Marking in Microsoft Dynamics AX, Part 1: Understand the Basics

My first Microsoft Dynamics AX project was in Hamburg Germany, in September 2004. This was a big company that went from SAP to AX. Not an ideal start for a beginning AX consultant, but I learned a lot about SAP while often having to tell the customer "Nein".  A turning point came when the topic of Return Purchase orders came up and I showed them "marking". (Markieren).  "Wunderbar! Das haben wir in SAP nicht!" exclaimed my counterpart. ("Great! We don't have that in SAP"). I never forgot that moment. I have heard similar appreciation for this functionality from many other customers. Yet no comprehensive description of the functionality yet exists.

This two part article (part two is published here) summarizes my knowledge and experience around marking in Dynamics AX. Marking has been around almost unchanged since the earliest versions of AX. (Intercompany purchase and sales orders used to be marked to each other. This is no longer true in AX 2012). To begin, we will explore the basic concepts and how Dynamics AX generates and manages marking data.

What is marking?

Marking is a database link between a supply and a demand transaction for the same item. It is the same type of relationship as pegging in the Master Planning module. The difference is that pegging can change any time, after each MRP-run, while marking is a semi-permanent link that can only be removed manually or by running the sales order line explosion with the checkbox 'remove marking'. It is a solid link between two transactions.

There is a second difference with pegging. Marking has a financial aspect and I believe the original reason of existence for this functionality is the effect it has ...