• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

Tag Archives: Flow

How to Show/Hide a Button Using the Business Process Flow Stage

January 7, 2021   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

In today’s blog, we’ll discuss how to show and hide a button using the Business Process Flow (BPF) stage. In the example, we are going to hide the Close as Won button for all BPF stages on the Opportunity entity except for the last stage, Opportunity Close, where we will show the Close as Won button. First, we will create one new record in the Opportunity entity. After creating the new Opportunity…

Source

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

PowerObjects- Bringing Focus to Dynamics CRM

Read More

Creating a Social Posts Approval Flow with Dynamics 365 Marketing and Power Automate

October 10, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Dynamics 365 Marketing is a powerful application within Dynamics 365 that allows for the easy management and deployment of digital marketing campaigns. Included within this is the ability to create and schedule social media posts.. As part of Dynamics 365 and the greater Microsoft suite of business apps, Dynamics 365 Marketing allows for easy integration between Microsoft products. This includes the workflow automation tool, Power Automate, formerly known as Microsoft Flow.

Power Automate allows users to create automation flows within other Microsoft apps and some 3rd party applications. With the help of Power Automate, you can create a social post approval process in Dynamics 365 Marketing. This flow automatically sends social post drafts to a designated approver when marked for approval in Dynamics 365. The approver then receives an email with the name and text of the post along with a direct link to the draft in 365 Marketing. From there, the approver can schedule the post.

Create the flow

To get started making the flow, navigate to Dynamics 365 Marketing Social Posts and select New. On the editor page, there will be a Flow drop down on your top tool bar. Select new to begin creating the approval flow.

It will default as a common data service button, which is what you are looking for. Since we initiated it through the social post editor, it should have your first step set up already. If not, it should be titled “When a Record is Selected.” The environment can be left at Default and the entity should be “Social posts.” Next, create an “Initialize Variable” step. It is not fully necessary in this instance, but in longer flows with multiple of the same kinds of steps, you may want to rename them to something more specific. We can call this one “Post Link”. The name field should be “Post Link” and select String in the Type drop down. Value can be left blank. This step creates a variable that will be used in the process to give a link to the draft of the social post in Dynamics 365 Marketing.

The Process Scope

A scope step is essentially like a file divider. It keeps similar functioning actions together. Scopes keep your flow organized as you can collapse it when you are working on a different step. Rename this scope to Process Scope, or something similar that makes the most sense to you. This scope will be what sends the email to the approver. Add a “Set Variable” and “Send an Email(V2)” action. Either email action should work fine, however the original is no longer receiving updates. In the “Set Variable” action, enter “Post Link” in the name field. The value function may be confusing, but Power Automate makes it pretty easy to get through it.

When clicking into the field, you should see a Dynamic Content window appear. Within this window click the Expression tab. Look for a function called “concat(text_1, text_2,…).” In the next step you will replace the two placeholder texts. Open another tab and navigate to a social post in 365 Marketing. Copy the web address and paste it into Word document or notepad. It should look like this:

https://[Your URL]&pagetype=entityrecord&etn=msdyncrm_socialpost&id=c6e087e9-7209-eb11-a813-000d3a17769f

Delete the section after “socialpost&id=” and keep everything else. This will replace “Text_1” in the concat function. This is input as a string, so you will need to put apostrophes on both ends of the link. The second placeholder is much simpler. All you need to do is replace “Text_2” with the “Social posts” variable from the dynamic content window where you got the concat function.

Now, the flow will combine the static portion of the URL with the unique ID for each social post. With the Set Variable action complete, we can move on to the email. The email action is simple and completely customizable based on what information you want to include for the approver. Add the email address of the approver and give it a relevant subject. In the body, you can add dynamic content to give a preview of the post within the email itself. In our Flow, we use Name, Post Text, and the Post Link variable that we created.

The Failure Scope

This is technically an optional step, but we have found that including a failure scope in flows provides quicker notification if something goes wrong. Power Automate does give notifications if a flow fails, but it can sometimes delay the email, or try to bunch them together. This scope sends an email immediately upon failure of the process scope.

To add this, create a scope step and rename it Failure Scope. In the settings dropdown of the scope, which looks like an ellipsis on the right side, set the run condition to failure of the process scope. Add two actions into this scope. One will be an email and the other Terminate. Set the email up to send to whomever is your flow manager. Be sure to specify in the subject and body which flow has failed. On the Terminate function, you only need to set the Status field to Failed. Everything else is fine to leave blank. This action just makes sure the flow stops in case of failure.

This flow simplifies the process of sending social posts created in Dynamics 365 Marketing off for approval. With Power Automate, it is easy to create these kinds of automatic processes without requiring a super extensive coding background. If you have questions or want to learn more about what Dynamics 365 Marketing and Power Automate can do for your company, Schedule a 45-minute discovery call with a Dynamics 365 Consultant to talk through your situation and answer any questions you may have!

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

Before You Buy Dynamics 365, SalesForce, Zoho, or P2xRM, Get a Process Flow Diagram

August 16, 2020   CRM News and Info

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a tool. So is SalesForce, Zoho, and P2xRM.  A tool is only effective when it is used properly, according to directions, and for the purpose for which it was designed. But even the best tools will not make your work successful if you don’t follow a blueprint.

Whether you are considering Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM, SalesForce, Zoho, or P2xRM for your business, your best chance of achieving what you want will come with a plan based on a Process Flow Diagram. The diagram will function as a roadmap, or a blueprint, to lead you through processes to your destination.

At P2 Automation, part of our Design Phase, which we perform for every CRM project, is a Process Flow diagram.

This diagram is a chart you can look at to see the workflow processes necessary for conducting business within your organization.  The above graphic illustrates a complicated Process Flow Diagram that we recently designed during the initial stages of a Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation.

You can see precisely how this organization progresses from initial lead to customer-needs evaluation through implementation, training, and continuing support.

We do charge our customers for the Design Phase of their projects, but the groundwork covered is invaluable. Research, problem-solving, and recommendations that emerge from this phase become valuable assets.  Should you decide not to complete your CRM implementation project with P2 Automation, you’ll still have this blueprint to guide your selection of the tool of your choice.

It is worth noting that most of the avoidable extra expenses in a project come from additions and change orders that could have been prevented by having a well thought out blueprint to follow.  Making changes on a diagram is a lot easier and less costly than trying to make changes mid-implementation.

Before you proceed with your Dynamics 365, SalesForce, or Zoho project, contact our experts at P2 Automation to schedule a discovery/strategy session and start laying out your process flow.

By P2 Automation, www.p2automation.com

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

How to Replace PowerAttachment with a Power Automate Flow

July 30, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

With PowerAttachment, users were able to set attachments to automatically sync to their SharePoint sites – stripping the actual attachment from Dynamics 365 and replacing it with a link to the document that is now stored in SharePoint. It works with all entities and their attachments. And if you ever needed to leave attachments intact for a specific entity, you could simply define the entity in…

Source

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

PowerObjects- Bringing Focus to Dynamics CRM

Read More

Now visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board and categorize rows for better data clarity in Dynamics 365 CRM & PowerApps

May 25, 2020   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

604x345xKanban Board.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Q9aVd9Sc6C Now visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board and categorize rows for better data clarity in Dynamics 365 CRM & PowerApps

Growth of an organization depends upon the collective effort put together by all the departments; be it Sales, Marketing, Finance or Accounts. This effort includes pursuing each and every business process diligently and maintaining decorum while doing it. In order to pursue these processes, one needs to know about it and understand it. Once it is done, all you have to do is prioritize the work and follow the processes to the T.

Kanban Board – our latest visualization tool which provides Kanban like view of Dynamics 365 CRM records has recently released two new features which will help you achieve the above feat effortlessly. These new features are as follows:

  • Business Process Flow
  • Row Grouping

Business Process Flow (BPF)

This new feature will provide you simplistic view of business processes. It will organize and categorize the records of an entity as per the Business Process Flow stages of that entity in a Kanban View. For example, let’s say you have enabled BPF function for Opportunity entity. Now, the records will be organized in Kanban view according to the BPF associated with Opportunity entity in Dynamics 365 CRM and lanes would be categorized by the BPF stages i.e. Qualify – Develop – Propose – Close. You will get a clear view of how many of your records are in which stage of business process and accordingly you can come up with action plan to close all the pending deals.

612x299x1visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board.png.pagespeed.ic.nMKBx SCTo Now visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board and categorize rows for better data clarity in Dynamics 365 CRM & PowerApps

Row Grouping

Initially, in Kanban Board records were categorized in lanes but now you can categorize the records in rows also. With this added feature, you can easily group records in a row based on any field value which will further help you to take stock of the situation, make plans and implement actions accordingly. For example, if you enable this feature for Case entity on the basis of Priority attribute, then you will get the Kanban View of all records in case entity grouped in row on the basis of priority – High, Normal and Low. Further, you can also drag and drop these records from one row to another and update its status. This grouping will give you clarity about the tasks that needs your immediate attention and help you to take actions accordingly.

618x284x2visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board.png.pagespeed.ic.HUzxcgdKX0 Now visualize Business Process Flow in the form of Kanban Board and categorize rows for better data clarity in Dynamics 365 CRM & PowerApps

You can explore these new features by downloading the solution from our website for a trial period of 15 days.

If you have any doubts or want to give suggestions about our product then feel free to mail us at crm@inogic.com

Until then – Stay safe, Stay healthy!

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

On-Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

November 3, 2019   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Why this post?

This post is a segment of something I covered during my User Group Summit 2019 session. This session was called “Triple Threat – Microsoft Flow, Dynamics 365, and You“. During this session I covered various ways you can utilize Microsoft Flow with Dynamics 365.

If you attended the User Group Summit 2019 in Orlando, FL, and you purchased the video recordings add-on package, you can access the recording library now.

Now, on with the blog!

On-Demand Microsoft Flow – What is it?

If you have been using Dynamics 365 (CRM) for sometime, you will know about on-demand workflows. They are a way to allow users to run automation only when needed. They will not run through some sort of automated trigger.

So, like the on-demand workflows of old, we are now in the age of Microsoft Flow. We can now create on-demand Microsoft Flows to provide on-demand automation.

First Things First – Dynamics 365 Settings

Prior to utilizing Microsoft Flows within Dynamics 365, you will need to enable this setting. New versions of Dynamics 365 since the October 2019 update will have Microsoft Flows already enabled.

To enable the setting, you will need to navigate to Settings>System Settings>Customizations. Next, click on “Yes” under “Enable Microsoft Flow”.

Microsoft Flow setting in Dynamics 365 625x343 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Second Things Second(?) – PowerApps Settings

The Power Platform Admin Center contains the Microsoft Flow setting as well. To enable the setting, you will need to navigate to https://admin.powerplatform.com>Click your Environment name>Settings>Behavior. Next, toggle the “Show Microsoft Flow on forms and in the site map” setting to “On”.

Microsoft Flow setting in Power Platform admin center 625x302 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Microsoft Flow Menu Button

Once the settings are enabled, the Microsoft Flow menu button will be visible in various places. First, you will see the menu button above a view in Dynamics 365.

Microsoft Flow menu button above a View 625x168 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Second, you will see the menu button at the top of a record form in Dynamics 365.

Microsoft Flow menu button on a record form 625x320 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Third, you will see the Microsoft Flow option in the classic Dynamics 365 Settings Menu.

Microsoft Flow option in the Dynamics 365 Settings 625x206 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Fourth, you will see the menu button at the top of a view in a model-driven PowerApp.

Microsoft Flow menu button above a View in PowerApps 625x208 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Fifth, you will see the menu button at the top of a record in a model-driven PowerApp.

Microsoft Flow menu button on a record form in PowerApps 625x317 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Start Creating the On-Demand Microsoft Flow

Now, we are at the fun part of creating a Microsoft Flow! You can start your Microsoft Flow creation in a couple of ways. You can navigate to https://flow.microsoft.com, or you can navigate to https://make.powerapps.com and select “Flows” on the right-hand side.

The example today will be a simple one, and it’s only meant to demonstrate how to set up the on-demand Microsoft Flow.

On the Microsoft Flow site, click on “New” and select “Instant – from blank”.

Microsoft Flow create new Instant Flow On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Next comes a small tip you need to know. When the “Build an instant flow” window appears, the “When a record is selected” option is NOT visible.

Build an instant flow When a record is selected is missing 625x396 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Now, click on the “Skip” button at the bottom, and this will load the “Search connectors and triggers” screen.

Microsoft Flow Search connectors and triggers screen 559x625 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Now comes the tip. Type “Common Data Service” in the search field, and you will now see the “When a record is selected” option.

Build an instant flow When a record is selected is now visible 548x625 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Building the On-Demand Microsoft Flow

After the “When a record is selected” option is available, select it. Next, give your Microsoft Flow a name, and then select an Environment and an Entity. Also, be sure to rename the first step to something more meaningful.

Build an instant flow Creating a Flow First Steps 625x127 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

The next step will update the Account Name on the Account record to uppercase.

Build an instant flow Creating a Flow Next Step 625x435 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

  1. Rename the step
    • Always put a meaningful name on your Flow steps.
  2. Select the Environment
    • Use the “Current” option from the list. This will make exporting and importing Flows from environment to environment easier.
  3. Select the Entity
    • Choose the correct entity to use in the action.
  4. Input the “Record Identifier”
    • Select the “Account” option using the fields available from the prior step.
  5. Update the field
    • This is where the Account Name will get updated to uppercase. The formula to use here is toUpper(triggerBody()?[‘entity’]?[‘name’]).

Microsoft Flow Tips

Before we continue, I wanted to provide some quick tips to help you build the expression used above. The expression portion of “triggerBody()?[‘entity’]?[‘name’]” is the code for the Account Name field. Now, let’s look into how you can obtain this.

First, let’s get the code for the Account Name field. Select the “Account Name” field from the list so that it appears in the field. Then click on the ellipsis button and choose “Peek code”.

Build an instant flow Expression tips 625x261 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Second, look in the code list and you will see the “name” code in the middle. Highlight the code to copy it, but DO NOT copy the “@” symbol and the “” quotes.

Build an instant flow Peek code info On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Third, you need to know how to input an Expression. Remove the “Account Name” field you just added, and click on the field in the action step. Next, choose the Expression tab on the pop-out box.

Build an instant flow Start the input of an Expression 625x189 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Fourth, type in the expression “toupper()” (without quotes) in the Expression field. Now, paste the code you copied from the second step above. The expression should look like the below screen shot.

Build an instant flow Expression code On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Lastly, your Flow should look like this. Be sure to save the Flow now.

Build an instant flow Finished Flow 625x434 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Running the On-Demand Microsoft Flow in Dynamics 365

The last step is to run the Flow in Dynamics 365, and in PowerApps, to see if it will work. After you have saved your Microsoft Flow, you should now see it within the Microsoft Flow menu button.

Microsoft Flow menu button 625x178 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Next, click on the Flow and a “Run Flow” window will pop up. Click on the “Run Flow” button.

Microsoft Flow menu button Run Flow On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Once the Flow runs, you should refresh the list and you will see the “Consolidated Messenger” account name is now uppercase.

Microsoft Flow Account Name is now uppercase On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

Running the On-Demand Microsoft Flow in PowerApps

Lastly, let’s look at this within a model-driven PowerApp.

Microsoft Flow menu button in model driven PowerApp 625x195 On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

After the Flow has been run, you will now see the Account Name is uppercase.

Microsoft Flow Account Name is now uppercase in model driven PowerApp On Demand Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 and PowerApps

In Closing

You will need to keep in mind that the Flows need to be set up for each Environment. I had set up 2 Flows with one for the Dynamics 365 environment and one for the PowerApps environment.

Also, I would recommend you test your Flows against a Sandbox environment to ensure your Production environment is not harmed. You can export and then import Flows from one environment to another. Or, you can include Flows within a Solution ONLY within the PowerApps Maker site. You can’t do this in the Classic interface.

Hopefully, this blog helps you understand how to get on-demand Flows working for you. Until next time.


Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

Refresh your Power BI dataset using Microsoft Flow

October 18, 2019   Self-Service BI

When speaking with customers about how they’ve used Power BI to improve collaborative business processes in their organization, we often hear that Power BI is used to summarize and visualize data that many end users are entering into tools like Excel files, SharePoint lists, or the Common Data Service.  Business processes like managing a team’s budget requests, planning hiring activities, and evaluating marketing campaigns can all fit this pattern.

With these sorts of processes, users often expect Power BI reports to be updated as soon as they enter data in underlying systems. Power BI’s existing fixed refresh schedules are not sufficient to accomplish this and manually refreshing the Power BI dataset each time your access a report adds extra steps and creates confusion.

Today, we are making scheduling of refreshes much more flexible to improve how Power BI works in processes like the ones described above. Specifically, we have added a new Refresh a dataset action to the Power BI connector for Microsoft Flow. Now, you will be able to trigger dataset refreshes based on hundreds of Flow triggers. Whether your trigger is based on changes to items in your SharePoint list or updates to an Excel file in OneDrive or SharePoint Online or a complex day and time schedule, there are dozens of use cases for this action.

Excited? Read on for a full tutorial of using the new refresh a dataset action to automate refreshing a Power BI report based on changes to a SharePoint list. Or, head on over to  Flow to try it out for yourself.

Tutorial: Trigger dataset refresh for SharePoint lists or OneDrive Excel files with Flow and Power BI

In this tutorial, we will create a Flow that triggers a dataset refresh whenever items in a SharePoint list are updated.

Consider an example where you are the office administrator for Northwind Traders and you have been given the responsibility of ensuring the office is well stocked with office supplies, by monitoring inventory, placing new orders, and maintaining the overall budget for the team. You might have a report that looks something like this:

Furthermore, imagine that various employees in the company have access to a SharePoint list to report supplies that are getting low in their parts of the office:

To ensure you have an accurate picture of your supply requests and budget levels, any requests made on this SharePoint list should immediately reflect in the report. Instead of having to manually refresh your dataset each time you or someone else views the report or wait until the next scheduled refresh, you can easily automate this process using the new dataset refresh action in Flow.

To get started, navigate to Flow. Sign in, and then go to My Flows, then choose + New, and select + Automated – from blank from the drop-down. You should see the following:

Go ahead and give your Flow a name and select a SharePoint trigger depending on your use case. In this example, since we want the Flow to trigger when there’s a new row added to the list, choose When an item is created or modified.

Next, click on the + New step button, then enter ‘power bi’ in the search box. You should see a list of actions like below:

Then choose the new Refresh a dataset action.

Now, we’re at the last step of the Flow: Select the name of the workspace, then the name of the of the dataset that you want to trigger the refresh for. In our case, we have chosen Northwind Traders workspace and Northwind Budget Tracker dataset.

And that’s it! Select Save and ensure your Flow is turned on. Now, whenever there is a new supply request made in the SharePoint list, your budget tracker dataset should automatically refresh.

Going back to our budget tracking example for Northwind Traders, if there is a new request made to the Supplies Request SharePoint list that exceeds the budget:

Your flow will trigger and the dataset will automatically update. Considering this individual, placed an order for 500 4K monitors, you will certainly know when you’re out of budget next time you visit the Northwind Budget & Supplies tracker report:

Next steps

  • Try out the feature! Head on over to Flow and use the new refresh action to automate your refreshes
  • Existing limits on refreshes apply when running the refresh dataset action in Microsoft Flow.  For datasets in shared capacity used by Power BI Pro, your refresh action is limited to eight refreshes per day (including refreshes executed via Scheduled Refresh). In Premium capacities, there is not limitation on the number of refreshes per day, although you are limited by the available resources in your capacity.  If there are not sufficient resources, the refresh execution may be throttled until the load is reduced. If this throttling exceeds 1 hour, the refresh will fail.
  • For more ideas on Flows, check out some of our existing Flow templates that allow you to add data from Flow into a Power BI dataset or use data alerts to trigger a Flow whenever the data changes. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be adding several Flow templates with the new refresh a dataset action, including the one featured in the tutorial above – so stay tuned for that.
  • Have any feedback? Have an idea for another way that Power BI can connect to Flow? We’d love to hear it! Please leave comments below or in the Power BI community forums

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Microsoft Power BI Blog | Microsoft Power BI

Read More

Microsoft Flow versus CRM Workflows: What’s the Difference?

August 4, 2019   Microsoft Dynamics CRM
crmnav Microsoft Flow versus CRM Workflows: What’s the Difference?

We’ve heard a lot about “One Microsoft” these past few years, a restructuring of Microsoft’s organizational structure that connects together all aspects of the company. By eliminating silos between departments and teams, Microsoft sought to increase communication and synergy across its entire organization.

It’s now offering organizations the tools they need to do the same: among them is Microsoft Flow, which lets you automate processes of all kinds and connect the various applications you use daily, including your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement or CRM solution, Microsoft Office 365 tools, and even third-party products.

What is Microsoft Flow?

In short, Microsoft Flow lets you create workflows, specific actions based on trigger events. These can be simple notifications when certain people send you an email, or multi-step workflows working connecting several applications. The core functionality of Flow is that it lets you connect all your various tools, including third-party mail services and social media apps.

Anyone with a Microsoft account can access Microsoft Flow, and it is also available with Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (the exact level of functionality depends on your subscription). As a cloud-based tool, it can be easily accessed from the device of your choice.

How does Flow work?

Different types of flows are available: automated workflows are triggered by a specific event when it occurs, buttons can be used to trigger flows manually, and scheduled workflows run at a set time, recurring or not. Flow also provides templates to make the process as hassle-free as possible. In just a few clicks, you can pick the process you need, modify it if necessary, then put it in place. Flow also goes beyond CRM workflows as it can connect processes and applications that are outside the CRM, including third-party products.

From there the possibilities are endless: you can automatically save email attachments to Microsoft SharePoint, request approvals from managers, sync data between various applications, update your SQL databases, and have emails and notifications sent to yourself or other people in your organization, to name only a few examples. This creates a fully unified experience incorporating all tools used across your organization.

What’s the difference with native CRM workflows?

The basic concept behind Flow is the same as typical Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement workflows: both require a specified event to trigger the workflow, and if all conditions are met, a certain action will take place. This then begs the question: when should you be using Flow versus the native workflow capabilities of your CRM solution?

Even though Flow is expected to perform all actions that can be currently done with Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement workflows, in certain circumstances workflows might still be preferred. For example, you might opt for native CRM workflow capabilities if real-time actions are required: indeed, Flow processes are triggered every minute to every few minutes, depending on your subscription level. Workflows may also be easier to use if the process requires several “if” conditions to be implemented. For the time being, we recommend discussing with your Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement specialist which would be best for your organization based on your current and future vision.

With more improvements and integration possibilities continuously added to Flow, this tool opens up numerous possibilities for organizations looking to follow in Microsoft’s footsteps and connect their business into one coherent entity. But before you start re-writing all of your current CRM workflows in Flow, take the time to evaluate the process and the actions you require. It may make more sense to keep some in your Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement solution to ensure the greatest level of efficiency for your overall solution.

By JOVACO Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics 365 specialist in Quebec

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

Brexit, Cash Flow, And The Supply Chain

April 23, 2019   BI News and Info
 Brexit, Cash Flow, And The Supply Chain

Putting aside the impact Brexit has had on politics, culture, pride, and family, a burning question for businesses is: How will Brexit affect cash flow across critical supply chains? And if Brexit will have an impact on these cash flows, how do I mitigate against a shortfall in the lifeblood of my supply chain that directly impacts my ability to operate?

To explain why there is an impact at all, it’s important to look at how the overall supply chain works across Europe. The EU states’ free-trade agreement means goods can flow between the UK and the other European member states without customs and excise checks, thus there is an economic flow of commerce with a physical flow of goods and materials. The financial supply chain and the physical supply chain are therefore linked. For example, if you cannot receive delivery of your raw materials, then you cannot fulfill your customer orders. If you cannot fulfill your orders, then you cannot submit your invoice and, most importantly, you cannot get paid. Therefore, any disruption to the physical supply chain will quickly place greater demands on working capital requirements.

To understand the scale of the potential challenge, we can take the SAP Ariba Network as a benchmark. SAP Ariba’s B2B platform has buyers and suppliers trading between the UK and the rest of Europe, comprising of billions of pounds in commerce. This means the movement of goods, flowing logically (i.e., orders, invoices, and payments) through the network, the issuance of those invoices, and the resulting payment are dependent on goods and raw materials making it across the channel. A delay to this supply chain can not only have a knock-on effect on the efficiency of just-in-time, consumer demand but also on the ability to manage the receivables and payables of an organization’s cash flow.

So how do we manage this situation if it happens? There are options available, with financing a key underlying tool. Several choices are available:

  1. Cash-rich companies can help prop up the cash/liquidity shortfall in their supply chain by offering to pay suppliers early or even on purchase order (PO) issuance. Even partial payment at the pre-delivery stage may mean the difference between a key supplier managing through difficulty or facing real financial solvency issues.
  1. Acquire low-cost lending from banks via PO or invoice financing schemes. Even now, it may make sense to take advantage of buyer supply chain finance (SCF) schemes to build a stockpile of cash to manage through the leaner times ahead of Brexit.
  1. An alternative is the higher cost receivables financing (factoring) programs that a supplier can enter into with a bank.
  1. Use a card as a means of payment; although it’s even more expensive, it is a method of early payment against getting cash payment at the end of the invoice term.
  1. Focus on UK domestic goods for early payments. As there is no disruption between domestic buyers and suppliers, engage with your domestic supply chain to get either early payment agreements or low-cost early payment funding to help shore up the possibility of disrupted cash flows from the European supply chain.

Although all of these have a cost, the stark truth is Brexit (hard, soft, or otherwise) will have some impact on the supply chain and, therefore, create risks and costs to trading partners dependent on UK imports and exports to Europe. The real cost is hard to measure, but SAP Ariba is helping its customers by including options around the above key strategies. Organizations that can get ahead in this respect can secure their supply chains, form stronger partnerships, and outperform competitors by building a different type of partnership based on managed cash-flow risk and working capital needs.

By helping buyers and suppliers get better visibility of the supply chain, a business network can give assurances to buyers on their supplier’s orders, and to suppliers with low-cost funding to fill the shortfall. It also means buyers do not need to make knee-jerk reactions to shift risk onto suppliers without the foresight to see that jeopardizing liquidity in the supply chain actually jeopardizes your business. The old saying goes, “a chain is only as good as its weakest link,” and cash liquidity forms an important part of the strength in that linkage.

To learn more, register today for our Webinar on Managing the Impact of the International Supply Chain on Your Working Capital.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Digitalist Magazine

Read More

Document Flow Automation for Microsoft Dynamics 365

February 24, 2019   CRM News and Info
crmnav Document Flow Automation for Microsoft Dynamics 365

There are so many ways to mark progress in human history. In recent decades, we’ve made huge leaps in technology and capabilities that have re-defined modern life.

Xpertdoc vs. OOTB Document Generation in Dynamics 365

The evolution of document generation offers a similar picture. Progress isn’t measured only by a new product, but by automated capabilities that provide dynamic functionality, such as Xpertdoc for Microsoft Dynamics 365. Document generation on its own is like comparing a wind-up Victrola to a digital music download. Native Dynamics 365, for example, offers document generation with a few options, but none of the automated capabilities and technological conveniences that make the Xpertdoc Smart Flows component the competitive choice. If you want to compare the technical capabilities of both, click here.

Xpertdoc’s document flow automation solution is all about automating and executing every process needed for the creation, management and delivery of forms and documents from one spot. This is a powerful and competitive business advantage, not only for its efficiency, but also because it provides personalized customer service, which ultimately leads to better customer engagement and retention.

Modernize document-centric processes

Every day, organizations send out communications like flyers, proposals, quotes, intake forms, follow-ups, offers, and more. These items could contain reusable content and repeated details like legal clauses, pricing, product descriptions, scope of service, etc. What Xpertdoc offers is the ability to design data-driven forms and templates, and then automate the assembly and delivery of the documents. You can create, manage and deliver personalized documents with the confidence of knowing the content and format are accurate and up-to-date every time.

A common document scenario for Sales 

Let’s say you are a salesperson and want to send out a proposal to a customer, but you need to make some edits to the proposal template. You’re a little wary at first, because you’re not a graphic designer. You’re relieved to discover that editing the template is easy – edited in Microsoft Word with no coding skills required so you don’t need to call IT for help. Best of all, you can automatically merge any Dynamics 365 data into your templates and conditionally display content for truly dynamic and personalized documents. And with e-signature integration, customers can complete and sign their proposals in seconds, resulting in an accelerated sales cycle.

After the document is returned electronically, you can save it to a SharePoint site for general access. If someone requests a hard copy, it’s no problem to print one. And you can now define business rules and workflows for other documents, such as invoices and marketing communications.

To stay competitive, it’s time to go with the flow – Xpertdoc document flow automation that is. Sign up today for a free 30-day trial!

To learn more about Xpertdoc for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Smart Flows component, visit xpertdoc.com and follow us on Twitter.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More
« Older posts
  • Recent Posts

    • Improving Dynamics 365 Data Integrations with Alternate Keys
    • Trump’s Note to Biden
    • FSI Blog Series, Part IV: Staying Agile in Trying Times
    • Soci raises $80 million to power data-driven localized marketing for enterprises
    • Conversational Platform Trends for 2021
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited