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.

---

Imagine if Everyone Working In Your Office Was In Synch?

Microsoft-Outlook is a pretty amazing program. So much more than... Read More

Managing Stress in the Computer Industry - Five Steps to a Stress-free Life

It would be easy to think, like most people apparently... Read More

XML Parser and Their Types

XML parser is a software module to read documents and... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration with Microsoft Access ? Overview for Developer

... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: exchange & brokerage ? implementation notes

If you company is small or mid-size special products or... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains GL: General Ledger ? Overview For Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More

Making The Decision To Automate Your Software Testing

Not every software testing project can or should be automated.... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Installation ? Overview for IT Director/Controller

Microsoft Great Plains is main mid-market application from Microsoft Business... Read More

10 Programming Tips

(1) Avoid using the same variable again and again for... Read More

Groupware Finds Home in American Business: Collaboration Tool Analysis

What is Groupware?Have you ever had to manage document collaboration... Read More

You Can Write Microsoft Office Program in About 60 Minutes

Microsoft Office program is a programming tool called Visual Basic... Read More

Quick Summary of Basic and Common Linux Commands

There are many commands that are used in linux on... Read More

Know Linux

Linux essentials:It's free for download but you have to pay... Read More

Is Your Family Protected?

When you think... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Nationwide Remote Support

ERP Consulting industry is on the way to serve clients... Read More

Preventive Maintenance Software Companies

Several software companies design programs for preventive maintenance. Most of... Read More

Databases ? How We Love to Hate Them!

You've finally created databases that you can actually use to... Read More

ERP Implementation: Success Factors

As seeing large number of implementations ? in our case... Read More

Antivirus Software ? Get The Bugs Before They Get You!

You turn on your computer, and it doesn't look quite... Read More

Crystal Reports For Microsoft RMS ? Overview For Developer/Report Designer

If you are software developer or database administrator - we... Read More

Why Java RDBMS?

It is a well known fact that Java as a... Read More

ERP Remote Support: Microsoft Great Plains Analysis ? Pluses & Minuses

Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise and currently Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

The End of Spyware?

The US House of Representatives has recently passed the "Spy... Read More

Business Planning Software

Once a business idea is selected, it is highly recommended... Read More

Selecting Corporate ERP: Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ? Estimation Parameters

As we could imagine, if you are reading this article... Read More

The XP Firewall Isnt Enough

You might think you don't need a firewall... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains BR: Bank Reconciliation

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More

Microsoft CRM USA Nationwide Remote Support

Remember old good days when your company probably had Great... Read More

Corporate ERP Selection: Microsoft Great Plains

In our opinion, traditional approach when you select ERP/MRP system... Read More

Collaboration Software: Index of Collaboration Software Technologies

Collaboration SoftwareCollaboration Software, also known as group collaboration software or... Read More

SSH (SCP) Send Files from Windows to Your Linux Box

Not all of us have the luxury of working both... Read More

Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: SharePoint Document Gateway

MS CRM is very close to document workflow automation, including... Read More

Five Reasons for Using an O/R Mapping Tool

So, why should you use any O/R mapping tool? I... Read More