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Preview of Features in Wave 1 2021 Release of Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management

The Wave 1 2021 Release of Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain is full of new features and functionality that bring in intelligence and automation for users across the entire platform. This blog outlines some of the more exciting additions that are being added to the solution and provides some insights into how they will impact your organization.

Cross-App Highlights

• Freeze Columns in Grid Control (New Grid)
  • This feature was initially available in Business Central but has now made its way to Finance and Supply Chain.
  • Allows you to complete grouping, totaling inside of grid control. Able to freeze panes as well.
  • It Will be handy when looking at lists
• Mandatory Enabled Features (10.0.17)
  • There are typically features that you can choose to enable or not. This is the first time these features are no longer options but a requirement to be enabled.
    • Attachment recovery (initially available October 2019)
    • Recommended fields (initially available April 2020)
    • JQuery Component Upgrades (initially available October 2020)

When features are enabled, testing and validation are required to limit any impact on your business processes. Many businesses have chosen not to enable certain features in order to avoid testing. The mandatory enablement of these features means D365 users will need to test their impact on the system prior to accepting the release.

• Enabled but can be disabled – will be mandatory in Wave 2
  • Show related document attachments
  • Edit basic control values in task recordings
  • Allow validation of control state in task recordings

Finance

• Advanced bank rec statement end date and subsequent bank statement start date can now be the same
• Vendor collaboration bank changes
  • Gives your vendors the self-service option to maintain and update their bank account information.
• Cash flow forecasting – project integration
• Finance insights
  • Customer payment predictions
  • External data for cash flow forecasting
  • Forecast bank balance
  • Intelligence budget proposal
  • Treasurer workspace

Electronic invoice add-on for Dynamics 365

• This new feature is similar to processing EDI for invoices. This is a microservice designed to be scalable which allows you to take thousands of invoices and send them without any manual management.

Invoicing

• Enhanced invoice date control
  • Can block invoices from being entered into the system.
• Period specific number sequences
• Advanced note management (Italy). This is now a global feature and references to original invoices in credit notes

Tax updates

• Withholding tax AP integration
• Use packing slip as a tax calculation date

Configurable business documents and print management

• Can now create a formatted Excel template which the system then automatically completes with data from D365
• Reduces SRS changes

Microsoft Tax Service

• Another new microservice, Microsoft is adding a configurable feature that enhances tax determination and calculation capabilities. The feature will provide a flexible tax determination matrix and configurable tax calculation designer to comply with local tax regulations.

Supply Chain Management

Asset management

• • Bill customers for maintenance work
  • This will give you the ability to create a master project and a contract. The system then takes those values and allows to you to bill directly to the customers.

Maintenance plans based on data

• • • Allows maintenance plan to be kicked off automatically when an asset hits a certain threshold. For example, when a part has been running for a certain number of hours, a maintenance plan is automatically generated for that specific part.
    • Asset usage from IoT

Inventory and logistics

• • Small parcel shipping allows organizations to integrate with shipping carriers to send details about a packed container and receive a rate and tracking number.
    • Extends the rating engine within the system.
    • Can print labels as part of the packing process.
  • Material handling automation
    • Queue that users can interact with that posts and update work as it is completed.
  • Inventory archiving
    • Available on April 21. This will be a really big feature for users of the system.
  • Microservices
    • Inventory visibility
    • Global inventory accounting
      • This feature provides a comprehensive solution that enables organizations (especially international organizations) to perform inventory accounting using multiple costing ledgers, thereby enabling them to comply with multiple accounting standards and internal management accounting at the same time.
      • This is a really interesting new feature that we’re excited about, especially for our international clients. Now customers can define as many costing ledgers as required and can complete inventory accounting in dual currencies and valuations.

Scale Units

This is a new concept that allows us to take the transaction types listed below and complete them without an internet connection. This is a big change to the system. Edge scale units now hold the data in a hub and spoke type model and the work that was issued prior to the disconnect can still be processed by warehouse workers. New apps are included with this feature including the warehouse app and production floor execution interface.

• Warehouse execution (cloud/edge)
• Wave Processing Methods (Sales/Transfers – Replenishment and Containerization)
• Workers can process sales orders, transfer orders, and demand replenishments (Warehouse App)
• Workers can register PO’s and process putaways (Warehouse App)
• Workers can create and execute inventory movements (Warehouse App)
• Workers can do onhand inquiries (Warehouse App)
• Workers can print license plates and process batch items (Warehouse App)
• New Warehouse App
• • Manufacturing execution (cloud/edge)
    • Workers can clock in and clock out, select and start multiple jobs at once, start new jobs in parallel, report output and scrap, register breaks and inactive activities, and more.
    • Asset Management integration (maintenance request)
    • Downtime registration
    • New production floor execution interface

Supply Chain Management

• Rebate management
• Worker sign-in with facial recognition
• Planning Optimization
  • Coverage time fence support
  • Purchase requisition support
  • Schedule with infinite capacity support
  • Reorder margin and issue margin support
• Enable change management on existing products (and readiness checklists)

Landed Costs

One of the new features is the landed cost capability. This is a new feature that’s needed in a lot of different ways but will change the way processes work for many businesses. There’s a lot of consideration that needs to be put in before proceeding.

This is a completely new functional area that is not integrated to the TMS and includes new concepts:

• Load management is now called Voyage
• Routes are now called Journey
• Route segments are now called Legs
• Containers are now called Shipping Containers
• Commodity Codes remain the same

Other notes about this area:

• Supports Goods in Transit
  • You can see the warehouse and what the value is for goods in transit
  • Loads cost into item
  • Supports Transfers
    • This has been a bigger gap than we’ve seen in the past. Now can include the cost of transfers between facilities into the cost of the item.
  • You can’t use inbound loads and landed costs
  • Mixed delivery scenarios (pickup/drop-off on the same load) are not supported
  • No rate shopping (limited)
  • Warehouse App – Container and Purchase Order Receiving (No “voyage” receiving, license plate receiving, mixed license plate receiving)

Watch the video to hear the important considerations when weighing the pros and cons of using Landed Costs in your operation.
 

This article just scratches the surface on the new and exciting features and functionality coming to Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain in the Wave 1 2021 Release. You can read about all of the planned enhancements on the Microsoft blog.

Make sure to follow the Stoneridge blog for more updates on this and other upcoming releases.

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