If your organization implements Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly also known as Great Plains Dynamics, as its corporate ERP system and is expanding internationally, we’d like to give you some ideas on translating Great Plains into a foreign language and implementing it internationally. You need to look at GP from two positions: first, interface translation and local character input and saving, and second: making your foreign subsidiary’s ERP application compliant with host country regulations and business practices (also known as localization):
1. What languages can be supported? The restrictions of compliance with the ASCII table exist. If your language does not support ASCII and requires support for Unicode characters (we do not recommend GP as your technology layer), Microsoft Dexterity does not support Unicode directly, at least not at this time and for the foreseeable future. Unicode generally means hieroglyphs: Chinese, Japanese, Korean. The rest of the world including languages like Arabic, Russian, Dari, Persian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Portuguese could be translated and supported
2. Translation technologies. We recommend that you review two methods. The first method is based on Great Plains Dexterity, where you open Dynamics.dic in Dex and then export string resources to a convenient file format (Excel, for example), perform the required translation, and then distribute the custom Dynamics dictionary to your customers. users. The second method is when you export strings from the Dynamics dictionary, translate them, and finally import them into the forms dictionary (if you plan to have modified reports, you need to import strings associated with reports in Reports.dic). This second method requires a Customization Site Enabler license, however, in our opinion, it is preferable as you don’t have to expose your users to the bug fix cycle. Dexterity is more powerful and flexible, however it may require additional programming and debugging.
3. How to enable foreign character saving in Microsoft SQL Server? This question has two parts. The first part is Windows operating system character support, there are two options available: the first is to select your local country version in the Windows installation (this option will load Windows in your local language and automatically enable character support). characters entering Dexterity); the second is to enable foreign language in windows language support (in control panel). The second part is to install MS SQL Server with collateral support in the local language. If you plan to host all of your Great Plains companies on the same server in the US, you must change the guarantees for the foreign company database manually
4. Corporate ERP location dilemma. Each accounting system has reasonable flexibility in setup: taxes (including sales tax and VAT or value added tax), the ability to provide a custom sales invoice report (foreign countries may have unique requirements , related to the numbering of invoices, reports to the tax agency, etc.). Based on our experience, we do not recommend a corporate ERP system not localized in large countries, such as Brazil, China, Russia, India, and the reason is simple: large countries have all the points to consider themselves autonomous and develop complex regulations. . For smaller countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Lithuania, Poland, Uzbekistan, the issue of compliance may be of less concern as these countries typically follow international GAAP standards.
5. And last paragraph: maybe Great Plains is already localized for your country? This corporate ERP application is available in most English speaking countries: US, Canada (including French version for Quebec/Montreal), UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. It is also localized in some of the Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America: Mexico, Argentina, Chile, to name a few. There are also some flavors of Arabic localizations, available through various local resellers in the Middle East.
