We often get asked if Demand Forecasting is compatible with a specific D365FO update or release.
We don’t formally certify each Demand Forecasting release as being compatible with every D365FO release. Rather we have architected the product so that it is separate from the underlying D365FO product as much as possible. It is therefore as D365FO update-compatible as possible.
As a result we do not need to publish a schedule of when Demand Forecasting releases will be certified on any release of D365FO.
We do however, from time to time, conduct internal testing of particular D365FO releases with the current Demand Forecasting release if we have determined that it is needed. This is usually when Microsoft releases new product features, or makes other product enhancements or feature changes that affect grids, lookups or dropdowns, or any other components Demand Forecasting relies on.
Examples of detected compatibility issues we have had in the last 6 years:
Testing on D365FO update 10.0.45 was undertaken due to some changes in the way nested deletion of ForecastSales records were performed by D365FO, which affected the Copy to final forecast function when using period keys to split final forecasts into smaller time buckets for Master Planning.
As a result of this issue, we subsequently released updated releases of Demand Forecasting R10.0.9.2 and R11.0.2.0 which included specific changes to Demand Forecasting to eliminate this issue.
This was the last/most recent case where we have had a known compatibility issue with Demand Forecasting and a D365FO release.
Prior examples before that include:
For D365FO update 10.0.34 changes were made internally by Microsoft to how ISV licenses such as the Demand Forecasting licenses were able to be used. In that case, we had to implement changes inside Demand Forecasting and issue a new release and issue all customers with new customer licenses. In that case, Microsoft signalled well in advance of the change so we were able to proactively notify customers of the situation.
Prior to that, testing on D365FO Release 10.0.24 was undertaken due to some changes in the pricing engine (trade agreements). We subsequently released an updated version of Demand Forecasting R9.1 which included a specific change to eliminate this issue due to changes within D365FO.
This was only the 3rd time we have had a known compatibility issue with Demand Forecasting and a D365FO release.
So you can see that compatibility issues are rare, but not impossible - especially for customers using older Demand Forecasting releases with the latest D365FO updates.
To help minimise these types of compatibility issues affecting customers, we recommend these steps:
1. Any customer on an older Demand Forecasting release who wishes to upgrade to the latest D365FO release, also upgrades to the latest Demand Forecasting release. This can be done either prior to, or at the same time as, their D365FO upgrade.
2. No matter whether in a new customer installation, or an existing customer upgrading to the latest D365FO and/or Demand Forecasting release, we strongly recommend full end-to-end testing of all critical Demand Forecasting functionality, and any upgrade procedures that will be required in the production environment, is completed in a UAT/Sandbox environment prior to any production upgrades for any updates to Demand Forecasting or D365FO updates.