How to Get the Most Out of Dynamics GP with Purchase Order Generator

One of the best ways to get more out of your ERP solution is to allow it to keep track of inventory requirements for you, cutting down on the manual maintenance of Excel spreadsheets and the creation of Purchase Orders. But often times, Microsoft Dynamics GP MRP (Material Requirements Planning) solution is a more than involved endeavor than you may be interested in embarking on.

For those who are not interested in the full blown Dynamics GP MRP but are still interested getting more out of their ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics GP offers the Purchase Order Generator!

The Purchase Order Generator allows for Order Point Quantity (Min) and Order Up To Levels (Max) to be set for Item Number/Site ID combinations. With minor tweaking and configuring it can quickly be turned on, helping you get the most out of Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Set the Item Number

The first thing to be done is to make sure an Item Number is set to use the PO Generator at a specific Site ID. This is done using the Item Resource Planning Maintenance window.

a. Select “Use PO Gen” from the Order Policy drop-down list.

b. Enter the Order Point Quantity (Min) and Order Up To Level (Max) amounts.

c. Select a Buyer ID to group Item Numbers or Site ID assignments to specific buyers.

• This is an optional step but can be very useful if setup properly.

d. Click the “PO Gen Item” button to set more PO Generator details.

Validate the Selections

Once on the Purchase Order Generator Item Maintenance window, validate the selections for each of the additional options.

a. Order Method – Select “Order To Independent Site” to create a Purchase Order suggestion for this Item Number/Site ID combination when the PO Generator is run.

b. Replenishment Level – Select “Order Up To Level” to create a Purchase Order suggestion to up the On Hand Quantity to the Order Up To Level when the PO Generator is run.

c. Vendor Selection – Select “Site Primary Vendor” to create a Purchase Order suggestion with the Default Vendor ID automatically selected when the PO Generator is run.

d. Cost Selection – Select “Vendor Last Originating Invoice” cost to create a Purchase Order suggestion with the last cost from the selected Vendor ID when the PO Generator is run.

Check the Purchase Orders

Now that the PO Generator has been configured for a few Item Numbers at the “SOUTH” Site ID a SmartList can be created to check and ensure that the PO Generator is suggesting the correct Purchase Orders. This is an optional step but is a good way to make sure that what you have set up is correct and that the PO Generator is doing what it is supposed to.

Enter the Information

To use the PO Generator, open the Generate Suggested Purchase Orders window, then enter any Restrictions and Purchase Order information.

a. Restrictions can be entered for Item Numbers, Site IDs, Buyer IDs, Vendor IDs, and/or Item Class IDs. For this example, the Purchase Orders suggested will be restricted to Item Numbers assigned to the “acollinsGP” Buyer ID at the “SOUTH” Site ID.

b. Additional Purchase Order Values can be selected and changed, controlling what will be populated when any resulting Purchase Orders are created from the suggestions.

c. Click the “Suggest Purchase Orders” button to allow Microsoft Dynamics GP to make any suggestions and to open the Suggested Purchase Orders Preview window.

Even after the “Suggest Purchase Orders” button has been clicked, new Purchase Orders have NOT been created yet. Microsoft Dynamics GP is not going to create any new Purchase Orders without first letting you preview, adjust, and confirm.

Preview, Adjust and Create Your Purchase Orders

The Suggested Purchase Orders Preview window allows the Purchase Order suggestions to be reviewed and changed if needed before actual Purchase Orders are created. This helps ensure that any setup mistakes don’t result in erroneous Purchase Orders being created.

a. Mark the check-box for any lines that should be sent to the actual Purchase Order(s) when they are created.

b. Select or change the Vendor ID that the actual Purchase Order(s) will be created for.

c. Accept or change the Quantity that the actual Purchase Order(s) will be created for.

d. Accept or change the Unit Cost that the actual Purchase Order(s) will be created for.

e. Click the “Generate Purchase Orders” button to create the actual Purchase Order(s).

Deliver or Delete Your Purchase Orders

As of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018, when the PO Generator is done creating new Purchase Orders the Purchase Order Transactions List Page is automatically opened and populated with the Purchase Orders that were just created. This allows one final review of the Purchase Orders, where they can then be delivered to vendors or deleted if any mistakes were made.

The Purchase Order Generator is a great way to quickly gain some of the benefits of Dynamics GP MRP, without needing the full blown solution. If you still have questions about Dynamics GP Purchase Order Generator or other Dynamics GP features, send our Dynamics GP consultant an email.