with Microsoft Dynamics AX·  New class to improve performance of the report server·  Ability to email reports to specific people using tokens·  New methods for setting advanced printer properties·  Management Reporter now installed with Microsoft· Dynamics AX
Update installer	Support for express or advanced installation of application hotfixes.·  Advanced installation of hotfixes allows filtering by module, country/region, configuration key or business process from Lifecycle Services (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=306503) (if set up).·  The ability to export a list of updates to a file, so that you can later use the file to speed up applying application updates to another computer.·  The Impact analysis wizard now enables you to select specific layers to analyze.·  In the software update checklist, the Merge code automatically checklist item was added.·
4)     New Features in AX 2012 R3 General ledger	You can transfer the opening balances for balance sheet accounts to a new fiscal year in multiple companies at the same time.  The results of the accounting entries for stocked items on product receipts and vendor invoices are combined into one subledger journal entry and voucher.·
Inventory and warehouse management	The Compare item prices report lets you compare the prices in a costing version to the pending prices in another costing version, or to the active prices on an effective date.·  The posting routine in the BOM journal is redesigned and enhanced.·  The Inventory aging report displays the on-hand quantity, the inventory value, and the related aging periods for a selected item or an item group. You can use the report parameters to filter the data that is displayed on the report.·
Procurement and sourcing	You can create your own solicitation types for requests for quotation (RFQs). This feature lets you match the procurement requirements for your organization. You can filter on those categories to find documents more easily.·  You can define sets of scoring criteria and scoring methods that can be used to evaluate bids (RFQ replies).·  You can allow vendors to provide alternate items or services, so that you can be notified of better alternatives or changes to a requested item or service.·  Each line in an RFQ is assigned a number. You can add items and renumber the list as you require. The numbers appear in all the RFQ-related documents.·  You can quickly add vendors for your RFQ who are approved for selling at least one· of the categories on the RFQ lines.  You can create and administer a questionnaire by collecting questions from other users, by attaching one or more questionnaires to an RFQ at the header level, or by requiring vendors to complete the questionnaire as part of the reply.·  After you issue an RFQ, you can make changes or updates. You can also add attachments, provided that no replies have been registered. You can communicate these changes through the Vendor portal to keep prospective bidders aware of updates.·  You can hold a requisition from further processing and indicate the reason for the hold, so that you can better manage requisitions and communicate status.·  You can specify that bids are sealed until the solicitation closing date. These bids are hidden until bid tabulation starts.·  You can publish your RFQ to the public Vendor portal, so that unregistered vendors can see it. All lines on the RFQ are also sent to the vendors that are selected in the RFQ.· The following features are new for Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX.  If the requester allows this, all vendors can submit an alternate item on an RFQ and provide a reason for the alternate.·  All vendors can enter a charge on the RFQ reply line, in addition to the quantity and unit price.·  Customers can now include a questionnaire with the RFQ and require that you fill out the questionnaire as part of your bid.·  Customers can change the content of an RFQ after they send it. You can view the changes, and any attachments, on the Amendments FastTab in the RFQ.·
Update installer	Updates for AX 2012 R3: The Updates page on Lifecycle Services hosts the update installer for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 that is used for cumulative updates or the group of most recent updates. It also provides access to groups of updates that can be used for slipstream installations.

Dynamics AX Production order partial costing

Production Order partial Costing

Question: I would like to know why did AX 4.0 onwards partial costing was stopped.

I migrated from AX3.0 to AX 2009 recently and soon realized that I was not able to cost my production orders partially. The Status 'Cost Accounted' was removed.

I do not have the flexibility to cost my production orders on the periodical basis.

Following are the snapshots to illustrate what I meant.

I) From AX new features documentation

Answer: Production order costing has been improved so that only inventory transactions that are fully completed and marked "end job" update the inventory transactions which then updates the cost value. Once started, a production order can no longer be split. or more precise quantities started cannot be split. However remaining quantities not started can be split. You are still able reset order status unless it was ended in Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0

Note : In earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX a costing of production order not finished could result in inaccurate financially update inventory transactions. The inventory transaction must only be financially updated when the production order is finished.

Dynamics AX Production Important Note

Dynamics AX Production Important Note

NOTE: The below describes Dynamics AX 2012 functionality but is mostly valid in 2009 and earlier versions.

In Engineer-to-Order companies, it is really not feasible to back-flush all materials, because BOM’s are not all accurate yet, a learning curve on the floor is also typical, so we will have to find out what really has been consumed on the floor and report this accordingly. Dynamics AX has a number of options for manual material consumption that we will discuss in this blog post.

Option 1: Create the Picking list journal automatically during the “Start” status without posting it. When ready, modify the journal lines manually where necessary and post. This is very easy to do. One can create and print the Picking list journal during start. No info-log will show (because nothing gets posted), but the Journal will be there, un-posted and ready for updates.  

Option 2: Once the order has been started without the Picking list Journal creation, create the Picking list journal semi-automatically by using the “Create lines” option. The “proposal” field has a number of very useful choices, like “remaining quantity”, “started quantity” or “estimated consumption”. In Engineer-to-Order companies production orders are often started with shortages because the production order will be open a few weeks and materials will arrive on time. In that case we will fill in the operation number and choose “started quantity”. (this assumes we have created links between BOM-lines and routing operations) Towards the end of the order, the value “remaining quantity” is very useful. If big mistakes were made with the materials, we can use the value “full reversal” which is exactly what the system does when you “reset status”.  The great advantage is that you just reverse the material. Labor and Report as Finished quantities remain untouched. Especially when using Manufacturing execution, the full reversal is useful.

Option 3: Create a manual Picking list journal. This is a lot of work and I cannot see it necessary unless we have a “return materials to warehouse” scenario. If this option has to be used, it is very important to not enter an item number but pick from the list of Lot-ID’s. That Lot-ID list only offers items that are currently in the PROD-BOM table. It also guarantees that the “quantity” tab in the PROD-BOM shows which quantities have been “released” and where we still have unreleased quantities. Without using the Lot-ID, the system will add new lines to the PROD-BOM. It is good to realize that Dynamics AX does not stop the user from consuming any item into a production order. Some companies I know have restricted access to the item field and only allow the Lot-ID field to be used!

The picking list journal and inventory locations

We know we can hard-code the warehouse in the BOM-lines. But a much better option is to use “resource consumption”. The system will enter the warehouse it finds on the Resource group. But what is the logic for finding a location?

Search priority 1 is the Resource group. It there is a default issue location defined, that location will be populated on the Prod-BOM line itself. (NOTE: in DAX 2009 this is not the case).

Search priority 2 is the default location of the item. (Warehouse item) The system will put that location in the Prod-BOM line. (it will be actually populated)

This works for companies where items have a fixed location in the warehouse.  In this case the Picking list Journal will also show the locations on the line.

If the warehouse is using random locations, we can’t set any default issue location. The system will have to find a location with available on-hand inventory during the automatic reservation procedure. (FIFO, if we check the appropriate box in the Item Model group). In this case, the system will not populate the location field on the PROD-BOM line. It is possible the on-hand is found on multiple locations.

The picking list journal will find the locations from the reservations that are in existence. The Picking list journal will NOT show the locations and will NOT print these locations. If multiple locations are involved in the reservation, the Picking list journal will have only one line per item, but in the background multiple locations can be seen in the reservation screen. (Customization needed to print the locations on the picking list where inventory  has been reserved)

Returning materials to stock

When I have over-issued materials or if I want to return material for any reason, it is easy to create a negative Picking List Journal line. But a warning about not using the Lot-ID is really important here. Dynamics AX allows any item to be ‘returned’ so I can create a material cost credit using items that have no relation at all with this production order.

We should use the Lot-ID selection to return items back to the warehouse to control this. But there is one drawback.

The location the system will return the item to, is going to be the same location it was issued from. That is not always what the business wants. One can enter a specific location in the Picking list journal, but the system will ignore that, when we have selected a Lot-ID, and it will use the location it knows from the Prod-BOM line. This is the only drawback of using the Lot-ID. Without Lot-ID, one can of course return the item to any location. When a component appears damaged and we want to send it to a MRB (Material Review Board) warehouse, we can’t do that when we use the Lot-ID.

A request for enhancement in this area has been added to the Connect-site and we would like to get votes for that feature. (id-787260)

Material shortages problem

We have often added a shortage report as a customization for many customers. This is not a surprise.  If we want to follow the APICS rule: “only release Production orders after a shortage check”, which implies we do NOT release when there is a shortage (to avoid creating stagnant WIP), we don’t have it entirely easy when we want to translate this into Dynamics language. We would first say “start” instead of “release”. Because we can’t create a Picking List journal before the order is started. Then we can “validate“ in order to detect shortages. That will certainly give us the information. We would have to reset status back to “scheduled” if we would have shortages. So it is understandable that customers wanted a custom shortage report or inquiry before the release, the production order being in any status between “created” and “started”. This does of course create a dilemma.

Suppose I have a limited supply of a critical raw material. I would have enough for two production orders, but not for three. If I run my shortage check for one order, should the system only look at the demand for the actual production order I am on? If I answer ‘yes’, I’d better know exactly what I am doing. Each order will show “no shortages” but taken together, one order will not have enough material.

The report should look at the total “on order” for each material and check whether that is higher then what is “unreserved on-hand” or “available on-hand”.  Then the orders will be analyzed in start date sequence, (first come, first serve) and the order with the latest start date will be the one to have a shortage.

This means that a report that only prints the shortages of one individual production order, has limited value. Yet I have seen that work fine if the user is checking the production order shortages using earliest start date or a priority. When the reservation is established as late as possible, at “start” (a good choice if you want to remain as flexible as possible with the reservation of your materials), then we will immediately release and start those orders that do not have shortages, reducing the “physical available” for the next order.

Other ways to see a shortage

On the Production Routing there is a “Materials” button that shows the Physical available quantity for all materials linked to that operation. If we do not link BOM – lines to operations, we will see all materials under operation 10. No special alert will be visible when there is a shortage so we can only check each material separately. If we have all materials showing under operation 10, we could do a Select filter using an SQL statement that says ‘Estimated qty > Physical available’. This would give you your shortages.

We can of course run the Explosion for the production order and check where we are not covered with “on-hand”. The tab “Critical on-hand inventory” shows all materials and if there is a no quantity in the column “on-hand settled” we know we have a shortage.

The explosion can be run as soon as the Production order is past the status ‘created’.

So there are a few options to find shortages yet it is understandable that many customers have chosen for a special “shortage report” that then can be given to the warehouse personnel. (this would be a consolidated shortage list for all production orders scheduled to start in the next week)

Reporting an order as finished with materials “short”

Reporting an order as finished while materials are not all “released”, is possible without having to adjust the net quantity on the Prod-BOM line to zero.  The ‘end mark’ checkbox for BOM consumption will do this. Even if I would have no materials issued at all, the ‘end mark’ will let me switch the status to “Report as Finished”. So this checkbox is quite dangerous.

One should be careful making it ‘yes’ by default in anybody’s default values. But of course it is very valuable if the BOM was not quite correct and we want to legally finish this production order with outstanding material demand. (“not released quantities”).

How to adjust the Prod-BOM

As you probably know, deleting BOM lines is not allowed when status “created”.

But the system has nothing against a quantity change or a new BOM line as long as the status is not “Reported as Finished”.

So if we need to delete a line, we simply reduce the quantity to zero and re-estimate.

In the next blog “Production control tricks and tips” we will talk in detail about the handling of order quantity changes, use of the ‘bad quantity’ , serial and batch numbers,  and all possible error messages at Report as Finished time.