Andrew Karasev

Great Plains Reseller Newsflash: GP customization

Dynamics GP ERP is very robust platform for implementing custom business processes as addition to existing ERP and MRP logic.  

As Great Plains Dynamics is targeting mid-size and even large companies, you should expect that modification flexibility comes with certain level of technology complexity, where you should not expect generic programmer to turn around in couple of days and begin to program such proprietary Great Plains tools, as Microsoft Dexterity.  However it is probably fair to say, that Visual Studio C# or VB .Net programmer should be able to modify and design Great Plains integrations in new SDK – eConnect.  In this small publication we would like to give you orientation session on Great Plains modification tools:

1.       eConnect.  This tool is the one that you try, when you are doing integration of your external application to Great Plains Dynamics GP.  Good example is e-commerce web site project with shopping cart, turning to Sales Order Processing order or Invoice.  We recommend you eConnect, even if you think that simple ecommerce integration should be naturally done in MS SQL Server Stored procedures.  eConnect if fact is written in stored procedures (however procedure code is encrypted and you can not use it as the reference) – so it leads you on the new level, where you manipulate Great Plains objects: Customer, Vendor, GL account, Inventory Item, Sales Order.

2.       Dynamics GP Dexterity.  This tool is in essence GP application shell, and Great Plains is programmed in Dexterity on the core level: tables, forms, fields, triggers, etc.  Dex, however is not as open to you as eConnect, and it is rather proprietary technology, plus if you are end customer and not a Dynamics GP VAR, you have to purchase Dexterity programming license from Microsoft in order to do in-house Dexterity development.  So, assuming that you are contracting Dynamics GP technology partner with Dexterity Software Development factory, you should be ready to design large or small scale unique add-on for your organization

3.       VBA and Modifier.  Here you add fields in Modifier and attach VBA scripts to them, if you need to work with data insert and extraction, please use ADO connection.  VBA/Modifier requires customization site enabler license

4.       Extender.  This toll is the module, created in Dexterity and it opens to end user and often to somebody who is very familiar with technology, but who is not a programmer, to extend or modify Great Plains screens, plus create new ones

5.       GP Integration Manager.  Being excellent tool for integrating, it also has limited instruments, allowing you to alter integration logic through VBA scripts, translation tables, etc.

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