There are situations, however, in which your business is so unique that: (a) There are no third-party applications for your company’s line of business; and (b) The work involved in programming a complete solution within your ERP using the available tools is too costly and would lead to a sort of “monster ERP” that is hard to maintain over time.  It is likely that companies in these markets already have an application that they have developed or use an application that is industry-specific for their needs.  This could be the case with some manufacturing companies, or companies in the medical, hospitality, or educational sectors, just to name a few possibilities.

What typically happens in these cases is that the industry-specific application provides excellent functionality for their operational needs, but generally exhibits a poor level of functionality for essential administrative aspects, which happen to be at the heart of any ERP.  It is common then, to encounter cases in which the company does not want to replace or re-program the operational application, but instead wants to implement a good ERP that can be tightly integrated with it.  What they are looking for is to maintain business as usual in their specialty application but purchase an ERP system that can take data generated by that application and create appropriate financial transactions and information for business decision makers.  In some cases, the ERP should also provide feedback data to the specialty application to improve operational efficiencies.

Many ERPs offer integration mechanisms, but few offer the level of flexibility that Dynamics does.  Dynamics GP, for example, includes different tools that provide simple initial data integrations, to highly advanced on-line, over-the-web integrations.  Tools are not mutually exclusive so it is typical to have customers that implement multiple tools for their different integration needs.

For relatively simple integration needs, Dynamics offers “Integration Manager”, a high-level, easy to use tool that provides pre-defined adapters to both extract data from practically every system, and convert it into valid ERP transactions of many types.  So, for example, we can use integration manager to extract invoices generated by a car rental system and convert these data into valid sales invoices or GL Entries in Dynamics.  Another typical scenario (especially in countries where payroll laws are unique or complicated) is to use this tool to take transactions generated by the custom payroll system and generate the appropriate GL entries and employee receivables transactions in Dynamics.  The beauty of integration manager is that it is easy to use yet very powerful, offering complete data validation (does not allow the import of “garbage” into your ERP) by utilizing advanced integration mechanisms underneath.

Dynamics GP also offers direct access to some advanced integration tools such as eConnect and Web Services.  These are tools that require a higher level of programming expertise from the users, so they are mostly used by customers with a good IT department.  What these tools offer, however, is the capability of establishing a total connection from/to any system and your ERP, using the most popular development tools.

Web Services, for instance, is a development platform created using industry standards to allow the creation of two-way interactions among applications.   Dynamics GP includes “services” that allows any programmer to search for documents, create new documents, update existing documents, and even delete or void documents in the ERP, all of which is done within the security context and respecting data integrity.  One of the advantages of using these more advanced technologies is that the integrations created using these tools can work not only within your local network, but over the Internet as well, making it ideal for mobile systems.

As mentioned in the first part of these series, no system can cover absolutely all of your company’s needs (at least not at a reasonable cost).  Integrating your vertical systems with your ERP can be a good solution, and the tools to do this are readily available in Dynamics.  If you want to know more about integrations, of any other matter related to Dynamics, contact us first to learn about your options.

By ICON, Dominican Republic Dynamics GP partner

Customization Options for Your ERP: Data Integrations is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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In part 1 of this series we suggested looking at third-party products as the first option to better adapt an ERP to your needs.  As a second option, leading ERP vendors often provide different kinds of programming tools built into their products.  Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), for example, incorporates excellent tools to add functionality to the product in a way that is transparent for the users.  These tools allow customers to create or modify existing reports, fields, and windows, program new functionalities, and even add new fields, windows, or processes.

When we talk about customization, anything goes.  If your requirement is modifying existing reports or building new reports, for example, each product offers its preferred set of tools.  There are even tools that are suitable for use with many ERPs or even for homegrown applications.  For good reading, I recommend one of the most popular posts in this blog: “Crystal Reports vs SQL Reporting Services: Clash of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Reporting Titans” which does a good job of explaining the existing reporting possibilities for Dynamics GP.  In summary, the best choices for creating operational reports today are Crystal Reports and SQL Reporting Services; I favor the latter for Dynamics GP implementations.

Now, if we talk about adding functionality to the product, making fields appear or disappear from existing windows, or even adding new windows and new business logic to the product, we then need to resort to programming tools.  Dynamics GP offers rich programming options with different levels of complexity and power, allowing final users and IT professionals to exploit their ERP to its fullest.

At its most basic level, Dynamics offers the Extender tool to create new menus and windows and fields, which can be associated with any existing window in the system.  So if you need to add industry-specific data about your customers (such as patient data associated to customer records), the Extender makes this a simple task that can be performed by end users with minimal IT expertise.  At this same basic level, there is a tool called Smart List Builder, which is designed to create user-manageable lists of records that maintain a live link to Dynamics data and any other SQL-based product your company may be running.  These lists are shown together with others built into the system and can be exported to Excel and Word, for example.

On the other hand, if your requirement calls for modifying an existing window, adding new windows tied to complex business logic, and adding custom process controls, the Modifier with Visual Basic for Applications (MVBA) may be the tool of choice.  MBVA has been included within Microsoft Dynamics GP for the past decade, making it a very mature and robust tool to add functionality that is completely integrated to the system.  iNCF, our tax-compliance product for the Dominican Republic uses MVBA in many ways to add the required functionality in a way that is completely transparent for the users.  New windows, new inquiries, special fields within existing windows, SQL processes triggered by new business logic, are all possible with MVBA.

At this same level of power and complexity there are other tools, such as Visual Studio .Net, that can be even more powerful and still provide full integration to the Dynamics system.  The most recent versions of Dynamics GP support the use of Add-ins created using VS, with some particular advantages derived from the fact that this is a much more modern development platform than VBA.  One of the advantages of custom code built with VS as Add-ins is that these work without altering any of the existing Dynamics components, suggesting easier updates.  Just copy the compiled components to the Dynamics “Add-Ins” directory, and the new functions, menus and window will magically appear within the product.

Dynamics MVP Mariano Gómez recently published a good summary of the current state of programming tools for Dynamics in the Dynamics Community Blog.  In addition to the aforementioned tools, customers have the option to use Dynamics’ original development environment, called Dexterity, to develop full-fledged applications bearing the same look and feel of Dynamics. In fact, this is still the development tool of choice of most third-party developers today.

So far it should be clear that it is possible to change the way your ERP works to fit it to your specific needs.  But many of you may have had horror stories with customizing systems only to be trapped within a non-upgradeable system.  So, will these customizations limit your ability to maintain and update your system?  The answer with Dynamics GP is a clear “No”.  Dynamics customization tools are designed to be easily upgradeable.  When properly created, custom code will be updated seamlessly together with your system updates.

So take advantage of the ability that Dynamics offers to customize your system; that is what these tools are there for.  And regardless of which one is your favorite tool, ICON has been using it with our customers for the past 15 years, with code that has outlived dozens of updates of infrastructure and the ERP system itself.  So, if you need to add some functionality to your ERP, contact us first to learn about your options.

In our next blog, we will discuss a third option to customize your ERP… so stay tuned.

By ICON, Dominican Republic Dynamics GP partner

Customization Options for Your ERP: Programming Tools is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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The functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP is helpful for all businesses, but as we all know, no two businesses are exactly alike. This is why customizations and extensions are sometimes in order. The Developer Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics GP includes eConnect, Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Web Services. You can use these tools to build Microsoft .NET-based solutions, customizations, and extensions for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. Let’s take a closer look at one of the components of this kit and how it can help customize your solution:

eConnect: eConnect is a collection of tools, components, and interfaces that allow applications to programmatically interact with Microsoft Dynamics GP. eConnect allows you to enhance your applications in the following ways:

1. Add real-time access to Microsoft Dynamics GP data: eConnect provides real-time access to back office data. It offers a way to add up-to-date back office information to existing front office applications like web storefronts or service applications.
2. Share financial management data across applications: These eConnect interfaces allow external applications like web storefronts, web services, point-of-sale systems, or legacy applications to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP. The external applications can perform actions like creating, updating, retrieving, and deleting back office documents and transactions.

We here at Rimrock are a boutique consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM software solutions. Please contact us for more information on how you can better develop Microsoft Dynamics GP to fit your business needs.

By Rimrock Corporation, Toronto Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Develop your Microsoft Dynamics GP Solution with the Developer Toolkit is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Fortunately, Microsoft Dynamics GP offers users the ability to add custom fields in windows they use every day.  For example, let’s say you have a large copier in the supply room.  It is obviously a critical fixed asset, since your employees use it several times a day.  Occasionally the copier requires maintenance or another type of attention, but sometimes we can’t always remember which office person is the “copier expert.”  Rather than scramble through a desk drawer looking for the name of the “copier expert,” GP users can add the name right into the Fixed Asset window.

Using a Microsoft Dynamics GP solution called Extender, users can place a new data field where it is needed most.  In the same example, users would simply open the Extender window, select the “Asset Repair and Maintenance” window ID, then add in the desired data field for “Copier Expert.”  Users are not limited to just text, since they can add fields for links to a picture or document related to the specific fixed asset.  Some other benefits of Extender include the ability to build new data entry forms and scrolling grids, as well as link the new data to a report. 

Perhaps the greatest benefit of Extender is that users do not need to write a single line of code.  The solution allows users to put the data where they want it, rather than be limited by the predefined form templates.  Most importantly, the new data field will always be there, and can never get lost in a drawer.   Although a world without sticky notes is probably still far off, Extender may get us one step closer.

For a demo of Microsoft Dynamics GP Extender, view this recording.

By: Steve Alvater, McGladrey, New York Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Customize Microsoft Dynamics GP Without Writing a Line of Code is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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Real-time Integrations with Microsoft Dynamics GP and Web Services

Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP is a collection of business objects that enables real-time integrations from external data sources such as Web storefronts, point-of-sale, or legacy applications with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

 With Web Services, we can create real-time integrations (transaction level and batch) to read, write, update, and delete data in a Microsoft Dynamics GP application. You can be sure the data integrated into Microsoft Dynamics GP is accurate because the business logic stored in the underlying data connection layer of eConnect checks data against business rules before the data flows into Microsoft Dynamics GP.

 In one client instance, we worked closely with a team of client developers to create and update, customers, sales orders, receive payments against orders, and invoice orders once payments were received in full. The solution utilized GP Web Services for a bidirectional real-time interface between the clients internally developed Practice Management System and Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Using Visual Studio Tools to Streamline Item Maintenance in Microsoft Dynamics GP 10

In another case, the customer desired a means of streamlining their item maintenance process. The customer wanted to open the Item maintenance card, set default values, and then easily edit the Item, Item Vendor, Quantities/Sites and Item Planning cards without having to return to the GP menus to access the other windows. The defaults would automatically flow to each Item related window.

The system would essentially collapse four Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 cards within a custom interface into a single form that would appear when the user selected the Item Maintenance card. This system also requires the implementation of the dotNet FormFactory as well as a custom add-in component.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 provides many development tools for customizing the look/feel and functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10; these enhancements include adding additional interface controls and functionality to each Dexterity Task Form. Additionally more functionality can be added to Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 with the implementation of custom add-in modules. With the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 Service Pack 1, a new option for advanced form modification has been implemented, the dotNet FormFactory.

In Microsoft Dynamics GP 10, the Dexterity Task Forms, GP’s core display element, are displayed on a dotNET form. The dotNet FormFactory allows a dotNet developer to replace the dotNET form that the Dexterity Task Form resides on. The form can be augmented with additional text, data elements, status reports, or other Dexterity Task Forms. The additional functions wrap “around” the existing GP dexterity task form, allowing the modifications made within GP to be accessible to the new wrapped forms.

By The TM Group, Michigan Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics SL, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner

Suprise! Custom Development for Dynamics GP Really Can Save Time and Money is a post from: ERP Software Blog

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