GS506 – Understanding Processing Pipelines in Globalization Studio

After learning how to create your own feature in GS505, the next big step is to understand how to build the logic that powers your feature.

That logic is called a processing pipeline.

Think of a pipeline like a set of instructions that tell Dynamics 365:

“When a document is ready (like an invoice), do this… then this… then this.”

In this article, we’ll break it down simply and show how to build and test pipelines with real-world use cases.

🔧 What Is a Processing Pipeline?

A processing pipeline is a step-by-step flow that controls what happens to a file or document during processing.

You can use a pipeline to:

• Generate a file (PDF, XML, Excel)
• Sign it with a digital certificate
• Send it to a government or customer
• Save it to SharePoint, email, or Azure storage
• Log the status for traceability

This logic is built visually in Globalization Studio, no coding needed.

🧱 Common Pipeline Scenarios

Pipelines can be used for both outbound (sending) and inbound (receiving) processes.

🔄 Types of Setup in Pipelines

When adding a setup to a feature in Globalization Studio, you choose one of these types:

This was covered briefly in GS504 – Feature Lifecycle and Rules. Here, we focus on the actual steps inside the pipeline.

🪜 Common Pipeline Steps

Here are the most commonly used pipeline steps you can add inside a setup:

Each setup can have multiple steps, and they are executed in order.

🧾 Real-Life Example: Italy’s FatturaPA Invoice Flow

Here’s a real example used in Italy for B2G invoicing:

1. Generate XML using ER
2. Sign the XML file with a digital certificate
3. Submit it to the Italian government’s SDI web service
4. Store the signed XML in Azure
5. Log the submission status (approved, rejected)

This is exactly what Microsoft’s out-of-the-box FatturaPA feature does using a processing pipeline.

🛠️ How to Build a Pipeline (Step-by-Step)

Let’s say you want to send invoices as PDFs to SharePoint. Here’s what you do:

1. Open your feature
2. Go to Setups tab → Click New
3. Configure Parameters for each steps

4. Save > Validate the setup

5. Go to Applicability Rules and define where this should apply (e.g., Legal entity = CONTUK)

6. Mark feature as Complete and Deploy

Now every time a sales invoice is posted for CONTUK, the PDF is generated and saved to SharePoint, automatically.

📋 Tips for Building Pipelines

Logs will show you exactly what file was created, if signing worked, and what response came back.

🧩 Related Articles

• GS507 – Electronic Invoicing Overview: Learn how pipelines support e-invoicing
• GS509 – ER Basics: How ER formats plug into pipeline steps
• GS510 – Reusing and Adapting ER Features: How to move older pipelines to Globalization Studio

🧭 Final Thought

Pipelines are the engine of every feature in Globalization Studio. Whether you’re sending government files, storing reports, or receiving vendor documents, pipelines let you define the full journey, from file creation to submission and beyond.

And the best part? You don’t need to code.

📘 Coming Up Next

In GS507 – Electronic Invoicing Overview, we’ll look at:

• How Microsoft delivers prebuilt features for different countries
• How to test and customize these features
• What a typical e-invoicing flow looks like

📖 [Continue reading: GS507 – Electronic Invoicing Overview →]