Dynamics GP Sales Order Processing Module in eCommerce and Warehouse Management

This publication is intended to give you some initial info on Microsoft Dynamics GP, sometimes also referred by its historical name – Great Plains Dynamics, we will give you high lights on Sales Order Processing (SOP) module: settings, transactions, its openness to customization, integration, reporting and how it might be involved in ecommerce and warehouse management scenarios.  We tried to be reasonably technical (your IT department, programmers, report designers) and at the same time understood on the controller level or even business owner:
1. General functional review.  SOP gives you the power to automate your sales cycle, starting with Quote, then working all the way through negotiation (including hold options, where quote price negotiation might be blocked by Sales director) and transforming Quote to Sales Order (or directly to Invoice, if Order fulfillment is not a concern).  Order allows you to pick and pack items (or possible find replacement parts).  Order also has Allocation feature (also often referred as Fulfillment in WMS lexicon).  There is also Backorder mechanism, allowing you to order missing parts from suppliers.  When Order is fulfilled – it is transformed into Invoice.  Sales Document has access to Inventory items, plus in some cases you may use Service items (they do not require allocation, but you can still track Quantities Sold in reporting and inquiries) or even so-called non inventory items (simply free style text on the SOP document lines).  Returns are also entered in SOP transaction entry form
2. SOP Settings.  Here you specify defaults, such as site ID (or default warehouse to allocate or pick items against the SOP transaction: Sales Order or Invoice).  In data entry defaults you specify such parameters, as what to do in the case of Quantity Shortage (Override Shortage, Sell Balance, Backorder Balance, etc.).  You have the option to name user defined fields (and you can force them as required in Dynamics GP Modifier module).  You also can define process holds – hold is placed automatically if you assign it to SOP Type ID and can be only removed by authorized Dynamics GP user, as specified in the hold’s settings.  Plus – additional features, we are trying to be reasonably laconic.
3. Sales Order Processing customization.   The most popular modification  tools are Microsoft Dexterity (also often referred as Great Plains Dexterity), Modifier with VBA, Visual Studio Libraries for GP (often you need to be also familiar with Dexterity to be efficient in extending Great Plains screens by C# or VB.Net programming, especially in such capacities as introducing and adding new table directly in Dex)
4. SOP integration tools.  We recommend Dynamics GP Integration Manager, which is open to end user and only requires introduction level training; plus IM has good exposure to integration logic alteration via VBA event handlers.  If you are focused on real time integrations, IM has the options to schedule integration to run in quasi real time, say every 15 minutes.  Another tool, or rather SDK is Dynamics GP eConnect, where you can add eConnect libraries directly to your Microsoft Visual Studio project and trigger creation, change or deletion of Great Plains master records (Customer, Vendor, GL Account, Addresses, Employee, Inventory Item, etc.).  Obviously in both IM and eConnect programming scenarios you can pull data from non-Microsoft DB platforms, such as Oracle, DB II, Progress, Pervasive SQL, MySQL – they just need to be ODBC compliant
5. SOP Reporting.  The most popular report you typically want to modify is Invoice, where you usually place your company logo, disclaimers, fit it to your company custom envelop for mailing.  These modifications are done in Dynamics GP Report Writer.  Also you have numerous SOP related reports in SSRS (Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services), we also often see Great Plains customers to deploy Crystal Reports, MS Access, direct web publishing.  With Dynamics GP version 2010 you will see more options with Excel reports.  If you plan to design reports in Crystal, you should probably review Dynamics GP table structure – it is available either via GP SDK or if you are in user interface simply follow this command: Dynamics GP->Tools->Resource Descriptions->Tables.  You should be able to find info about such tables as SOP10100 (SOP Header for work document), SOP10200 (SOP line for work document), SOP30200 (SOP header for posted document), SOP30300 (SOP line for posted transaction)
6. SOP and eCommerce.  SOP transaction is one of the most popular targets for e-commerce shopping cart integrations (such ecommerce shopping cart platforms as Magento/PHP, ASP .Net Storefront)
7. SOP and Warehouse Management System.  WMS opens Dynamics GP for Barcode scanning; such feature as Order Fulfillment is done with direct integration to SOP Invoice or Sales Order without automatic allocation – your WMS user (warehouse worker with Barcode scanner) does the allocation manually on the warehouse floor
8. SOP and EDI (Electronic Document Interchange).  If you are large or midsize manufacturer or wholesaler, chances are high that you are requiring your customers or franchisees to place their orders via EDI channel.  EDI media often works via FTP, email, http post.  EDI in this scenario creates and allocates SOP Invoices or Sales Orders (or sometimes just allocates or fulfills in EDI jargon)
9. Dynamics GP availability internationally.  It is available in English speaking countries: USA, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand, plus it is available in South East Asia where English is used as the language of business: Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, also in Oceania.  There is Canadian French version for Quebec/Montreal.  Dynamics GP is also available in Spanish for Latin America and Caribbean basin
10. Contact info.  Call us 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918.  We are Dynamics GP Integrator, Customization, Reporting and generic implementation company.  We also absolutely support all the versions of Great Plains, starting from Great Plains Accounting for DOS, Windows and Mac and ending with current version Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.  By the nature of our market niche we are serving to you USA, Canada nationwide and internationally.  Local walk in service is available in Southern California (San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles), Houston, Chicago, Western Michigan (St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Holland, South Haven, Saugatuck, Grand Haven, Ludington)