Advanced Lot Management Part 2: Setup
Merit Solutions Advanced Lot Management (ALM) is the application that allows efficient control of lot tracked materials (raw or finished goods) within Microsoft Dynamics GP (versions 9 and 10).
The system requirements correspond to requirements of Microsoft Dynamics GP. ALM version 9 requires GP’s Manufacturing module to run, while ALM version 10 does not require Manufacturing module.
ALM is focused on two pieces of information: Lot Status and Expiration Date. These information affect when and how material can be used.
Setup
Setting up ALM properly will allow easy and full use of all its functionalities. Adding necessary window shortcuts should always be users’ first choice. Just repeat some steps already seen during installation:
1. Login to GP as “sa” user, or corresponding power user.
2. When Microsoft Dynamics GP loads, open Shortcuts menu and select Add > Add Window
3. On Add Window Shortcut screen, expand Advanced Lot Management item > expand 3rd Party item > select windows that should be added. For starters, I suggest the following:
- Merit Registration
- Advanced Lot Management Configuration
- Lot Category Setup
- QA User Setup
To be able to work properly enter registration keys to Merit Registration window, acquired from Merit Solutions, Inc.
Enabling the module switches ALM and from that point on all Lot Tracked items will depend on it.
1. Open Advanced Lot Management Configuration window.
2. On Advanced Lot Management Configuration window select Enable Module for <company name>
3. On Advanced Lot Management Configuration window select option to True.
4. On Advanced Lot Management Configuration window > click Save button
ALM will not be working properly if Lot Category Setup is not properly defined. The window is GP native and can be opened from: Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Inventory > Lot Category. The first attribute should be pre-populated and should contain value Lot Status. The field is not editable.
As long as ALM is enabled for the company Attribute 1, cant’ be changed. And whatever value is entered to these attributes fields, will appear as labels on Lot Attribute Maintenance window:
Keep in mind, as soon as ALM is enabled for the company, on Sales Invoicing and Sales Order Processing Options window, option “Auto-Assign Lot Numbers” will be unchecked. The idea is to make user manually select Lot Number in order to fulfill an Invoice or a Sales Order. If user tries to select the option, as long as ALM is enabled, message will appear:
Tags: dynamics gp, lot management