Essential Data for a New Material Item Using Microsoft Dynamics AX

Editor's Note: This represents the second of a 3-part article, and is drawn from Dr. Hamilton's recently published books about supply chain management (SCM) in manufacturing and distribution businesses. The books cover the software capabilities within AX 2012 R3 as well as the new Dynamics AX. One book focuses on SCM for Discrete Manufacturing and a second focuses on SCM for Process Manufacturing. The third book applies to both, and covers the major options for Warehouse Management.

Information about material items provides the foundation for managing supply chain activities in distribution and manufacturing businesses. Because material items impact so many parts of an operation, defining them within the bounds of an ERP system is critical but can become complex, requiring many different types of information from different roles and sources.

This article focuses on the absolute minimum information needed to use a new item within Microsoft Dynamics AX. The fields discussed here are termed the Essential Item Data, and they represent key aspects of the business logic within AX, especially as it relates to inventory storage and batch/serial number tracking. These topics are reflected in the following sections within the article.

1. Essential Data for using a New Item within AX
2. Significance of the Storage Dimension Group for an Item
3. Significance of the Tracking Dimension Group for an Item
4. Case Studies

The first article