Electronic signature is a regulations compliance requirement for several regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and aerospace and defense. It is also a necessary part of the compliance with the regulations in 21 CFR Part 11 issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

An electronic signature confirms the identity of a person who is about to start a process or approve a process. In some industries, an electronic signature is as legally binding as a handwritten one.

The ability to use electronic signatures is available for the following eight manufacturing processes when you install Microsoft Dynamics AX:

• Release a production order.

• Report a production order as finished.

• Approve a bill of materials (BOM).

• Approve a BOM version.

• Activate a BOM version.

• Approve a route.

• Approve a route version.

• Activate a route version

When one of the above processes is updated, a user must sign electronically by entering a user ID and password.

Electronic signatures are recorded in a log to provide the information for an audit trail, and can be viewed as evidence of authenticity.

The following license keys are a prerequisite for using electronic signature:

• Electronic signature

• Database log