Achieve Perfect Inventory Visibility with D365 SCM - Finance and Operations

Achieve Perfect Inventory Visibility with D365 SCM - Finance and Operations

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Common Scenarios of Inventory Visibility
3. Challenges without Inventory Visibility
4. Solution Overview
5. How to Set Up Inventory Visibility
6. How to Configure Inventory Visibility
7. How to Use Inventory Visibility
8. Things to Keep in Mind
9. Performance Gains
10. Item Units and Recalculation
11. Use Cases for Inventory Visibility
12. Limitations and Integration
13. Conclusion

Introduction

Welcome to this session on inventory visibility at Infor Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. In this presentation, we will explore how inventory visibility can enable near real-time on-HAND inventory tracking. I would like to express my gratitude to the community for voting for this session, as well as to the Dynamics Con and Dynamics User Group teams for organizing this event.

Common Scenarios of Inventory Visibility

One of the most common scenarios where inventory visibility is crucial is in web shops, both for B2B and B2C businesses. Customers visiting a web shop want to know the availability of items in real-time. Another scenario is the integration of third-party or legacy systems, such as order management solutions or stage rollouts. Inventory visibility allows for seamless consolidation and synchronization of inventory information.

Challenges without Inventory Visibility

Before the implementation of inventory visibility, businesses relied on data entities and the OData protocol to request on-hand inventory information from the ERP database. However, this synchronous integration put significant pressure on the ERP database, resulting in delays and slow processing. Additionally, the OData protocol is subject to throttling, causing issues with high request volumes.

Solution Overview

The inventory visibility add-in addresses the challenges Mentioned above by creating a microservice that synchronizes on-hand inventory information from the ERP database to the Dataverse storage. This microservice allows for scalability and reduces the pressure on the ERP database. By querying information from the Dataverse, the inventory visibility add-in optimizes performance and improves response times.

How to Set Up Inventory Visibility

Setting up inventory visibility involves four steps. Firstly, You need to set up a client ID and secret in your Azure Active Directory. This step allows you to authenticate and authorize the inventory visibility add-in. Next, import or install the Power Platform/Dataverse solution that includes the inventory visibility add-in. After installing the solution, you can proceed to install the add-in via LCS (Lifecycle Services). Finally, set up the integration in Infor Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.

How to Configure Inventory Visibility

Once the inventory visibility add-in is installed, you can configure its behavior using the configuration Power App provided. The Power App allows you to define the product index hierarchy, set up data sources, configure calculated measurements, and enable or disable features. The configuration Power App provides a user-friendly interface to customize the behavior of the inventory visibility add-in.

How to Use Inventory Visibility

Using the inventory visibility add-in is straightforward. You can make API requests to retrieve on-hand inventory information using tools like Postman. The Postman collection provided in the documentation allows you to fetch inventory information Based on various criteria such as site, warehouse, and inventory status. You can also perform calculations and post measurements using the API. The inventory visibility add-in can be integrated into web shops, allowing customers to view real-time availability of items.

Things to Keep in Mind

When working with inventory visibility, it is essential to consider the limitations and challenges. The OData protocol used in previous integrations is subject to throttling, which can impact performance. The API requests made to the inventory visibility add-in have their limitations, and additional requests may incur extra costs. The add-in does not support reservation on location level, and there are certain restrictions when using it alongside the Warehouse Management solution. However, Microsoft is continuously improving the add-in and addressing these limitations.

Performance Gains

Utilizing the inventory visibility add-in offers significant performance gains compared to traditional methods. By offloading the pressure from the ERP database to the microservice and Dataverse storage, businesses can achieve faster response times and reduce latency. Additionally, the add-in allows for high throughput and scalability, making it suitable for demanding environments.

Item Units and Recalculation

The inventory visibility add-in primarily works with inventory units. If you need to recalculate quantities in other units, such as weight units, you will need to implement the conversion logic yourself. The add-in provides the flexibility to define additional data sources, including third-party systems, where you can post measurements and perform calculations.

Use Cases for Inventory Visibility

Inventory visibility is crucial in various use cases, including web shops (B2B and B2C), legacy system integration, and power apps that require on-hand information for different warehouses or items. The add-in enables businesses to provide accurate and real-time availability of inventory to customers, reducing order fulfillment issues and improving customer satisfaction.

Limitations and Integration

While the inventory visibility add-in solves many challenges, it is not a single point of truth for all integrations. There may be delays in synchronization, especially between third-party systems and Infor Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. However, Microsoft is actively working on enhancements to improve the integration and make it a more seamless experience.

Conclusion

Inventory visibility at Infor Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management offers a scalable and efficient solution to track on-hand inventory in near real-time. By utilizing the inventory visibility add-in, businesses can optimize performance, improve response times, and provide customers with accurate and up-to-date inventory information. With continuous improvements and enhancements, the inventory visibility add-in is becoming an essential tool for businesses managing inventory in dynamic environments.

Highlights:

• Inventory visibility enables real-time tracking of on-hand inventory in Infor Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
• The add-in creates a microservice that synchronizes inventory information to the Dataverse storage, reducing pressure on the ERP database.
• Integration with web shops, legacy systems, and power apps allows for accurate and Timely availability information for customers.
• Configurable features, calculated measurements, and multiple data source options provide flexibility in implementing inventory visibility.
• Performance gains include faster response times, reduced latency, and improved scalability.
• Limitations include the need for custom logic for unit conversions and potential delays in synchronization with third-party systems.
• The inventory visibility add-in is continuously improved to enhance integration and meet the evolving needs of businesses.

FAQ:

Q: Can I use the inventory visibility add-in with my existing implementation projects? A: Yes, the inventory visibility add-in can be implemented in existing projects, provided they meet the requirements and limitations outlined in the documentation. However, it may require additional setup and configuration.

Q: Is the inventory visibility add-in a single point of truth for all inventory-related data? A: While the inventory visibility add-in consolidates and synchronizes inventory information, it may not cover all integration scenarios. There may be delays in synchronization, especially when integrating with third-party systems. Microsoft is actively working on improving the integration and addressing limitations.

Q: How does the inventory visibility add-in handle different units of measurement? A: The inventory visibility add-in primarily works with inventory units. If you need to recalculate quantities in other units, such as weight units, you will need to implement the conversion logic yourself.

Q: Can the inventory visibility add-in be used with web shops and power apps? A: Yes, the inventory visibility add-in is designed to be integrated into web shops and power apps to provide real-time availability information to customers. This enables businesses to offer a seamless and accurate inventory shopping experience.

Q: Are there any performance gains when using the inventory visibility add-in? A: Yes, the inventory visibility add-in offers significant performance gains compared to traditional methods. By offloading the pressure from the ERP database and utilizing the microservice and Dataverse storage, businesses can achieve faster response times, reduced latency, and improved scalability.