For Microsoft Dynamics AX Beginners: The Essential Guides for Supply Chain Management

Editor's Note:  This first of a 2-part article summarizes the newly published series of Essential Guides, which draw on Dr. Hamilton's prior research and 10+ books about Dynamics AX across the past 13 years.  These Essential Guides focus on SCM for manufacturing and distribution.  They provide the basis for the second part about quantifying the amount of learning for an AX beginner.

For many manufacturing and distribution firms the effective implementation and use of an ERP system for supply chain management remains challenging. Educating users on the capabilities of your ERP system provides a foundation for effective adoption and usage, and it sets the tone for re-thinking previous ways of doing business. However, the amount of learning can be daunting for beginners. The ERP learning curve can be shortened with guide books that cover the most critical topics and processes for running the business. A guide book can help you learn the vocabulary about embedded conceptual models and enhance the hands-on experience of system usage and navigational details. Like any ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics AX has its own vocabulary, conceptual models and navigational details

As part of my own efforts to initially learn Dynamics AX, I wished for a guide book that summarized the essential supply chain management (SCM) capabilities for manufacturing/distribution businesses and quantified the amount of initial learning so I could track my progress. My subsequent books about Dynamics AX provided comprehensive explanations about SCM functionality and suggestions about the essential information for beginners. However, the comprehensive explanations (often requiring 500+ pages) really represented the total amount of learning to become a knowledgeable AX consultant. In addition, the ...