Business value

Business Rules adds functionality in several Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations modules in order to maintain a work flow status to a record. The functionality is aimed for situations where a full work flow setup would be an overkill of setup and administration efforts.

E.g., when a new item is entered in the system, commercial, technical, purchase, logistical and legal data should be specified, by various departments. These steps can be parts of a business work flow.

The basic structure of the business rules can be found in Common > Setup > Business rules.

Rules can be defined for:

• Released products (items)
• Customers
• Vendors
• Prospects
• Purchase orders
• Sales orders
• Opportunities
• Sales quotations

The user can define the different statuses that a business rule may have. A status can be excluded from lookup (hide), e.g. if a fall back status should not be selected by the user, or if a status is set automatically during posting the order: the status Confirmation printed should not be selected manually.

Typing the status is possible though, but the feasibility of the transition to this status is checked anyway.

Setup

Business rules parameters

Common > Setup > Business rules > Business rule parameters

Master planning parameters

Master planning > Setup > Master planning parameters

Business rules

Common > Setup > Business Rules

The field (Business rule) Status is in the form Sales orders and other forms can be used to indicate the current status.

For each type of business rule, a begin status can be defined.

The user can define the feasible transitions from one business rule status to another. Each transition may be limited to users authorized for a chosen security key. The field Role AOT name determines whether the user is allowed to go to the “To-status”.

When the field is changed, the transition validation is executed. Conditions may be defined for each transition. A couple of standard validations exist for sales orders and purchase orders. A status line with a "paper clip" icon indicates that an expression validation is defined for this transition, a "tag" icon indicates a xpp validation.

Beside these two options, conditions also may be set using the default Microsoft Advanced query functionality.

Validation is described in more detail in a later paragraph.

If the validation check would fail, the transition fails. It is possible to define a fallback status for this situation.

Per transition it's possible to determine whether a business event needs to be generated.

Transition condition XPP method with parameters for old records

When a transition condition for an XPP method has been extended with parameters, old records give an error as there are no parameters. This refers to the option we added to exclude cancelled lines in the Check zero sales price condition for sales orders.

Users can run into an error after installing a new version with extra parameters. This error is because of the existing records do not have the new parameters.

This can be solved manually by opening the XPP method form and clicking OK, but there is also added an upgrade script: If the button "Initialize transition condition parameters" is clicked, all parameters will be initiated. THis will prevent the error in future for the actual parameters. The user will get a message that the parameters are updated.

Business rule status specific parameters

Common > Setup > Business rules > Button: Parameters

Additional parameters can be set per business rules status type, except for Opportunities.  

The parameters depends on the type of the business rule:

 Sales quotations

 Sales orders

 Purchase orders

Customers/Vendors/Prospects

 Items

In the business rule for released products it is possible to specify the blocking reason or value of the Stopped check marks that are set automatically when this business rule status is reached. E.g. if the business rule status is “Wait for commercial approval”, the item should remain blocked for sales orders. As soon as the status is set to “Item released” the blocking reason or the stopped mark is blanked.

Integration of Product life cycle state and Business rules of type Items

If the business rule parameter "Integrate product life cycle state" is enabled, the system checks whether there are PLCS records where the Default when released to legal entity is enabled. If true, it will give a message ‘On product life cycle state %1 the value Default when released to legal entity will be set to No as this will be set by the business rule. On our business rules of type Items it is possible to setup a blocking reason which is set when you choose this state.

Also, the user gets the possibility to setup a Product life cycle state (PLCS) on the business rule of type Items. When the business rule status is maintained on a product master, the system will set the PLCS on the product and variants same as blocking reasons. If there is begin Item status with PLCS and Blocking reason set, when product master or variant is released to a legal entity, the initial status, PLCS and Blocking reason are assigned on the master and only PLCS and Blocking reason are assigned on the variant. Business rules are only set on products, not on variants.

Also there is a periodic job ‘Change life cycle state for obsolete products’ which identifies products/ product variants that need to be updated. When updating PLCS for obsolete products, the user gets the possibility to select a business rule status. Based on the parameters setup on the selected status, the new product lifecycle state and blocking reason will be filled in the dialog. When executing this job, the business rule status, PLCS and blocking reason will be updated on the released product. Only PLCS and blocking reason will be updated on the variants. If the Blocking reason or Business rule is empty, it will not empty the fields on the obsolete product but it will keep the existing values.

When a released product has variants, the business rule status is NOT updated on the released product as this feature is only updating variants and released products without variants.

Business rule conditions

The business rule controllers can contain validation methods.

With the expression validation it is possible to define query based rules. Every business rule enabled table must have an AOT query attached to it (by code). Based on this query fields can be selected in the expression designer.

E.g. If the Sales order pool must be 07, set up an Expression Where Pool equals value 07. In the Message that should be displayed if the expression fails, enter "Pool must be 07".

The following Xpp validations are shipped with the solution:

With the Xpp validation it is possible to use custom code. The business rule controllers can contain validation methods. The purpose of this is to create validations that can be used in multiple checks. E.g. a predefined method checkZeroPrice as defined on the WRDBusinessRuleController_SalesTable.

Press the button Xpp. In the dialog, enter Class description = Sales orders and Method = checkZeroPrice.

Specify a message "Sales line price can not be zero.".

The message can be setup per language through the button Message text.

In the field Role AOT name, the users to whom this role is assigned, can go to the To-status, even if validation fails.

Add a custom Xpp validation via an extension

The XPP methods can be extended by a developer. Clicking on the Xpp button on the Business rule condition, will show a dialog where the users needs to select the proper class and choose a method that will validate the transition (for example checkZeroPrice).

The methods that are selected here are defined on the class selected in the first field. For sales orders this is the class named DYSBRLBusinessRuleController_SalesTable. In order to add your method, you need to write an augmentation class and augment the specific class with the new XPP method.

This method needs to have the proper profile which consists of a few conditions:

• Public access modifier
• Boolean return variable
• 1 parameter of type Common

The parameter is the record for which the business rules is changed, but it should be defined as a Common record. In the method the developer can cast it to the specific table. The method should return a Boolean indicating whether the transition is valid. So true if the status can be changed and false otherwise.

An example for a new method could be checking whether the sales table has at last one sales line. The code for this would be as follow:

After compiling the code, the name of the method will show up in the method lookup and the user is able to select it.

Logbook

Common > Setup > Business rules > Logbook

Logging of status changes for a certain business rule type can be setup in the Logbook form by creating a record for the business rule type and activate the logging checkbox. From that moment on status changes will be tracked and can be shown via the button “Logbook” on the business rule. It will show all the log records for transitions from OR to the selected status.

Or via the “Logbook” menu item of the applicable type, E.g Released products, ribbon tab General > Business rules > Logbook.

Business Events

Via System administration > Setup > Business events > Business events catalog, the following business events for Business rules can be activated:

• Customer business rule status changed
• Item business rule status changed
• Opportunity business rule status changed
• Prospect business rule status changed
• Purchase order business rule status changed
• Sales order business rule status changed
• Sales quotation business rule status changed
• Vendor business rule status changed

Fields passed to the event:

Besides activation of the event in the catalog, also the checkbox Activate business event on the business rule transition needs to be enabled.

As there is no transition from blank to the default business rule status the system will always generate an event in that case.

Use business rules

Business rule on a customer

All customers > Fast tab: General

This business rule can be used for a simple work flow for the creation of a customer with the relevant data. When changing the business rule status of the customer, the blocking reason can be updated automatically.

Business rule on a prospect

Sales and marketing > Relationships > Prospects > All prospects > Fast tab: General

This business rule can be used for a simple work flow for the creation of a prospect with the relevant data. When changing the business rule status of the prospect, the blocking reason can be updated automatically.

Business rule on an opportunity

Sales and marketing > Relationships > Opportunities > All opportunities > Fast tab: General

Use the business rule for a simple work flow in the opportunity-to-sales process.

Business rule on a vendor

All vendors > Fast tab: General

This business rule can be used for a simple work flow for the on-boarding process of a vendor with the relevant data. When changing the business rule status of the vendor, the blocking reason can be updated automatically.

Business rule on a released product 

Released products > Fast tab: General > Group: Administration

This business rule can be used for a simple work flow and can update other fields like blocking reason, "stopped" check marks, life cycle status, depending on the parameters of the rule.

Business rule on sales quotation

Sales and marketing > Sales quotations > All quotations

This business rule can be used for a simple work flow and a business rule status can automatically be applied when the sales quotations is promoted to a different quotation status. Depending on the business rule status, posting the quotation or posting the confirmation can be enabled or disabled. 

Business rule on sales order

Sales and marketing > Sales orders > All sales orders

Use the business rule for a simple work flow in the sales order cycle. In the parameters of the business rule status is specified which actions (like posting the confirmation or packing slip) are allowed, and which fields can be auto-updated.

Business rule on purchase order

Procurement and sourcing > Purchase orders > All purchase orders

Use the business rule for a simple work flow in the purchase ordering process. In the parameters of the business rule status is specified which actions (like posting the order or product receipt) are allowed, and which fields can be auto-updated.

Use business rules within warehouse management

Release to warehouse

Warehouse management > Release to warehouse  > Automatic release of sales orders

Warehouse management > Release to warehouse  > Release to warehouse

If a sales order has a business rule status that prevents release to warehouse, the sales order is excluded from Automatic release of sales orders, and from the manual Release to warehouse form. 

Packing station

Warehouse management > Packing and containerization > Pack

Packing itself is not blocked with the business rule status, but a clear orange banner "Blocked for shipment" or "Blocked for packing slip" indicates when the shipment contains a sales order for which the business rule prevents shipment confirmation or packing slip posting. The open lines that trigger the block, are indicated with a check mark Block.

Blocked for shipment: in this case, when closing the last container, the shipment is not confirmed. After the business rule status changes and no longer blocks for shipment, the shipment can be confirmed from the shipment list page or the load list page. A shipment can not be confirmed partially, so one blocked sales order within a shipment with multiple sales orders will prevent the confirmation of the shipment.

Blocked for packing slip: in the container packing policy settings, it is possible to print the packing slip when closing the last container on the packing station. However, when the order is blocked for packing slip posting, no header and lines are retrieved in the packing slip posting screen. After the order is unblocked, the packing slip can be posted from the shipment list page or the load list page. 

Shipment list page

Warehouse management > Shipments > All shipments

The orange triangles in the column Block show that the shipment contains at least one sales order with a business rule that does not allow outbound shipment confirmation or packing slip posting.
A shipment cannot be confirmed if one or more of the sales orders in this shipment are blocked for shipment confirmation. A shipment can be confirmed if only blocked for packing slip occurs at the sales orders within the shipment.

Load list page

Warehouse management > Loads > All loads

If one of the shipments in the load cannot be confirmed, the whole load cannot be confirmed. In order to ship some shipments in a load, it is possible to transfer a shipment to a new or existing load.

Batch update of Business rules status

Business requirement

Business rule statusses are available on several entities. Changing the status on such an entity is a manual process or can be triggered by the document status. For example when a sales order is confirmed. An advantage of the business rules is that validation rules are adjusted. More often orders are more-and-more created in an automated way, originating from EDI or webshops. A more volume-based approach is needed to validate and update the status automatically.

Batch update

The business rules solution offers the functionality to validate and update multiple records of an entity at once, by using the batch function update. For a specified range (viay the query) of records for a specific entity the business rule can be set from a selected begin status to the requested end status.

The following menu items are available to start the periodic batch function for an entity (Common > Periodic > Business Rules):

• Status update customer
• Status update items
• Status update opportunities
• Status update propects
• Status update purchase orders
• Status update sales orders
• Status update sales quotations
• Status update vendor

Processing the business rule status update for multiple entities can have both a technical and a functional result. From a technical perspective the batch run is succeeded when all the entity records are processed succesfully. However, from a functional perspective the business owner will be informed about the validations and the business rule status update. So when a business rule update is not completed, due to business rule validation errors, this is only a functional result. This means that the batch job will not give an error but the batch job history contains a functional log with extended (functional) messages about the results of the business rule update processing.

It's also possible to enable the business rule log book for a specific entity which will show these errors.

FAQ