Dynamics 365 – Want to do the Wave?
Ready! Set! Go!
Not that kind of a Wave! The Dynamics 365 Wave.
Think of it this way. When shipping work (Sales Orders) are released to the Warehouse when using D365 Warehouse Management, the material handlers would like the work they are presented with to be organized in some way, shape, or form. So in a very simplified definition, we Wave each order using the pre-determined Wave Templates to see which orders can be grouped and handled in the same way. This makes Warehouse work more efficient and standardized (Cha-Ching!).
Wave Templates enable those orders to be grouped and presented as ‘chunks’ of work with some common factors. An example of something orders may be waved around would be shipment dates, or delivery methods. Wave Templates contain the criteria found on the orders and are grouped with other orders that also fit the criteria.
The Wave Template Sequence is critical. If not sequenced appropriately, orders may be grouped with other orders that sort-of match, when there is a better match in a different Wave Template of a higher sequence level. It is recommended that the most restrictive criteria be placed on the lowest sequenced template to guard against this happening.
In this blog, we will review the Wave template functionality and Setup.
Wave Templates
Wave Templates are required to control Wave Creation. Wave creation can be fully automatic, completely manual, or somewhere in between. Wave templates are similar to Shipment Templates from AX 2009.
General
- Wave Templates can be created for Shipping, Production and Kanban (Wave Template Type).
- The sequence of the Waves will determine the order in which the templates are considered for each sales order to fit into the criteria of.
- The lowest sequence should be assigned to the wave with the most specific criteria.
- Automate wave creation – Set to Yes to auto create wave upon release of order to whse
- Assign to Open Waves – Set to Yes to allow new released sales orders to be assigned to an Open wave of this type.
- Process Wave at Release to Warehouse – Set to Yes to auto Process the wave upon release of order to warehouse (which creates the Work).
- Process Wave Automatically at Threshold – For Shipping templates only, when set to Yes, wave will be released if a threshold that is indicated in the threshold fields is met.
- Automate Wave Release – Set to Yes to auto release the Wave so it can be seen on the mobile device. If set to No, the Wave will have to be manually released before the mobile device can access the work.
- Automate Replenishment Work – If set to Yes, and a Replenishment Template has been created for type ‘Wave Demand’, replenishment work will be created and released automatically.
- Wave Weight Threshold – Set a maximum weight to be accumulated into this wave type. Note: Process Wave at Threshold must be set for this value to be considered and weights must be populated on the item masters.
- Shipment Threshold – Set a maximum number of Shipments to be combined into this wave type. Note: Process Wave at Threshold must be set for this value to be considered.
- Line Threshold – Set a maximum number of line items to be combined into this wave type. Note: Process Wave at Threshold must be set for this value to be considered.
Edit Query
The query contains the criteria an order must match to be waved using this particular template. In our case, we are looking at sales orders only, that have been created for customers of a single customer group, and that have a ship date of 5 days in the past through 1 day into the future, for the purposes of grouping Sales orders that need to be expedited.
The Tables that can be used in setting criteria are determined by the Joins, and in our case, we have selected the following joins, so we can set criteria from the sales order (ship date) and customer (customer group).
The Sorting Tab can be used to determine a sort order within the Wave that will be created. In our case, no sorting has been designated.
A second Wave template for Sales orders has been created for purposes of grouping the remaining Sales orders with a ship date of two days out through 15 days out. Orders with a ship date beyond the Date range criteria will not be waved until those orders fall within the criteria.
It is a requirement to ‘Validate’ any new Wave templates before they will be available for use. This is done by clicking the ‘Validate Template’ option on the Wave Template form.
If all is well with the template, the following message will appear:
If Wave template sequence needs to be changed, highlight the Wave template in the list and use the ‘Move Up’ or ‘Move Down’ options.
Use the ‘Edit’ option anytime a wave template requires a change or update. The ‘Edit’ option will be replaced by a ‘Save’ option.
Want to know more about Wave Templates in Dynamics 365? Check out the blog post below:
Have other Microsoft Dynamics AX/365 inquiries or needs? Visit our Help Desk for AX page to see how our experts can help!
For more information please contact Ellipse Solutions at info@ellipsesolutions.com or by calling our corporate office at (937) 312-1547.