Dynamics 365 Commerce - Org Hierarchy showing store numbers, not store names

When configuring the Dynamics 365 Commerce organizational hierarchies, there may be a scenario where you notice that the store names are not showing up the hierarchy, and instead the store numbers are. What gives and where does this value get pulled from?

This is an easy fix. The orgnizational hierarchy nodes pull the names from the 'Search name' field on the operating unit, not from the store or the warehouse. So you can navigate to Operating administration > Organization > Operating Units, select your store, validate the search name is not the name of the store, but the store number. Then you can click edit and change the search name to the name of the store you want to see. Or you can do sometihng like 'Store name - Store number' if you'd like. Whatever is better for you. 

Just a data issue. 

Problem solved!!

Figure 1 - The organization hierarchy showing store names as well as store numbers. We want to see the store names, not the numbers. Something is wrong...

Figure 2 - the search name field on the store's operating unit being set to the store number, not the store name. This is an easy fix to make!

Dynamics 365 Error - "Item [XYZ] is locked for updates in warehouse [ABC] because it is being counted"

Have you ever attempted to create a count journal and run into an issue where a given item can only be counted in a single location due to the error "Item [XYZ] is locked for updates in warehouse [ABC] because it is being counted" (Figure 1 below)?

This error is because there is a counting policy on the counting journal which enables the counting status registration. This configuration (Figure 2 below) is setup on the journal and will make it so that you must configure counting journals for the different released products using the 'Warehouse Item' functionality. 

A majority of the time, you'll absolutely want to have items open for counting in multiple warehouses. So if you're getting this error, its time to change the counting status registration policy on the inventory journal you're using to 'disable'. Controlling this through the Warehouse Items functionality can be beastly... 

Figure 1 - The Dynamics 365 error 'Item is locked for updates in warehouse because it is being counted

Figure 2 - The Counting status registration policy 

DAXDude Advice to anyone just starting out

I was asked recently about how I found my passion career and how someone else can find theirs. There isnt one specific way but this is my formal advice: 

From a getting started perspective, you just have to find what makes you passionate and pursue. Cheesy yes, but you'll find the material you consume casually that is directly job related is easier to consume and helps round you out a lot. 

That said, I would recommend getting to be a 'generalist' in concepts and as fast as possible, then find your niche and make a home. that isn't just technology but also verticals, geographies, industries, etc. I've spent a career mentoring and training people and the ones that have been most successful are ones that focus on industries they know, and then find the solutions and technologies used to get in there. You'll know more via first hand experience than someone with an MBA going into that space. Then once you tie that industry to solutions, it'll click for you. 

As an example, I found more success working in industries I was passionate about like beverage industries (craft breweries/distilleries/wineries), music (Rodgers+Hammerstein, Gibson, Shure, etc), hospitality, and specialty retailers (apparel, consumer packaged goods). I love craft beverages, music, and have a lot of retail experience on the floor. So I could quickly contribute to the conversation while I learned the company's specific business. And I was a programmer when I got started so I had learned the finance from CPAs, mfg from APICS gurus, retailers from former C-levels, etc to round me out. You'll fell over your head a lot, but putting in 2hrs for every 1hr and being hungry will help you really gain that confidence quickly. 

All that said, for learning, there are so many free resources out there. From places like MIT, Harvard, , LinkedIn, etc that offer free learning at a generalist level as opposed to things like learn.microsoft.com which has free documentation to every MS product, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/docs/. I have a lot of Microsoft MVP friends that put out a ton of free content too. And if its something specific like Snowflake, go to YouTube or similar and type in "Snowflake vs" or "Snowflake pros cons" or "why snowflake" so you can see how it matches up against things like Databricks and business decisions driving technical changes in an org. You'll have the perspectives on alternatives and why a customer went with the solution or things they don't like using discrete terms you may not know very much about, but you know how they help/hurt the solution. 

Don't worry about memorizing things either. You just need to familiarize with it all so you start reading between the lines and can level up. Once you start hearing repeat things in different formats or opposing views, you'll quickly move from the understand/knowledge level on the Bloom's taxonomy pyramid to the evaluation cognitive level where you're drawing opinions and recommendations based on real data. thats really where you want to be, and be honest with where you are on that scale from a technology, industry, and functional perspective. 

Most of all, have fun! Hope this helps some people

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Released Product Reservation Hierarchy field greyed out and unable to add

Hey everyone! I'm going to hopefully make a few small posts here and there when I can. They'll be to the point and only when I can't find something online so it can help others. Just random stuff here and there. 

There might be a time you're working with imported data in Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain, or Commece, or jump in to help an implementation, and try to create a sales order but run into the error "Reservation hierarchy has not been specified for item [XYZ]. Go to the Released product details form to complete the setup". This is just a data setup issue. See below image. 

But when you go the released products, you can't edit it!! What the heck?

In the released product, go to the product tab. Then under the Setup section, click the 'Reservation hierarchy' option and select the desired reservation hierarchy setup in your system (or set one up first). 

Then once you click 'Ok', you're all set! Done!

Thoughts on LinkedIn 'Read with AI' feature

 I recently created a post for LinkedIn promoting a friends post. I decided to use the 'Rewrite with AI' feature of LinkedIn and wanted to give my before and after feelings. There are a lot of people posting using AI and using AI pictures. I've been hesitant, but experimental, to use it in in my day to day and here is why. 

Clearly in my post I'm trying to plug my friend's post. It really was good but I didn't need to 'sell' it. Its good content. But when I converted my 'I'm plugging my friends post' via AI, it came across using logic I'd expect from a college academic with zero real world experience in this space. It was very inauthentic. Its hard to tell why its inauthentic but it doesn't sound like me. 

I think if I was a company trying to sell something new or made a lazy post, I think this feature is good. But when it comes to staying on brand, using AI makes you stand out like a sore thumb. Its missing the 'me' in how I speak. Much like if I talked in person, I would sound wildly different than someone else saying the same sentence in a different way with a different accent with different inflections. 

I'd say use this feature with caution. I like it and I will continue to play with it for almost every post. But the fact its not taking previous posts I make as part of algorithm (that i can tell), I'll likely never post with it. 

Simulate and test D365 Commerce email layouts for multiple mobile devices with only Chrome and no need for installing addins

 I had a customer that needed to preview a Dynamics 365 email receipt and see what their HTML receipt will look like in multiple browsers, mobile devices, etc. 

Here is my suggestion on how to test it without buying a ton of different devices. I noticed there really wasn't any documentation on this associated with D365 so I'm doing this so I can just refer to this URL when teaching this to others. 

I recommend Chrome for this, but not saying another can't be used. Its just what I use. And I'm using Gmail as its what I had an example receipt for. 

Its important to note that no addins are needed and just Chrome, so most everyone can use this even when security locks down the Chrome store. 

1. Open Chrome
2. You'll want to see the webpage in mobile mode, not desktop mode, so navigate to m.gmail.com, not just gmail.com so you'll see the mobile layout. 
3. Select the email example you want to test against
4. Open the developer tools in Chrome (Figure 1) 
5. Click on the 'toggle device toolbar' (Figure 2)
6. Select the device to emulate (Figure 3)
7. Test the website in portrait and landscape mode (Figure 4)
8. If you dont see the device to emulate, you can select many more or create your own (Figure 5)

Figure 1 - Developer Tools in chrome

Figure 2 - Toggle Device Toolbar

Figure 3 - select what device to simulate

Figure 4 - View the website on the target device emulation in portrait or landscape mode

Figure 5 - Simulate all sorts of devices

Dynamics 365 Commerce Credit Card Decline receipt printing

 For those that may have used D365 Commerce and credit cards, you've likely noticed the card decline receipts that print from the printer. Likely when you are testing a payment processor and its chewing through your thermal paper like a baseball team and big league chew. 

You can turn this feature on or off through the use the Print Card Decline Receipt boolean on the Dynamics 365 Commerce Functionality profiles. See below.