Becoming a Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate: Optimize and streamline supply chain management processes to improve outcomes and reduce costs

Okay, but not as good as Andreas Luszczak’s books
I would rate the book 3.5, but that’s not possible. I feel some others have voted 5 without good reason, so instead of rounding up to 4 I will round down to 3 to try to offset their inflated ratings (and notice that most of the 5 star reviews don’t even show CONFIRMED PURCHASE). Just remember that the book is not horrible, even though I will point out quite a few things.1) Kind of wordy and vague, and and in some places, contradictory.”Each line of the BOM must be linked to a configuration group, and any line that doesn’t belong to a group must be included in the product master.” (p32)What does that mean? It sounds like every line MUST be linked to a configuration group, but some lines don’t need to belong to a configuration group. They are either contradicting themselves, or don’t know how to communicate effectively.This is supposed to be an informative book, not literature. They waste too much time saying things expressively that add nothing to content.”Every product experiences a unique journey, embarking on a voyage from inception …” (p32)”Choose *New* to breathe life into a fresh life cycle or *Edit* to recalibrate the settings of an existing one.” (p33)”… accessible only to the user who brought the template into existence.” (p34)Instead of telling me about “embarking on voyages”, “unique journeys”, “breathing life” into things, “recalibrating” settings, and “bringing things into existence”, how about better explaining what is going on?2) The organization is also bad.So I was reading about consignment inventory, and that starts on page 133. Then when I get to page 138 it THEN tells me that consignment inventory does not work with Advanced Warehouse management. Well, that was a waste of reading 5 pages. Why not put that important information at the BEGINNING of the section on consignment inventory?On page 36 they mention BOM *VERSIONS* at least half a dozen times, three more times on page 37, and eight more times on page 38 before they have a section on BOM versions. Even then it doesn’t explicitly say what a BOM version is (if I say, “To get from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., you can use a car”, I have not told you what a car is).As another example, on page 71 starts a 2-page, 20-or-so paragraph discussion of Picking Lists. But it is not indicated as a sub topic of outbound operations.The on page 73 starts a 1-page, 10-or-so paragraph discussion of Packing Slip. But it also is not indicated as a sub topic.As another example, on page 74 they are listing types of inventory journals and have Transfer, with a single indented paragraph. But the 2 paragraphs that follow the single indented paragraph, but themselves are not indented, are clearly paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Transfer entry. The same failure in organization occurs on the next page too.As another, on page 80 begins a page-long, multi-paragraph section on receiving a transfer order, but it is not set off as a separate section.3) Then there are typos and errors that should have been caught and fixed during review.For example, on page 78 it indicates that transfer orders can also be done using inventory transfer journals, but the two are different things … as the book itself points out. It should say that TRANSFERS, not TRANSFER ORDERS, can also be done using inventory transfer journals.On page 82 it wrongly says that Available Physical is the result of subtracting physical inventory from physical reserved inventory. No, it is the result of subtracting physical reserved inventory from physical inventory. If your physical inventory is 20, and 15 of those are physical reserved, then you have 20 – 15 = 5 available physical.On page 70 it says that outbound processes deal with shipping inventory outside our stock, instead of out of our stock. If my company is McDonald’s warehousing, the shipping of Burger King’s inventory is outside our stock, but has nothing to do with my D365 F/SCM.On page 83 it says that inventory transactions form shows inventory transactions in progress. No, it shows us those as well as inventory transactions that are completed (Sold or Purchased).And there are places where they use excessive analogies, for no good reason.”… like making an elaborate shopping list …” (p90)”It’s like having your own personal assistant …” (p90)”… imagine it as your backroom grocery list.” (p91)”It’s like having a personal shopper.” (p91)”… like a trusted chaperone …” (p91)”… as quickly as a pizza delivery …” (p91)”These are your inventory restocking gurus.” (p91)”It’s like having a personal logistic manager …” (p91)”This of this list as your superhero guide …” (p92)”It’s like your personal organizer …” (p92)The padding (like a school kid told to write a 1,000-word essay adding useless filler words, statements, and sentences) or flowery language continues …”From here, we will start our requisition journey …” (p97)”One tool shines brightly as a beacon of clarity and order – the venerable PO.” (p115)”Conceived by the buyer, …” (p115)”this document undergoes a metamorphosis …” (p115)”A PO is akin to a comprehensive blueprint detailing the topography of the transaction.” (p115)”It’s a reference point, a compass pointing toward the specific seller participation in the transaction.” (p115)”This document is a professionally crafted notification transmitted to the vendor, heralding the upcoming procurement.” (p115)”[The items] are promptly inducted into the inventory …” (p115)”This well-orchestrated symphony of events marks the journey of the PO, an indispensable instrument in the orchestra of commerce.” (p115)4) Too many screenshotsScreenshots are a good thing, unless there are too many of them.Consider the section on Sales Orders, including confirmation, picking list, and packing slip. It starts on page 179 and ends on page 192. On average, at least half of the “real estate” on those pages is consumed by a screenshot. And actually, the pages on confirmation, picking list, and packing slip (pages 186-192) are more like 90% screenshot. At least half of those screenshots could have been eliminated and more information included instead. For example, what about cancelling the remaining delivery quantity? And lots of other things about sales orders that is not covered, but could have been.PS: But aren’t there a lot of color images, that help make up for some of the shortcomings? No.There are probably something like 400 images in the book, all black and white .. except for 3 near the very end of the book that are color. But there is no good reason for those particular 3 to be in color instead of black and white like all the others. And if those 3 images being printed in color increased the cost of printing the book, then the buyer is being cheated yet another way.

Exceptional resource to become a D365 Supply Chain Management consultant
It’s not just a book, but a roadmap to mastering Dynamics 365 and transforming supply chain management. Highly recommended for those looking to elevate their skills on Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management