Distribution

Dynamics GP has compressive out-of-the box distribution capability. Dynamics CRM has mobile order processing capability with seamless integration back into GP.

Distribution capabilities:

• Powerful SOP with unlimited document types
• Powerful inventory and warehouse management
• Suggested PO generator
• Landed Cost
• BOM
• User -defined workflow such as Pick, Test, Pack, Despatch, Deliver, etc
• Internet Order Processing module
• Mobile Order Entry
• Field Service modules
• Analysis cubes: analyse Sales and GP by multiple dimensions such as product category, region, salesperson, customer, etc.

Growing manufacturers and distributors face many challenges from both inside and outside their own supply chains. There is price and performance competition from competing supply chains as well as competition from within supply chains. For example, retailers can compete against manufacturers’ name brands with lower priced house private label brands. This in turn increases the number of substitute items to manage within a product category. Brand competition for market share in turn fuels discounts and short-term promotions which cause rapid fluctuations in demand and inventories.

Expanding companies compete on their abilities in handling these challenges. In order to survive and grow, distribution companies therefore need to have the flexibility to adapt – in a cost-effective way – their business processes to meet each customer’s needs and compliance requirements and to provide fulfillment with a service level and delivery performance that surpasses that of the competition.

Specific compliance requirements will range from order promise and capture, to shipping for each customer. However, major retailers often specify rules relating to how orders are captured (EDI), inventory and shipment visibility (ASN), and data synchronisation standards (GTIN). In addition, customer specific processes are common as each company can dictate as to how they want you to label, package and ship - often at a product and store level definition. It is not uncommon for a major retailer’s compliance manual to be over 10 cm thick with mandates that when not adhered result in costly charge-backs.

Why Dynamics GP?

Microsoft Dynamics GP delivers broad ERP functionality across the financial management, supply chain management and analytics categories as well as customer relationship management in combination with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. As an integrated finance and supply chain system, Microsoft Dynamics GP gives your distribution business the agility to stay competitive by greatly improving supply chain management, from order fill rates to order response time and compliance. Microsoft Dynamics GP will allow you to streamline your pick/pack/ship cycle with cradle-to-grave visibility and workflow processes that adapt quickly to changing schedules and requirements.

Customers of Dynamics GP are looking for a solution with a low total cost of ownership which:

• Is designed to help their business grow by affordably adapting to changing customer requirements
• Implements fast and efficient ways of sharing fulfilment information and improving supply chain visibility
• Aids in executing compliant orders, efficient management of inventory and shipping requirements
• Fosters vendor viability which is critical to large retail customers.

Apart from the core accounting layer (from General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Order Entry and Purchasing) the Dynamics GP system can handle technologies like EDI, warehouse management, transportation management etc, so that you, as a distribution business, can really talk to all parties involved - your customers, suppliers, freight carriers and even, if relevant, outsourced manufacturing/warehousing agents.

How Dynamics GP Can Reduce Sleep Loss

There are many issues which can keep distributors awake at night, such as what stock levels to carry, how to manage cash flow to pay for new stock, how to gain better visibility of inventory, how to make reliable demand predictions and how best to accommodate fluctuations in demand as well as how to make the order fulfillment process more efficient and transparent.

There are many tools within the Supply Chain Management series of Dynamics GP that can help you tackle these issues and are designed to help streamline and automate the supply chain process. The following is a summary list of the functionality which Dynamics GP can provide:

• Demand Planner
• Advanced Distribution
• Advanced Picking
• Available to Promise for accurate order managment
• Blanket POs
• Cradle-to-Grave Serial/Lot Tracking
• Negative Price/Quantity in SOP (Sales Order Processing)
• Serial/Lot Tracing
• Multi-Bin
• Landed Cost
• Extended Pricing
• Historical Stock Status Report

Advanced Picking – for maximising flexibility by tailoring inventory selection methods. Enables you to meet site-specific needs, minimise handling processes and costs, improve efficiency and customer service levels with consolidated picking lists, flexible item maintenance and sequenced picking.

Advanced Distribution – to control distribution while improving efficiency and profitability. Enables you to improve efficiency and accuracy for ordering processes (user-defined workflow, automatic back-order allocation and mass order to invoice transfer), increase access to key information (document search and update, enhanced inventory information and shelf life control), meet customer specific needs (customer part numbers, customer specific item substitution and customer specific picking instructions).

Demand Planner – module that allows you to create forecasts applicable to your business, improve automatically generated forecasts, reduce uncertainty in demand, work together with stakeholders, run your forecasting processes more frequently, leverage Excel look and feel.

Quick quote / information request form:

Distribution Customers

A-Gas is a specialist blender, re-packer and distributor of speciality gases and chemicals, in particular environmentally acceptable replacements for chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFC's), used primarily as refrigerants, foam blowing agents, aerosol propellants and solvents.

A-Gas International Holdings Ltd is the group's privately owned parent company, located in the UK. The group currently has 4 wholly owned trading subsidiaries covering the above geographical areas. A-Gas UK, based in Bristol, started business in 1993 and has now grown to a £15 million turnover company. It is the number one supplier to UK foam and refrigerant markets (OEM and industrial refrigerant users).

A-Gas signed up as customer of M4 Systems during the early part of 2005 after they become disenchanted with their previous Microsoft partner, whom they considered too reactive. In M4 Systems they sought a supplier who could offer them a more proactive approach and with whom they could build a long-term partnership. M4 Systems have since assisted A-Gas with system upgrade and capability extension. A number of GP modules have been added, including some M4 GP Enhancement products: Advanced General Ledger and Advanced SOP / GL Defaulter to enable posting of Customer and Product – Sales and Cost of Sales analysis automatically to the General Ledger. A-Gas use their system for financial management, inventory control and order processing.

Trading as Adcock Express, this company imports and supplies to the UK market janitorial and hotel products. They have been a customer of M4 Systems since June 2003.

Formed in 1992 Waterlogic International is a world-wide leading manufacturer and distributor of quality point-of-use water dispensing and purifying systems. Certified to ISO 9001:2000, the company offers a range of elegantly designed dispensers for small, medium and large offices as well as for home use. The products made in their two factories (one in South Korea & one in China, each with a capacity to produce over 100,000 units per year) are distributed in 30 countries across 5 continents. Waterlogic sales and technical support offices are located in France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Australia and Italy.

When M4 Systems first met with representatives of Waterlogic International in 2005, the company was operating a number of disparate systems across their various offices, including Sage and Quickbooks. This resulted in difficulties in co-ordinating and consolidating information into useful data without massive manual intervention and re-keying.

M4 Systems recommended and subsequently implemented an integrated solution based upon Microsoft Great Plains (Dynamics GP) Financials, Distribution (Supply Chain Management) and Field Service modules, including Wireless Field Service to create a "real time" remote link to service engineers in the field. The system needed to cope with multiple currencies and provide good reporting and analysis tools. To further improve reporting and budgeting functions, Waterlogic International incorporated some complementary third party modules, such as Vision and Corporate Planner.

Activant Solutions UK Ltd is a specialist provider of vertical ERP solutions servicing the European automotive aftermarket. Activant Solutions UK Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Activant Solutions Inc., with worldwide headquarters in California, USA. The Group was founded in 1972 and has grown with a customer base in excess of 30,000. Activant Solutions UK Ltd opted for Dynamics GP Business Essentials edition in conjunction with two M4 GP enhancement modules in order to be able to offer their customers the opportunity of combining a market leading financial suite together with a powerful ERP application to deliver a real business breakthrough for trading in the automotive aftermarket.