Item: Microsoft Dynamics GP
Rating: 5
Author: Michael Bartlett

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Dynamics GP is the ERP/MRP solution for a client with over 100 employees and 25 GP users. We use the Manufacturing module in addition to the Sales, Inventory, and back office functions. It is the accounting program for the whole company, and as a manufacturer it is responsible for bills of materials, logistics, planning, ordering, and general ledger.

Pros and Cons

Great Plains started as back office/accounting, and that is still it's strong suit.
SQL and the GP programming language, Dexterity, provide a robust, scalable, and stable platform with well documented maintenance and repair procedures. Relatively easy to manage, tune, and support.
Microsoft support for GP verges on "particularly well". Doesn't quite get there but good enough once you know what you're doing
Strong partner network, including the GP User Group (GPUG)

Number of windows required for some functions- lots of clicking
Complex interface for users who work in different modules
Communication from Microsoft about future of GP as they continue to promote Business Central and Dynamics 365- confusion and concern among users and partners about how long GP will get first-level support and development.
The web client flat-out sucks, you will need RDS or Citrix to support remote users. If you stick with desktop clients it enormously increases your workload as every update requires you update every client. RDS is the way to go just to simplify the update procedure, but RDS is an additional licensing and support cost. Still more cost effective to not use the desktop client.
Reporting- you will almost certainly have to get a third-party reporting program- Management Reporter is complex and squirrely, the built-in Report Writer is a nightmare to work with. Word Templates work well but aren't user-friendly and because they get all their data from Report Writer sometimes just doing a simple change requires a lot of skill and time.

Return on Investment

Good back office, okay manufacturing,
Users do a lot of workarounds in Excel and then post to GP
Stability- runs well and users are generally confident of what they're entering and seeing

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV), Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (formerly Dynamics AX) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly Microsoft Dynamics CRM)

Because GP doesn't do CRM we have looked at D365 Customer Engagement for our field service, and F&O as a replacement. Vaporware, no direct upgrade path, and if you want to continue with GP for your back office and just use Field Service it's an insanely complex integration import/export. D365 F&O is a huge implementation cost, and without a direct migration path every bit of data has to be custom imported. There really is no straightforward way to stack up GP against these programs currently. Again, the future of GP is in some doubt.

Other Software Used

Code42 (formerly CrashPlan), Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Acrobat DC, Siemens Solid Edge, QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Microsoft Azure

Likelihood to Recommend

A large company where users have one function- for instance, where someone only receives or works in payables. That minimizes the number of windows they need. A smaller company where one user does multiple functions will require a lot more training and user knowledge to navigate, and it makes it harder to secure users. You also have to understand that GP started life as Great Plains, designed for accountants. The other modules were added on after Microsoft bought Great Plains, which means that modules like Manufacturing are red-headed step children with much smaller support ecosystems. So, if you're starting fresh, you may want to look at something built for the mobile world. D365 and Business Central are a lot more money, buggy, and hard to customize and essentially still vaporware. Microsoft is heavily investing there, leading to the previously mentioned question about the future of GP. If I was starting today I would be hard pressed to justify jumping into GP in a world where Salesforce ties in with so many programs. GP has MRP but it is limited so it's hard to justify a manufacturer starting with GP today.

Dynamics GP - Manufacturing and Back Office, MRP

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Dynamics GP