Dynamics GP Web Enabled Warehouse Management and Elements of SCM

We would like to share with you typical situations and how they are implemented in such mid-market Corporate ERP system as Microsoft Dynamics GP, often referred by its historical name – Great Plains Dynamics.  We would like to mention in the header section, that typical mid-market Distribution company already has its own ecommerce web site, often coded in-house and supported directly by company IT department and we do not recommend to slash this ecommerce production application, but rather consider its integration with Dynamics GP.  Warehouse Management is typically based on Barcode scanning technology (and in some cases on RFID tags reading) and we will describe the options below:

1. How integrate existing ecommerce portal with Dynamics GP.  There are multiple products and connectors, available directly from Microsoft or through Dynamics GP ISV channel.  However, if you have custom ecommerce application, chances are high that you are controlling such features, as pricing, promotion campaigns, credit card payments, customer lists (if you are selling on account in B2B ecommerce scenario).  If this is what you got, please know that the most cost efficient (and software bugs free) way is to realize quasi real time ecommerce shopping cart integration in the form of Dynamics GP Sales Order Processing Order or Invoice with customer deposit (if payment is required).  If you control your ecommerce shopping carts, it might be natural way for you to export them into text file and pick them, say every ten minutes (you name time interval).  The tool you need in Dynamics GP Integration Manager and the connector type we do recommend is eConnect (it doesn’t consume one Dynamics GP user license, as it would be required by traditional old OLE Server connector, plus eConnect calls encrypted SQL Stored procedures and is a way faster, comparing to OLE).  If you have programmers in staff, it is easy enough for them to schedule IM call every certain number of minutes via Windows macro free or shareware products, otherwise if you would like to spend some budget on software licenses, you can purchase dedicated tool from Microsoft Business Solutions (call your Dynamics GP VAR for details)

2. Sending ecommerce originated Invoice or Sales Order to the warehouse floor.  You will need Warehouse Management extensions for Dynamics GP.  Here you need to understand how Order or Invoice line allocation is happening in GP.  You will need to setup special ecommerce Order document type ID, where allocation (you may also think in the term of fulfillment) is not done automatically when the line is entered.  Instead, you would need manual allocation and then the allocation itself is happening when your warehouse worker is reading item barcode label on the warehouse floor (or RFID tag)

3. Customer self-service via the internet.  Here you have several steps, where the control scope is in your hands or transferred to the carrier (maybe UPS, FedEx, USPS or another Freight Forwarder).  If the order is not yet fulfilled in your warehouse, you simply pull this information from SOP10100 and SOP10200 tables (they are in your production company database, hosted in Microsoft SQL Server).  The other programming option would be to call eConnect method to retrieve customer order or invoice.  If order is not yet allocated, the status to show is probably “Send to Fulfillment”.  Then, when allocation is done (via WMS driven barcode scanning) you may transfer the status call to UPS/FedEx order status web service

4. Elements of Supply Chain Management.  These are also implemented, but the probability is lower to see them on the requirements list.  Here we are talking about inventory replenishment and internal counts and transfers done on the warehouse floor via barcoding.  Plus such additional routines as delivery trucks time and route optimization

5. Additional features for Global organization.  In this scenario we do not really believe that you have Dynamics GP implemented in multiple countries, especially considering the fact that in such regions as China it is not localized.  But, rather you might have Dynamics GP with its MS and web portal implemented in USA or Canada and there is some kind of bridge between  Great Plains and its WMS and Web systems to other parts of global ERP system (maybe implemented in Oracle Financials/Applications or SAP).  As custom programming might expose you to the future problems of poor initial planning and system design, please, be sure that you have reviewed such concepts as Master-versus-Slave in Web Portal versus Dynamics GP (Corporate MRP/ERP).  There is often a dilemma – do you want to base all or most of the data and ERP logic on your Corporate ERP application (master mode) or you want it to be just a receiver of web originated transactions (slave mode)

6. If you feel that you are rather small company and need just basic WMS and ecommerce elements.  Our recommendation to you would be first of all try to upgrade your Dynamics GP to the current version (2010/11.0 as we are writing this paper in December 2010), as the cost of Warehouse automation is comparable to the Great Plains software licenses.  Secondly, consider budget options for your warehouse automation (for example try to review text mode compatible barcode scanners to save on barcoding hardware).  Then in the Warehouse Management System selection itself, try to get something where you have only basic functionality (consider Dynamics GP Warehouse Management Extensions with the functionality taken directly from Great Plains, versus external stand alone WMS with its own rich Warehouse Management business logic)

7. For additional information please call us: 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 or email us: help@albaspectrum.com