Warehouse Inventory Management for Microsoft Dynamics GP Highlights

They do often perfect work and provide integration tools or connectors for generic ERP or Accounting application.  However external Warehouse Management System might require additional implementation phase - WMS to ERP integration should be designed, tested and even often customized to fit your business processes.  Plus, there is often the case, that your Corporate ERP application already has the same logic available internally (in Purchasing, Sales and Inventory modules) and you have to deploy external WMS system, because native Corporate ERP doesn't have Barcode scanning interface.  And interfacing such relatively complex documents from your WMS or SCM to ERP Purchase Receipt, Sales Invoice, Inventory Cycle Count might be challenging, as all these documents have complex logic: Serial or Lot Numbering, Bins, Kits, Assemblies, Alternative Parts to name a few.  This small publication gives you initial highlights on Warehouse Management System, which is in essence extension to you Corporate ERP, in our case Microsoft Dynamics GP, also often referred as Great Plains Dynamics:
1. WMS simplicity.  It is often good thing to do to decide on being very or reasonably simple and easy to implement, use and modify.  SCM might require complex business logic, however this doesn't always mean that Warehouse Management customer should pay for complex barcoding scenarios, where they only need to use 10% of the logic (and will never use 90% of the nice features, they have to pay for).  There is also another concern, related to the complexity of WMS to ERP integration implementation, with high failure rate.  And also - even the most sophisticated WMS application often is short of several features you must have in final working system, so the amount of required customizations might be comparable for advanced and basic SCM systems
2. Great Plains Microsoft Dynamics GP as possible Warehouse Management, Inventory Replenishment and Light Assembly Platform.  Traditionally Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnteprise and later on its successor (after Microsoft acquired GPS and formed special Corporate ERP subdivision Microsoft Business Solutions) Microsoft Dynamics GP has strong set of Distribution modules (often referred as Logistics): Sales Order Processing, Inventory Control with Bill of Materials, Purchase Order Processing with Purchasing Configurator, Manufacturing Suite (native GP set of modules, very good choice for Discrete Manufacturing).  So, Great Plains naturally has most of the Warehouse Management, SCM, Logistics logic and even ready for Consignment with simple procedures
3. Alba Spectrum WMS extension.  We open Sales Order Processing Sales Order (with manual line fulfillment or allocation) for Barcoding, where allocation is done in the warehouse floor via barcode scanning.  Secondly, we open GP Purchase Order Processing Purchase Receipt for inventory replenishment.  And finally, we open Inventory Adjustment and Stock Count screens for Barcoding as well.  These three directions should allow you to capitalize on Great Plains user licenses and pay modest fee for Barcoding enabling.  We also have elements of Supply Chain Management logic with Consignment, Trucks routing (optimized delivery path).  We are not covering RFID topics in this article, please see our dedicated publications on Alba Spectrum Website
4. Light Discrete Assembly.  We should be able to open Bill of Materials module for Barcoding in Dynamics GP.  If you are implementing Great Plains Manufacturing Suite and you need barcoding automation, we think that you may need to discuss your case with us.  If you are looking for Process Manufacturing, Microsoft Business Solutions traditionally recommends Dynamics AX (formerly known as Axapta).  However we should be able to recommend you couple of Dynamics GP process manufacturing extensions (food, meat and poultry processing industries)
5. WMS and International aspect.  It is often a good idea to hire somebody who got MBA degree in international business as when US corporation goes internationally, such questions as ERP localization, international language support, compliance to targeted country industry compliance legislation might be critical or even imperative.  Dynamics GP is localized in English speaking countries: USA, Canada (including GP in Canadian French for Montreal and the whole Quebec province), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Oceania, partially for South East Asia where English language is used as primary language of business communications.  Dynamics GP is also localized in Spanish speaking Latin America: Mexico, South, Central America and Caribbean.  Dynamics GP is also available in Arabic in Saudi Arabia and Arabic peninsula and huge region of Northern Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Sahara countries, plus Afghanistan, where Arabic alphabet is in use for Dari language).  For such countries as China, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Russia - Dynamics GP is not localized there - we recommend you to consider building your Corporate ERP on SAP Business One (small to midsize subsidiary or local business) or Dynamics AX Axapta (midsize to large business unit or independent enterprise)
6. How to get further help?  Please, feel free to call us in USA: 1-866-528-0577, internationally 1-630-961-5918 (or skype albaspectrum) or email us help@albaspectrum.com  Our consultants speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese (including Brazilian Portuguese), Russian, Arabic.  We also welcome you to visit our pavilion on Convergence 2011 in Atlanta