Dynamics AX Retail Essenetials Error: 'Could not find a part of the path 'C:\DemoFiles\Retail\Accouting export\...'

If you are using or exploring the new Retail Essentials configuration (basically AX 2012 R3's Retail components geared towards the SMB market), you'll notice that there is no AX GL and the accounting needs to be exported out to an external system.

When clicking the 'Export account activity' menu item after generating the account activity, you may see the error 'Could not find a part of the path 'C:\DemoFiles\Retail\Accounting export\...xml' (below in Figure 1)

Likely, this would occur for someone who is testing the new functionality of Retail Essentials while still using full blown AX in the backend. There is a configuration key for Retail Essentials which is checked to enable the SMB functionality. This config key, when enabled will let you see a new setup in the REtail Parameters form for account exports.

The error is because this 'hidden' setup in full blown AX is looking for a folder location that doesn't exist. To fix it you can 1) add a folder called 'accounting export' in the C:\DemoFiles\Retail folder location or 2) unhide the parameter and specify your own location. The first is preferred but based on demo requirements, you may need to do #2.

Option #1
Add a folder called 'Accounting export' in the C:\DemoFiles\Retail folder location. See Figure 3 below. done!

Option #2
WARNING: This is for non-prod use only and is not warranted by me. The sole purpose is helping to get AX professionals up to speed with the Retail Essentials product for evaluation purposes.

 I was going to post pictures of the code flow but I'd rather not enable people with ammunition for doing things they likely shouldn't so I won't post it here.

If you need to get past it for testing, comment out lines 25-28 in Retail Parameters form init method. If you don't know what I'm saying, you shouldn't be touching it :-) those who do, you should be all set with what you see in Figure 4 below.

Figure 1 - The error during account export

 

Figure 2 - missing Accounting Export between Posing and Product Creation Page

 

Figure 3 - The accounting export folder added to the right spot

 

Figure 4 - The newly added accounting export retail parameter tab

 

 

Figure 4 - the missing folder for accounting export

 

 



DAXDude: 'Next-Gen RMS' aka Retail SMB unveiled by Microsoft

This post is taking a blog post I created back in '13 on my DAXDude blog where I was discussing the next-gen SMB POS offering by Microsoft. You can see the original post here but thought I'd include it directly in this blog feed for those that are just reading this blog. 

It's an interesting read. Some of the information is outdated, some of it isn't but its good to see as a point in time view of the software. 

Should be an interesting read for some!

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Saturday, February 2, 2013

'Next-Gen RMS' aka Retail SMB unveiled by Microsoft

UPDATE 2/14/2014: Microsoft is releasing 'Retail Essentials'. While it is not replacing RMS, it is truly the next-Gen of a POS due to the large enhancements to the retail experience. It is AX as headquarters and the enterprise POS (ePOS) and mobile POS (mPOS) with a simplified AX retail architecture. The future is bright for the SMB market. I will publish several posts about this in detail in the near future. I have seen it and it is the future!

<ORIGINAL POST BELOW>
Exciting news in the Dynamics Retail realm. Microsoft is going to finally release an RMS and AX 'light' solution. The below is some information released about it from a few different locations (not sure how many are rumors but here is a collection of info):

• Designed to give small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the advantages of Microsoft Dynamics AX, but without the unnecessary features. ¹
• The new RMS product is going under the working title of "next-gen RMS," will be released near the end of this year according to Michael Griffiths.¹ 
• The upgraded RMS product is also being referred to as "Retail SMB.¹
• Microsoft will continue to build on RMS as they are committed to their SMB retail customers and partners.¹
• Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, a.k.a., Microsoft Dynamics for Retail, which provides the building blocks of the new SMB retail offering.  ³
• "The vision of omnichannel is showing that all these channels are powered by AX, and now are powered by one commerce engine, the commerce runtime," explained Melissa Stern, senior industry analyst for retail, Microsoft Dynamics. ³  Note: Heavy RTS dependence?
• 'Line-busting' will be a focus. This a mobile POS which can be used to dampen the effects of things like excessive holiday lines that exceed normal 'peak' capacities.
• "When we talk about mobility - whether it's phone, or its slate, or a kiosk somewhere in the store, or a thin-web client -- (There are) lots of different platforms, lots of different form factors, the retail server is one way to provide that experience without having to write all the individual one-off solutions."  ~Jeff Blucher, Microsoft program manager
• Consistency throughout all the channels; one set of rules used consistently throughout all the channels
• Back end will dictate pricing, discounts and tax calculations like AX for Retail does today
• Microsoft is intending to release the new version of RMS in 2013. ⁴
• New product will effectively supersede both Dynamics RMS 2.0 and POS 2009 ⁴
• Will be built on a flexible and advanced business software platform shared with Dynamics AX ⁴ 
• Customers current on the Service Plan will be able to upgrade to the next generation RMS for no additional license costs. ⁴
• The following features will be focused on in this new version:
• Store management control;
• Role-based, touch optimized, customizable POS user-interface;
• Merchandising enhancements for loyalty, pricing, and promotion;
• Replenishment, assortment management;
• Alerts and monitoring for hardware, user-interface profiles, and data flows;
• Multi-channel capabilities:
• Catalog management, cross channel workflows,
• Integrated sales channel management,
• Social commerce;
• Services (payments, commerce, sites);
• Microsoft stack integration for Visual Studio, Office, and SharePoint;
• Localization for individual countries.
• 'Unnecessary features' like HR and CRM will not be in the AX light version but can be added to the solution if needed ⁵ Note: This makes me think it will be same code base as full version of AX

Background:
In the Microsoft Dynamics Retail realm, there are several tiers of retail software that a business could choose depending on their size and business needs: POS 2009, RMS 2.0, and AX for Retail. These point of sale solutions will allow tendering at the point of sale as well as integrations to the following Dynamic ERP solutions: Nav, GP and AX. To note, AX is the flagship ERP in the Dynamics product family with the most functionality and flexibility.

POS 2009 is good for very small businesses with only one or two stores. Usually outside consultants are not needed to implement this and the back end ERP is usually something like QuickBooks. RMS is good for small/medium businesses with a few brick and mortar locations. Usually this requires a consultant but not complex enough to keep one busy year round. Mainly just support during things like inventory counts and connection issues to HQ. AX for Retail usually fits in with the rest of the business models and requires a team of consultants to deploy but is robust with the AX back end and very scalable. Just to note, its primarily a cash and carry style POS but in AX 2012, you can create AX Sales Orders from within AX with it so the sky can really be the limit. 

My thoughts:
RMS fits in with the majority of companies but there was a big issue with integrations with AX. While there are a few solutions out there to integrate these two, there was never an 'official' one. From what I've seen in a variety of industries, a company rarely lines up software-size wise between ERP and POS needs. It's pretty common that  a company is too small to use AX for Retail but is too big for GP/NAV/QuickBooks. The common consensus was to leverage AX in a limited capacity but alas we never saw anything. AX can fit with almost any business because of its readily customizable features and out of the box (OOTB) functionality. All business models have their quirks and AX is the best in the Microsoft ERP family to accommodate these when they are fairly large. 

This new approach from Microsoft looks promising but I'm really interested to figure out what AX 'light' means. Is it going to use the same AX code base and program but be restricted to just certain functionality? Indication from what I've read so far is yes. There has always been 'rumors' that this would happen as it seemed like a natural progression so its good to see it actually coming to fruition. This is fantastic because it will give Microsoft the niche market of proving a single solution that runs RMS but needs very advanced, integrated functionality like HR or production.

Important
As an important take away, make sure your customers are current on their service plan so they will be able to upgrade to the next generation RMSfor no additional license costs. ⁴

Sources:

1. Microsoft Unveils Dynamics AX-based “Next-Gen RMS” at Retail Realm in Vegas
2. community.dynamics.com - Microsoft Unveils Dynamics AX-based 'Next-Gen RMS' at Retail Realm in Vegas 
3. MSDynamicsWorld.com - Understanding Microsoft's Next Gen RMS Begins with a Closer Look at Dynamics AX for Retail’s POS, Mobile, Omnichannel Capabilities  
4. Retail Hero: RMS "New Version" 
5. Mohamed Aamer - The Identity of Microsofts 'Next-Gen RMS' Will Be Deeper Than Its Dynamics AX Origins 

Introducing: Retail Essentials powered by Dynamics AX

Microsoft has released a new offering which is replacing the existing Microsoft Small-Medium Sized Business (SMB) product Dynamics Retail Management Systems (RMS) called Retail Essentials. In this new blog I just started today, I'll concentrate primarily on the Dynamics AX-based retail offerings for the SMB market.

For those that have followed me at my other Dynamics AX blog daxdude.blogspot.com, they will know that I've been tracking this in the rumor mill for a while. Anything I posted was pre-MVP status and did not breach any NDA agreements but shared anything I could get my hands on. Here is a comprehensive post on this: http://daxdude.blogspot.com/2013/02/next-gen-rms-aka-retail-smb-unveiled-by.html   Thankfully, everyone knows about it now.

The goal of this blog will be to help disseminate information about this solution while still isolating it from the larger packaging of the full Dynamics AX solution. Each blog I have will focus on a specific target audience with different licensing and different business needs.

As a first nugget of information, the licensing of the Retail Essentials product is done through a company called Retail Realm who currently does the licensing for Dynamics RMS, not Microsoft itself. The Retail Essentials software is the same code base as the AX 2102 R3 for Retail components (minus SP-based ecomm option) and contains all the needed functionality for brick and mortar tasks without the heavy back office functionality often not needed by a retailer. It is affordable and easy to implement as well. More on that later.

Some background on me not related to Dynamics AX, I'm certified in RMS 2.0 and RMS HQ and have done numerous AX projects integrating AX and RMS together. I've also implemented RMS but that was way back in '07/'08. Definitely know the RMS world well so I think I can provide some unique insights here.

I look forward to adding to this blog! Hope to see more hits on here soon!