September 2026: New features across Sales, Rental, Service, Platform, and AI
TL;DR
The September 2026 product update of A365 ships 36 new features that introduce new DriveAI capabilities for deals, warranties, and rental replacements, integrate service appointments and side-by-side device replacement previews directly into sales delivery, bring multi-level kit structures and site-to-site transports to rental, graduate Field Mechanic to General Availability with offline resilience and multi-warehouse visibility, and provide a safe hybrid migration path from V1 to V2.
Modern automotive, heavy equipment, and fleet operations require tight cross-functional alignment. The September 2026 release strengthens connectivity across the entire asset lifecycle, ensuring seamless transitions between customer proposals, workshop servicing, field mobility, and complex rental logistics.
AI in this release: three expanded DriveAI capabilities across warranty, rental, and sales
DriveAI
AI actions to manage end-to-end warranty claim processes
For: Warranty administrators and dealer operations teams
Managing inbound and outbound warranty claims no longer requires direct manual navigation within Finance and Operations. Dedicated AI actions expose complete claim lifecycles to the Dynamics 365 ERP MCP server, allowing intelligent agents to handle creation, status transitions, invoicing, and intercompany handoffs using natural language inputs alongside standard system identifiers.
- Create Inbound and Outbound warranty claims via AI action
- Invoice Outbound warranty claims programmatically
- Execute status transitions for Review, Revise, Decline, Approve, and Reject
- Trigger Pre-Approval and Pre-Approval confirmations for Inbound claims
- Generate Intercompany Inbound and Outbound claim pairings automatically
Complex warranty lifecycles become fully accessible to autonomous agents and external operational tools.
DriveAI
AI actions for rental replacements and deal trade-in lookups
For: Rental dispatchers, sales teams, and solution integrators
DriveAI expands further into field operations with dedicated MCP server actions that drive rental replacements outside Finance & Operations. Operational staff and agents can request and post equipment replacements on active rental orders using conversational prompts. In parallel, new AI search actions for Deal-linked Trade-ins enable rapid retrieval of appraisal records by deal or customer context.
- Post rental replacement requests via AI action (A365McpRental_PostReplacementRequest)
- Execute full rental replacement postings through MCP server integrations (A365McpRental_PostReplacement)
- Accept natural language descriptions alongside system identifiers for fast fleet substitutions
- Search and validate trade-ins associated with deals and customers per legal entity
Field replacement bottlenecks and sales trade-in inquiries are solved directly from agent conversations.
What changed and why it matters
A365 Field Mechanic
For: Field service engineers, mobile technicians, and dispatch operations
Field Mechanic achieves production General Availability
The Field Mechanic mobile application has officially graduated from preview to General Availability, delivering an enterprise-ready mobile execution suite for heavy equipment, truck, bus, and fleet operations. Built on the same architecture as Workshop Mechanic, the app provides full field mobility tailored for job-site execution.
High-context Summary and Overview controls give technicians full job awareness by displaying prerequisite work completed by previous mechanics, upcoming tasks assigned to others, machine meters, and internal dispatch notes before work begins.
To keep field operations moving, technicians can autonomously add required items or operations and complete unapproved tasks on-site when unexpected mechanical issues arise, allowing Service Advisors to reconcile the details afterward.
OEM warranty alerts and remanufactured core checklists prompt technicians to confirm that worn parts are returned to depot quarantine. Direct clock-in to Overhead Activities, such as safety meetings, workshop cleaning, and weather delays also ensures that non-billable time is transparently captured.
Technicians can continue working offline to:
- Clock in and out of work and travel
- Consume items and process item returns
- Register various information
- Complete jobs
- Complete the order
Production-ready field mobility connecting job-site service directly to enterprise ERP.
A365 Sales
For: Sales professionals and deal managers
Side-by-side device replacement impact preview
Swapping a device on an active quotation previously risked hidden pricing errors and manual order-line discrepancies. A new side-curtain preview panel now enables salespeople to compare current and replacement units side by side prior to applying changes. The comparison surfaces added or removed factory options, differences in exterior and interior specifications, alterations in pre-installed accessories, and real-time total quote price impacts. Furthermore, swap eligibility is expanded: sales teams can now replace devices that share the same Brand, Class, Model, and Model Code even if configuration codes or colors differ. Installed accessories and charge lines are automatically cleaned up and recreated.
Total visibility into accessory, configuration, and price changes before committing a quotation swap.
A365 Sales
For: Sales coordinators and delivery specialists
Service appointments directly in delivery flows
Service appointments can now be embedded and triggered within device delivery workflows. When a delivery step of type Service Appointment is created, the system generates and routes the appointment to a configured default workshop, displaying live workshop progress directly inside the Delivery PCF.
Workshop preparation and customer handover stay aligned in one view.
A365 Sales
For: Dealership operations and sales teams
Custom stages and steps in Delivery PCF
Dealerships can adapt delivery flows on the fly without custom code. Sales personnel can manually add new stages and steps directly from the Delivery PCF, pre-populating context from parent records and updating stage statuses inline.
Tailored delivery workflows without waiting on IT customizations.
A365 Rental
For: Rental fleet managers and operations teams
Multi-level kit and linked item structures
Rental operations can now structure, view, and fulfill complex equipment kits down to 10 nested levels with clear parent-to-child tracking. A new availability calculation inspects the common minimum quantity across all nested components to display true available rental capacity. Furthermore, linked item groups allow operators to enforce minimum and maximum selection constraints, while automated allocation ensures that linked device chains are assigned and returned in complete harmony.
Complex machinery kits and attached tools are governed and dispatched as cohesive units.
A365 Rental
For: Rental logisticians and fleet dispatchers
Transport orders between customer job sites
Relocating equipment between customer jobsites while on rent is now handled through dedicated Job Site Change transport orders. Using a new External transport direction, equipment can be moved across sites.
On-rent site relocations stay logistically tracked and can be easily maintained from rental order.
A365 Rental
For: Rental logistics and third-party coordinators
Transport orders for cross-rental orders
When third-party re-rented equipment does not deliver directly, dispatchers can now raise transport orders straight from Cross-Rental orders. External transport directions route pickup directly from vendor facilities to customers or mixed yard shipments.
Third-party cross rentals follow standard transport tracking and delivery controls.
A365 Field Mechanic
For: Field technicians and mobile service teams
Multi-warehouse inventory visibility & consumption
Mechanics are no longer locked into viewing a single van or workshop stock location. Service organizations can grant permissions for mechanics to view or consume parts from multiple approved warehouses. Material job lines capture precise warehouse sourcing logic, retaining consistency into invoicing.
Parts sourcing across vans, depots, and central yards in the technician app.
A365 Service Center
For: Workshop dispatchers and service advisors
Direct scheduling from Planning Board views
Planners can now schedule unscheduled Service Orders without switching forms. Unscheduled orders appear in configurable views beside the Planning Board, allowing dispatchers to drag and drop orders straight onto resource lanes while visual booking cards propose real-time slot alignments.
Visual dispatching: drag unscheduled orders directly onto technician timelines.
Platform Architecture
For: IT operations, ERP administrators, and system integrators
Hybrid Migration from V1 to V2: Controlled cutover without system disruption
For organizations operating on legacy Annata Field Service (V1) or Work Order Management, transitioning to the modern Service Center and Field Mechanic suite (V2) no longer requires a high-risk “Big Bang” migration. The September 2026 release establishes a unified hybrid platform where V1 and V2 operate concurrently on a single shared codebase using a new Compatibility Mode configuration key.
This architecture allows businesses to upgrade at their own pace: new branches or legal entities can immediately launch on V2 while existing operational units continue on V1 uninterrupted. Completed V1 work orders remain fully preserved as historical, read-only records, in-progress tasks conclude under V1 business logic, and unscheduled orders transition smoothly. In addition, Annata’s proprietary Dataverse-to-F&O integration completely insulates organizations from Microsoft’s planned deprecation of standard out-of-the-box Field Service connectors.
A low-risk, entity-by-entity transition path that protects active operations and legacy history.
What’s Next: Upcoming Service Innovations on the Roadmap
As part of our commitment to continuous platform evolution, our engineering team is actively developing next-generation service capabilities showcased in our executive roadmap briefing:
Inspections in Service
Tightly integrating Inspection Center checklists directly into core service execution and appointment lifecycles.
Fixed Prices on Job Types
Enabling standardized package pricing and fixed-cost jobs directly on global shared job structures.
Service Agreements
Broadening contract governance, SLA fulfillment, and long-term customer service maintenance terms.
Process-Driven Guided Apps
Introducing guided user workflows and intelligent forms that guide advisors and mechanics through complex operations.
Also in this release
Across the platform
Sales
Trade-in currency initialization aligned with deal setup, virtual entity actions for transfer orders, and organization-level catalog offering read privileges.
Rental
Batch recalculation for rental statistics with financial utilization metrics, exchange transport automations, linked sales item upselling, and device renaming.
Service Center
Streamlined guided timeslot selection, consolidated service requirements, global shared job types for cross-entity alignment, device range operation efforts, and Canceled status for invoice profiles.
Inspections
Data model foundations for Checklist Types, categorization across Rental, Sales, Service, and Trade-In, and Canceled inspection status.
Device Management
Comprehensive Device Tire tracking (position, condition, wear, and assignment) and reinforced purchase order hierarchy validation.
Parts & External Catalog
Release of BOMs, formulas, and multilingual translations from external catalog search, update journals, and direct delivery with remanufactured items.
Platform & Integration
Proprietary Dataverse-to-F&O integration layer safeguards customers from Microsoft’s deprecation of standard Field Service integration. Azure Maps drawing tools (circles, lines, geometry erase), Application Insights document queue logging, and single-run Bicep deployment scripts.
Technical Terms Used In This Release
| MCP | Model Context Protocol: an open standard that allows AI agents and external tools to query and interact with data sources like A365 using structured API calls. |
| PCF | Power Apps Component Framework: a UI framework allowing development of custom, interactive visual controls within Dynamics 365 and Dataverse forms. |
| WBS | Work Breakdown Structure: the hierarchical structure of a service appointment broken down into service orders, jobs, tasks, and job details. |
| BOM | Bill of Materials: a comprehensive list of raw materials, assemblies, and components needed to manufacture or service a product. |
Frequently asked questions
What is new in the A365 September 2026 product update release?
The September 2026 release brings major enhancements across Sales, Rental, Service Center, Field Mechanic, Device Management, Inspections, and AI. Highlights include DriveAI actions for warranty claim management and rental replacements, side-by-side device replacement impact comparisons in Sales, service appointment visibility inside delivery workflows, multi-level kit nesting in Rental, transport orders between customer job sites, the General Availability launch of the Field Mechanic mobile app, and a hybrid migration path from V1 to V2.
What are the key capabilities of the newly available Field Mechanic app?
The Field Mechanic mobile application is now ready for production use globally. It enables mechanics to view and consume stock across multiple warehouses, register travel time and mileage, handle unapproved field tasks autonomously, track non-billable overhead activities, and securely execute clock-in and clock-out actions fully offline without data corruption.
How do existing Field Service customers migrate to the new V2 platform?
Migration is handled via a secure, hybrid approach rather than a risky “Big Bang” upgrade. A new Compatibility Mode parameter allows legacy Field Service (V1) and modern Service Center apps (V2) to run in parallel on a shared codebase. Customers can move individual legal entities to V2 at their own pace while historical V1 orders remain safely preserved as history.
Will Microsoft’s deprecation of Field Service integration impact A365?
No. Annata maintains its own proprietary, custom integration layer bridging Dataverse and Finance & Operations. Customers using A365 are completely isolated from Microsoft’s deprecation of the standard out-of-the-box integration connectors.
What key capabilities are currently on the upcoming product roadmap?
Our active engineering pipeline includes deep integration of inspections into the end-to-end service lifecycle, support for fixed prices on shared job types, extended service agreements, and new process-driven guided apps and forms to guide technicians and advisors through service procedures.
Is A365 built on Microsoft Dynamics 365?
Yes. A365 is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, and DriveAI leverages Microsoft Copilot, Power Platform, and Dataverse, ensuring all AI actions execute within the enterprise Dynamics 365 boundary.
36 Features
30 Enhancements
60 Fixes
This product update continues closing the gaps that create manual work, disconnected decisions, and operational delay across the value chain. A365 gets sharper with every release.