AB-330 · CHEAT SHEET

Microsoft Certified: Supply Chain Management AI Consultant Associate

Key concepts grouped by official exam weight.

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1. Implement the design to retire process

5–10%

Develop a product strategy

A category hierarchy is created with a name and category nodes (name, code and friendly name), and its purpose is set by associating it with a hierarchy type such as commodity code or procurement. Released products are classified by assigning them categories from one or more hierarchies, for export, procurement, sales or other purposes.
Product lifecycle states determine which business processes can use a released product or variant: each process is set to Enabled, Blocked or Enabled with warning. The Is active for planning option includes or excludes the product from master planning and BOM level calculations, and one state can be the default applied when products are released to a legal entity.
Attributes are user-defined fields that describe products, and each one is based on an attribute type that sets the data type and allowed values. When assigned to a category, products inherit the attributes and their default values, which can be overridden per product. They classify the product, not each item of inventory, and are not connected to inventory dimensions.
The product dimension group determines which dimensions create variants and cannot be changed after the record is created. The storage dimension group controls how inventory is stored and taken out, and the tracking dimension group adds batch or serial number. Physical and Financial inventory define the detail of records and costs; Financial inventory cannot be enabled for the Location dimension.
The item model group determines how receipts and issues of a product are controlled and how it is valued: inventory model, stocked product, physical and financial posting, negative inventory, and registration, receiving, picking and deduction requirements. Each released product uses one costing model, and FEFO is a reservation technique rather than a costing method.

Introduce products

A product master defines the rules from which variants are generated, and it carries a product dimension group and a configuration technology that cannot be converted after implementation. Products are released to one or many legal entities, and manually creating a released product also releases it to the current entity. Variant suggestions propose the dimension combinations.
A BOM defines the components of a product at a single level, and the BOM version relates it to a product and constrains its validity by period, quantity or site. A version must be approved before planning or manufacturing can use it, and activating it makes it the default; a conflicting activation raises an error. The line type determines how the component is supplied.
Trade agreements are recorded in journals: each line states who it applies to (table, group or all), the product, quantity breaks, the price and dates, and takes effect after it is validated and posted. A sales price requires the Table product code type. Discounts can be line, multiline or total, and master planning can select a vendor based on purchase trade agreements.
Formulas offer features of their own: size and multiples determine the allowed batches, yield applies a factor to the lines, From formula size selects the version by quantity, plan groups let ingredients be substituted by priority, and step consumption handles non-linear consumption. A planning item groups co-products that are produced together without a primary formula item.
A formula brings together the ingredients needed to produce a quantity of an item, and every formula needs at least one version, which holds the yield, co-products, by-products and cost allocation. Versions must be approved before use, and several can be active if their date ranges and from quantities do not overlap. Production control parameters can block editing and removal of approval.

Manage active products

Product filters classify items for handling, purchasing and selling, and they apply only to items that use warehouse management processes. Filter codes are defined by title, required on the item group and assigned on the released product, and filter groups simplify location directive queries. Customer and vendor filters are enabled in the Warehouse management parameters.
A costing version holds standard or planned cost records according to its costing type: standard costs value transactions and planned costs support simulations. Item cost records start as Pending and become Active when activated; the Block and Block activation policies control their maintenance. The two-version approach keeps updates separate and relies on a fallback principle.
To use standard costs you create an item model group with the Standard cost inventory model, financial negative inventory and physical and financial posting, then define variance accounts and costing versions. The active cost values receipts and issues. Existing items move to this model through standard cost conversions, and an activated cost cannot be deactivated or deleted.
Item cost records start as pending in a costing version and become active when you activate them; the current active record values inventory under standard cost. The Block and Block activation policies control maintenance and activation, and BOM calculations produce the cost of manufactured items.

2. Implement the forecast to plan process

1–5%

Develop business strategy

A forecast model names a specific forecast and can aggregate other models as submodels, one level deep. To plan with it, the master plan selects the model, includes the demand forecast and sets the reduction method. Planning Optimization doesn't support separate forecast plans, so the plan itself carries the forecast settings.
Master planning combines coverage group, vendor, warehouse, customer and transport calendars to set planned order dates. Each date can be open, closed or inherited from a base calendar, and Closed for pickup marks a working day without shipping. When a calendar changes, rerun master planning and the other tasks that depend on it.

Conduct sales and operations planning

A coverage group holds replenishment settings for many products, and the Item coverage page overrides them for a specific product. With no linked group, master planning uses the general coverage group from its parameters. The coverage code sets the replenishment method: Requirement, Period, Min./Max. or Manual, among others.
You can set up several master plans for daily work, simulations and forecasts. Each plan defines its scheduling method, time fences and plan filters, while the master planning parameters set values such as the general coverage group and the current dynamic master plan, which capable-to-promise uses.
Positive days set how far ahead existing supply can cover future demand, and negative days set how much delay you accept before ordering new replenishment. Planning Optimization calculates delay tolerance from the lead time, the demand date and the negative days, and it always uses the dynamic approach.
Action messages suggest advancing, postponing, increasing or decreasing existing orders, and you set them up per coverage group. A delayed date is the realistic date given to an order that can't be fulfilled on time. Time fences on the master plan, such as freeze or firming, override those defined in the coverage group.
Safety margins add buffer time beyond the normal lead time: the reorder margin for placing the order, the receipt margin for handling incoming supply and the issue margin for handling shipments. You define them in days on the coverage group and on the master plan, and the two values are added together.

Execute sales and operations planning

You run master planning from its dialog box, once or as a batch job, with runtime filters that combine with the plan filter by intersection. You analyze results on the Net requirements page and in the plan history; auto-firming errors appear only in the batch job log, so review that log when orders aren't firmed.
You review planned orders and set their status: Unprocessed and Completed orders are deleted in the next run, and Approved orders keep your edits. Firming turns them into purchase, transfer or production orders, either manually, automatically within a firming time fence, or through a query-based batch job.

3. Implement the inventory to deliver process

20–25%

Manage warehouse operations

A warehouse with WMS turned on belongs to a site and needs location formats, types, profiles, zones and locations. The format sets the naming structure, the type categorizes locations, the profile sets their rules and the zone groups them. The parameters define the staging and final shipping location types.
A work policy decides whether warehouse work is created when goods are received or a manufactured item is reported as finished, based on order type, process, location and product. It needs at least one location to be active. In work templates, Work header breaks defines when the system creates a new work header.
Location directives are rules that identify pick and put locations for each work order type. They have a header, lines that restrict quantities and units, and actions with a query and a strategy. The system evaluates them by sequence number, unless a work template line links to one through a directive code.
Wave templates define how waves are created and processed and are evaluated in sequence, with the most specific at the top. Work templates define what work is performed and how, through pick and put lines with work classes. Load templates hold the equipment, the dimensions and the maximum weights of a load.
License plate labels use label layouts or document routing layouts, and wave labels print through a method in the wave template. Custom labels print products or locations from their own pages. Number sequence extensions combine GS1 segments, such as the company prefix, the application identifier and the check digit, for compliant IDs.

Maintain inventory levels

Consignment inventory belongs to the vendor even though it's stored at your site. Items need a tracking dimension group with the Owner dimension active and an inventory owner record. The consignment replenishment order records physical receipt with no ledger transactions, and the Inventory ownership change journal transfers ownership by creating purchase orders whose origin is Consignment.
Each inventory journal has its own use: movement with a manual offset account, adjustment with the posting profile account, transfer between dimensions without cost, BOM for simple production, item arrival to register receipts, and counting to reconcile on-hand. Posting an arrival doesn't update the order, which also needs a product receipt. Output orders link orders with picking lists.
A transfer order moves stock between warehouses and lets you track in-transit inventory, unlike a transfer journal. Without warehouse processes, the picking list follows the Picking route status setting. You can also create one from the mobile app by scanning license plates, or from sales order lines, with automatic marking and reservation when line pairing is turned on.
Inventory close settles issues to receipts according to the model in the item model group and blocks posting before the closing date; it's required except for moving average. Recalculation adjusts without settling or closing the period. After a close you can adjust on-hand cost values, and only the last closed period can reopen, reversing each close from the most recent.
A manual block is created with a transaction on the Inventory blocking page and stops other outbound documents from reserving physical stock; it applies only to on-hand inventory. The Expected receipts option decides whether planning counts the blocked quantity as an expected receipt, with its expected date. Deleting the transaction removes the block. Quality orders and blocking statuses also block stock.

Process inbound goods

Registration in the Warehouse Management mobile app sets quantities to Registered and generates putaway work, according to the work creation process of the menu item. Product receipt is posted afterwards, only for confirmed orders: from the load it covers registered quantities only, and Allow multiple product receipt per load decides whether the load stays open.
The inbound load planning workbench creates loads from purchase order lines or inbound shipment order lines, with a load template that represents the container or vehicle. One line can be split across several loads. Loads can also be created automatically at purchase order entry, at receipt in the mobile app, or when an advanced shipping notice is imported.

Process outbound goods

The outbound load planning workbench builds loads from sales, transfer and outbound shipment order lines, and then rates and routes them to set the carrier and cost. Load planning filters limit which lines are shown. Order lines assigned to a load before the release can be released to the warehouse only from this page.
Planned cross docking uses a cross docking template with supply sources and demand and time window requirements, plus a work class, work template and location directive of the Cross docking type. With the At supply receipt policy, production releases the marked demand. Opportunistic cross docking from production is configured in work policies.
A shipment groups order lines for one customer or address, and a load groups lines that typically leave on one vehicle and can hold many shipments. Release to warehouse creates load lines and shipments, and waves create the work. Outbound shipment processing policies control work creation failures and order matching, and shipment confirmation queues the packing slip.

Manage inventory quality

A nonconformance describes an item with a quality problem, with a nonconformance type and a problem type authorized for that type. It starts as New and must be approved before operations and corrections can be added, which requires linking the user to a worker. Quarantine zones guide material disposition, and the costs on operations are informational only.
A quality association defines the event, tests, acceptable quality level and sampling plan used to generate quality orders automatically for a process. It applies to one item, a quality group or all items, and to an account or account group. Event blocking holds the document, and Execution sets whether the order is created before or after the event.
Quality control is configured with quantitative tests (Integer or Fraction) or qualitative tests (Option), test variables with Pass or Fail outcomes, optional test instruments and test groups. The test group brings tests together with the acceptable quality level, item sampling and the destructive flag, and it can update the inventory status or batch disposition from the result.
A quality order is created manually or from a quality association, always with a reference type that shows the source of the tested inventory. The clerk records test results and validates the order. During inspection, inventory is blocked according to the order quantity or Full blocking, and a validated order can be reopened and used to generate a certificate of analysis.
Quarantine orders block inventory by transferring it to a quarantine warehouse. They are created manually, or automatically at receipt when the item model group has Quarantine management and the receiving warehouse names a quarantine warehouse. With warehouse management processes they apply only to return sales orders. Their statuses are Created, Started, Reported as finished and Ended.

4. Implement the order to cash process

20–25%

Develop sales policies

Order promising calculates ship and receipt dates from the delivery date control method: sales lead time uses default days, ATP considers inventory and receipts, ATP + Issue margin adds preparation time, and CTP adds materials and capacity through explosion. The global default is set in Accounts receivable and can be overridden per product, order and line.
Unified pricing management determines prices through price attributes, price component codes, price structures (trees) and concurrency modes. The base price can be adjusted with margin components, a sales trade agreement price takes priority over the base price, and compounded adjustments are calculated on the running total rather than the original base price.

Manage sales orders

A sales agreement commits the customer to buy a quantity or amount over a period in exchange for special terms, and its prices override trade agreement prices. There are four commitment types, and policies such as Max is enforced and Price and discount is fixed control the link to order lines. Orders can be placed against it only when its status is Effective.
A sales quotation presents an offer to a customer or prospect and, once approved, becomes a sales order through confirmation. Lines can use an item or a sales category, and price simulation tests margin scenarios. Active templates allow mass creation of quotations, and the probability inherited from the opportunity controls their inclusion in master planning.
When creating a sales order, you select its type: Journal, Subscription, Sales order, Returned order or Item requirements. The process continues with confirmation, packing slip and invoice; hold codes stop the warehouse from processing the order, and in direct delivery the packing slip is updated from the purchase order while the invoice comes from the sales order.
Reservations stop inventory being withdrawn for other orders and are set through policies in item model groups and parameters: Item sales reservation (manual, automatic or explosion), FIFO and FEFO, and Reserve ordered items. In warehouse processes, the reservation hierarchy defines which dimensions are fixed on the order; Allow reservation on demand order lets you commit a specific batch under Batch-below.
A return order (RMA) is a sales order of type Returned order. The disposition code, tied to one of six built-in actions, sets the financial and physical outcome; if the line goes to quarantine, the code is assigned at inspection. Find sales order links to the invoice and preserves the cost, and the packing slip executes the disposition action.

Manage customers for supply chain management

The customer account holds data that shapes supply: a single receipt calendar, the approved customer list check method, external item descriptions and sellable days, which require FEFO date-controlled items. It also accepts its own fulfillment policy, which replaces the global default for that customer when sales orders are released to the warehouse.
Each intercompany customer is linked on its Intercompany page to the corresponding vendor legal entity and account, along with order policies, value mapping and agreement policies. Create intercompany orders turns on automatic order generation, Direct delivery enables shipping straight to the customer, and Create indirect order lines allows lines to be added to the original order without alerts.

5. Implement the plan to produce process

1–5%

Develop production strategies

The production floor execution interface loads a configuration specific to the browser and device, with policies for each usage. Clock in and out only leaves just time registrations; Lock employee and Single worker control sign-in behavior; and the Report progress options define how workers report their jobs and which license plates are required.
Operations scheduling gives a general estimate and does not break work into jobs; job scheduling assigns specific resources in the short term. Finite capacity requires capacity planning to be enabled along with the option on the master plan and on each resource; without it, the resource is treated as infinite and might be overbooked.
An operations resource can be a machine, tool, human resource, location, facility or vendor, and it must belong to a resource group before it can be scheduled. The group defines the site, production unit and warehouse context. Capabilities, with level and priority, let the scheduling engine select the appropriate resource for each activity on the route.
A route defines the order of operations for a product; an operation is a named step, and the operation relation stores times, costs and resource requirements. A route version assigns the route to a product by site, quantity or period. Routes and versions must be approved, and only one version can be active for the same set of constraints.
A production unit collects resource groups and consolidates data without affecting transactions. Production journal names are required to record and post transactions. Production groups relate production orders to ledger accounts, and production pools collect production orders so that urgent ones can be processed and groups can be deleted or posted together.

Plan production operations

The Gantt chart shows jobs in an order view or a resource view and flags material shortages and capacity overbooking. From it, planners can drag a job within its resource, reschedule from the menu, arrange activities, or reassign jobs to another resource, loading additional resources when a machine fails or is overbooked.
Operations scheduling gives a rough long-term plan with start and end dates and creates no jobs; job scheduling breaks each operation into jobs with specific dates, times and resources. The scheduling options set the direction, forward or backward, finite capacity and material, the handling of subproductions, and which times are excluded.
The reservation principle of an order (manual, estimation, scheduling, release or start) can be overridden by item model group. An order can be released to the warehouse with material only partly reserved: work covers the reserved quantity and the release is repeated manually when the rest arrives. When an order reported as finished is reversed, the remaining reservations must be reset.
BOM calculations roll up the costs and sales prices of manufactured items and generate records in a costing version, or a calculation record when run from an order line. The calculation group assigned to the item sets the cost price model, the alternate, the sales price model and the warnings. With standard costs, the explosion mode must be single-level.
Master planning creates planned production orders with Unprocessed status; the planner reviews them, marks them Approved to keep them through later runs, or Completed if they will not be firmed. They are firmed manually, automatically with a time fence, or by query. A planned order has a static lead time, while a firmed one takes its lead time from route scheduling.

Run production operations

To subcontract a route operation, the service must be a stocked product of the Service type, included in the BOM or formula on a Vendor line allocated to the operation, which uses a Vendor type resource linked to the vendor account. Inventory at the vendor is modelled with a vendor-managed warehouse, defined in the same site as the internal resources of the route.
In the production floor execution interface, workers start jobs from the job list, report good and scrap quantities, including co-products and by-products on batch orders, and can bundle several jobs in parallel. Each interface configuration defines the tabs and options, such as opening dialogs automatically or pre-filling the remaining quantity.
Raw material picking work is generated at release and needs a location directive, a wave template and a production input location. Finished goods putaway starts from the output location of the resource group, and the location directive sets the final destination. A work policy can prevent work from being created for specific products and locations.
Material consumption is registered when the picking list journal is posted, which deducts on-hand inventory and is a physical update until the order is ended. It is generated automatically according to Automatic BOM consumption at start, operations or report as finished, or created manually; the flushing principle of each line decides the moment when configured that way.
Route card and job card journals record the time spent on orders and can capture good and error quantities. The route card goes with operations scheduling and the job card with job scheduling. They post to WIP accounts when the route group includes time or quantity in costing and accounts are defined, and those accounts are settled when the order is ended.

6. Implement the source to pay process

30–35%

Develop the procurement and sourcing strategy

Purchasing policies group rules (category access, category, catalog, requisition control, purchase order creation) and take effect only when associated with an organization in a Procurement internal control hierarchy or with a company. Charges codes define how an additional cost posts, and auto charges apply it by vendor, group or to all.
Procurement workflows define who reviews and approves purchase requisitions, purchase orders and new vendors, at document or line level, and they can approve automatically. Expenditure reviewers assign approval dynamically from a financial dimension owner or a project role, so the workflow needs no change when the responsible people change.

Manage supplier relationships

The vendor record holds the vendor group, addresses by purpose, invoice account, holds by transaction type and the values copied to new documents. Approved or preferred procurement categories and the per-product approved vendor list control who can be bought from, and multisource policies split planned purchase orders among vendors.
Vendor collaboration gives external vendors limited access to purchase orders, invoices, consignment inventory and requests for quotation. It is activated per vendor with automatic or manual order confirmation, and users are provisioned through user request workflows with the external roles that have been made available.

Source and contract goods and services

A purchase agreement commits the buyer to a quantity or amount over several orders in return for special prices that override trade agreements. There are four commitment types, and it must be marked effective before use. Max is enforced caps the total, Price and discount is fixed breaks the link if the price changes, and the agreement can only be selected while the order is being created.
A delivery schedule divides an order line into several delivery lines; the original becomes a commercial line and processing runs against the delivery lines. On inbound loads, Load over receipt and the overdelivery percentage limit what can be registered. In Landed cost, tolerances are checked by order amount and then by line percentage, and they can create movement journals or purchase orders.

Procure goods and services

A purchase requisition is an internal document: a consumption purpose always leads to a purchase order, and replenishment is fulfilled through master scheduling. An RFQ gathers bids and, on acceptance, generates a purchase order or agreement or updates the requisition. With change management, an order starts as a draft, needs approval and is changed with Request change; invoice matching compares invoice, order and receipt.
Vendor returns use a purchase order of the Returned order type, with the vendor's RMA number and negative quantities. The Credit note action copies lines, terms and charges from the invoice, inverts the sign and marks inventory against the invoice transaction. After confirmation, the shipment is recorded with Product receipt, whose document serves as a packing slip; a lot can be selected with Reservation.

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