Track returned products
Published: January 1, 2008
Cases are used to record customer calls and the related activities created to manage them. You can customize cases to track specific issues such as returns, and then generate reports to collect the data in meaningful charts.
This article contains step-by-step instructions on how to customize the Case form to track returns on products. After customizing the form, you can generate a report to show the list of products and the reasons they were returned. Then, you can export the data to Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and create charts and additional reports.
On This Page
|
Customize the Case form |
|
|
Use Advanced Find to collect data |
|
|
Export data to Excel |
|
|
Create a simple chart in Excel |
Customize the Case form
To customize the form for this scenario, you will complete the procedures in this article:
-
Add "Return" as an item in the Case Type drop-down list.
-
Create a new "Return Reason" attribute to the Case entity.
-
Add a "Return Reason" drop-down list to the Case form.
-
Publish the changes to the Case form.
Add Return as an item in the Case Type drop-down list
This procedure describes how to add a new item to a drop-down list by modifying the schema. In this example, the Return item is added to the Case Type drop-down list.
-
On the Navigation Pane, click Settings. Under Settings, click Customization.
-
On the Customization area, click Customize Entities.
-
In the Customize Entities list, double-click the Case entity to open it.
-
Under Details, click Attributes.
-
In the Attributes list, open the casetypecode schema.
-
On the Attribute: Case Type Case form, under Type, click Add.
-
On the Add List Value dialog box, in the Label box, enter Return, and then click OK.
-
On the Attribute: Case Type Case form, click Save and Close.
Create a new Return Reason attribute for the Case entity
-
On the Entity: Case schema list page, on the Actions toolbar, click New.
-
On the Attribute: New for Case form, in the Display Name box, enter Return Reason.
-
In the Type list, select Picklist. Additional buttons appear.
-
Click Add. In the Add List Value dialog box, in the Label box, enter a reason for the return, for example, Not Working, and click OK.
-
Repeat step 4 to add options, such as:
-
Broken
-
Missing Part
-
No Reason
-
-
You can use the other buttons to sort the order of the list.
-
Click Save and Close.
Add a Return Reason drop-down list to the Case form
-
On the Case form, under Details click Forms and Views, and then in the list, double-click Form.
-
On the Form: Case form, select the Overview section, and then under Common Tasks, click Add Fields.
-
In the Add Fields dialog box, select Return Reason. Make sure that the Overview section appears in the slection list.
-
Click OK.
-
Use the green arrow buttons to move the new field under the Case Type field. For balance, you may want to move the Satisfaction field to the left.
-
Click Save and Close for every form until you are returned to the Customize Entities list.
Tip
You can write a script that specifies if Return is selected for the case type, the Return Reason and Product fields are required. For more information, see the online Help topic ”Automate data entry using scripts” and select the “Sample onSave event script” option.
Publish the changes to the Case form
-
In the Customize Entities list, select the Case entity, and then on the Actions toolbar, click Publish
To verify your changes, on the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then under Service, click Cases. Click New to view the customized form.
Use Advanced Find to collect data
You can use Advanced Find to create a query and an Excel worksheet to find and display the data about the cases that were opened for returned products. After you create the query and the worksheet, you can save them.
This example shows how to create an Advanced Find query to find all of the cases for returns created in the last two weeks.
-
On the Tools menu, click Advanced Find.
-
In the Advanced Find page, in the Look for list, select Cases.
-
On the Form toolbar, click New.
-
Click Select, select Case Type, and then click Enter Value on the same line and select Return.
-
On the next line, click Select, select Return Reason, and then click Equals, and select Contains Data.
-
On the next line, click Select, select Created On, and then click On and select Last X Weeks. Click Enter Value, and in the text box, enter 2.
-
To save this query, click Save. In the Query Properties dialog box, enter a name, for example, Return Reasons, and click OK.
-
Click Find.
Export data to Excel
You can export the Advanced Find results to Excel.
-
In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, on the Actions toolbar, click Export to an Excel worksheet
. -
On the Export Data to Excel dialog box, select Dynamic PivotTable.
The Select Columns button becomes available.
-
Click Select Columns.
-
On the Select PivotTable Columns dialog box, clear all check boxes, select the following items, and then click OK.
-
Product
-
Return Reason
-
-
Click Export.
-
In the File Download dialog box, click Open.
If a dialog box appears, read it, and then click Yes. An Excel worksheet opens.
-
In the Query Refresh dialog box, click Enable automatic refresh.
-
On the worksheet, from the PivotTable Field List dialog box, drag Product to the Drop Column Fields Here area.
-
Drag Return Reason to the Drop Row Fields here area.
-
Drag Return Reason to the Drop Data Items Here area.
-
On the File menu, click Save As, and then select a location.
The worksheet will update with current Microsoft Dynamics CRM data every time you open it. You may be required to enter a user name and password.
Create a simple chart in Excel
After you create the worksheet, you can manipulate the data into different charts. For more information, see the online article on Microsoft.com: Clarify and emphasize data in an Excel chart.
The following example shows how to convert the data that was collected into a stacked bar chart.
-
In the Excel worksheet you created in the previous procedure, on the Insert menu, click Chart.
-
In step 1 of the Chart Wizard, under Chart type, select Column.
-
Under Chart sub-type, select the Stacked Column chart, and then click Next.
-
In step 2 of the wizard, on the worksheet, select the entire set of data, including headings.
-
In step 3 of the wizard, in the Chart title box, enter Products Returned, and then click Next.
-
In step 4 of the wizard, click Finish.
Although the example in this article pertains to returned products, you can use the same concepts to track requests for product information, identify common questions, and find other information that is entered as part of a case.
