Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves to the wide spectrum of horizontal markets and could be also considered as generic ERP/MRP/Accounting platform for light and advanced customization to fit verticals. In this small article we describe distribution sector with the example from metal distribution - Dealer/broker of industrial nonferrous by-product scrap, de-tins and de-oils industrial by-product scrap and finished parts. It might sound a bit complex ? but we think this is typical for this horizontal market niche. The language of the article is targeted to primarily technical consultant and in-house programmer/software developer. In our opinion ? ERP applications should be implemented with the leveraged help and support of internal IT people ? we are entering into the epoch of technical specialists and IT departments ? smile.
Industry specifics:
? Cost / Price with 5 decimals of the dollar. Well ? if you sell thousands of pounds with the price per pound ? then every tiny fraction of the cent makes a difference in vendor selection. In Microsoft Great Plains you have reserved 5 digits in the currency datatype to be able to track 5 decimals of the $. In case of Euro or other currency in multi currency environment ? this should be applicable to your local currency: Rand, Peso, Real, Pound, Yen, Chinese Yuan.
? Settlement Report. This report is typical for distribution and logistics type of business. In case of metal distributor ? this report shows either monthly transactions log or HBL (House Bill of Lading) /MBL (Master Bill of Lading). Again we should implement 5 digits fractioning of the main currency. This report is classical Great Plains Dexterity or Crystal Report ? depending on the level of integration with Great Plains screens (Dexterity gives you seamless integration ? Crystal requires Modifier/VBA scripting to call Crystal Reports engine)
? Historical Customer Orders. When order taker gets order by phone she/he should have instant access to customer's recent purchases and comparisons with average recent sales for the specific alloy or metal item. The customization you need is Great Plains Dexterity sales pad and instant item sales inquiry. Both should pull info from Sales Order Processing (SOP) module and have item lookup to Inventory Control (IV)
? Compliance Reporting. We recommend you to use Crystal Reports ? this tool should stay for five years and plus. These reports should publish Great Plains company database data at your will and the requirements of the federal or state authority
? Customization & Modification. You should consider using these tools: Great Plains Dexterity (requires some training and experience), Crystal Reports, Visual Studio.Net web publishing, MS SQL Server stored procedures for data integration and feeding.
Good luck with localization, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns ? we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
Author is a Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally
Culver prom limo ..No matter how much you enjoy your favorite screensavers, sometimes... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More
You would like to protect your documents, wouldn't you? Reasons... Read More
XML Server can be a Web Server that stores the... Read More
Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used software... Read More
Should one use Windows Update?This topic has good and valid... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM become more and more... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package... Read More
Did you ever give a thought to the number of... Read More
I like my software simple. If it's too complex or... Read More
Almost all new and major brand of PCs come with... Read More
Configuring PPP PAP AuthenticationNow we know how the ISDN link... Read More
The Internet is reshaping every form of communications medium, and... Read More
Security flaws have long plagued Internet Explorer (IE), the market-dominating... Read More
Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise, and currently Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was purchased from Great Plains... Read More
The title of "software engineer" has got to be among... Read More
The term "document management" and "paperless office" is the subject... Read More
The intentions of this short tutorial are not to teach... Read More
Adware is a type of Spyware program that displays some... Read More
Microsoft has never released a service pack for Windows98 SE,... Read More
Stop the Runaway MouseWhat's the "runaway mouse?" You've seen it...you... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has Project Accounting module where... Read More
This article will not attempt to advocate the use of... Read More
IBM Lotus Notes Domino and Microsoft CRM (Client Relation Management)... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..The first topic we are going to discuss... Read More
We were recently faced with a decision: either to let... Read More
If you are in the market for new staffing software,... Read More
All your software is stored on a hard-drive. But how... Read More
An integral part of any quality CRM system is lead... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, designed back in 1990th as database transferable... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions product, targeted... Read More
Remember back in the days where screensavers were the coolest... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main mid-market application from Microsoft Business... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
Bad News - the Threat is Bigger than it SeemedHow... Read More
When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is now in process of creating so... Read More
Most people don't use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here... Read More
If you have Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise (version 6.0 or earlier)... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM and IBM Lotus Notes Domino, being... Read More
In this article you will find some background information about... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision, Axapta,... Read More
While I was preparing some personal background information for a... Read More
We live in a post-industrial age where information is the... Read More
Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More
Does Microsoft care for WebmastersIt's always been a problem with... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has full-featured manufacturing set of... Read More
Creating a new markup language.Introduction.General Reuse Markup Langauge, or GRML,... Read More
Software |