Software Information |
Microsoft RMS - Great Plains Integration - Overview For IT Specialist
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS) are getting new market share due to the Microsoft strong marketing campaign. Both products: Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft RMS are coming from the same Microsoft subdivision - Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), however due to the fact that both products were bought by Microsoft from different vendors, the integration between the two is not an easy thing. At this time MBS has RMS integration on the General Ledger and Purchase Order level into Great Plains out of the box. This integration has some advancements in comparison to old product: QuickSell, but it is still GL and PO only. We do understand the need for midsize and large retail companies, structured as clubs and selling on account to their members to have more adequate integration when you can synchronize your Sales information and have robust Great Plains reporting.There is the product on the market, which is integration on the Receivables Management level from RMS to Great Plains, written by Daniel Sionov and Andrew Karasev and maintained by the alliance between LightEdge Solutions (www.lightedge.com) and Alba Spectrum Technologies (www.albaspectrum.com). In Alba Spectrum Technologies we actually do coding and product tuning for specific client needs. If you are developer you can end up with your own custom solution, we would like to give you directions. 1. Great Plains Integration Manager - if the sales volume is very low, say 100 transactions per day - then you can do data export from RMS and import it into Great Plains via Integration Manager. This is rather end-user tool - it is very intuitive, it validates 100% of business logic, brings in/updates master records (accounts, employees, customers, vendors. etc.) brings in transactions into work tables. The limitation of Integration Manager - it does use GP windows behind the scenes without showing them - so it is relatively slow - you can bring 100 records - but when you are talking about thousands - it is not a good option. By the way you can program Integration Manager with VBA. 2. eConnect - You can create VB.Net application which will be pulling info from RMS and then uses eConnect to move it to Great Plains. eConnect is kind of Software Development Kit with samples in VB.Net. Obviously the development environment should be Visual Studio.Net. eConnect will allow you to integrate master records - such as new customers, vendors, employees, etc., plus you can bring transactions into so called Great Plains work tables (eConnect doesn't allow you to bring open or historical records - you need to post work records in Great Plains, the same limitation applies to Integration Manager above) eConnect is rather for ongoing integration. It was initially created for eCommerce application integration to Great Plains. 3. SQL Stored Procedures. The product we've mentioned above is collection of stored procs. Obviously you have unlimited control and possibilities with SQL queries. You need to know Retail Management System Headquarters and Great Plains tables structure and data flow. Launch Great Plains and go to Tools->Resource Description->Tables. Find the table in the proper series. If you are looking for the customers - it should be RM00101 - customer master file. If you need historical Sales Order Processing documents - they are in SOP30200 - Sales History Header file, etc. Do not change existing tables - do not create new fields, etc. Also you need to realize that each GP table has DEX_ROW_ID - identity column. Sometimes it is good idea to use inbound/outbound XML in the parameters - then you can deploy web service as a middle party between two systems. RMS tables structure is self explanatory. 4. Data Transformation Services (DTS) - Good tool for importing your third party data into staging tables in GP - then you can pull them in using either stored procs of Integration Manager. You can also deploy this tool for EDI export/import. 5. Great Plains Dexterity Custom Screens. You can create the window, which will have integration settings in it - RMS store ID matching GP Company database, etc. Sometimes users prefer to have seamlessly integrated into GP interface custom screens - for parameters settings and initiating integration. Dexterity is a good option, however remember - it is always better to create new custom screen versus customizing existing one - due to the future upgrade issues. Also - Dexterity is in phasing our by Microsoft Business Solutions. 6. Modifier/VBA custom buttons on the existing screens - alternative to Dexterity is you are comfortable with VBA and ADO. Happy integrating! if you want us to do the job or use our product - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, New York, and Miami and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, VB/C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Microsoft CRM Data Conversion FAQ Microsoft Business Solutions CRM data conversion deserves FAQ type of article, where IT people could get initial directions. Even if it seems as a trivial task, we would suggest you to think about these possible scenarios: objects mapping between your legacy CRM: GoldMine, ACT, Siebel, Lotus Notes Domino. Groupware as a Document Manager: Collaboration Series #3 This article is the third of a series of articles exploring specific aspects of groupware. The brief informational articles in this series discuss some of the technologies associated with groupware, as well as some of the characteristics of groupware. Explore the Internet in a Whole New Way For a long time now Microsoft's Internet Explorer has ruled as 'King of Internet browsers'. Like many of Microsoft's products an initially brutal marketing campaign pushed Internet Explorer into the mainstream's consciousness and from then on it was the logical, default choice. Free Software for Newbies and Web Developers Here is some free software tools to help you build your own websites and create web products.Learning new skills is not difficult. These Items Are A Must Before Making The Decision To Purchase Any Off-The-Shelf Software 1. What determines the software price? Is it Per Seat or Per User or Per Processor?The cost of software is determined in many ways. Anti-Spyware Protection - Holes in the Shining Armor Looking at all the ads which promise to get rid of all spy programs, one may wonder why there is still plenty of them everywhere and the situation is by no means getting better. So let me spoil the advertisers' mood and show some of the "holes" in the majority of software products we expect to protect our data. eCommerce development for Microsoft Great Plains: tools and highlights for programmer Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise was designed in earlier 1990th as ERP, which can be easily transferable to the winning Database and OS platform and it was originally available on Mac and PC - Mac OS and Microsoft Windows respectively. Graphical platforms battle is pretty much over and now with eCommerce demands, we should look at Great Plains Dynamics tables structure:? Naming Convention. Microsoft Great Plains - Licensing & Product Versions Current Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has more that 10 years of history. Former Great Plains Software had two lines of Great Plains: Dynamics & Dynamics C/S+, later on renamed into eEnterprise. Spyware Protection: A Must for Any Home Computer Now that spyware is the single most dangerous threat to home computers connected to the internet today, getting your hands on some sort of spyware and adware protection is critical. Spyware has outpaced computer viruses in its prevalence, and in the kind of damage it can do to your system. Blind CC (Bcc): Master Its Use When E-Mailing If you use Microsoft Outlook (or similar applications) for e-mailing, then you are familiar with the fields at the top of a new mail message, right? Of course, in the "To.. Exactly What Does FTP Stand for and What Can it do for Me? FTP stands for "file transfer protocol". FTP is basically a way of sending files over the Internet. Reloading Windows XP If you have been running Windows XP for a couple of years or more you may find that it is not running quite as quickly and smoothly as it was when you did your first install. I am constantly 'evaluating' software and uninstalling and reinstalling beta software on my computer and have always gradually become more and more disappointed after nine months to a year with the performance of my PC. Implementing Microsoft CRM: setup and configuration - notes for IT specialist Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is web-based CRM application, deploying all the spectrum of recent Microsoft technologies. We'll try to analyze different needs and implementation scenarios attributed to specific industries and business types, based on our experience. Separate Anti-Keylogging Protection: Who Needs it Most? If there still are few unprotected computers left, I haven't seen any.Every emerging threat causes means of defense to appear. Integrating Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP: RMS, CRM, eCommerce, Lotus Domino - overview Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share among horizontal and vertical clientele in the USA, Canada (including French version for Quebec/Montreal), UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spanish speaking Latin and Central America, South Africa and Middle East. Nowadays ERP can not stay as it is off-the-shelf product - it requires integration with Legacy or newly implemented systems, such as CRM, Retail Management applications, custom in-house made business systems (transportation/cargo tracking, etc). MicroWorld Releases New Version of MailScan Ver. 4.5 - Antivirus and Content Security Software MicroWorld Technologies, Inc. the leading solutions provider in the area of Anti-virus and Content security, has announced the launch of its new version of MailScan Ver. Tripwire for Linux File Integrity What is Tripwire?Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS) that helps you keep tabs on the integrity of the files on your computer. Quite simply it will help identify files or modifications made to your system in the event someone compromised your system. How to Build a Basic CSS Layout Designing without tables by using CSS layouts is fastbecoming the new standard on the Web because of thebenefits mentioned in my previous article. Web browsersused these days are now able to render web pagesproficiently. Microsoft Great Plains Integrations - Retail Management Sample Microsoft Business Solutions is emerging as very attractive vendor for mid-size companies. The strength of its products is in their cross integration potential. ERP Consulting: Microsoft Great Plains Partner Future Directions In the Clinton era the status quo was simple: you serve your local clients and if you want to expand your business - open offices in other business metros. Great Plains Software was granting generous margins on the software sales and stimulated local leading VARs/Partners/Resellers with so-called orphan leads - customers who lapsed in payment annual enhancement program or called Great Plains Software directly to comply about quality of service by their VAR. |
home | site map | contact us |