If you are reading these lines, likely that you need to understand your options in Great Plains Dynamics GP ERP tailoring, modification, integration, reporting or other sort of software programming and business logic improvement
First recommendation to you is to look for existing Great Plains add-ons, available from Great Plains ISV partners and resellers. But, likely that you have this step already behind you and now you are thinking about undertaking your own GP add-ons developing. Let us give your GP customizing orientation session:
1. Great Plains Dexterity. Most of the add-ons for GP (supported by GP ISV VARs) are programmed in Great Plains Dexterity or new name is Microsoft Dexterity. Dex allows you to intervene into Great Plains standard business logic, add additional screens, reports, tables, triggers, procedures and functions, as well as strings, fields, constants. There are no limits in Dexterity on what you can do in the sense of Dynamics GP modification, including new product creation. However Dexterity is not really simple and requires professional Dexterity programmers to do the coding. In Dexterity customization project, especially when you are altering GP logic substantially, please be ready to expect the budget, comparable to initial Great Plains software purchase
2. eConnect. This Software Development Kit opens GP for integrations with your peripheral applications: ecommerce, legacy databases, EDI compliant systems. eConnect is definitely easier in comparison to Microsoft Dexterity to program – and being optimistic, you should expect regular C#, VB.Net Microsoft Visual Studio programmers with some excurse to SQL stored procedures and architecture to be able to begin eConnect programming turn around in a week or so
3. SQL Stored Procedures as integration option. If you are on older version of Great Plains Dynamics: 8.0, 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, or even earlier, or if your integration needs are very modest – you have SQL Stored procedures and scripting as integrating option. If you are on Great Plains Dynamics GP version 9.0 or 10.0, we would like you first to review eConnect – as likely it will do most of the integration job for you in its encrypted SQL stored procedures
4. Integration Manager, VBA with Modifier. There are additional options, especially when you have VBA programmer in staff. In this case you can alter GP Integration Manager logic with VBA scripts. VBA and Modifier is build upon OLE Server technology and might be considered as a bit obsolete technology, but it still does the job
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
