Spotlight: Is EDI Driving your business up or downhill?

Recently I had the change to virtually sit down with Glenn McPeak - Principal Architect for Data Masons. The focus of this spotlight could not come at a better time, with Convergence 2013 kicking off for some of us this weekend! Glenn takes us into a valuable point, one that Data Masons can truly help answer. To their credit Data Masons is the only Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CFMD) EDI solution within the Dynamics Ecosystem. This is an attribute to their expertise in the field.


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

Now that Dynamics AX 2012 and AX 2012 R2 have hit the road, we’re engaging with more and more customers who are making the move to these latest versions, whether it’s an upgrade or a new implementation. Selecting the ERP is the hard part, but from an ISV viewpoint, we hope that AX customers apply the same level of evaluation they used when considering the ERP to selecting their add-on solutions. Microsoft put a tremendous amount of resources into creating a product that stood behind its strategy, and to insure your investment, it’s critical that the ISVs you engage share the same strategy.

Making quick decisions, or cost-based selections, or even just applying the “it gets the job done” attitude to choosing ISV solutions can lead your business downhill, causing you to lose the competitive ground for which Dynamics AX sets you up. To fully-leverage your Dynamics AX investment and to move your business forward, we encourage AX customers to take the time needed to put their ISV solution providers to the test.

How You Can Determine the Uphill Drivers When it Comes to EDI?

Have you ever met an EDI solution provider who did not claim to offer “tight integration” and “ease-of-use” among other commonly claimed capabilities? When it comes to selecting a Microsoft Dynamics EDI solution you have to know what questions to ask in order to differentiate between all of the available technology options. If talking with a salesperson, you can easily get confused as to which solution is the right choice for your business when they all seem to claim the same capabilities. But this perception could not be farther from the truth, as there is a wide gap between Dynamics EDI offerings, from the technology model through to the customer support guarantee.



The EDI for Microsoft Dynamics Evaluation Check List is designed to take you beyond the product data sheet and software demonstration to uncover the distinguishing factors between various Dynamics EDI options. For example, do you know if the solution is flexible enough to be deployed in the cloud or on-premise? If deployed in the cloud, is there any local software component? Does the solution provider offer a fully- outsourced compliance management service and the ability for you to manage your own mapping and compliance?

Is EDI Driving Your Business Uphill or Downhill?

No matter where you are with EDI – currently using a solution, evaluating different options, or considering an EDI implementation – we challenge you to put EDI solution providers to the test. By asking the right questions, you can save yourself time and resources in making the right choice for your business and set your business up for long-term, uphill success with Dynamics AX EDI.

I would like to take this time to thank Glenn as well as Data Masons as a whole. Thank them for the great value they bring to the Dynamics Ecosystem and for being a sponsor of this blog.

Well that is all I have for this post. Check back soon and often as I cover the upcoming Convergence 2013 event. I will be heading towards NOLA this Sunday morning, so I wish all of you that are going safe travels. Til Next Time!
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Dynamics AX Users Changing Course in How They Manage EDI Requirements

With most any Microsoft Dynamics AX project, a focus around EDI needs for such projects is always a hot topic. In the past, there have been a slew of ways to solve the challenges that EDI represents for customers. Like most things, the entire drive is towards value and the act of reducing time to value for customers.

With this in mind, I thought it was time we visited back with Data Mason's own Glenn McPeak, to get their feedback on the trends they are seeing in the market place. Being the leader for EDI within the Dynamics Ecosystem, it would make sense that they have the most to share around this topic. With that, the following is the information Glenn sent me on the matter.


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

We’ve been seeing a rapidly growing trend in the Dynamics community when it comes to how companies want to manage EDI. Up until now, it seemed that companies were selecting one of numerous options to meet their EDI mandates, but now we’re seeing a shift in what they are looking for when it comes to EDI for Dynamics AX.

Here’s What’s Trending:

#1 – End to end automation
Pushing a button to integrate a transaction used to be great as it saved time over manual entry. But now users are asking, “Why do I have to push a button and who is going to do it at 2am?” They want automation of key EDI process that gives them the flexibility and security they’re looking for.

#2 – Manage EDI by exception
Dynamics users don’t want to deal with every transaction, only the issues that need attention. Managing by exception lets the transactions without discrepancies continue without interruption and eliminates unnecessary manual touch points.

#3 – Leverage standard Microsoft integration framework
Writing directly to tables and bypassing business logic is not best practice. By leveraging integration tools such as Microsoft’s e-Connect, Application Integration Framework(AIF) and XMLports/Web Services, users can avoid custom routines that populate data and bypass standard business logic.

#4 – Deeper and broader integrations
Users need more advanced logic, such as touching specific values in a sales order or handling advanced three-way matching logic. They also need broader document integrations so they can get new documents integrated quickly and easily to avoid jeopardizing trading partners relationships.

#5 – Avoid transaction fees
EDI data is a lot like email – would you pay to send an email? Right, then why pay for transactions when you don’t need to, especially when your trading partners support direct connect?

#6 – Audit the transactions
Too many companies complain about the lack of tools available that can identify issues before they become problems. They wonder why they can’t find out that an invoice was not transmitted and/or received by a partner before it is overdue. They would rather receive an email alerting them when a document has failed.

#7 – Guaranteed support turn-around times
In the world of EDI where delays and errors in transacting data can result in unnecessary and costly expense, organizations don’t have the flexibility of waiting for support responses.

Answering the Trends Responding to these trends is an innovative EDI technology model that Dynamics users are rapidly adopting. Users are looking to an EDI solution that is based on leveraging the native integration framework of the ERP platform while providing all of the EDI transaction functionality outside the application¸ not inside like other EDI technologies. With this approach, companies can:

• Implement a plug-and-play, truly integrated solution that doesn’t utilize 3rd party translator tools;
• Leverage a fully-automated EDI solution with predictable ownership costs; and
• Benefit from a non-embedded design and XML data storage within SQL that avoids ERP requirements and customizations, simplifying daily use and providing flexibility when managing ERP update/upgrade projects.

The Next Step with EDI Learn more about this growing trend in Dynamics EDI and what your EDI solution should deliver. Read how other companies have successfully implemented a new strategy to increase the impact EDI has on their business and how they have exceeded their expectations in simplifying EDI integration and compliance.

I would like to thank Glenn, and the Data Mason's team for being sponsor's of this blog and for always helping add great value added information, content & solutions around EDI to the Dynamics Ecosystem at Large.

That's all I have for this post, make sure and check back soon as we continue our dive into the Dynamics filled world, and further drive towards value! Till Next Time!

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RF-SMART Leading the way in Role Based Dynamics User Experiences

One of the things I like to do with my blog from time-to-time, is a spot light or feature post. With that, I virtually sat down with RF-SMART’S own Sherry Paul to pick her brain a bit. My goal with talking with Sherry was to find out, what RF-SMART was doing, to help enable Role Based user experiences for Dynamics AX customers. The following is the result of that interview.


Sherry Paul, Business Solutions Advisor – RF-SMART

1.) How does RF-SMART help create a role based, system of engagement for Dynamics AX Customers?

"RF-SMART provides the ability to setup roles for workers so they can clearly see their daily tasks on mobile devices. The worker can clearly determine which tasks need to be performed and in which order. These roles can be setup narrowly for specific business processes or roles can be defined more broadly to be use by managers in the warehouse and manufacturing plant."

2.) What are some of the unique workflows that RF-SMART helps enable "RF-SMART customers mobilize their workers to do important tasks such as receiving incoming goods, inventory management, recording progress for production order operation and completing product which can be paperless picked with RF-SMART.



RF-SMART provides dashboards, designed with modern tablets and smartphones in mind. The dashboards allow managers, regardless of where they are, to take action on current picking activity in their warehouse.



With the RF-SMART Production Activity billboard, plant production can be monitored at a glance while being displayed on a large monitor, potentially hanging on a wall in the production area."



3.) For these workflow's, what kind of ROI, with time saving, and efficient processes do customer's see when making the choice of RF-SMART?

"When choosing RF-SMART, customers will have increased visibility and tighter control, measurable gains and easy ownership. Having visibility into their inventory levels, picking, people/activity, deliveries and much more, this therefore enables them to reduce physical inventory counts, labor costs and provides them with superior operational and financial performance. Some examples of our customer successes’ include:

• Automated process for receiving and transfers has reduced CMC’s manual inventory movement processes by 97 percent - saving CMC 173 labor hours per month!

• Physical inventory counts have dropped from twice a year to once a year and only half the amount of staff is needed!

• Increased receiving accuracy to 99.97%"

4.) Looking into the future, what can you tell the readers about exciting, upcoming offers that will continue to make RF-SMART a great value add for Microsoft Dynamics AX customers?

"It’s an exciting time for the RF-SMART team. We’re wrapping up our best year ever and 2013 looks even brighter.

From a product perspective, we’re going well beyond supporting core AX 2012 functionality while, true to our mantra, make it easier and easier for people to manage and execute critical inventory functions throughout the warehouse, shop floor and retail store. That’s really what we do: make inventory execution easy by delivering the right information, at the right time, on the right device to prompt the right action.

What helps us identify new functional opportunities is our unique level of industry and Dynamics AX experience. Our people are the best at developing easy-to-use software that solves real problems by taking into account AX, business requirements, mobile UI capabilities and knowledge of how people actually work. As a result, RF-SMART helps companies be more efficient and responsive by helping their people do their jobs better.

Looking forward to 2013!"

I would like to thank Sherry for taking the time to answer’s my questions. One of the major focuses of mine is around Role Based user experiences, specifically in how that can foster the creation of a System of Engagement for Dynamics AX Customers. I know RF-SMART, a sponsor of this blog, is doing the right things focusing their efforts on this goal as well!

To find out more, visit the following resource, fill out the form and download RF-SMART’S AX 2012 Role Base Brochure.

Till next time!

About Sherry Paul: “I have been working with ERP software for my entire career which started in 1984. Spanning my career I have worked with many manufacturing companies to implement ERP and Mobile application, for their discreet, process and lean manufacturing environments. An MBA and years of experience in the industry enable me to offer unique solutions to help clients develop best in class business processes for their organization.”


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Spotlight: To the Cloud with EDI via Data Masons

Today's, I wanted to do a spotlight post on EDI and specifically options for EDI in "the cloud." In looking to have more information on this topic, I always revert to blog sponsor and top ranked ISV Data Mason's. They are the true experts when it comes to EDI and Microsoft Dynamics AX and the defacto choice for EDI needs by Dynamics customers.

With that in mind I virtually sat down with Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's about their EDI solution, and vision for the cloud. The following is the result of that interview.:


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

1.) When we think about cloud solutions, scale & agility are two attributes that typically take focus in people's minds. Can Data Masons speak to the scale their EDI cloud solution offers customers?

"Interestingly, our largest volume EDI processing customer is cloud-based and has processed more than 5 million sales order lines in a single day into Microsoft Dynamics AX. This customer receives point-of-sales data from thousands of retail stores each day. The customer then has to transform those sales transactions into invoiced orders in order to relieve inventory that needs tracked at the store level so that they can control and plan inventory replenishments. Fortunately, the processing power of the cloud-based data center could be leveraged to handle the spikes in transaction volume that is inherent in EDI relationships. Replicating this processing power in an on-premise environment would have been prohibitively costly.

As far as agility is concerned, there are actually pros and cons that many cloud-based solutions bring to the table. In a multi-tenant environment, where many organizations share a single application instance, the ability to customize the solution can be quite restricted and there is no control over software updates and releases – the software updates and releases are executed at the timing of the solution provider – which is not necessarily beneficial to the customer. The advantage of the multi-tenant solution is that the cost of maintenance is lower for the software provider, which can be passed on to the customer.

Data Masons provides the best of both worlds – a cloud-based EDI solution that can be run in a multi-instance or a single-instance scenario. While the multi-tenant solution has slightly lower operating costs, either option is available based on the needs of our customers. We think it’s important for mission critical solutions to offer this level of control and flexibility for our customers."

2.) Another focus for a lot of companies is making sure their data is secured. Can Data Masons speak to the security that helps govern within the application, as well as access points for the solution in general? Further how was security considered, when thinking about creating the "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Data Security is paramount to the types of transactional data that is the norm in an EDI processing environment. We employ AS2 communication and PCI compliant transaction handling (when appropriate) through our Value Added Network solution (VAN). Data Masons is thoroughly committed to the Microsoft Azure platform and our application follows all of the best practices set forth by Microsoft."

3.) The next major focus for customers, when they start to evaluate cloud solutions is the service level. What kind of service level agreements exists for the "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Service level agreements for cloud-based applications are more definable as the solution provider is responsible for application, data and infrastructure. As a result, cloud-based options are more appealing to organizations that want to limit the points of failure and have those failures rest on a single (or a few) set(s) of shoulders."

4.) In looking towards the future, what is Data Masons doing for investments towards their "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Our architecture and technology design enables our solution to be run on-premise or in the cloud using the same code set and data. If a customer decided to utilize Data Masons’ cloud-based offering and later bring it ‘on-premise’ there would be no loss of data or functionality. The same applies in reverse – an on-premise instance of our solution can be moved to the cloud in a multi-tenant or single instance scenario. "

Further the following are closing words from Glenn & Data Masons.:

"We look forward to sharing more information on this subject with the AX community in a few weeks at the AXUG Summit. If you’re making the trip to Seattle, email us and let us know if you would like to schedule some time to see a product demonstration or to just talk further about your own EDI-related projects. Or you can stop by expo booth #233 to see one of EDI experts.

We also invite you to join us during our ISV Partner Showcase, “EDI Trends: The Outlook on What EDI Should Deliver.” During this informative session, you’ll learn the latest trends in EDI that are driving customers to adopt an innovative technology model that eliminate common inconveniences and streamlines EDI integration and compliance requirements without AX platform customizations. Check the AXUG Summit agenda for times and locations."

I would like to thank Glenn and the team behind Data Masons for the taking the time to sit down and talk about EDI and what the cloud means for EDI customers. As stated, make sure and connect with them, and further schedule a time to speak while attending AXUG Summit! I know I will be there as well!

That's all for this post, but check back soon as more to come. Till Next Time!
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Revisit with Version Control for AX 2012

Well I hope everyone is doing well! I admit I have been super busy, and realized that I've not posted in two weeks. I typically try and post at least 2-3 entries a week, but my recent schedule both professional and personal has kept me from this passion.

With that, I wanted to get back cranked up posting, with a revisit of sorts around the topic of Version Control for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. I wrote about this sometime back, around the options we have, located here.: AX 2012 & TFS 2010, along with other Version Control Options



In that post I cover the major options, as well as other resources around the topic of version control. This revisit, I believe is deserved for two main reasons. One, it's a topic that I still get asked about from a true options perspective. Two, there is a new release from Joris, fellow Dynamics AX MVP and blogging peer for his AX TFS Build Library v0.2.0.0.



Starting with point one, it is true that TFS is not the only valid option to use for Dynamics AX 2012 version control. As picture above, and what the above picture is meant to represent, shared development enabled with MorphX VCS is still a valid option. Typically we see this with shops that don't have the resources for a Full Time Employee (FTE) who can be dedicated to the administration of TFS.

Make no mistake about it, TFS is an investment which requires an FTE who thinks, and lives TFS for an organization. This person can also do development work, but depending on the size of the development team or teams, might have a zero time for anything else but TFS.

When thinking about the options for version control, a great resource that I previously highlights can be found here.: Version Control System [AX 2012]

That resource has a nice table that lays out the options, and value points of what each option can offer you. Going back to MorphX VCS being a valid option, this does mean there are some limits. The biggest is the fact that this only helps control version's of objects that are apart of the AOT. If you think about this, say their are outside services you create as part of your total solution. What about SSIS packages that make up your solution? These will not be apart of a MorrphX VCS instance.

Further other draw backs are how report development for AX 2012, as well as Enterprise Portal Development takes place.

There are still ways to develop for each, but what the TFS option enables is developer instances of AX for each developer. Where as the MorphX VCS enables a single shared development instance of AX 2012.

Finally on to point two, with Joris updated release of the AX TFS Build Library. You can directly download the latest release from Joris, here.: Codeplex: Dynamics AX Build Scripts. And further, his latest post on the topic.: New release of AX TFS Build Library Beta (v0.2.0.0)

Most notable in this release is Joris' focus on fixing several label related issues, allowing for Visual Studio Projects to be imported, and splitting out system classes at the end of a build cycle to help avoid stability issues.

Well that all for this post. Feels good to get back into the swing of things and writing again. Check back soon, as I will post again this week - next up a look at a specific question that came from my post on Understanding & Extending the Organization Model. Till Next Time!
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Developing Content Apps for Excel 2013 & AX 2012 (Part I.5)

Well I hope everyone is having a great week thus far! There is a lot to be excited about in the Microsoft Dynamics Ecosystem. I recently started a series, that plans to show off the value, by example, of creating content apps for Office 2013. SpotLight: Developing Content Apps for Excel 2013 & AX 2012 (Part I)

I left off that post, stating that the next focus would be around the consumption of AX 2012 services via REST. I honestly feel like however we need to save that for part II, and why this is titled Part I.5. We first need to get a better understanding of the Anatomy of apps for Office. With that, there is an amazing post that was recently released that covers this very well.: Anatomy of apps for Office



The above image is from the reference blog post, that is listed as the "[T]he canonical architecture of a "real-world" app for Office."

It's important to understand a few key architecture parts around Apps for Office. Specifically as I highlighted before, the technologies being used are items like: OAuth, REST, HTML5/CSS, JavsScript. These enable the development of the app for office.



Further, the above image also comes from the reference blog post, and shows off the diagram if the flow from developer, to private or public catalog's, through to the end user and their use of said app.



With that, we need to look at starting our first project that targets a Content App for Excel 2013. We do this, via Visual Studio 2012. To start we must launch Visual Studio 2012, and then select a new project.



You will notice there is a difference from the video's that are listed in the previous post targeting developer training. In the training VS2011 Beta was the target and there are some differences. Specifically you select either an App for Office, or an App for SharePoint.



In selecting an app for office, as you can see from the screen shot above, you then make a choice of the target app type. We are targeting content apps, which can only be used with Excel 2013.



In doing so, we see our App has some already existing artifacts, including a working example of getting values from the currently selected data area, or cell that is highlighted within the Excel workbook.

Now that we have a better understanding of the Anatomy of an app for Office, and we have clear instructions for starting our targeted content App for Excel 2013, We can truly focus on how to enable RESTful consumption of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 services.

That's all for this post, I hope your enjoying seeing the true power of the full stack Microsoft brings - and it's possible value for customers who have or are investing in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Through this series, the power of the cloud, interop of AX 2012, and the new Office Suite should come to light. Till Next Time!
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AX 2012 - Data Migration Framework - Recap

I hope everyone is off to a great start for this new work week. To help kicks things off this afternoon, I wanted to create a recap post focused around the recently released Data Migration Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.



I covered the release of this new framework, released via InformationSource, from Microsoft. The following list the post in which contains my full coverage of this topic, to date.:

• AX 2012 - Data Migration Framework (Beta) Released
• AX 2012 – Data Migration Framework: Step-by-step setup
• AX 2012 – Data Migration Framework: Usability to date

From the above I dove into the specifics around the release, a step-by-step setup as well as a usability report on the framework. There were some great questions, and issues that people ran into - which were captured as part of these series of post.

The following are some critical points, that need to be made in relation to the above series of post.:

• AX 2012 R2 & MDS Support - A question was posed to me about integrating Master Data Services with this framework. Though it's technically possible, Microsoft has made it clear that the upcoming release of AX 2012 R2 will have native support for MDS.
• SSIS 2008 Installed on AOS - We learned through the community testing that SSIS 2008 is required. Further this requirement is for having this installed on the AOS that will execute the code.
• SQL Server 2012 No Supported - Further around SQL Server technology, it was stated that SQL Server 2012 has not been targeted or tested for use with DMF.
• Microsoft is listening! - Microsoft is paying attention to anyone trying to successfully use this new framework. Please make sure to use InformationSource to submit any suggestions, or official feedback around the DMF.

Further, the following is a recent post from Munib that covers the topic Creating a custom entity for migration. Resource link.: Create a custom entity mapping using the Data Migration Framework [AX 2012]

It's a high level coverage of the topic, but still valuable to have, in order to help complete the current picture, understanding and use of the Data Migration Framework.

As previously stated, I will circle back around on this topic as we have new information, news or releases that relate. Further, I invite anyone to a leave a comment here on any other resources you find useful for this topic and I will review / include them. That's all for today! Till Next Time!
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