Coming
off of the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 sessions at Convergence, and anticipating
the GP technical Airlift event in September, I’m with all the other GP
professionals anxiously awaiting the expected product launch in
December 2012.
One of Microsoft's key goals
with this release is to position GP as a more competitive and flexible ERP
solution for the SMB market. For these organizations, hopefully GP 2013
will transform their business practices by building a strong foundation that
supports growth, increasing operational efficiencies and significantly lowering
the burden on IT. But for organizations looking to implement GP 2013, it’s
important to not only look at the new web client release and the other
150+ features, but also the other opportunities that come along with a new ERP
platform implementation.
A critical step during any ERP
implementation is to ask the question, “Do my ISV solutions align with
Microsoft’s own strategy with the ERP?” I sometimes refer to it as the “like
father, like son” approach. If the two solutions don’t align
strategically, then I encourage you to take a look at other technology options,
for both short and long-term success. When it comes to EDI for
Dynamics GP specifically, it’s 100% possible to integrate a solution that
aligns with Microsoft’s strategy – a “like father, like son” scenario that: 1) scales
to support business expansion, 2) increases processes efficiencies and 3)
eliminates unnecessary IT hassles.
To
achieve this synergy between solutions, whether evaluating your current EDI
technology or considering EDI integration at the time of ERP implementation,
it’s critical to understand the most frequent approaches to EDI and their
impact on your business:- Customization – the client / partner develops a one-off, non-commercial solution utilizing a set of tools and custom ERP code.
Result: Reliance on a tool set, not an all-in-one solution¸ which
creates long-term compatibility and upgrade pitfalls, and challenges
scalability to support business expansion.
- Web-based application – accessible via Internet connectivity and typically requires a lower initial investment than other technology models.
Result: Often requires
manual data entry using web-forms and/or websites to make EDI work
end-to-end. Long term cost of ownership
can be extreme when factoring in transaction fees, manual entry labor and
errors resulting from the duplicate keying of information.
- Commercial ISV solution built inside Dynamics – solution is built with full integration inside Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Result: GP platform
integrity is jeopardized by database and code changes to accommodate each and
every EDI request. Compliance mandates
and new partner integration can force unplanned customization and/or GP version
upgrades which can disrupt ERP activities, delay new business relationships and
trigger potentially costly fines.
Result: Eliminates unnecessary ERP
customizations to enable EDI integration and compliance while simplifying daily
use and ERP update/upgrade projects.
The
first three approaches have their obvious challenges, especially the
customization of Dynamics GP. Applying service packs and version upgrades will
be a challenge plus, the addition of other necessary solutions can be
compromised. Only the fourth option – an
ISV solution built outside Microsoft Dynamics - aligns with Microsoft’s
strategic focus in releasing GP 2013 as a more agile platform to drive real
value into your business execution. Some business challenges are truly opportunities to help improve your company’s competitiveness. Integrated EDI is a perfect example – taking something that could be a daunting question mark and turning it into a huge labor and cost saving win! By selecting a well-architected solution that tightly integrates your business relationship transactions without customization – you can be a big winner. The long-term relationship between your ERP and EDI solution will only thrive if you walk in your “father’s” shoes and embrace the strategic value proposition to which Microsoft has committed themselves with GP 2013.