Microsoft Great Plains in Metal
Distribution: implementation & customization overview for consultant
By Andrew Karasev
Alba Spectrum Technologies
USA:
1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918,
Deutschland
(0177) 8349 806,
help@albaspectrum.com
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
customers 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