Essential Microsoft GP (Great Plains) Customer ERP Upgrade Plan

• Our GP to Business Central (BC) project is going poorly. 
• During our evaluation of BC, we were unaware that a more feature-rich ERP solution is available from Microsoft Dynamics FSCM (Finance and Supply Chain Management). 

• GP was not initially designed as a manufacturing solution. At best, the bolted-on manufacturing functionality fits a specific and narrow range of manufacturing companies. 
• Manufacturing knowledge in the broader GP implementation partner channel varies wildly. 
• More sophisticated and enterprise-ready manufacturing companies choose BC without evaluating or, in some cases, even being aware of Microsoft Dynamics FSCM, a more feature-rich solution for enterprise manufacturing. 

• BC has better manufacturing capabilities than GP but is still woefully short on critical functionality for many manufacturing companies. 
• BC is being force-fed to GP manufacturing customers by partners that do not have the manufacturing expertise to differentiate nuanced or significant differences between manufacturing companies. 

• Primarily , tell me the two to three things that make your company unique. I understand that every company is special, but the convoluted business process workarounds you have developed over the years are not “special;” they are just unproductive. 
• Second , list everything your current system does that you need to run your business effectively and successfully. This describes the functionality required for a minimally viable system. Building this list takes a fraction of the time explaining the ideal system, which weighs down many traditional requirements-gathering processes. 
• Third , I need a list of the reports you need to run the business daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual and how they are created. Then, I want a list of the aspirational reports you always wanted to be more efficient but deemed too complex or impossible to develop on a timely basis. 
• Finally , organize an “ERP SWAT Team” to run your business with a vanilla version of the targeted ERP software as quickly as possible. The SWAT team can comprise as little as one to two corporate experts from the business and a true software architect. In a six-to-eight-week period, the knowledge gained by the ERP SWAT Team speeds up the project's implementation. The details of this approach are the subject of a separate post. 

• M – Must have.  These are top-priority requirements. A ‘must have’ feature is a non-negotiable requirement that a business solution must have. Software customization for a must-have would require careful analysis and approval. 
• S – Should have.  These could add significant value but are not vital. They differ from ‘must-haves’ by the availability of a workaround; for example, it may be something that you do not currently do, or it may be achieved through a change in process. Depending on time and budget, a should-have customization would require careful analysis and approval. 
• C – Could have.  A ‘could have’ requirement is a 'nice to have' that would have a negligible impact if left out. It is this lower impact that differentiates it from the ‘should-haves.’ This would include a feature that you would like to consider for the future. It is unlikely that a customization would be approved in this area. 
• W – Will not have.  A’ will not have’ feature is not a priority or a current requirement. ‘Will not have’ does not mean a complete rejection of something; it is not required in a solution based on your current business needs and those for the near future. 

• Requirement Capture - Provides a structured process to determine your business application requirements. This can be across single or multiple entities. 
• Project Estimation - Delivers an informed estimate for your Dynamics 365 deployment, covering software subscriptions, external implementation costs, and internal resource requirements. 
• Scope Definition - Defines your project scope, key business objectives, KPIs, and functional requirements. 
• Evaluate Solution Fit - Analyze the fit of standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 vs business requirements; identify areas where additional investigation should be undertaken and recommend alternative solutions for gaps. 
• Build a Business Case - This provides the key elements to help you confidently build a business case.