Microsoft Dynamics Connector in Master Data Management Scenario

Microsoft Dynamics Connector in Master Data Management Scenario

 

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to explain what Master Data Management capabilities are provided by Microsoft Dynamics Connector. Please note that in the previous articles I described how to implement Master Data Management scenario for Microsoft Dynamics using Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services.

 

Challenge: There is number of tools and services available for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 which have Master Data Management capabilities. The challenge is to understand usage scenarios and how to apply them properly. Microsoft Dynamics Connector allows you to synchronize master data between Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

 

Solution: Microsoft Dynamics Connector is an integration solution that is targeted specifically at the Microsoft Dynamics family of products, and can integrate data between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and other Microsoft Dynamics ERP databases. This tool is intended for an implementation where Microsoft Dynamics CRM is used to manage business contacts, track leads, enter sales orders, and perform other sales and marking activities, and where the Microsoft Dynamics ERP system is used to perform accounting functions, manage a company’s chart of accounts, and maintain customer, vendor, item, employee, and other records.

 

Scenario

 

Microsoft Dynamics Connector can be used in some Master Data Management scenarios when Microsoft Dynamics CRM business data has to be synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics AX business data. For the sake of simplicity in this document I’ll consider usual Master Data Management entities such as Customers and Products.

 

Walkthrough

 

For the purposes of this walkthrough I installed Microsoft Dynamics Connector (for AX) on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client machine. In this scenario I’ll be using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, so I also subscribed to free trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm-free-trial-overview.aspx

 

Now let’s set up an integration between Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 in Microsoft Dynamics Connector

 

New Integration

 

 

Please note that Microsoft Dynamics Connector ships with number configuration templates and “Dynamics AX 2012/Dynamics CRM 2011” is one of them

 

As the result new integration will be created

 

Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

 

 

Under Maps node you will see the number of standard maps defined as a part of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 / Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 template. In particular for this walkthrough we are interested in the following standard maps

<![if !supportLists]>-          <![endif]>Account to Customer Service

<![if !supportLists]>-          <![endif]>Customer Service to Account

<![if !supportLists]>-          <![endif]>Item Service to Product

 

Now it’s time to configure adapters so we can connect to the instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Let’s start with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Adapter

 

Adapter Settings

 

 

Here you have to specify AOS Server Name, Document Port, Services Port, Domain, User Name and Password. After that in order to configure specific Services in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for their use in Microsoft Dynamics Connector you will have to click on “Configure Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012”

 

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Adapter Configuration

 

 

Please note that DynamicsConnectorDefaultServices Services group is selected by default because it supports Microsoft Dynamics Connector standard maps. Consequently there’s a dedicated Inbound port in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 which contains all these Web Services

 

Inbound ports

 

 

Please note that as a part of Microsoft Dynamics Connector (for AX) installation DynamicsConnector XPO gets installed which has the definitions of all required Web Services

 

Project

 

 

Now let’s switch to configuration of Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

 

Adapter Settings

 

 

Please note that I selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter for configuration, and NOT Microsoft Dynamics CRM Adapter, because the latter one is obsolete. Please also note that you have to provide Integration account credentials which is different from Administrator account credentials, that’s why I created brand-new integration@usmf.onmicrosoft.com user in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter Configuration - Welcome

 

 

At this point we have to provide

 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter Configuration – Get Organizations

 

 

Please note that here you have to provide Administrator account credentials, and then you will be able to retrieve the list of available organizations. In my case I have only one available, so I’ll select “Microsoft”

 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter Configuration – Entities

 

 

By default those entities which support standard maps in Microsoft Dynamics Connector will be selected for configuration, however you can select more entities in the list for configuration if you plan to create your own maps. In this instance we’ll be good with standard entities for Account and Product which are selected by default

 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Adapter Configuration – Progress  

 

 

Then the system will go ahead and configure selected entities for Microsoft Dynamics Connector

 

Okay, now let’s review the details of maps to find out about what data elements will be synchronized between Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. For example, looking at “Account to Customer Service” map we’ll see particular fields to be synchronized as well as different functions which the system will apply for data transformation 

 

Account to Customer Service map

 

 

Customer Service to Account map

 

 

Item Service to Product map

 

 

Please note that by default the system Microsoft Dynamics Connector only provides one map for Products which allows you to synchronize Products data from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM which makes sense taking into account the fact that Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a Customer Relationship Management system and products management activities are usually done within ERP system

 

Please see more details about standard maps in Microsoft Dynamics Connector related to Customers and Products below 

 

CRM Account to AX Customer map

 

 

Please note that Microsoft Dynamics Connector also allows you to use a modeling language in order to accommodate for different types of data transformation scenarios

 

 

 

CRM Account to AX Customer map - Table

 

CRM Field	AX Field
Blocked	If(Credit Hold, “Invoice”, “No”)
Credit Max	Credit Limit\Value
Currency	Currency\Dynamics Integration Key
Cust Group	Account Category\Name
DAX Integration Id	If(IsEntityReferenceKey(Dynamics Integration Key), GetEntityReferenceKeyIdAsString(Dynamics Integration Key), Concatenate("{", Account ID, "}"))
Dlv Term	Address 1 Freight Terms\Name
Main Contact Personnel Number	Owning User\Dynamics Integration Key
Memo	Description
Paym Term Id	Payment Terms\Name

 

AX Customer to CRM Account map

 

 

AX Customer to CRM Account map - Table

 

AX Field	CRM Field
Account Name	GetPropertyFromInstance(Organization, 0, “Name”)
Account Number	Account Num
Address 1 Dynamics Integration Key	GetPrimaryAddressId(Organization)
Address 2 Dynamics Integration Key	GetSecondaryAddressId(Organization, 1)
Credit Hold	If(EqualTo(Credit Max, 0), true, false)
Description	Memo
Do not allow Bulk E-mails	False
Do not allow Bulk Mails	False
Do not allow E-mails	False
Do not allow Faxes	False
Do not allow Mails	False
Do not allow Phone Calls	False
Dynamics Integration Key	CreateEntityReferenceKey(Account Num, DAX Integration Id)
E-mail	GetPrimaryCommunicationForType(Organization, “Email”)
E-mail Address 2	GetCommunicationForType(Organization, “Email”)
E-mail Address 3	GetCommunicationForCustomerType(Organization, “Email”, 2)
Fax	GetPrimaryCommunicationForType(Organization, “Fax”)
Main Phone	GetPrimaryCommunicationForType(Organization, “Phone”)
Other Phone	GetCommunicationForType(Organization, “Phone”)
Ready for Integration	True
Send Marketing Materials	False
Web Site	GetPrimaryCommunicationForType(Organization, “URL”)

 

AX Item to CRM Product map

 

 

AX Item to CRM Product map - Table

 

AX Field	CRM Field
Dynamics Integration Key	Item Id
ID	Item Id
Product Name	Name Alias
Decimals Supported	2
Is Kit	IsKit(BOM Version)
Quantity On Hand	If(Or(EqualTo(GetTotalAvailable(InventSum), DefaultValue()), LessThan(GetTotalAvailable(InventSum), 0)), 0, GetTotalAvailable(InventSum))
Stock Volume	Unit Volume
Stock Weight	Net Weight
Vendor	Primary Vendor Id
Components	GetBomLines(BOM Version)
Default Unit
Substitutes	GetArrayOfDictionary(“dynamics_integrationkey”, Alt Item Id)
Unit Group

 

Now we can compare Microsoft Dynamics Connector maps with standard import Excel templates in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

 

Account - Fields

 

 

Account – Import Template (Table)

 

Table Name	Field Name	Data Type	Maximum Length/Value
	Account Name	Text	160
	Account Number	Text	20
	E-mail	Text	100
	Parent Account	Lookup
	Primary Contact	Lookup
	Owner	Lookup
	Main Phone	Text	50
	Other Phone	Text	50
	Fax	Text	50
	Web Site	Text	200
	Relationship Type	Option Set
	Account Manager	Lookup
	Territory	Lookup
	Category	Option Set
	Industry	Option Set
	Annual Revenue	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	No. of Employees	Whole Number	0 .. 1000000000
	Ownership	Option Set
	Ticker Symbol	Text	10
	Description	Text	200
	Address Name	Text	200
	Street 1	Text	250
	Street 2	Text	250
	Street 3	Text	250
	City	Text	80
	State/Province	Text	50
	ZIP/Postal Code	Text	20
	Country/Region	Text	80
	Currency	Lookup
	Managing Partner	Lookup
	Originating Lead	Lookup
	Preferred Method of Contact	Option Set
	Do not allow E-mails	Option Set
	Do not allow Phone Calls	Option Set
	Do not allow Mails	Option Set
	Do not allow Bulk E-mails	Option Set
	Do not allow Faxes	Option Set
	Send Marketing Materials	Option Set
	Credit Limit	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Credit Hold	Option Set
	Payment Terms	Option Set
	Price List	Lookup
	Account Rating	Option Set
	SIC Code	Text	20
	Preferred Service	Lookup
	Preferred Facility/Equipment	Lookup
	Preferred User	Lookup
	Preferred Day	Option Set
	Preferred Time	Option Set

 

Account – Fields (Details)

 

 

Account – Relations (1-N)

 

 

Account – Relations (N-1)

 

 

Account – Relations (N-N)

 

 

Products – Fields

 

 

Products – Import Template (Table)

 

Table Name	Field Name	Data Type	Maximum Length/Value
	ID	Text	100
	Product Name	Text	100
	Subject	Lookup
	Unit Group	Lookup
	Default Unit	Lookup
	Currency	Lookup
	Product Type	Option Set
	Quantity On Hand	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	URL	Text	255
	Decimals Supported	Whole Number	0 .. 5
	List Price	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Standard Cost	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Current Cost	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Vendor	Text	100
	Vendor Part Number	Text	100
	Stock Weight	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Stock Volume	Decimal Number	0 .. 100000000000000
	Description	Text	2000

 

Product – Fields (Details)

 

 

Product – Relations (1-N)

 

 

Product – Relations (N-1)

 

 

Product – Relations (N-N)

 

 

You can also review standard entity templates for Customers and Products available in Data Import Export Framework in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 here: http://ax2012aifintegration.blogspot.com/2013/05/microsoft-dynamics-ax-2012-data-import.html

 

As you can see Microsoft Dynamics Connector standard maps can be effectively used to synchronize master data between Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Please note that standard maps in Microsoft Dynamics Connector provide a quick start for you and you can modify them as required

 

Summary: This document describes how to use Microsoft Dynamics Connector in Master Data Management scenarios for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. In particular I explained how to configure an integration in Microsoft Dynamics Connector as well as define a map for particular types of business data which includes Customers and Products. Microsoft Dynamics Connector provides a robust and extensible platform for data synchronization in Master Data Management scenario for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 which allows us to synchronize records, do any kinds of data transformations, etc. as required. Please note that Microsoft Dynamics Connector is specifically designed to integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Microsoft Dynamics ERP and it doesn’t provide full-fledged Master Data Management capabilities (Content, Relationship, Access, Change, Process), that’s why please review my other articles on how to implement Master Data Management scenario for Microsoft Dynamics using SQL Server Master Data Services.   

 

Tags: Dynamics AX 2012, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, Dynamics Connector, Master Data Management, Customers, Accounts, Products, Items.

 

Note: This document is intended for information purposes only, presented as it is with no warranties from the author. This document may be updated with more content to better outline the issues and describe the solutions.

 

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP