Dynamics GP 2010 R2 Feature List

Straight out of Tech Conference in Fargo this week, thanks to Dave Musgrave http://blogs.msdn.com/b/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2011/03/04/microsoft-dynamics-gp-technical-conference-2011-day-1-morning.aspx, I came across this graphic that lists some of the exciting new features coming out with Dynamics GP 2010 R2:

Dave goes on to explain that not only is Dynamics GP not being laid to rest as some have speculated since Microsoft begin investing in Dynamics AX nearly a decade ago but rather in a future release they are planning to include a web based client for Dynamics GP.  That's a great improvement that I think we can all look forward to but first let's look at what's coming now:

• Field Service Series customers should be looking forward to some of the FSS enhancements on deck:
• The Contract Line Hold feature is well overdue.  I've had several clients that need this functionality.
• Tech Stock Replenishment will be a much welcomed addition.  I'm actively working on a project where we are having to work around this.
• Contract Transfer Approval Workflow is something else our Contract Admin clients have been asking for.  It's as though Microsoft is reading my mind.
• The Reporting and BI enhancements for Dynamics GP seem endless:
• More Excel Report functionality; Bulk Deployment, Group Excel Reports, Multi-Company Support, and Default Column Ordering will be great enhancements.
• MORE Analytical SSRS Reports and Metrics.  I'm not sure any of us can get enough of those!
• New Business Analyzer!  Mariano touches on that in his coverage of the conference here http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2011/03/microsoft-dynamics-gp-technical_02.html.
• MORE Word Templates; SOP Returns and Word Template Generator.  I was skeptical of the Word Templates after first seeing them at Tech Conference 2010 but I have to admit they're growing on me.

There are several other great features and enhancements to Extender, Deployment and Migration Tools, and Email Support among others.  It's always good to see that Microsoft continues to invest in what is already such a fantastic product.  Well done.

Really???? Dynamics GP Report Writer is the Best Report Writer in the World?

Wow!  I never thought I'd have an opportunity to jump between Polino and Musgrave in a squabble but I just can't resist any longer.  Maybe they'll break out the sumo suits at Tech Conference this year and they can settle this debate once and for all.

I think Dave is just trying to get a rise out of Mark but I'll chime in anyway.  Like most, I lean towards the school of thought that Dynamics GP RW should NOT even be up for consideration as a the best in the world.  BUT, that's not to say it can't be great.

You can pretty much do anything you want with GP Report Writer as along as you have 1) intimate knowledge of the inner workings of GP and 2) know how to customize reports using VBA.  Dave demonstrates some of the advanced capabilities in his latest post on how Dynamics GP Report Writer is the greatest Report Writer in the World.  The problem is, there aren't many that would have come up with such a solution.

One cannot be a great Report Writer these days unless just about anyone can write reports with it.  Just about everyone is willing to stipulate that you cannot expect canned reports from any ERP system to meet all of your company's reporting and analytics requirements.  That said, the first question asked by most GP prospects about reporting capabilities is; "How difficult is it for ME to write new reports to my specifications?".  If not for SQL Server Reporting Services, and even Crystal Reports, this would be a much harder sell relying on Dyanmics GP RW alone.  Additionally, existing reports often rely heavily on temporary Dexterity tables that can make even seemingly simple changes to existing reports a challenge.

Finally, Dynamics GP has evolved so that RW is meant to be only one of many report writers available to GP customers.  GP does ship with a vast library of canned RW reports that most find to be extremely valuable in addition to a growing library of SSRS Reports.  Some companies hardly have to customize reports at all or develop new ones from scratch.  But, when you need to you can do so with RW or you can look to other widely available and commonly known tools such as SSRS and/or Crystal among others.

You can voice your opinion on the subject in Mark's latest Facebook poll.

We should celebrate the fact that we deliver and work with a system in Dynamics GP that ships with world class reports "out of the box" and a variety of common tools that enable you to customize or develop new reports from scratch on your own.

My Article was published on MSDynamicsWorld.com

Check out my article on publishing Salesperson Specific Data using Dyanmics GP, Business Portal, and SQL Server Reporting Services out at MSDynamicsWorld.com

Generating charts in SQL Server Reporting Services

SQLServerCentral.com has a nice post up with step-by-step instructions on generating charts in SQL Reporting Services.  With Dynamics GP moving more and more towards SQL Reporting Services as the standard reporting tool this is worth a look.

Publishing User Specific Data from Dynamics GP using SSRS

We recently finished a SQL Server Reporting Services engagement for a client requiring that the Sales Order Processing data displayed in reports be filtered by Salesperson.  That alone is simple enough; you could simply add the Salesperson or Territory as a parameter on the SSRS Report, right?  The challenge here was that reps could never be permitted to view another Salesperson's data.  So, it couldn't be quite that simple.  This was compounded only slightly by the requirement that, logically, sales managers needed to see all of the data for their Territories.  So, depending on whether a Salesperson was a Rep or a Territory Manager the results would vary.

This client had attempted several different ways to meet their requirements only to find that the simplest method turned out to be the most effective both in terms of delivering results and controlling costs.

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

To do this, start by simply assigning a network login to each corresponding Salesperson in Salesperson Maintenance:

Now, we wrote stored procedures that would accept the network login as a parameter, evaluate whether the user was a Sales Rep or a Territory Manager, and then return the required data to which the user was assigned.  In this example, the stored procedure will return the Top 10 Customers based on Invoice Document Amounts.  You can download the sample stored procedure here to see exactly how we did that and use as a template to create your own.

Next, configure your dataset in Visual Studio to simply call the stored procedure using parameters from the report.

Next, after building the SSRS Report in Visual Studio, configure the Report Parameters...

... to make the @WINLOGIN parameter Hidden, so users cannot change this value when running the report, and Default the value to the Global User!UserID.

Now, when running the report Users will be prompted to select or enter a Cut Off Date but will not be given the option to select the Salesperson or User for which they want the report to display data.  That value is automatically passed to the stored procedure to deliver user specific results back to the report.