Having updated its ERP system from AX2012 to D365, Microsoft has gone cloud on Azure servers, giving more flexibility of access for all users across the organization. We have already explained here how you would benefit from switching to D365. But with every plus, there might be a little minus.
With Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Change Management version 10, all customers will use the same base source code of the Dynamics 365 solution, which will be maintained and updated every month.
For many D365 users, stability has its values. New functionality every month may be too much distraction, which causes further training, testing, and, thus, costs. Outsmart team, on the other hand, loves new features for its new opportunities.
But don’t rush to turn off regular updates as Microsoft has covered your back by introducing a new concept that allows you to turn on new functionality, which is not activated by default. It is called Flighting.
Here are some of the features that you can activate to enjoy more optimization from D365:
- Client alert notifications by email;
- Manage access to network printers across legal entities;
- Business events.
In case you need assistance with implementation, send an email to the Outsmart team, and our consultants will help you out. Otherwise, let’s have a look at those.
Client alert notifications by email
The feature should optimize teams by omitting the step of checking reports for changes to business data – you need to create a trigger so your system can send (alert me for) an email to you, your team member or a third party with a notification about a specific action (alert me with).
Alert notifications help to take a step even further. You can configure email workflows to provide you and your team with consistent processes and lend a hand to ensure that all action items don’t sit waiting to be resolved. For instance, email messages can be sent to users as soon as documents are assigned to them for approval.
Manage access to network printers across legal entities
Another D365 feature you may use to take advantage of is the management of network printers through your entire organization. It allows teams not only to configure settings but also to delete network printers across an organization using one single view.
Meaning, if you’d like to:
- to delete a network printer instance;
- to clear all documents in the printer queue;
- switch the availability of network printers for multiple legal entities;
- provide names for network printers for various legal entities;
Then SYSFlighting is the feature you may want to use.
Business events
Business events dispense a mechanism that permits external systems to receive notifications from Dynamics 365 applications. Hence, the system can operate business actions in response to business events.
Note*: You need to have a subscription to Microsoft Flow and Azure to be able to use business events feature.
The feature consists of an application, workflow, and alerts business events. The first case includes “Procure to pay” (e.g., vendor payment posted) and “Quote to cash” (e.g., free text invoice posted) events.
The second batch of events, i.e., workflow events, includes five categories and are as follow:
- Workflow type;
- Workflow element started;
- Workflow element;
- Workflow external task;
- Workflow workitem.
Alerts as business events are useful when you want to be informed about specific events. There are two types of alerts, which are change-based alerts and due date alerts. When configured, users can send out a business event as a mechanism to trigger external applications or systems.
When should events be useful? Possible scenarios:
- Purchasing – Send me a push notification to my phone when a purchase order I submitted to the workflow is approved.
- Sales – Send yourself an email whenever an invoice is posted for a customer
- Accounting/Credit – Track all customer write-offs in an Excel file on SharePoint online
- Manufacturing – Configure a mobile notification as soon as there is a purchase order from your customer so you can facilitate the material to the work center.