The Future of Microsoft Dynamics AX on the job: Ruggedized vs consumer devices

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 will get its next round of enhancements later this year and some of the newest additions will be around warehousing, transportation, and mobility. Then, when the next major release of the solution hits the market in 2014, new supply chain management functions will include deeper warehousing functionality (including RFID capabilities), demand planning, shared services, accounting and budget planning, and mobile apps for both phone and tablet (including POS).

The last of these enhancements, apps for mobile and handheld devices, will be particularly interesting for companies that have historically relied on bulky, ruggedized devices to monitor and orchestrate the movement of freight within the warehouse and on the road. Neither environment has proven itself appropriate for consumer mobile devices, which can break, drown, or attract dust when used in industrial spaces, lift trucks, and tractor trailers.

At this year's Convergence conference, Kees Hertogh, director of project management for AX, brandished a Nokia Lumia smartphone to the audience as a symbol of the future of supply chain management, warehousing, and transportation. He demonstrated the use of a few different apps (expense, scheduling, and timesheets) that would are now or will soon become standard AX capabilities.

David Krebs, vice president of enterprise mobility and connected devices at VDC Research in Natick, Mass., notes that for some jobs, like the warehouse worker or manager, apps built for consumer smartphones usually aren't up to the task. "It's a rough-and-tumble environment where the ruggedized handheld device has traditionally been used," says Krebs, "particularly in the industrial and construction sectors."

However, Krebs says he has seen increased usage of tablets for functions ...