736 Whalers Way #F201 Ft Collins, CO 80525 USA 970.493.0868 www.RockySoft.com Exactly the right inventory, in the right place, at the right time Greater profitability through improved supply chain inventory management. Smarter inventory management. Improved inventory costs. Improved customer service. Improved productivity. Those are the things that impact the bottom line. RockySoft is the premier provider of Inventory Management software tuned for mid-market distributors and manufacturers. The Essentials of Inventory Management Free session open to everyone on Sunday April 10th, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Omni Hotel Atlanta, GA. Register at www.RockySoft.com Forecasting Replenishment Planning (DRP & MRP) Inventory & Safety Stock Management Supplier Lead Time Management Sales & Operations Planning Retail Store Planning Wholesale Distribution Industrial Supply Distribution Service Parts Consumer Packaged Goods Food and Beverage Retail and e-Tail Medical & Dental WANT TO LEARN MORE? Schedule a free demo today. Call 970.493.0868 ext. 105 WHAT WE DO: WHO WE DO IT FOR: Visit us at booth #321
Transcript
736 Whalers Way #F201 Ft Collins, CO 80525 USA 970.493.0868
www.RockySoft.com
Exactly the right inventory, in the right place, at the right time
The Essentials of Inventory ManagementFree session open to everyone onSunday April 10th, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Omni Hotel Atlanta, GA.Register at www.RockySoft.com
Forecasting
Replenishment Planning (DRP & MRP)
Inventory & Safety Stock Management
Supplier Lead Time Management
Sales & Operations Planning
Retail Store Planning
Wholesale Distribution
Industrial Supply Distribution
Service Parts
Consumer Packaged Goods
Food and Beverage
Retail and e-Tail
Medical & Dental
WanT To lEarn MorE? Schedule a free demo today. Call 970.493.0868 ext. 105
WhaT WE do: Who WE do IT for:
Visit us at booth #321
Inside Scoop
The Partner Channel (TPC): Why did Dy-namic Communities start the Academies?Mark Rhodes (MR): As the user groups evolved, we heard Members say that they needed training that was more flexible and didn’t take them out of the office. Micro-soft training classes are comprehensive for learning more about Microsoft Dynamics solutions, yet they can be time-intensive. For many users, taking several days out of the office and away from their family isn’t so easy anymore. This model is geared towards anytime, anywhere.
Another Member concern was around the delivery of training. Sometimes training events are cancelled because they don’t have enough people registered.
These concerns added up to us, and our User Group Boards identified that we could help with this situation as it ties into what we already do.
We started out offering classes during our user conferences in conjunction with the regular content. At the end of 2009, we formalized under the Academy name and started offering distance learning classes. At Convergence 2010 Atlanta, we announced computer-based learning.
TPC: Who makes up your trainer base?MR: We rely on a couple different sources. We really look for the best talent out there, and that comes from the same constituen-cies as our Members – MVPs, Partners, and end user Members. We’re looking for people who possess both technical skill and thought leadership.
TPC: Do you find them or do they find you?MR: Both. As we get more familiar with peo-ple who can train, we build a relationship with them. Generally speaking, you don’t just have to be a good trainer; you need to be good with technology as well to provide a well-rounded training environment. There’s a review process to becoming a trainer for the Academies so I can make sure they’ll do a good job for our Members.
TPC: Is the Academy content only avail-able to user group Members?MR: Anybody can review our calendar to read about classes, but you need to become at least a Basic Member to register for a class.
User Group AcademiesThe User Group Academies are a new, training-based initiative from
Dynamic Communities®, the managers of the AXUG, CRMUG, GPUG, and NAVUG user groups. The Partner Channel sat down with
Mark Rhodes, director of the Academies, to learn more about this offering and how Microsoft Dynamics® users can get involved.
32 The Special Issue
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TPC: What type of time investment is in-volved with your remote training? MR: Our distance learning offering has had classes as short as two hours and as long as 16. We try to schedule these sessions dur-ing the middle of the day to balance across United States time zones. People like going up to four hours in the virtual format, but longer than that gets distracting. If we have a class longer than that, we typically split it over two days.
TPC: What do users like most about the remote training?MR: The fantastic thing about remote train-ing is that we use a comprehensive training environment. Attendees get an individual login where they log in to their environ-ment. It’s like a sandbox for hands-on ex-ercises as each person has their own image and application set up. In this environ-ment they watch the instructor lead them through the content, and then when it’s time for the hands-on exercise they have access to their own version of the Microsoft Dynamics application.
The truly valuable part – which the in-structors love and is as good as classroom training without the time and expense – is that the instructor can see the students’
screens and can take over their environment if the student gets stuck or has questions.
TPC: Did Dynamic Communities create this virtual environment?MR: We partner with VisiLearn, who has spent years developing this architecture for the professional training industry.
TPC: Can students access archived con-tent from previous sessions?MR: We’ve only done that once. We shy away from it because so much value comes from tapping the instructor’s knowledge and the hands-on exercise. That is lost in recorded content.
TPC: Are there any additional ways for people to engage in the Academies?MR: Besides the onsite and distance learning, which are both focused on Microsoft Dynamics and add-on solutions, we also provide access for computer-based training on everything but your kitchen sink. This incredible list of technology and applications, including server software management, project management training, compliance, and desktop software, is provided by a company called Intelladon. There are roughly 2,400 titles out there, and
our Premium Members get that business catalog as part of their membership.
TPC: How can people get involved with one of the Academies?MR: Check the events calendar on each user group website for upcoming remote-based training events (see sidebar for the User Groups’ website addresses). Registration and payment are all online, and we also of-fer onsite classes around the same time as our annual user group events. Our Premium Members get discounts on all of our training opportunities, both remote and onsite class-es, and you generally won’t find Microsoft Dynamics training available for less.
Events
Check out Academies’ training calendars:AXUG – www.axug.com/events
CRMUG – www.crmug.com/events
GPUG – www.gpug.com/events
NAVUG – www.navug.com/events
Spring 2011 33
We must have had a lot of snowbirds this year as there wasn’t a winner for the Winter 2011 magazine! Let’s see if we can remedy that...
Now for the next round of the Word-A-Ganza! Posted below are 25 words that relate to the topics and themes included in this edition. These words can be found in the grid horizontally, vertically, diagonally, backwards, and forwards. You can submit your completed word find to us for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Starbucks so you can enjoy future word finds over a latte or cup of joe! Simply fax your completed puzzle to 701-478-1077, attention Jenny Davis, or scan and e-mail it to Jenny at [email protected].
If you prefer, contact Jenny and she’ll e-mail you an electronic version of the same word find.
WORD-A
-Gan
za
AXUG Fastpath Marketing NAVUG Tampa Port Authority
Cake Day GPUG Member Paramount Technologies The List
Community GreenStone MHC Software Partner The Partner Channel
Convergence Leadership Microsoft Dynamics Sales Tips and Tricks
CRMUG Making it Count Ministry Management Seventh Generation Vitamix
V N L E N N A H C R E N T R A P E H T A X U S A LI E T E P A R T N E T S I L E H T D Y N A M A T ET G A S A E I S G O L M K A S E G F F C C I L N TA H M C N D I T C E X A A C E N E L A A S H E E IM T P A R T N E R I O R T F I D A K X S L T D M PX N A N M M G A M S M K L T R R E A U A T A A E SM E P A H P U A G C N A E E S D T S G X G P U G TE V O A C G T G P R H K N D A I P D L E C T A A RM E R V C I C R N M R U N Y H D R S N U O S C N IB S T U V G P U U A C O T M D E E D D A N A R A CL E A D E R S H M O E I C A T T L R A L S F M M KE N U G R E E N S T N R T K N U F F S J V P H Y SR A T H E L I S T U T E I I U P O O K H E C I R AE H H L E A D E M N T V G N O I J L S C S R M T PR C O P A R A M O U N T T E C H N O L O G I E S SA R R M E M O S A S N G A O T S W S F S R A S I IW E I A X C C R M G U E N S I C A T B D E C L N LT N T T A M P A P R O V F E G S W M W A E G I I EF T Y A R E V N O C E M S U N A I O P E N G U M HO R N C S S I Y T R M B P D I L E A D E S H I P TS A U A S T T O G G A N M A K I S A X U T S D A GC P M K A D P E L R R Y I E A Y S E T G O C S X UH E M E L S N A L E A N N A M D N A L S N N A E VM H O S C C A W T A P O P I H S R E D A E L I U AA T C S E V E N T H G E N E R A T I O N S P G M N
34 The Special Issue
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Formed in 2004, the Microsoft Dynamics® AX Users Group (AXUG) works closely with Microsoft Dynamics® AX users to help them grow their knowledge and competency in their ERP system.
As a customer-driven organization, AXUG listens closely and carefully to its members and works diligently to fulfill their needs. Currently AXUG has 1,400 member companies and remains strongly committed to creating deep, intimate learning opportunities through educational webinars, training courses, virtual collaborative meetings, and face-to-face events. Membership is made up of Microsoft Dynamics AX users as well as VARs, ISVs, and Microsoft customers.
Absolute Value enables you to forecast accurately and execute properly:
• Enterprise-wide forecasting and replenishment
• Execution of the forecast:
• Vendor replenishment
• Hub & Spoke branch replenishment
• Balancing needs with surplus and excess inventory
• Reduction of overall inventory investment
• Improved customer service
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Direct from AXUG
In today’s fast-paced world of social media, it’s nice to sit back and read an article in print. Hopefully you enjoy this medium and truly digest all of the great Mi-crosoft Dynamics® AX content we’ve put together. Needless to say, since we are all about listening, learning, and sharing, we encourage you to use this as a cata-lyst for conversations and continued involvement in the Microsoft Dynamics AX
community. And hopefully, you’ll be compelled to share as a contributor in the future! This year is a big one in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community: Microsoft Dy-
namics® AX 2012 is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2011. The excitement around this new release started with the Microsoft Dynamics AX Technical Confer-ence held in Redmond in January and continues to gain momentum. Throughout the months ahead, starting with Convergence, there will be many Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 launch activities and learning opportunities, including AXUG events, webi-nars, and regional chapter meetings. The AXUG Summit 2011 in Las Vegas in Novem-ber will also have a Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 focus area. Bottom line: don’t miss out on learning more about what will prove to be the biggest news item in the entire ERP space for 2011 – Microsoft Dynamics AX2012!
For many companies, identifying the right time to upgrade is a difficult decision. New features and functionality are important, but timing an upgrade to fit their busi-ness cycles and other key projects is not always an easy task. Whether your company is running AX3.0, AX4.0, or AX2009, it is important, especially in these times of ever-increasing pressures on the bottom line, to learn how to maximize your investment in your current version of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Recent surveys of AXUG members show that customers are waiting six months or more before deciding to upgrade. Given that, it’s even more important to take advantage of AXUG learning events to address your current version needs. Last year alone there were more than 200 AXUG events; take the time to participate and learn from these subject matter experts.
Speaking of current versions, there are many exciting things going on with Micro-soft Dynamics AX 2009. The release of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail R2, which was highlighted at the National Retail Federation trade show earlier this year, is gar-nering a lot of publicity and will really take retail to the next level. For current Micro-soft Dynamics AX customers with retail operations, R2 provides an opportunity to really expand your use of Microsoft Dynamics AX on the retail side of your organiza-tion. Many Microsoft Dynamics AX customers are participating in the AXUG Retail Special Interest Group (SIG) to learn exactly how Microsoft Dynamics AX and Retail can be a winning combination. Other exciting Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 an-nouncements include the integration to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Management Reporter. As more customers fire up these integrations, they will be sharing their
success in different AXUG events. Find out the how and why behind these integrations from other customers by being active in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community; your investment of time to learn from others will certainly pay dividends later.
Most organizations are looking for more opportunities to maximize the value of their Microsoft Dynamics AX investment. I re-mind them that the more they are involved in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community, the better chance they have to identify, collect, and then act upon information that will help them meet their objective to maximize their investment. Community opportunities such as the AXUG, Microsoft Dynamics Commu-nity website (check out page 24 for an Inter-view with the team behind that site), Custo-merSource, PartnerSource, Microsoft MVPs, the many Microsoft Dynamics AX bloggers, and of course, the Partner community, are all excellent resources to tap into and gather in-formation. If you haven’t taken advantage of these communities, I encourage you to make a concerted effort in 2011. I guarantee you will not be disappointed in the outcome!
Here’s to a great 2011 in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community!
Application Object Directory and Index FilesKris Pavlovsky
By now most understand Microsoft Dynamics® AX uses a “layered” approach to coding. Code can exist in any one of seven layers, with the high-est layer being the code that is executed. Sounds cool right? Sure...but how does that work exactly?
The answer lies within an index file called “axapd.
aoi”. This very important index file contained in the Application Object Directory (AOD) can be one of the most troublesome. The axapd.aoi is an accumulation of the highest set of executable code within the seven layers.
So, why the troublesome comment you ask? If your environment contains multiple Application Object Servers (AOS), this index file can lend itself to falling out of sync and in doing so can produce some really funky sys-
Microsoft Dynamics AX Automatic Application CompileKris Pavlovsky
Have you ever wonder how to automate a full Mi-crosoft Dynamics AX code compile? The fol-lowing steps will configure a server to perform this function for you.
1. Decide on the client or AOS computer that will complete the compile2. Create a directory to hold the needed files for example – C:\scripts3. Add an axc file to launch the client to the new directory4. Open up notepad (or your favorite text editor)
5. Add the below logic to a bat file » Text: “ax32.exe ‘C:\scripts\AXPROD_
6. Save the file as CompileAX.bat to the C:\scripts fold-er you created
7. Go to “Task Scheduler” and create a new task called CompileAX a. This task can be scheduled to run whenever you require a compile
be completed b, For instruction on creating a new Scheduled Task please reference: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd851678.aspxEnjoy!
38 The AXUG Magazine
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tem behavior. Lucky for us, the fix is an easy one. Simply stop all the AOSs and restart the AOSs. All better! The file is rebuilt on the fly, which means there is nothing for you to do.
How can we go about maintaining a healthy AOD in a multi AOS landscape? Here are a few tips that can help prevent file corruption and improve system performance.
» Place your AOD file on Fast Disk (RAID 10 is recommended).
» Allocate enough RAM to the AOD file server given the number of AOS. As a general rule of thumb, 1 GB of RAM per AOS is a safe bet.
» Give Microsoft Dynamics AX network traffic high priority on your network. Remember the latency requirements are less than five milliseconds.
» If you see the below error occur in your environment, it is a good indication you might have network traffic issue:
» When applying code to the system us-ing XPOs, only one AOS should be on-line during the import. This will help to ensure the code set remains consistent among all AOSs.
There are a lot of different types of index files in the AOD. Below are some worth noting:
» *.ALI – This extension represents an index of the label files. These cache the label presented to the end user on forms, reports, and more.
» *.AHI – This extension is related to the Help files available to you within Microsoft Dynamics AX.
» *.ADI – This extension contains an index of developer documentation (.ADD) files used by Microsoft Dynamics AX software and provides quicker access and search capabilities for help documentation.
» *.KHI – This extension contains an in-dex of help documentation (.KHD) files
related the Microsoft Dynamics AX kernel.
So that likely covers more thank you want-ed to know about Microsoft Dynamics AX and index files. Hope you enjoyed the tip!
Kris Pavlovsky is a senior Dynamics AX architect with DENTSPLY International (www.dentsply.com).
Spring 2011 39
User Profile
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The Search for Technology and Tools that Support GrowthVitamix is confident about its products. The company’s household blenders, in fact,
include a seven-year full warranty. And the confidence is not misplaced: Even though there are close to one million Vitamix blenders in homes around the world, only three employees are needed to staff the repair department.
Vitamix, which just celebrated its 90th anniversary, is known for making blenders that are durable and reliable, but when Paul Sems joined the company in 2003 to direct its IT operations, the technology infrastructure was anything but. “The supply chain was so unstable that the production team asked the sales team to stop selling,” he re-calls. “The technology was slowing down the business, making it impossible to keep up with demand.”
Sems sensed that Vitamix was about to embark on a growth trend and that rebuild-ing the IT infrastructure could help the company make the most of it. He was right on both counts.
When Sems evaluated ERP systems for Vitamix, he assessed the company’s people and its processes first. Then, with a thorough understanding of the goals and who would be responsible for achieving them, he selected the tech-nology and tools that best supported the company’s mission: Microsoft Dynamics® AX.
The result was a total transformation. Prior to deploying the new ERP system, Sems says the Vitamix IT infrastructure was “small business at best.” There were no stan-dards, no network infrastructure, no storage or backup, and no data center. The entire
Vitamixoperation, which used e-mail only minimal-ly, relied on four servers.
Today, Vitamix has a Windows-based IT infrastructure standardized across desktops and laptops, including Active Directory, a secure firewall, and an infrastructure spe-cifically for wireless functions. The initial cost of deploying Microsoft Dynamics AX was slightly less than the cost of support-ing the old infrastructure for one year. And almost everything except for the engineers’ drawings is handled by the system: market-ing, campaign management, initiation of the
sales process, all order entry, production plan-ning, inventory, supply chain management, and all financials, including commissioning. Vitamix is also running Windows
Mobile for remote inventory management.Sems is currently upgrading to Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2009 and rolling out Microsoft Dynamics® CRM on the commercial side.
40 The AXUG Magazine
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• Implement AX – Leverage our business technology experience to quickly deploy Microsoft Dynamics® AX & deliver the capabilities you need to achieve your strategic objectives.
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During his evaluation of possible solu-tions, Sems felt that one of the factors that set Microsoft Dynamics AX apart from the crowd was its scalability, which has turned out to be a key benefit. The majority of the company’s suppliers are located within 150 miles of Vitamix headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. With three primary locations and ap-proximately 20 regional sales offices around the world, Vitamix currently employs more than 300 people. In spite of a challenging economy, between 2009 and 2010 Vitamix grew by more than 40 percent. “The food service industry may have dropped off a bit, but people still need to eat,” Sems says. “Also, smoothies and beverages are taking off.”
Vitamix is taking off as well. “When we implemented the solution, we made about 100,000 machines a year,” Sems says. “This year, we’ll make more than 500,000 ma-chines. We started with 50 concurrent us-
ers, and now we have more than 130 on the system all day with about 100 connected on mobile devices from around the world. On the old system, assuming it could have sup-ported that kind of growth, we would have had to add tons of new hardware.”
Vitamix recently received a very large or-der, one that would have been problematic prior to the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX. “Within a few days, thanks to the adaptability and agility of Microsoft Dynamics AX, we were able to extend the system and rapidly enter orders to meet cus-tomer demand,” Sems says. “Previously we would have had to hire temps and add lots of overtime, but with our current system, we’re entering more than 500 orders per day, with each order taking 15 seconds or less to complete.”
A Solid Ecosystem of Support Standing behind the success of his infra-
structure, Sems says, is a solid ecosystem
of support provided by Microsoft Partners. “We brought in Partners after we’d chosen the solution,” he says. “They helped us demo it and dive more deeply into the solution. Now we work with multiple Partners who have valuable expertise in different areas.”
Partners Sems consults with include Agil-ity Business Solutions, an Ohio-based com-pany that specializes in managing the sup-ply chain, production, inventory, and some financials. The Client Strategy Group helps with internal CRM and order entry, and StoneDonut has provided expertise for in-tegrating Biz Talk into Microsoft Dynamics AX. In addition to industry expertise provid-ed by Partners, Sems includes .NET among his ecosystem of support. “Having standards such as SQL makes our lives happy,” he says.
But most importantly, for Sems, are the relationships. “I’ve worked closely with Mi-crosoft Partners on building our infrastruc-ture,” he says. “As a result, the Partners I work with want to see me succeed.”
Spring 2011 41
Are you working on a new implementation? Did you hire a new team member? Is your company moving its office location?
Schuck and Sons Construction Company has recently further configured Microsoft Dynamics® AX version 3.0 to better fit their needs. Mike Cook, of Schuck and Sons, will be sharing more information about this customization at their AXUG chapter meetings in Arizona. If you’d like to find out exactly what Mike did and are not based in Arizona, contact him at [email protected].
Congratulations to our AXUG Premium
Members who have been named as 2011
Customer Excellence Award winners!
Flow International Corporation
Partner: Tectura Corporation Award Category: Excellence in Global Implementation Location: Kent, WAwww.flowwaterjet.com
HDS Retail North America
Partner: Ideaca Knowledge Services Award Category: Excellence in Industry Implementation Location: Toronto, ONwww.hdsrna.com
Partner: Armanino Consulting Award Category: Excellence in Innovation – Microsoft Dynamics AX Location: Fremont, CAwww.net.com
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Partner: Junction Solutions, Inc. Award Category: Excellence in Evangelism – Microsoft Dynamics AX Location: Emeryville, CAwww.peets.com
WelcomeWelcome to our new AXUG Members! We’re glad to have you join our AXUG community! If you’d like to join this list, contact [email protected].
Angiotech PharmaceuticalsBernina of AmericaBiamp SystemsC. H. RobinsonJamaica Broilers Group Limited
The Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Users Group (CRMUG) is the most extensive independent community of Microsoft Dynamics CRM users. CRMUG specializes in helping users maximize the value of their software investment by providing a forum for them to proactively share their experiences with other customers by providing a unified point of view in discussions with Microsoft, and by offering an extensive repository of content and answers to CRM questions and challenges. Membership in CRMUG includes local chapter meetings, informational webinars, special interest groups, discussion boards, annual conferences, and more than 150 education events each year.
CINCOM, the Quadrant Logo and Cincom Acquire are registered trademarks of Cincom Systems, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.
Direct from CRMUG
In a time of faster and faster tweets and Facebook updates, we bring you an “old” technology, full of great content that we hope you enjoy! With the Microsoft Dynamics® CRM User Group (CRMUG), we learn, network, and share, and we encourage you to use this CRMUG section as a catalyst for conversations in your CRM community. We’d love to have you share and/or contribute in the future!
Most likely you’ve heard a good deal about Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, and undoubtedly you’re pretty excited about the significant advancement in functions and features with this new version.
New versions mean upgrades, and you may be asking yourself when to do so. In a recent survey by CRMUG, almost 50 percent of respondents said that they will wait for almost a year or are unsure of when they will upgrade. For a number of organizations, their implementation environments are complex, involving deep integrations and/or customizations. Other organizations prefer to wait until one or two rollups are re-leased, or perhaps they are waiting for a new budget cycle.
Once an organization has a timeframe in mind, what’s next? This is where it gets interesting. In the CRMUG survey, the need for a business case is prevalent in roughly half of the organizations responding. Does your organization need a business case?
Whether you should prepare a business case for an upgrade is an interesting debate. With the emphatic caveat that each organization’s structure, culture, and financial po-sition are different, a business case might not be appropriate all the time. Business case or not, what continues to plague organizations is that they only use a fraction of a system’s functionality. The initial implementation is most often done to match cur-rent processes, with some improvements, but few organizations return to a “phase 2” or implement any regular process improvement. If the initial investment in your CRM was significant, shouldn’t you continue to increase your use and efficiency with the system to provide more ROI, or is that a sunk cost?
I believe that is where a true value from a business case can be realized – it forces the organization to evaluate what benefits are available and provides a yardstick by which to measure achievement and progress. Deciding if and when to invest in the upgrade with a business case is good, but use the business case to focus the organization and make sure you continue leveraging your existing investment. Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be a terrific tool that makes a true difference in the productivity, efficiency, and intelligence of your workforce, but only through conscious and proactive attention.
I encourage you to have the hard conver-sations at your organization and with your Partner about how you’re continuing to lever-age your CRM investment and improve the work lives of your team. I also invite you to join an upcoming CRMUG “lunch and learn” or webinar to learn and share more about better leveraging your CRM investment.
As the new Program Director for CRMUG, I am very excited to bring you a great line up of new educational content in our webinars, special interest groups, and regional chapter meetings. I would also like to say a special thanks to Mark Rhodes for his great leadership of the CRMUG group over the past years. His dedication has con-tributed greatly to the success and growth of CRMUG.
Creating Custom Entities That Work in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
Donna Edwards
As most know, you can create a custom entity to fit almost any need using Microsoft Dy-namics® CRM. I frequently encourage people to think of Microsoft Dynamics CRM enti-ties as forms; forms that have fields to cap-
ture data and user input for storing information in a database.
Of course, entities are much more as they can have relationships with other entities, be used to make a “con-nection” between entities, and used as pick list option type sets for multiple entities. However, it can be easier for users to envision the possibilities when thinking of an entity as a form that contains fields for data collec-tion.
Because it is so easy to create entities in Microsoft Dy-namics CRM, systems can quickly get out of control and you can end up with redundant entities, form fields, etc. Therefore, I encourage you to think about a few things before jumping in and creating the entity. If you have a plan for creating custom entities it will pay off for you and your users.
» Review Current Entities. Check and see if there is an existing entity that fits the need before creating a new one. It is possible that you can make changes to an existing entity by adding a new tab and some additional attributes rather than creating a new en-tity. Leveraging existing entities minimizes the risk that end users will be confused about which record to create or update, ease navigation issues, and can result in greater productivity
» Standardize Naming Conventions. Create simple yet applicable names for the entities and display labels for fields, as well as identify a naming convention for attributes. The end user sees the display labels and entity name, and system administrators and customizers see the attribute and relationship names. Having standardized nam-ing conventions that meet the needs of both groups is important.
» Don’t Forget the “Finishing Touches.” The finishing touches in-clude things like reviewing the cascading rules related to your 1:N, N:1, and N:N relationships. Consider changing the cascading behav-ior for the various activity types like e-mail, tasks, and phone calls to configurable cascading rather than parental and set all values to cascade none, then update all system views. This provides consis-tency and minimizes confusion when users move from one view to another (Active, My Active, Inactive, etc). Understand and set fields important to your users for Preview, Quick Find, ‘New Entity Name’ Lookup, etc. Set View Columns in the Preview and Quick Find to closely match the other System Views. Last but not least, update Security Roles and apply the right set of access and other security-related settings to each Role.
Use the list above as a starting point to help you plan your next custom-ization project. Following these basic guidelines should help to ensure that your CRM application remains easy to manage and user friendly.
Donna Edwards is a Microsoft Dynamics CRM MVP employed by Vision-AIR, where she is the business systems manager. Donna also does freelance Microsoft Dynamics CRM consulting work, serves on the board of advisors for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM User Group (CRMUG), is a Microsoft Dynamics CRM forum moderator, and participates in various other initia-tives aimed at helping the community to understand and leverage Microsoft Dynamics CRM technology.
A Shortcut to Changing Entity NamesLarry Lentz
In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM customization class I teach there is a chapter about changing entity names. Perhaps your company doesn’t like the term ‘Account’ and you’d prefer to use ‘Company’ instead. The sales pitches for Microsoft Dynamics CRM of-
ten show how easy it is to change the name. Simply go into
the Entity Editor for the entity and change it. Unfortunately, as the course chapter describes, it’s not really that simple. The entity name is used in many places: on the form, views, reports, other entities, messages, and so on. The name should be changed on each of these for consistency. You don’t want to refer to company in one place and account elsewhere, as that can be confusing. I generally impress upon my students that changing an entity
46 The CRMUG Magazine
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You have your choice of CRM solutions & Microsoft Dynamics® CRM providers, so why not select the one with the most experience, satisfi ed clients, and portfolio of value-add solutions?
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name can be a tedious process if you want to do a thorough job of it.
In the same chapter there is a discussion of how to translate customizations you may have made to Microsoft Dynamics CRM to another language if you have a language pack installed. The process is to use the Ex-port Labels for Translation, manually update the file in Excel to add the proper strings in the added language(s) for your customiza-tions, and then Import Labels for Transla-tion for the modified file.
In my last class a bright student asked whether this translation process couldn’t be used to help do global changes for entity names. I didn’t know. Hadn’t thought of it. So I gave it a try.
First I had to install a Multilingual User In-terface (MUI) language pack. These are free to download from Microsoft. The Export Labels for Translation process won’t export without at least one language pack. Next I changed the name of an entity (Account to
Company), published, and exported the la-bels for translation. I opened the resultant export file, unprotected it so I could mod-ify it, then did a global Find and Replace. I had to do several of these, one for Account to Company, Accounts to Companies, ac-count to company, and accounts to compa-nies. Care must be taken not to change the ‘Display String Key’ column as this will stop the import. I then imported the file and it worked! This process changed Account to Company (etc.) pretty much everywhere.
Now, don’t tell your boss about this short-cut. If he wants an entity name changed,
show him how much work in entails using the normal method, then use this shortcut and go home early.
Larry Lentz is a 25+ year computer industry veteran with 21 years of experience as an independent consultant and owner of Lentz Computer Services, http://www.LentzComputer.net. Larry lives in San Antonio, Texas, and Lentz Computer Services was the first Microsoft Small Business Specialist in South Texas and is now a Microsoft Certified Partner. Larry has been awarded the Microsoft MVP in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for 2006-2011.
In my last class a bright student asked
whether this translation process couldn’t
be used to help do global changes for
entity name.
Spring 2011 47
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While sophisticated customer-centric technology and farming may not initially seem like the proverbial hand gliding effortlessly into its glove, at GreenStone Farm Credit Services, the two go beyond being a good fit: Using powerful technology to enhance customer relationships is actually a way of life.
And a good life it is. Teresa Winacoff, an applications system analyst at GreenStone, has been overseeing the company’s use of Microsoft Dynamics® CRM from the infor-mation systems perspective for the past five years. “It’s a one-stop shop for anything related to our customers,” she says. “It’s easy to work with, highly customizable, and the user-friendly features really help with adoption.”
Headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan, GreenStone is a financial institution that lends to farmers and to cus-tomers who live in rural areas. It also offers tax and ac-counting services as well as crop, life, and disability insur-ance. GreenStone has more than 425 employees based at its headquarters and branch locations throughout Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin.
Greenstone Farm Credit Services
Winacoff assumed her current role after the initial deployment of Microsoft Dynam-ics CRM 1.2. The search for a new CRM so-lution was initiated after it was announced that the legacy system GreenStone used was being discontinued. When the decision to move to Microsoft Dynamics CRM was
made, the de-velopment ef-fort was shared with other farm credit as-sociations that were also using the same leg-
acy system. Five years later, the technology is an integral component of how and when
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GreenStone interacts with its customers. “It’s the central entry point for any new or existing customer,” Winacoff says. “When a customer comes into a branch, the entire process starts with CRM. It’s not only our central hub for all our contact information, but it’s also where we have a history of ac-tivities so we can easily see who has been involved throughout the relationship.”
Extending for Enhanced Customer Relationships
XRM – the term used for extending the technology into areas not covered generi-cally – is one of the biggest benefits of Mi-crosoft Dynamics CRM, Winacoff says. “Our crop insurance system is built within Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but we’ve also
built several custom workflows to enhance our interactions with customers,” she says.
Left to more manual means, the process is rich with potential for errors that could not only waste time and energy, but also jeopardize solid customer relationships. When a customer first comes to Green-Stone, a workflow is initiated that ensures orchestrated follow-up. First, a regional vice president contacts the customer to ensure the transaction went smoothly. Six weeks later, a customer service representative calls to make introductions. Then, three months after that, the customer is contacted by a fi-nancial services officer to see if GreenStone can provide additional service.
“We space out our interactions with cus-tomers so that they hear from us regularly
enough to know that we care, but not so often that it becomes annoying,” Winacoff says. “Our staff has been pleasantly sur-prised by the response from our customers, which has been very positive.” Other work-flows have been developed within Microsoft Dynamics CRM to handle the renewal of crop insurance policies. Without the work-flows, the entire process would be manual and very time-consuming.
Building the FutureOne of the confidence builders that comes
along with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the user groups to which Winacoff belongs. She participates in a national group and also at-tends meetings of the Michigan chapter.
These communities, she says, yield tre-mendous benefits. “We get up-to-date infor-mation and learn about different pain points other organizations have experienced,” she says. “They also offer classes, which are great because they are a fantastic connection source for meeting people who are using the same product.”
And best of all, she reports, the groups in which she participates offer her access to Microsoft, which, she says, takes her input to heart. That gives her confidence in Green-Stone’s upcoming upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. “What we’re really looking forward to from CRM 2011 are the dashboards,” she says. “We’ve been waiting for the day when we could open CRM and see a summary of everything that is impor-tant on one screen.”
“Our crop insurance system is built within Microsoft Dynamics
CRM, but we’ve also built several
custom workflows to enhance our interactions with
customers.”
Spring 2011 49
Are you working on a new implementation? Did you hire a new team member? Is your company moving its office location?
1st Farm Credit Services was named the 2010 Employer of the Year by AAIM Employers’ Association, one of the nation’s largest employer associations. To congratulate 1st Farm Credit Services on this fantastic accomplishment, contact Hansel Gillis, CRMUG board member, at [email protected].
Argo Turboserve (ATC) is loading Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2011 to their test site so they can use the Microsoft Dynamics AX® to Microsoft Dynamics CRM connector as link between the two systems. This will be an important process for building meaningful metrics in Microsoft® Sharepoint® using data from both systems. ATC also mentions that upgrading to the newer version will improve synchronizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Outlook, which did not work very well in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. To learn more about ATC’s plan, contact Art Johnston at [email protected].
Congratulations to our CRMUG Premium
Members who have been named as 2011
Customer Excellence Award winners!
CSX Transportation
Partner: Customer Effective Award Category: Excellence in Building Customer Relationships Location: Jacksonville, FLwww.csx.com
CyraCom International
Partner: Tribridge Award Category: Excellence in Innovation Location: Tucson, AZwww.cyracom.com
Gumdrop Books
Partner: Tribridge Award Category: Excellence in Evangelism Location: Bethany, MOwww.gumdropbooks.com
Peet’s Coffee & Tea
Partner: Junction Solutions, Inc. Award Category: Excellence in Evangelism Location: Emeryville, CAwww.peets.com
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Partner: Avanade Award Category: Excellence in Evangelism Location: Des Moines, IAwww.wellmark.com
WelcomeWelcome to our new CRMUG Premium Member, Corptax! We’re glad to have you join our CRMUG community! If you’d like to see your name here, contact [email protected]. Corptax, the leading provider of corporate tax software, received the Certified Support Staff Excellence Center award from the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) for the second year in a row. Corptax earned the distinguished award for outstanding support staff development and participation, and for achieving customer service levels that significantly outpace industry benchmarks.
50 The CRMUG Magazine
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The Microsoft Dynamics® GP Users Group (GPUG) was formed in 2006 with the vision to work closely with Microsoft Dynamics®
GP users to grow their knowledge and competency in their ERP system. GPUG is a customer-driven organization whose leaders intently listen to members and work hard to fulfill member needs through educational webinars, training courses, virtual collaborative meetings, and face-to-face events. Currently GPUG has 2,000 member companies and remains strongly committed to creating deep, intimate learning opportunities for members. Membership is made up of Microsoft Dynamics GP users as well as VARs, ISVs, and Microsoft customers.
When you start thinking about upgrad-ing the Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 that has your Microsoft Dynamics® GP data, the first thing you need to do before you do anything else is to consider the three
upgrade options available. How do they relate to your environment, timeframe, and cost? What are the three options?
1) Upgrade Your Current InstanceYou could upgrade your current instance. This means
that you start out with a SQL 2005 Server and end up with either a SQL 2008 Server or a SQL 2008 R2 Server. All the SQL databases and tools – everything – will be the new version of SQL. This has the advantage that once finished, the process, for the most part, is complete. There is no need to change ODBC connections on various worksta-tions or Terminal Servers, nor do you have to transfer your Microsoft Dynamics GP user logins. The disadvan-
In Living Color: The Support Debugging ToolBob McAdam, Tribridge
Many Microsoft Dynamics® GP customers work with multiple companies each day, including test environments, which means potential transaction confusion can arise when users move from one database to
another. While the company and process date appear in each Microsoft Dynamics GP window, incorrect postings do happen. The most efficient way to alleviate this issue is to have your Partner install the Support Debugging Tool so that you can leverage its company-based color schemes.
Once installed, open the “Administrator Settings” win-dow and choose the “Company” tab. You’ll find a checkbox to enable this feature as well as a long list of theme colors to choose from. These visual helpers can effectively aid users who bounce around various databases, reducing posting errors and maintaining efficient data entry practices.
The Support Debugging Tool itself is available at no cost but only via your Partner (it can complete numerous tasks, thus the restriction). Thanks to David Musgrave, its developer and a regular Convergence presenter, for in-cluding such a helpful and easily-configurable function in this collection!
Bob McAdam is a manager at Tribridge in Tampa and spends the majority of his time working in the Microsoft Dynamics GP delivery area with new and existing customers. He is also an active contributor to the Dynamics GP User Group and has been fortunate enough to be involved with Microsoft Dynam-ics GP as both Partner and customer since 1998.
Upgrading SQL 2005 for Microsoft Dynamics® GPJohn Lowther, Sta-home Health & Hospice, Inc
tage is that you do not have a SQL 2005 Server to go back to should some-thing go wrong. In addition, if you have other applications using that same database server, and those applications do not work with the new version of SQL, they will not work using this upgrade option.
2) Installing a Side-by-Side InstanceYou could install a new instance of SQL, either SQL 2008 or SQL 2008
R2. This means that your SQL Server now has both a SQL 2005 instance and a SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 instance. Yet just installing a new instance does not upgrade your Microsoft Dynamics GP databases. To do that, once you have the new instance up and running, you have to backup your SQL 2005 Microsoft Dynamics GP databases and then restore those databases in the SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 instance. In addition, you have to change all ODBC connections to point to the SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 instance on all workstations and/or Terminal Servers, and you will need to transfer your Microsoft Dynamics GP users to the new instance. Moreover, you really need to do something to prevent anyone from accidently using the old databases instead of the new one. Some easy ways of doing that are to stop the SQL 2005 SQL Services, disable the Microsoft Dynamics GP users
Tips and Tricks
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54 The GPUG Magazine
WWW.BLUEMOONISV.COM 401.276.9000
Innovative Enhancements and
Development Services for
Microsoft Dynamics® GP since 1994
Now is the Time to See it in Action!See the Operations Core and Visual Warehouse at Convergence, booth 326.You can also visit our website at www.BlueMoonISV.com.
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Introducing the Operations Core, now with seamless integration with automated ASN, and modular warehouse management, powered by Visual Warehouse from KARE Technologies:
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on the SQL 2005 instance, take the Micro-soft Dynamics GP database offline, or set the security so that no one has access to those databases. While this does mean more work after the SQL upgrade process has finished, the advantage is that should something go wrong, you still have the 2005 instance to fall back on. In addition, if you do have other applications that will not work on SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2, those applications can still use the SQL 2005 instance while Microsoft Dynamics GP uses the SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 instance.
3) New Install on Different Server The third option, and my favorite, is to
install SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 on a com-pletely new server. I like this option because it gives the ability to upgrade the hardware as well as the software. You can also take your time setting up the new server. If anything goes wrong during the install process, all of your users are still using the existing SQL 2005 Server; there are no time-sensitive problems. Once you have the new server up and running, all you do is backup the Micro-soft Dynamics GP databases from the old server and restore them on your new server. Transfer your Microsoft Dynamics GP user logins, and if the new server does not have the same name as the old server, change the ODBC connections on all workstations and/or Terminal Servers. You then can either turn off the old server or take the Microsoft Dynamics GP database offline. Then no one can accidently use the old databases. In addi-tion, if you do have other applications that do not run on SQL 2008 or SQL 2008 R2, those applications can continue to use the old SQL 2005 Server without any changes whatsoever.
For reference, check the following websites:
MSDN at http://msdn.microsoft.comFor upgrading to SQL 2008 R2: http://
msdn.microsof t .com/en- us/ l ibrar y/ms144267.aspx
For upgrading to SQL 2008: http://msdn.microsof t .com/en- us/ l ibrar y/ms144267(v=SQL.100).aspx
For side-by-side: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210714.aspx
For installing SQL: http://www.sqlserver-club.com/essentialguides/how-to-install-sql-server-2008-step-by-step-guide.aspx
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John Lowther is the database administrator, senior developer, and application manager for Microsoft Dynamics GP at Sta-home Health & Hospice, Inc in Jackson, Mississippi were he deals mostly with database administration, development, payroll, human resources, BI, as well as overall system performance. He has been involved with Microsoft Dynamics GP since 2001 and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Dynamics GP User Group (GPUG). He is involved with several of the GPUG Special Interests Groups and posts on several blogs.
Spring 2011 55
Tampa Port Authority
User Profile
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Almost everything undertaken by the Tampa Port Authority is huge. With 5,000 acres, it is the largest port in Florida and is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation. It is one of the world’s premier fertilizer ports and one of the largest shipbuilding and repair centers in the southeastern United States. Since being enacted by the Florida Legislature, the authority
has been managing all of the port’s activities. During FY 2010, the port handled 38 mil-lion tons of cargo and close to 1 million cruise ship passengers, generating more than $8 billion in economic impact in the Tampa Bay area.
Managing the details of the port is obviously not a simple undertaking. In its quest to streamline its operation, increase efficiency, and decrease costs, the Tampa Port Au-thority considered several options before it selected Microsoft Dynamics® GP v 10.0. Working closely with Tampa-based Microsoft Partner Tribridge, the solution went live during the summer of 2008. Since then, the Tampa Port Authority has brought its payroll in-house, added WennSoft Job Cost to better manage capital projects, and integrated its recently upgraded vessel tracking system into Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Tribridge has also taken the lead on two other important additions. First, the port worked closely with Tribridge to implement Microsoft Dynamics® CRM v4.0, which went live in the fall of 2010. And Tribridge and the port are currently working to deploy Microsoft SharePoint® Server 2010.
“We’re similar to an airport, but we control the waterways,” says Ken Washington, chief information officer at the Tampa Port Authority.
Restoring OrderPrior to a ship’s arrival in Tampa, reservation for docking
is scheduled by the operation’s division, which in turn initi-ates the billing process. Next, dockage and wharfage fees are collected followed by harbor master fees, which are assessed based on the vessel’s cargo. In addition, fees for utilities, such as water and electricity, are added, calculated, and assessed.
Unfortunately, the previous process was manual and tedious because the application used by operations had limited to non-existing direct interface with the accounting system. This meant that required informa-tion already collected by operations had to be reentered by the finance department. “I believe that would be considered an inefficient use of work resources,” Washington says.
Before the deployment of Microsoft Dynamics GP, information collection across the organization was cumbersome, and the leveraging of that information was difficult at best. “Each department created and used a self-sustained data repository of analytical and statistical information based on the department’s business objectives and the in-formation collected throughout the day,” Washington recalls. “With each department
providing information from multiple sourc-es, not surprisingly, the reports conflicted.”
So Washington and his team set out to find a platform that could manage a central-ized data repository and the required back-end integration of various systems, driven by one key goal. “We were looking to consoli-date while at the same time accommodate each department,” he says.
Accommodations and BeyondWashington says that one of the primary
benefits of Microsoft Dynamics GP is its ease of use and consistency of functions when navigating throughout the system. “Most users are concerned about changes that come with the implementation of a new application and how quickly they are going to adapt to the changes,” he says. “Therefore, prior to the implementation, the organiza-
tion spent a lot time identifying tasks and processes that would remain the same but have a different look and feel by identifying and demonstrat-ing how the tasks are accomplished in the new applica-
tion. During the training, we made it easy for the user to compare what we were currently using to what we were about to implement.”
Consistency also comes into play in terms of having a unified data repository from which everyone can gather the same ana-lytical and statistical information to produce reports. “The best thing is that regardless of who provides the information, everyone’s
56 The GPUG Magazine
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using data from the same source,” Wash-ington says. “All the systems are integrated and sharing the same data, but more impor-tantly, information that’s being reported is consistent.”
Saving Now and in the FutureIn addition to improving accuracy and ef-
ficiency, the integration saves both time and money. The employee who used to manage hand-delivered, inter-office mail has been assigned other duties, resulting in an elimi-nation of job tasks without the elimination of an employee. Invoicing has also been made more efficient. Changing the organization’s business process to the way the application intended the function to work has reduced the amount of time to process an invoice. Washington evaluated the number of people who used to handle invoice processing and payment, factored in their salaries as well as the amount of time required for review-ing and processing, and concluded that the hourly cost of processing an invoice was $70.00. It is now $3.00.
Another area where Washington expects Microsoft Dynamics GP to deliver savings relates to the future expansion of departmental business objectives. “This technology has the proven ability to integrate with most industry standard systems without an issue,” he says. “We’ve been able to integrate many of our legacy systems, such as engineering, operations, and facilities management applications. Since we’re working with a universal platform based on the back-end foundation (Microsoft SQL), we’ll be able to integrate with custom applications written for specific departments in the future.”
Public Relations The Tampa Port Authority, a public
entity, is subject to what are known as “Sunshine Laws” , which mandate that the organization provide information whenever it’s requested. Washington says that Microsoft Dynamics GP has dramatically increased the organization’s ability to respond to frequent requests. “We are able to accommodate the requests through a more streamlined process,” he says, “We can get the information to the person in a reasonable time.”
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Looking for bar code data capture solutions integrated directly to Microsoft Dynamics® GP for
100 Percent SatisfactionBehind the implementation and deploy-
ment is Tribridge. “Our implementation of Microsoft Dynamic GP has been a tremen-dous success,” Washington says of the part-nership. While organizations often settle for less-than-satisfactory consulting ser-
vices, Tribridge has met and surpassed ex-pectations and objectives. It was originally projected that it would take three years to complete the project, but thanks to the part-nership with Tribridge, it was completed in less than 18 months. “We’ve never had to settle,” Washington says.
Spring 2011 57
Are you working on a new implementation? Did you hire a new team member? Is your company moving its office location?
Mark Polino of DynamicAccounting.net announces the launch of My GP Search, a new custom search engine just for Microsoft Dynamics® GP. MyGPSearch.com is launching with a website, mobile site, and Android application. For more information, contact Mark Polino at [email protected].
Welcome
Welcome to our new GPUG Members! We’re glad to have you join our GPUG community! If you’d like to join this list, contact [email protected].
American Public University SystemBenefitfocus.com, IncCam-PlexCoalition America IncCypress HealthgroupEducationDynamics, LLCExamWorks, Inc.Moon Distributors, Inc.
PensionTrend, Inc.Renewable Water ResourcesThe Blood Connection IncorporatedThe Landings AssociationThe Rockefeller FoundationVaricon, LLCWilmington University
Congratulations to our GPUG Basic
Member who was named as a 2011
Customer Excellence Award winner!
Monterey Bay Aquarium Partner: Frank, Rimerman Consulting Award Category: Excellence in Evangelism – Microsoft Dynamics GP Location: Monterey, CAwww.montereybayaquarium.org
