Merit Matters Blog

Integrating TFS2010 with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 is not as easy as one might hope. There are quite a few prerequisites you need to worry about, but once you have everything in place you can just sit back and enjoy the development.

Step 1: Set-up AOS development instance on every development machine.

Unlike MorphX VCS where you can develop and check-in using clients only, in order to set up TFS VCS with AX you need to have AOS development instance installed on every development machine. This one is easy, just choose the predefined development instance from the AX2009 installation menu and let the setup do the rest.

MorpX VCS vs. TFS2010 VCS

Step 2: Set-up Team (ID) Server.

If you want to use VCS with AX you need to install the Team (ID) Server somewhere on you network. Team (ID) Server is responsible for assigning a unique ID to new AX objects in the multi-development environment. Team (ID) Server setup can be found on the AX2009 setup disk in the additional tools menu.

Step 3: Add appropriate users and computers to the Dynamics Team Server Users group on the Team (ID) Server.

Step 4: Install VS 2008 SP1 on every development machine.

Step 5: Install Team Explorer 2008 on every development machine.

Step 6: Install VS 2008 SP1 forward compatibility update for TFS 2010.

Forward compatibility update will actually enable Team Explorer 2008 to establish connection with the TFS 2010. Below is the forward compatibility update download link. Installation should be straightforward.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=CF13EA45-D17B-4EDC-8E6C-6C5B208EC54D&displaylang=en

Step 7: Connect to the TFS 2010 and create a new project using Team Explorer 2008.

Step 8: Assign developers (users) to the created the TFS 2010 project.

Step 9: Set-up version control parameters on each development machine.

In order to setup AX2009 to use TFS2010 go to Tools->DevTools->VerControl -> Setup -> Paramters. The Repository folder may be different and depends on the actual development machine. To setup the Team Server settings go to Tools -> DevTools -> VerControl -> Setup -> SystemSettings. Below are the version control setup screenshots.

Step 10: Enjoy TFS2010 enabled AX2009 development!

Note: You can find additional information in Team Foundation Server Version Control Setup Whitepaper for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009.pdf and Team Server (ID Server) Setup Whitepaper for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009.pdf documents available from Microsoft.

Merit Solutions, Inc., a Microsoft Gold Certified and 2009 President’s Club member, has been named to the 2010 President’s Club for Microsoft Dynamics for the second consecutive year. This achievement is a direct result of Merit Solutions’ outstanding dedication to customer satisfaction through the delivery of innovative business solutions.

President’s Club for Microsoft Dynamics honors high-performing Microsoft Dynamics partners whose commitment to customers is reflected in their business success and growth. This prestigious group represents the top 5 percent of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide. Membership is granted based on their continual, committed efforts aimed at offering solutions that meet the needs of their customers.

“Microsoft is proud to recognize Merit Solutions for its outstanding sales achievement,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president of Microsoft Dynamics Partners. “This honor is a direct reflection of Merit Solutions’ outstanding group of employees and management team, all of whom should be very proud of this accomplishment. Merit Solutoins plays a very important role in the growth and success of Microsoft Dynamics.”

Merit Solutions is dedicated to helping customers select the right solutions and services, which best meet their business needs, allowing them to achieve new levels of success. By working closely with the teams at Microsoft, Merit Solutions maintains a comprehensive understanding of the Microsoft Dynamics platform in order to provide leading-edge solutions, services, and unparalleled value to Microsoft Dynamics customers. Previous honors include: 2002 Microsoft Manufacturing Excellence Partner of the Year, 2005 Microsoft Vertical Excellence Partner of the Year, 2005 and 2009 Microsoft Dynamics President’s Club, and 2009 Business Transformation Award.

“Merit Solutions is honored to be included in this year’s President’s Club for Microsoft Dynamics,” said Bill Burke, President of Merit Solutions. “Our dedication to client success has enabled companies across the world to enjoy streamlined processes, increased sales, and reduced operational costs. We are excited to continue to meet and surpass all of our customers’ expectations.”

Merit Solutions has a ten year successful track record of providing Microsoft Dynamics implementation, training and consulting for medium to large enterprise businesses. Merit Solutions specializes in the Life Sciences, Food and Beverage, and Distribution industries. With MAXLife for Microsoft Dynamics AX, we provide Life Sciences companies a solution that fits with existing systems, is familiar to use and easy to deploy, and has a lower total cost of ownership than traditional systems. MAXLife helps leading global Life Sciences companies get to market faster and sustain continued success.

The first session of the Advanced Distribution webinar series is now available on-demand!

Discover how to drive More to the Bottom Line with Brent Grover, six-time bestselling distribution management author and 20+ year veteran/executive in the distribution industry, presented by the Advanced Distribution Partners (ADP). More to the Bottom Line is designed to provide distributors with practical advice on how to apply costs to optimize margins and drive their people to a new level of sustainable productivity. Learn how to outperform the pack in this 60 minute on-demand webinar.

Download the on-demand webinar:
More to the Bottom Line

We understand that you want your people to concentrate on your business, not on your IT systems. That’s why Microsoft Dynamics GP offers deep integration with other Microsoft products and technologies—including Office Excel, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft SQL Server. With this kind of system flexibility, integrated security features, and customization tools, Microsoft Dynamics GP gives you the ability to adapt the system to meet changing business needs with minimal cost. If you have existing IT staff, they will be instantly familiar with business software built on your existing Microsoft infrastructure, enabling them to support your people efficiently.

Developed with industry-leading Microsoft technologies.
Microsoft Dynamics GP provides the foundation and flexibility that help ensure smooth deployments, server-side updates, and efficient, cost-effective integrations and customizations. In line with Microsoft's mission to deliver people-ready solutions, our security model is tailored to roles and tasks within roles, enabling better auditing and reporting and simplifying administration.

Provide access to critical, timely information.  Through integration with SQL Server technologies - including extensive management and development tools - Microsoft Dynamics GP provides enhanced information retrieval and reporting. With Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, your company can increase the availability, performance, and ease of operation for business intelligence, data management, and developer productivity.

Open the flow of information across data sources and applications.
Microsoft BizTalk Server, Microsoft .NET, eConnect, and Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP enable businesses to integrate data from virtually any source, connecting people with the information they need to make decisions and drive growth. By deploying Microsoft Dynamics GP with Microsoft SharePoint, you’ll also gain advanced search, collaboration, workflow, and business intelligence capabilities.

Connect front-end customer relationship management with back-end financials. Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers a complete customer view and integrated sales, service, and accounting information—helping reduce data entry and streamline front- and back-office processes.

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a commonly used term in companies that distribute products in the consumer goods and retail space. Often software vendors claim to support vendor managed inventory requirements simply through defining a separate ‘warehouse’ for inventory that is stored at the customer’s facilities. This answer however, only addresses part of the challenge that manufacturers and distributors face when trying to maintain vendor managed inventory programs.

Read more at the Advanced Distribution Software Blog. 

By adopting Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, companies that use Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions can reap significant gains in process efficiency. Incorporating powerful collaboration and communication technologies, Office 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010 can help streamline complex business processes that require interaction across functions and roles.

Collaborate with Control
New co-authoring features included in Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 help simplify processes by eliminating the back-and-forth exchange of e-mail messages and attachments when drafting business documents, making it easier for multiple people to contribute to that document at the same time. As a result, the final version of the document can be distributed more quickly since the need to reconcile and edit changes can be reduced or eliminated.

E-mail communication plays a critical role in business processes, and new features in Microsoft Outlook® 2010, such as Mail Tips and Quick Steps, help employees manage their correspondence more effectively. External List folders can be configured to pull relevant information from Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions and make it available to employees in Outlook 2010, even when they are offline.

Extend the Reach of Business Data

New features of SharePoint Server 2010 can make Microsoft Dynamics ERP data accessible to more people across the organization. The External Lists feature displays ERP data in a SharePoint list and can enable users to change and update data from within SharePoint, according to validation and permission rules managed by the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution.

The Fluent user interface is now consistent across Office 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010. This makes it easier to expose relevant tasks and actions when working with Microsoft Dynamics ERP information, and is aligned with the user interface design approach being adopted by Microsoft Dynamics solutions.

Merit Solutions has a ten year, successful track record of providing software solutions to Life Sciences companies. No matter what your specific business challenges may be, MAXLife for Microsoft Dynamics AX can help you overcome them in order to sustain profitability and growth.

What Is Your Business Challenge?

• I need to reduce ongoing operating costs in order to increase bottom line profits.
• I need to define solid business strategies and goals in order to satisfy investors and secure future funding.
• I need to enhance personal productivity and boost team collaboration by enabling team members to share data and make better informed decisions.
• I need to understand my cost of quality for specific products and product lines.
• I need to track incidents and events through the cycle of root cause identification, corrective action and preventive actions put in place.
• I need to track unstructured data, such as work instructions, specifications documents and standard operating procedures, in accordance with 21 CFR Part 11 regulations.
• I need to track, trace and authenticate the product from the time it is initially sold to a distributor all the way through the supply chain to the point of distribution.
• I need to facilitate operational and regulatory compliance without compromising quality and safety.
• I need to offer multi-level pricing specific to customers, and according to different channels with those customers.

Is your challenge unique to your business? If so, contact Merit Solutions today at 630-614-7133 to find out how MAXLife can help your Life Sciences organization successfully mitigate your pains.

Discover how to drive more to the bottom line with Brent Grover, six-time bestselling distribution management author and 20+ year veteran/executive in the distribution industry, presented by Advanced Distribution Partners (ADP).

Move Beyond the Analysis Paralysis to Drive More to the Bottom Line!

Join us for this exclusive webinar with distribution industry expert, Brent Grover. He provides insight on how to outperform the pack, providing distributors with practical advice to:

• Optimize margins with more accurate costing
• Make more money in this muddled economy
• Achieve a new level of sustainable people productivity

More to the Bottom Line Featured Speaker: Brent Grover
Date: 7/21/2010 2:00-3:00pm EST

More to the Bottom Line is designed to provide distributors with practical advice on how to apply costs to optimize margins and drive their people to a new level of sustainable productivity.

Register Now!

View a demo of Merit Solutions' MAXLife solution, Life Sciences Software for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. See how the Quality Control and Management Processes are completely integrated with production and sales order processes to assure product safety and quality throughout your distribution and production environments.

Sign up now to view the MAXLife Demo.

From the MAXLife Life Matters Blog.

Merit Solutions, Inc., a leading Microsoft Gold Certified and Presidents Club Partner, is pleased to announce today the general availability of MAXLife software for Microsoft Dynamics AX for English, French, Spanish and German language markets. For medium enterprise and large, global companies that manufacture, distribute and manage life sciences products, MAXLife for Microsoft Dynamics AX provides an enterprise wide business software solution to help companies gain insight and increase business performance. MAXLife enables life sciences organizations to connect with their business partners and customers, optimize business processes, and gain competitive advantages, while simplifying compliance processes mandated by the FDA, customers, and other regulatory agencies.

MAXLife (http://www.maxlifesoftware.com) software extends the already strong core Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP and Advanced Distribution software to meet specific requirements for Life Sciences companies, including:

Corrective Action Preventive Action Resolution / Incident Tracking

MAXLife Corrective Action Preventive Action (CAPA) enables increased control and assuredness for how your organization captures, tracks and manages incidents, adverse events and non-conformances. With MAXLife, companies can generate a Corrective Action or Preventive Action request that routes through review, root cause, corrective action taken, and verification stages. This Corrective Action tracking software generates multiple reports automatically, providing an effective mechanism for tracking the source and costs of incidents.

Cost of Quality Management

MAXLife Cost of Quality enables critical tracking, reporting and analysis of costs related to performing quality processes across the organization. With MAXLife, companies have visibility on their complete product costs, including important quality processes, and are able to make better decisions, more timely. Life Sciences companies can focus on quality management initiatives as a source of competitive advantage while responding to the market pressures to both reduce the cost of quality and improve finished product quality.

ePedigree Tracking

Every drug manufacturer is required to serialize drug products at the item, case, and pallet level to support the ability to generate an electronic pedigree (ePedigree) document. This electronic document is required to track, trace and authenticate the product from the time it is initially sold to a distributor all the way through the supply chain to the point of distribution. MAXLife simplifies and accelerates the ePedigree process from receiving through shipment, simplifying compliance with government regulations.

Microsoft Part 11 SharePoint Document Management

MAXLife extends the capabilities of Microsoft SharePoint for document management and quality control solutions for life sciences companies. The software helps address the regulatory requirements of FDA 21 CFR Part 11, as well as SOP management, clinical document management and a range of quality functions including CAPA, audits management, non-conformance and complaint management.

About MAXLife for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Built on the .Net architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft SharePoint, MAXLife software increases your visibility into product performance, resulting in better decisions and increased revenues and profits. The software enables quality control and quality assurance processes to work together as part of the business system, and to be transparently available for reviewing and reporting. With MAXLife software for Microsoft Dynamics AX, you can track product quality, proactively see and respond to manufacturing variability, meet GxP, Sarbanes Oxley, and 21 CFR Part 11 and Part 820 requirements, and simplify computer systems validation.

View a MAXLife for Microsoft Dynamics AX Demo.

About Merit Solutions, Inc.

Merit Solutions is a leading Microsoft Dynamics business consulting and software development firm helping clients plan their technology investments, design solutions, and implement projects that improve business performance and drive a competitive advantage. We deliver end-to-end solutions that enable our clients to streamline processes, reduce costs, and facilitate business growth.

Merit Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a 2009 Microsoft Dynamics President Club member, and has been recognized in the past as a Microsoft Excellence Partner for working successfully and collaboratively with customers and partners across the world.