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Case Studies
Great Plains
Alba Spectrum Technologies
Specialty Food Wholesaler
Situation
Specialty Food Processor/Wholesaler was looking for industry specific solution: similar food components purchased from different suppliers in different containers, cases, etc. Further complication was - the same items from the same supplier may vary in weight and so in final production, measured in pounds. The necessity of strict control was a must, due to presence of retail subdivision, selling from the same inventory location.
Our approach
Due to uniqueness, business systems software market could not offer off-the-shelf solution. We suggested and implemented customization in several Great Plains modules:
- Sales Order Processing
- Inventory Control
- Purchasing
in order to create Variable Weight Items Inventory, Purchasing and Sales System
Technology:
- Great Plains Dexterity (Great Plains proprietary programming tool) customization;
- SQL Stored Procedures to provide instant historical orders info
Results
Business processes were automated by the Great Plains system:
- Accurate inventory of variable-weight components
- Accurate estimation of purchasing needs from suppliers, based on historical information
- Automation of retail sales with strict control
- Order taking over the internet
Industry: Distribution
Applications: Great Pains
Technologies: Dexterity, SQL
Nation-Wide Registered Nurse Placement Agency
Situation
As for many placement agencies there was the problem of integration of the Placement database, which is heavily customized business system, based on Client Relation Management (CRM) application with the back end accounting system. The dilemma was in either to create similar customization in Great Plains or introduce the interface between the two systems. As the result many pieces of data had to be manually reentered into accounting system. Each request from customers to verify hours and payment rate in accounting system and Placement database resulted in special project for IT group
Our approach
In order to preserve investments into Placement System (CRM) and Great Plains - Integrated Business System, consisting of Great Plains and CRM was recommended. Portions of business logic were transferred from CRM customization to Great Plains by addition of standard Project Accounting module.
Technology:
- Ongoing CRM-Great Plains integration via SQL Stored Procedures
- Sales Commission Crystal reporting, combining info from Great Plains Sales and Project modules as well as CRM database, based on distributed queries and SQL Views
- Automatic Data Transformation Packages, feeding and synchronizing data between systems
Results
- Efficient billing from Great Plains project accounting with robust projects control and reporting
- Automatic data feeding from Business specific Placement CRM system into accounting
- Cross system reporting
Industry: Placement
Applications: Great Plains: Project Accounting
Technologies: SQL Server: Stored Procs, Distributed Queries and Views, Data Transformation Packages, Crystal Reports
Soft Drinks Maker/Wholesaler
Situation
Business System had multiple loosely integrated subsystems, some of them had
obsolete technology, discontinued by manufacturers and with no longer support
available. Meanwhile company needed daily international sales reporting by
multiple criteria. The choice should be made between expensive OLAP/Datawarehousing
solutions, integrated with new Mid-Market accounting package and less expensive
solution, deploying set of relatively flexible Crystal Reports, pulling
information from Mid-Market accounting. Also the complexity of the transition
year was the necessity to address existing legacy system data in reporting
system
Our approach
In order to save money we suggested less expensive and easy to maintain Great Plains and Crystal Reporting solution, based on the distributed queries from legacy database with following year end switch to Great Plains
- Data conversion with Integration Manager and SQL custom queries from legacy accounting to Great Plains on Microsoft Windows 2000 server
- Light Manufacturing automation via Bill of Materials
- Crystal Reports for providing daily sales reporting needs
- Integration Manager for GL and Purchasing data import
Technology:
- SQL Distributed views and stored procs
- Crystal Report, based on distributed queries
- Light Dexterity triggers for Bill of assemblies
- Integration Manager, Frx
Results
- All company operation are now based on one system: Great Plains
- Sales reports do not require additional maintenance, maybe called by request and pull the information from standard Great Plains databases
- Customer requests are processed in real time through Great Plains inquiry screens
Industry: Distribution, Manufacturing
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: SQL Server: Stored Procs, Views, Dexterity, Integration Manager, FRx
Mid-Size Tools Manufacturer
Situation
Client had IDE channel selling parts and finished products to its customers.
This IDE channel had to come through mainframe in fixed-length text file format
with order header and multiple lines. IDE export/import to Great Plains was a
must
Our approach
We suggested IDE custom application, based on MS SQL Server Data Transformation package
- Data export from Great Plains Sales Order Processing module
- Data update, based on order status response from IDE mainframe channel
Technology:
- SQL formatted query to Sales Transaction tables
- Batch file, forwarding and renaming the export file
- SQL formatted query for update order status in Great Plains Sales
- Data Transformation Services
Results
- Bullet proof IDE interface with Great Plains was created
Industry: Manufacturing
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: SQL Server: Stored Procs, DTS
Metal Recycler and Wholesaler
Situation
Client had industry specific requirements to provide bids to its customers with
5 decimals of $ price. Also vendor had requirements to provide Custom Order
status report and several mandatory reports, with 5 decimals of $. In order to
provide real-time quotes to the customer the query, showing historical quoted
price and average current price for the product with immediate drill down to
historical quotes was needed.
Our approach
In order to provide immediate drill down to historical docs and calculate average price/cost, plus provide required reporting we suggested
- Dexterity customization in Sales and Purchasing modules
- Aggregated SQL query to feed information into custom inquiry window
- Dexterity custom report with 5 decimals of $
Results
- All the operations were automated in Great Plains
- All the reporting requirements were met
Industry: Distribution
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Dexterity, SQL Server: Stored Procs, Crystal Reports
Industry Specific CRM Vendor with International Support
Situation
Client had turn key system installation plan and support for its customers. The
system had the requirement to show the status of the part of the supported
hardware and it’s history through multiple Great Plains
modules: Sales, Purchasing, Inventory and Fixed Assets by it’s serial number.
Also Clients had support and billing plans with installment payments options and
considering high volume of customer checks – the AR group notification mechanism
was required
Our approach
In order to provide immediate support for the hardware, installed as part of the turn key system and payment notifications
- Dexterity, VBA, SQL and Continuum customization was recommended, addressing several Great Plains modules: SOP, Inventory, Purchasing, Fixed Assets
- SQL queries to provide immediate reporting of customer outstanding invoices and payments history
- SQL and Dexterity triggers, deploying SQL mail to notify AR on customer payments
Results
- Client was able to switch all its legacy systems to Great Plains
- All real-time customer support calls were facilitated, resulting in increasing of customer service quality
Industry: Services
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Dexterity, VBA & Modifier, Continuum, ReportWriter, SQL Server: Stored Procs, Triggers, Mail, Crystal Reports
Payroll Funding Company for Placement Agencies
Situation
Company had several hundred clients – placement agencies and needed the system
to bill them and make payroll transfer to their temps. Standard mid-size
accounting application with payroll module can produce payroll checks and direct
deposits. Management decision was to have individual database/company per
client, which resulted in several hundred SQL databases. The addition of new
clients required automatic setup in this case, plus consolidation of accounting
records from these client databases into corporate accounting required
sophisticated SQL integration.
Our approach
Our research confirmed supported management decision to have separate Great Plains company for each individual client and we suggested
- To have SQL Server Data Transformation Package for installing and setup new client
- SQL DTS package for consolidation of client’s companies transaction into Corporate GL
- Dexterity, Modifier with VBA standard Great Plains logic customizations to fit business logic
Results
- Unique business processes were automated within Great Plains
- Client’s IT team got single and reliable database platform (MS SQL Server) as the basis for multiple reporting needs
Industry: Placement
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Dexterity, VBA & Modifier, SQL Server: Stored Procs, Triggers
Collection Agency
Situation
Company had UNIX based collection system. However feeding data into accounting
package with billing and payment functionalities was a need. The old accounting
system was too small to serve growing business volume. The uniqueness of the
business processes required automatic switch from the original creditor to the
bank, who bought the AR from this creditor
Our approach
We suggested deployment of Great Plains Integration Manager to feed data from UNIX based collection system into Great Plains
- VBA vendor translation in Integration Manager
- VBA for payment check date and additional fields modification formula programming
Results
- Integration of Collection System with Great Plains
Industry: Services
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: VBA, Integration Manager
Bank
Situation
Mortgage business line had a need to running account queries on the fly,
aggregating data by multiple accounts in Great Plains, like having summaries by
all the account with
101-XXX-XXXX where X is wild card
Our approach
As this was a need for seamless integration with Great Plains General Ledger account open and historical inquiries screens, we suggested
- Dexterity customization for these windows
- SQL Stored procs for instant data summarization
Results
- Integration of Collection System with Great Plains
Industry: Finance
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Dexterity, SQL Stored procs
Union
Situation
Union needed monthly expenses approval report to be submitted to its trustees.
Every expense, including payroll expenses for union employees, strike funds
support payments, purchasing should be on this report, categorized by account’s
segment and officer category. This should be realized for Great Plains
system.
Our approach
We suggested deployment of SQL Stored procs and Crystal reports
- SQL Stored procs will unionize the data from Payroll, Purchasing and AP modules
- Crystal report will provide required format for the report
Results
- Monthly expenses are now generated automatically, instead of huge amount of paperwork with consequent entering into Excel
Industry: Non-profit
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: SQL Stored Procs, Crystal Reports
College Grants Managing company
Situation
There was a need for industry specific project accounting package for billing
participating colleges and students for grants distribution service
Our approach
We suggested deployment Dexterity Program definitions, University and Student billing forms
- Dexterity form for entering program info with link to GL account
- Integration with Great Plains Invoicing module
Results
- Grant distribution service and accounting were implemented in one Great Plains system
Industry: Non-profit
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Dexterity
Machinery Manufacturer
Situation
Due to some downsizing and major manufacturing procedures outsourcing management
approached us for suggestions to simplify company full-featured manufacturing
system. Current system required more people to enter manufacturing information,
than the number of assembly workers. Company had Great Plains accounting and
third party manufacturing.
Our approach
We suggested deployment of Great Plains Bill of Materials module as an alternative to current manufacturing system
- Data conversion from legacy manufacturing to GP Inventory via Integration Manager
- Manufacturing Bill of Materials conversion via SQL queries
Results
- 70% reduction of expenses for data entry
- Legacy manufacturing annual support fee elimination
- All the operation are now in one Great Plains system
Industry: Manufacturing
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: Integration manager, SQL queries
Furniture Retailer
Situation
Company had multiple stores in several regions. Currently it was mailing
salary/commission payroll checks to all its employees and salespeople. There
was a possibility to replace current check mailing to its employees by enabling
them over the internet via web report from Great Plains
payroll module.
Our approach
We suggested secured login and Crystal Report web publishing for employees in the following form:
- .Net aspx pages
- Crystal Report engine
Results
- Elimination of extra paper work
- Meeting government requirements
Industry: Retail
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: .Net, C#, Web Publishing, Crystal Reports
Jewelry Stores
Situation
Client needed to switch from its legacy Fixed Assets management system to Great
Plains fixed assets module. Prior to go live – they needed to try several
depreciation scenarios to correct their legacy depreciation modules
Our approach
We suggested
- Import assets and assets-books records into GP Fixed Assets module
- Create SQL scripts and Great Plains macro to change depreciation methods and averaging/switchover conventions
Results
- Client found the best depreciation scenario for multiple depreciation books
- Fixed Assets Integration into Great Plains system
Industry: Retail
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: SQL Queries
International Drugs Wholesaler
Situation
Company does its business in several countries, purchasing drugs in Western
Europe for following certification and import into East European countries and
Russia, where it had its subsidiaries to do wholesale to local drug stores.
This was the business model of multicurrency and variety of customs rules,
certifications, tax regulation and offshore tax optimization
Our approach
We suggested Great Plains with multicurrency module
- Several companies with GL transaction consolidation via SQL DTS into country specific tax book
- Great Plains Dexterity modification to provide additional functionality for customs clearance and drugs certification notes
Results
- Complicated business model was implemented within Great Plains system
Industry: International Trade
Applications: Great Plains
Technologies: SQL Stored Procs
Alba Spectrum Technologies
Phones
Toll Free: 1-866-528-0577
Office: 1-630-961-5918
Cell (consultant-on-duty): 1-630-854-0597
Email: help@albaspectrum.com
Great Plains Dexterity Customizations Dynamics eEnterprise Microsoft CRM Microsoft RMS Crystal Reports SQL .Net C# International