11 April 2023

6 Easy Steps to Import Data in D365 F&SCM by Configuration

Data imports in Dynamics 365 F&O and SCM with Connectivity Studio

When you import data from a file to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (D365 F&SCM), if your data structure does not match the entities in Microsoft’s Data Management Framework, you will not be able to import that data into D365. Copying that data manually into systems can lead to human errors. You can either hire a developer who can then help you with integrations, and data imports, or your technical employees can use an enterprise-ready solution such as Connectivity Studio to mitigate the challenges of mapping data entities in D365 F&SCM.  

At To-Increase, we specialize in building solutions to help customers solve challenges while working with Microsoft-based ERPs and now are also exploring solutions for the Dataverse. Using our integration solution, Connectivity Studio for D365 F&SCM, you can map file structures simply by configuration for data imports and exports with any field or table (that's including custom/ISV tables), data entity, and views in D365 F&SCM. You can also ensure that data flowing through multiple systems is synchronized using integrations and those integrations are monitored. 

Since a lot of our customers explore Connectivity Studio not just for application integration but also for data migration, we will be showcasing the capabilities of our integration engine for data imports through this blog.  

How to import files in Dynamics 365 using Connectivity Studio? 

We will be demonstrating the process of importing a file using our integration engine Connectivity Studio from a file from the Azure file storage folder in 6 easy steps.  

Our solution can import and export data with several file formats including Excel, D365FO, XML, text, staging, fixed text, JSON, MS Word, and insert list. We can also import files in an easy way in the journals. Yes, that is a long list! 

Step 1: Importing the message 

The first step is to identify the source file that needs to be uploaded. For this example, we demonstrate how you can import a flat/text file with customer details from the Azure storage folder. The file we are importing has information about the customer group, and payment term ID.  
 Importing a file from Azure storage into D365 ERP

Step 2: Finding the message based on the project 
Next, we go to the Dynamics 365 F&SCM dashboard and click on BIS integration Design. 

BIS To-Increase integration solution on D365 Dashboard

We created a demo project for this example, so we select that Demo under the Project tab on the top right and click on it. And then you see the imported message in the list.  

Adding a message to a project in Connectivity Studio for D365
 
Step 3: Form mapping 

Next, we click on the message and then click on Document under the Source tab on the top left, to check the data structure of the file. Based on the document you can see fields such as customer group, customer group name, and payment term ID. This is presented in the same order as present in the original imported file. 
 Data structure of an imported message in D365
 
In the message you can use the Form mapping under the Design tab with the same name. The feature allows you to pick up fields from the D365 form rather than type them manually. This helps the user to figure out the correct tables and fields from D365 for the integration. If you open the target document, you will see that there are no tables or fields selected at the moment.  

Next, we click on Start recording under the Form mapping, which is part of the Design tab and there are buttons that allow you to select fields to map. So, the next thing we did was search for the Customers group form as shown below. 
 Looking for the right field name in D365 during form mapping
 Next, we select the field in the column on the right and then select the corresponding field in Dynamics 365 F&SCM, as shown below. 
 Form mapping using Connectivity Studio for data imports in D365 FO
 
So, for Payment term ID, we select Terms of payment. In the same way, next we select the Name and then select the Description field. And lastly, we select Customer Group to be mapped with the Customer field. Once we finish mapping the fields, we click on the Stop recording option on the top right. 
 Stop form recording in D365 using Connectivity Studio
 
Step 4: Check the form mapping 

Now the mapping has been recorded, the next step is to come back to the BIS Integration Design workspace on the dashboard and click on it and return to the message. If you click on form mapping now, you will see the data that had been captured during the form mapping recording.  

Check form mapping in D365 using To-Increase BIS integration solution
 
Step 5: Initializing form mapping 

The next step is to go to the Message mapping tab and click on the Initializing from form mapping option which will pull all the recorded mapping into the structure of a message. Next, we click on Document under the Target tab, to verify that the fields have been populated and the mapping has been initiated from the recording, which it has. 

Check if the form mapping has been initialized in D365 during data import

Step 6: Run the file 

And the next step is to click on Run under the Operations tab and then click on OK that will import the data from the file in Dynamics 365! Existing records will be updated based on the unique key and new records will be created. 
 Run the file during a data import in D365 FO using Connectivity Studio

Wasn’t that easy? And it took just less than 5 minutes. 

Would you like to explore our solution for data integration and migration? 

Whether you are looking at a more complex data import or a simple data import, using our integration solution, your team can perform such tasks easily as demonstrated in the example. If you would like to see another example of data import from excel or another file type, then please feel free to schedule a demo. We share more about the data migration capabilities of Connectivity Studio in this blog. 

Besides data migration, our solution has been built to mitigate the challenges of Microsoft’s Data Management Framework and allows you to map any field, any table simply by configuration. You can use our application engine to connect your application landscape and monitor those integrations in history, or by using the Connectivity Monitor app. Part of the Connectivity Studio solution, Connectivity Monitor can help you track integration failures if any and find the URL to understand the root cause of the failure.

If you are a Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM user, and are interested in our solution, please do reach out to our experts. We encourage you to share your business requirements and your current challenges with them so that they can recommend a suitable way forward for your organization. 

Reach out to our experts with your business requirements today!

expert
Dorian Sakowski
Dorian Sakowski,
Dorian Sakowski,
Senior Pre-Sales Consultant

Also interesting