Traditionally Corporate ERP implementation consulting is done onsite, and this is understandable, as consultants need ongoing local decision making and coordination.
However, when implementation phase is done and you are looking for technical improvements, such as customizations, ongoing integration (with EDI, ecommerce, CRM, or external database in Oracle, IBM DB2, or you name it), reporting (Crystal SSRS, Microsoft Management Reporter or FRx) – local presence of the consultant is not really required. In fact you can find the firm, specializing in your industry and profound experience in Microsoft Dexterity, eConnect, VST for GP – assuming that you will broaden the search to become nationwide. Let’s review remote consulting technology and typical projects:
1. Web Sessions. This is the instrument of technical support call center, serving customers nationwide and internationally. Web session allows technician take control over your computer desktop, keyboard and mice, while having you to interact and be in the phone conference. If the quality of your internet connection permits – remote engineer can even switch on video, so you can see his or her face. There are several web session products on the market: Gotomeeting, WebEx, etc.
2. Urgent support and timing issues. You probably remember the case, when you called your consultant and reported urgent problem, which requires immediate attention. The response was something like – “sorry, I am already booked for the whole week. I can stop by next week on Tuesday first thing in the morning…” Now, let’s assume that the guy sitting in nationwide technical support call center doesn’t have to travel to your office, he could just call you back, issue web session and help you immediately (or his manager could reschedule other support calls of lower priority and escalate your case)
3. Things that remote technician can not do. Something related to hardware issues, for example we cannot replace network card, motherboard or burned out power supply. However computer hardware support typically is the realm if your internal IT department, or if you are smaller organization, you might have contracting MCSE or Networking consultant to be available on call
4. Typical Phase Two Projects. When standard implementation is over, the next step is to cover the gap in missing business logic through custom programming. In the case of Great Plains there are several tools to consider for coding and modifications: Dexterity, eConnect (with its various interfaces, such as Web Services, Visual Studio Tools, Integration Manager connectors), VBA scripting in Modifier or Integration Manager, direct SQL Stored Procedures, Views and Ad hoc queries. Dexterity is one of the favorite tools, where you have complete control and you can customize existing or create new screens, tables, reports. eConnect is rather for integration (initially it was introduced in 2004 for ecommerce programmers to open Great Plains transactions, such as SOP Invoice for ecommerce shopping cart integration). However if you plan to program user interface outside of GP workstation application in Microsoft Visual Studio (web project is good example), then eConnect libraries included into the project should allow you to create new master records and documents in GP: customer, inventory item with price, Sales Order, Invoice, Purchase Order
5. Ongoing Integration projects. Here you may have requirements to integrate EDI or ecommerce protocols with your new Corporate ERP application. In the majority of cases, as we see it from our practice these integrations are set in Integration Manager module. Some of them are done in eConnect (especially for large multinational corporations, where they need real time integration from ecommerce to SOP transaction). Web Services allow you to integrate ecommerce transactions from non-Microsoft platforms, such as PHP/Linux and MySQL (as SOAP based Web Service interface is computer platform neutral)
6. Custom Reporting. Here you have to recognize the difference between so-called Managerial Reporting (typically not the same as Financial Statements, rather based on peripheral modules: Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing, Inventory Control, Bill or Materials, Manufacturing) and Financial Reporting (here you have to look at Microsoft Management Reporter and older tool FRx. If you are thinking about Balance Sheet or Profit and Loss Statement, both FRx and MMR provide reasonable abstraction level and you can design the report on your own or have your walk in consultant to help you. In the case of non-financial reporting we usually recommend separate reporting SQL data pulling base in SQL View or Stored Procedure
7. Old Version Support Considerations. In our opinion, this is perfect remote support area, where you do not remember who is your original VAR, you do not have active contract with Microsoft Business Solutions (anyway your version is no longer supported by MBS. Technically all ever released versions of Great Plains could be supported: 2010, 10.0, 9.0, 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.0 (plus the versions on Pervasive SQL 2000/Btrieve and Ctree: 7.5 and earlier). We also see cluster of customers on archaic Great Plains DOS: 9.5, 9.2, 9.1, 8.0 and earlier
8. Some words to International customers. Well, unfortunately the World is divided by languages and regional accounting regulations. The countries, that could consider themselves to be regional powers often use their legislative authority to alter international GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). These countries are Brazil, India, China, Russian Federation. Dynamics GP is localized in most of the English speaking World: USA, Canada (including French version for Quebec), UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, plus most of the South East Asia and Oceania where English is in use as official language. It is also available in Spanish speaking Latin America and Caribbean basin
9. Brazil notes. Please, be aware that Brazil is not Spanish speaking country, here in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro people speak Brazilian Portuguese. GP is not localized here in Brazil. We recommend you to look at AX, NAV or SAP Business One
10. Arabic Alphabet. Great Plains Dexterity supports ASCII compliant languages, where the alphabet could be mapped into one byte (eight bits). Arabic is ASCII compliant and GP has several localization flavors in the North Africa and the Middle East
11. Russia. We saw several blogs that Dexterity strings were automatically translated into Russian language and this means that Great Plains is now available in Russia and great Moscow metropolitan ERP market. Well, first of all Google translator is not something that you could show as Corporate ERP interface clauses translation authority, as its thesaurus is too generic to translate Accounting terminology. Second, Russian Federation has one of the most complex taxation legislation, and if your accounting application doesn’t reflect it – we do not recommend you such as system in Moscow or Russian regions
12. For further information, please call us 1-866-304-3265 or email help@efaru.com. We provide service in USA and internationally via web sessions. Local service is available in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Dallas, West Michigan: St Joseph, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Holland, Saugatuck, New Buffalo, Muskegon
Dexterity Customization for Dynamics GP Evaluation Level Paper
When you are developer it is always a good idea to read technical manuals. But if you was just assigned to the IT team to decide if Dexterity is the right tool to customize your ERP application then first you need something which is in style of ‘easy reading papers’ or FAQ
Planning Dynamics GP Customization in Large Corporation
If you are reading this page then chances are high that you were not able to find ISV add-on and need customization project. Let’s talk about planning, quality assurance and future event such as version updates.
Dynamics GP Invoice Logo Attributed to Specific Company or Crossing the Borders of Three SOP Forms
Initial Great Plains Dynamics architecture had three SOP Invoice forms: Long, Short and Blank. Modern GP is popular in scenarios where you have more than three companies under one business entity umbrella
