Microsoft Great Plains in Aerospace & Defense industries ? implementation & customization highlights

Microsoft Great Plains fits horizontal markets clientele and in case of Aerospace and Defense industry we'll talk about contractors ? parts and subsystems for government contracts. We do not necessarily talk about large corporation, however models described could be implemented for large publicly traded company. As a rule ? market is represented by established companies with long history, including long history of its ERP and Computer Business System. It is difficult to stake on the computer operating systems future, however you may try to give high level of trust to the ERP coming from Microsoft Business Solutions, especially considering the fact of acquisition of such market leaders as Great Plains Software and Navision Software.

? Service Model. Typically your product has service contract with hourly or annual payments and you track repair and preventive maintenance cases, have a list of replacement parts. Microsoft Great Plains has several options to automate these services. You can use customized version of Inventory Control Module, where you track serial/lot number, locations, item replacements, etc. In Great Plains Dexterity you can write light customization, tracking service cycle. Another way is to deploy Field Service suite, where you have Service Call Management, Contract Administration, Preventive Maintenance, Return Management as well as a set of eXXX modules such as eService Call, eReturn. You usually have to tailor these modules to fit your unique requirements ? do it via Dexterity, VBA/Modifier, SQL Stored Procedures or Web Application, working with Inventory and Field Service tables. Assuming your product has serial number ? then by looking up serial number you can see all the service history.

? Bidding. Great Plains Sales Order Processing (SOP) module allows you to have Quotes, Sales Orders, Invoices. You might need bidding and negotiation documentation system. In the case of Great Plains the best and future-oriented approach is to implement Sales side in Microsoft CRM, integrated with Great Plains via MS CRM-GP integration tool. All the calls and emails, plus contracts will be logged and documented in MS CRM and quotes are moved to or from Great Plains

? Purchasing. Your company might use tenders procedure and you would need requisition, proposals and quotes against the requisition, then purchase order and receiving. Deploy Requisition Management and Purchase Order Processing/ Receiving modules

? HR. If you have unionized employees ? you may need to take a look at HR module, where you track employees certification, skills, training programs, hiring process and promotions

? ISO 9000. You can cover ISO compliance reporting, assuming that you have either customized Inventory Control system or Field Service suite implemented. The best and recommended reporting tool ? Crystal Reports. Usually you create SQL views and stored procedures and base your Crystal Report on these views and procs.

? Technology Advise. When you implement your new system and making modifications to the existing one - you should try to predict which technology will stay for maximum number of years, plus you should try to avoid dependence on one vendor/provider - if you need to change Microsoft Business Solutions partner - how difficult to find new one with technical skills and customization expertise to maintain and further advance your custom system?

We encourage you to analyze your alternatives. You can always appeal to our help, give us a call: 1-866-528-0577 or 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), serving Microsoft Great Plains, CRM, Navision to mid-size and large clients in California, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan

---

Six Key Principles of Corporate Accountability

The foundation of any business transaction is the promise of... Read More

Why You Need a Business Planning System NOT a Business Plan

When someone mentions business planning we have been conditioned to... Read More

More Uses for Your Business Plan

You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More

Business Plan Descriptions of Computer System

Entrepreneurs often give little if any consideration to their computer... Read More

Why 9 in 10 Businesses are Overspending on Day-to-day Expenses

Experts estimate that 90 percent of Australian businesses are overspending... Read More

A Unique Joint Venture Twist: Make Huge Profits Even If You Have No Money, No Products, and No List

Would you like to jumpstart your online or offline business... Read More

Succession Planning for Business - 10 Key Points You Must Know

By cranking up others development to meet your business needs,... Read More

Getting Started with Succession Planning: Part II

Succession planning requires the owner of a small or medium-sized... Read More

ERP Role in Selling Your Mid-size Business ? Microsoft Great Plains and CRM Example

If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More

What Every Service Provider Ought To Know About Writing A Business Plan

It's easy to lose sight of what needs to be... Read More

College Students and Graduates to Run Company Outlets or Franchises

Does your overall business strategy include the recruitment of college... Read More

Top 10 Tips to Create A Business Plan! (For People Who Hate Business Plans)

One of the key challenges for any business is to... Read More

Could You Be Setting Your Business Plan Up For Failure?

David E. Gumpert, author of Burn Your Business Plan, often... Read More

Insurance Requirements in Franchised Companies

Franchised companies often require what some believe to be excessive... Read More

Water Conservation and Water Issues for Mobile Car Washers and Auto Detailers

Obviously, there will never be an actual water shortage since... Read More

Be Like Bill - Think!

Twice a year, Bill Gates goes to a remote island... Read More

A Rough Cut on Feasibility

A piano tuner recently moved to Buffalo, NY, and would... Read More

Laying It Out On Paper

You might be thinking to yourself, "Why should I waste... Read More

The 7 Critical Steps to Formulating Your Annual Strategic Business Plan

Businesses tend to avoid doing their annual business plan thinking... Read More

Action Planning

ACTION PLANNING: Action Planning is a process to develop strategies... Read More

The Impact of Price Popularity on Profits

The goal of almost every business owner is to generate... Read More

Sales Planning and Business Plans

Writing a business plan can be tricky when all the... Read More

Elite Positioning Brings Higher Profits

Imagine spending the same amount of money on marketing and... Read More

Sony?s PSI Project

In 1989, Sony founded its Institute of Wisdom at the... Read More

Fail to plan... or Plan to FAIL??

Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar... Read More

Succession Planning: Problems Getting Started

A survey released by the American Institute of Certified Public... Read More

Top Ten Traits of Strategic Thinkers

Want to become more strategic? Add these traits to your... Read More

Rules to Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Why and How to be SMART

We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and... Read More

Hunters and Gatherers - Are You Serving Both Their Needs?

The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom recently published... Read More

Titanic Precautions

Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More

Idaho Market for Automotive Businesses; Doing it Right

Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More

8 Ways to Earn More Without Working Harder

Conventional wisdom has it that there are only three ways... Read More

How To Leverage Your Current Ideas And Products Into Multiple Revenue Streams

Diversify - to make diverse, give variety, to balance, to... Read More