New and Deprecated Features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management: September 2024 Update

Staying informed about the latest updates in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management is key to maintaining optimized financial and operational processes. The September 2024 release, version 10.0.41, brings a range of new features, enhancements, and some important deprecations. Here’s an overview of what’s new and what’s changing to help you prepare for these updates.

New Features in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

The latest release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management introduces several features aimed at enhancing functionality across inventory, logistics, procurement, manufacturing, and warehouse management.

1. Copilot and AI Innovations

• Follow-up Questions in the Copilot Sidecar: Enhance AI-driven interactions with follow-up questions in the Copilot sidecar, improving the overall user experience.

2. Inventory and Logistics Enhancements

• Enable Quality Control for Goods-In-Transit Orders: Streamline quality control by enabling checks on goods that are in transit.
• Link Transfer Order Lines with Sales Order Lines: Directly link transfer orders with corresponding sales orders, simplifying order management.
• Recalculate Weighted Average Cost: New options for including physical transactions in cost calculations to improve inventory valuation accuracy.
• Sync External Changes Through Inventory Visibility: Synchronize external inventory adjustments, ensuring accurate real-time inventory levels.

3. Manufacturing and Asset Management

• Decouple Production Registration from Time and Attendance: Separate production registration from time-tracking to simplify cost calculations.
• Register Time Spent on Projects for Production: Allow accurate registration of time spent on production projects.

4. Procurement and Sourcing

• Approve POs and Requisitions from Mobile Devices: Use the new Approvals Management mobile app to handle purchase order and requisition approvals on the go, enhancing efficiency and responsiveness. Deep dive in this app’s extensive uses and features at our new blog post.

5. Warehouse Management

• Outbound Shipment Processing Policies: New policies to optimize outbound shipment processing, improving warehouse operations.
• Unannounced Returns in Warehouse Management Only Mode: Manage unplanned returns more effectively by using a streamlined process.

Feature Enhancements in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

The September 2024 release also includes several enhancements to existing features:

• Print Work Order Document Attachments: Improve documentation by printing work order reports with attached PDF documents.
• Clean Up Inventory Dimensions with License Plate IDs: New functionality to remove outdated inventory dimensions, helping maintain accurate data.
• Dynamic Printer Selection Improvements: Assign default printers to specific mobile devices, enhancing flexibility in warehouse environments.
• Location Directives for ASN in Transfer Receipts: Streamline receiving processes by placing all items on a single license plate into one location.

New Features in Dynamics 365 Finance

The new release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance focuses on improving accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash and bank management, and tax compliance.

1. Accounts Payable and Receivable

• Financial Tags for Purchase Order Invoicing: Leverage financial tags to track and analyze data across procurement-to-pay transactions.
• Prepayment Customer Invoice Feature: Manage customer prepayments efficiently by issuing prepayment invoices before fulfilling sales orders.
• Modern Bank Reconciliation Enhancements: Improve usability and performance with new capabilities, including the ability to clear reversal transactions and generate vouchers automatically.

2. General Ledger Enhancements

• Validation for Year-End Close Process: Ensure accurate ledger balances by validating the year-end close process and recommending best practices for managing large dimension sets.

3. Tax Compliance Updates

• Support for Multiple VAT Registration Numbers on Sales Orders: Enhanced capabilities to handle VAT numbers across different sales order lines, reducing errors and improving compliance.

Deprecated Features in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management

Several features are being deprecated in version 10.0.41 to make way for more robust functionalities. It’s essential to be aware of these changes and plan accordingly.

1. Job Card Terminal 

• Product Area: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management – Production Control
• Reason for Deprecation: Being replaced by the new production floor execution interface.
• Impact: The job card terminal will no longer be supported one year after the release of version 10.0.41. Businesses are encouraged to transition to the new interface.

2. Inventory Transactions for Internal Warehouse Operations

• Product Area: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management – Warehouse Management
• Reason for Deprecation: Replaced due to performance issues by warehouse-specific inventory transactions.
• Impact: This feature will be deprecated and fully removed one year after the release of version 10.0.41.

3. Release to Warehouse Page

• Product Area: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management – Release to Warehouse
• Reason for Deprecation: Performance issues have led to its replacement with two new, more efficient pages: Release Sales Orders to Warehouse and Release Transfer Orders to Warehouse.
• Impact: The old page will be removed one year after the release of version 10.0.41.

Preparing for These Changes

The new features and enhancements in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management are designed to improve functionality, streamline operations, and ensure compliance. As these updates roll out, businesses should:

• Review and Update Processes: Ensure that your teams are familiar with the new features and enhancements. Evaluate current workflows to see where these new capabilities can be integrated for better efficiency.
• Plan for Deprecated Features: Identify any features your business currently relies on that are being deprecated and start planning transitions to the new replacements. This will ensure that you continue to operate smoothly without disruption.

Contact us today for help implementing and replacing these functions in advance.

Conclusion

Staying up to date with the latest updates in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management is essential for maintaining efficient and compliant operations. By understanding and planning for these changes, businesses can continue to leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 to its full potential and drive growth in a competitive market.

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