Dynamics GP implementation in Distribution: eCommerce and Warehouse Management with Barcoding

If you are also in retail, the best case is to have your new or existing customers order merchandize via B2C ecommerce shopping cart.  In all scenarios customer orders go to your Corporate ERP application, in our publication we are giving you example, where ERP is built on Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly known as Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise).  Dynamics GP in its turn exposes Customer Order or Invoice via Warehouse Management System add-on to the warehouse floor for immediate fulfillment, picking and packing and shipping.  If you think about further automation (maybe due to the high trust level to customer payment via Credit Card or on account, typically directly through your ecommerce shopping cart, such as Magento/PHP or ASP.Net Storefront or another platform) – you can post Dynamics GP Sales Batch directly from your ecommerce web application deploying Alba Spectrum Posting Server add-on.  Let’s review the options and technologies:
1. Microsoft Dynamics GP as ERP platform.  This application is hosted in Microsoft SQL Server, meaning maximum possible scalability and virtually unlimited number of EDI or eCommerce originated transactions could be processed in real time (automatic sales batch posting in GP) or in quasi real time(scheduled batch posting process or triggered by GP user).  In Great Plains you should review so-called Distribution set of modules: Sales Order Processing, Inventory Control, Purchase Order Processing
2. Sales Automation: EDI.  Electronic Document Interchange is pretty generic term and there are various technologies, from precisely formatted EDI text file (with header, lines and trailer) to EDI format in XML styles.  EDI channel could be done via ftp upload, http post, or even via email.  If Sales Order placement rules are reasonably simple, we recommend you to do custom EDI programming, by processing XML, text file and importing preprocessed EDI records via Dynamics GP Integration Manager, the same results could be achieved in eConnect SDK programming (if you are comfortable to do Microsoft Visual Studio C# or VB.Net programming and have some exposure to Great Plains objects, such as Sales Order, Customer, Inventory Item)
3. Sales Automation: B2B and B2C e-commerce.  This is very popular method in B2C retail ecommerce, as internet customers are typically very technology savvy.  In Wholesale B2B ecommerce scenarios you should still expect reasonable competition between EDI and ecommerce merchandise restocking.  Let’s review ecommerce extension for Dynamics GP.  We encourage you to trust ecommerce shopping cart platform, such as Magento, ASP .Net Storefront or you can pick another popular one – here you should expect reliability (as they have huge clients base and most of the bugs are already beta tested and fixed).  Done deal from ecommerce shopping cart goes to Dynamics GP SOP Invoice or Sales Order with Customer Deposit (Credit Card payment, or sometimes debit card, if technology permits).  Alba Spectrum eCommerce add-on have Wizard driven setup interface, where if you ecommerce doesn’t require customization – you can do it yourself within the matter of hours
4. Order Allocation on the warehouse floor in real time.  Warehouse Management Extension works directly out of Sales Order Processing tables and paid Sales Order or Invoice is ready for being picked and packed.  Your warehouse worker has barcode scanner with operating system, where WMS client application is installed.  Client application has customer documents handy and ready for fulfillment.  Each Order line is fulfilled by scanning item barcode label.  We setup your WMS SOP Documents to require manual allocation – allocation is done on the warehouse floor by barcode scanner.  WMS client application talks to WMS Server via wireless connection or RFID and in its turn WMS Server being on the wired network (or even on wireless, if the volume of barcode scanning is low) uploads scanned documents to Dynamics GP via Order Connector ODBC mechanism
5. Further automation – posting eCommerce or EDI originated Sales Documents automatically.  Microsoft Dynamics GP architecture requires Sales, Purchasing, GL Batches or the batches of other origin to be reviewed by Accounting, AR, AP managers (to review the discounts given, credit limits, and other give away to be reasonable and if required adjust sales commission, etc.).   We do not think that you would oppose such business logic, but if you are in high confidence to your ecommerce originated transactions and you would like your ecommerce application to do all the job up to paid ecommerce customer order to show up on the warehouse floor for assembly on order or items picking and packing and shipping to the customer – we have special product Alba Spectrum Posting Server which allows you to schedule the batch for automatic real time posting (every 30 seconds) directly from your eCommerce web application
6. How to contact us?  Please, call us 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, or email us help@albaspectrum.com  International customers are welcome, we naturally provide USA and Canada Dynamics GP, WMS, EDI and eCommerce software licenses sale, installation and implementation by travelling to your office for initial software deployment and user training and following remote support via web sessions and phone conferences.  If you absolutely require local walk in service, we are happy to help you in Michigan: St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Saugatuck, South Haven, Ludington, Grand Haven, Battle Creek.  We are also serving you locally in Southern California: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County (from Irvine office).  Next business metro, where we are available locally is Chicagoland – Chicago Downtown, Naperville and all the Southern, Western and Northern suburbs, including North West Indiana and Southern Wisconsin.  We are also serving you with local support in Houston, Texas