As you may know, Microsoft has announced that support for Dynamics Great Plains (GP) will end in 2029. While this doesn’t mean that GP will vanish immediately —it will likely continue to be used by some companies for years to come —it does mean that now is a crucial time for GP users to evaluate their options.
In this article, we will be going over Dynamics GP vs Business Central manufacturing. More specifically, the features and why it’s time to think about upgrading Dynamics GP to Business Central.
If you’re a manufacturing company currently using Microsoft Dynamics GP and wondering whether upgrading to Business Central is the right move, you’re in the right place.
If you enjoy this article and would like to talk to Sabre Limited’s president Rob Jolliffe to chat about these concepts, you can book a one-on-one 30-minute call with him at https://calendly.com/robert-jolliffe/30min
My Past with Great Plains, Present and Future with Business Central
To give you some context, my journey with Microsoft Dynamics began back in 2008 as a GP partner. For several years, the focus was on helping clients implement and optimize their GP manufacturing solutions.
Around 2013, there was a noticeable shift in the market. NAV (now known as Business Central) was gaining popularity, and GP partners found themselves losing deals to those that offered NAV as a solution. Since then, we have fully embraced Business Central.
Recently, Microsoft announced that support for GP will end in 2029. This end-of-life announcement means that while the software won’t stop working immediately, it will continue to work for years to come. That said, there will be no further updates or official support from Microsoft after that date.
This is truly an opportune time for GP users to explore alternative ERP solutions to ensure long-term stability and growth.
Dynamics GP vs Business Central: Feature Comparison
At the core, both GP and Business Central are robust ERP solutions that offer full manufacturing capabilities. However, there are some key differences worth highlighting to help you understand what an upgrade from GP to Business Central manufacturing might mean for your business.
I am biased because I really like Business Central, but I tried to be honest with the ratings that I put in here. Generally speaking, GP and BC are fairly close in feature sets. Frankly, GP might be slightly more feature-rich.
| Feature | Business Central | Great Plains | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Customization | – Customization is easy – Source code is open – No need for pre-created User Fields – No need for Extender or VBA | – Customization is difficult due to Dexterity (a proprietary coding language) – Contains lots of pre-created User Fields – Extender – Limited VBA | ⭐ Business Central |
| Integration | – Well-integrated with the entire product – Totally consistent user interface – RapidStart supports manufacturing | – Sometimes a “forced” integration – Some integrations have a different look and feel – Integration Manager: Doesn’t really support manufacturing | ⭐ Business Central |
| Purchasing – Blanket Orders | – Acts as a forecast for delivery – Generate releases as a standard purchase order (PO) – Decrement the quantity remaining – Receive the Releases per normal | – Handles kind of like a purchase order – Print the entire PO with the delivery schedule – Receive against Blanket | ⭐ Business Central |
| Purchasing – Requisitions | – Use the Requisition Worksheet – Does not allow “write in” – Difficult to know who entered the row | – Essentially a Draft PO – Allows a clean end-to-end workflow – Buyer corrects and converts to a PO | ⭐ Great Plains |
| Purchasing – Outsourced Services | – Linked through a Routing – Setup Work Center as Vendor – “Ship” product to Outsource – “Receive” product back – Costs go to a dedicated cost bucket | – Linked through a Routing – Setup Work Center as Vendor – “Ship” product to Outsource – “Receive” product back – Costs go through the “Outsourcing Cost Bucket” | Tie |
| Sales – Configurator | – No out-of-the-box configurator – All configurations are ISV extensions (there are many choices) | – Configurator comes out of the box – Simple “replace” options – Built on Super BOM – There are ISV options when a more advanced configurator is needed | ⭐ Great Plains |
| Sales – Blanket Orders | – Acts as a forecast of sales – Enter “Releases” as standard sales orders (SO) – Decrement the quantity remaining – Ship the Releases per normal – Track the contract amount remaining | – No actual sales blanket order | ⭐ Business Central |
Other Sales & Purchasing Differences
Business Central introduces several differences in its sales and purchasing processes compared to GP. For example, Business Central does not have a separate batching system—when you post a sales or purchase order, it posts directly without any intermediary batching.
Similarly, the concept of a distinct “backorder” document doesn’t exist in Business Central. Instead, any sales order with remaining quantities is treated as open, allowing for adjustments and tracking directly in the system. This aligns with how most traditional ERP systems handle back orders, whereas GP is unique in generating a separate back order document.
Business Central replaces GP’s segmentation concepts with Dimensions, offering more flexibility for categorizing data. The role of site segments, specifically, is filled by Responsibility Centers, which provide a comparable yet streamlined functionality. Lastly, Business Central has a stronger focus on warehouse fulfillment processes, enabling you to efficiently send shipment releases to the warehouse—an improvement over GP’s handling of similar distribution tasks.
What is Dynamics GP?
Dynamics GP (Great Plains) is an on-premises ERP solution developed by Microsoft, primarily catering to small and mid-sized businesses. It has been around for decades, known for its robust financial management, inventory management, and reporting capabilities. However, it’s important to note that Microsoft has significantly reduced investment in updating GP, with most efforts focused on security and compatibility rather than innovation.
Key Features of Dynamics GP
- Financial Management (General Ledger, Accounts Payable/Receivable)
- Inventory & Supply Chain Management
- Payroll & Human Resources
- Reporting & Business Intelligence
- On-Premises Deployment
What is Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s cloud-based ERP solution designed for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for finance, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and customer service. Built on the same platform as Dynamics NAV, Business Central offers seamless integration with other Microsoft products like Office 365, Power BI, and Azure.
Key Features of Business Central
- Financial Management
- Sales & Customer Service
- Supply Chain & Inventory Management
- Project Management
- Cloud-Based Deployment & Accessibility
- AI & Machine Learning Capabilities (With CoPilot Integration)
Now that we know what features are in both systems and how they compare, what about the features that are unique to each system?
Engineer-to-Order (ETO) and Project Manufacturing
Engineer-to-order (ETO) and project manufacturing in Business Central are tailored for dynamic and flexible production processes. These scenarios often involve selling a product before its bill of materials (BOM) is fully defined, relying on high-level, long-lead-time components. This approach blends aspects of GP’s project management and manufacturing modules, but Business Central takes it further with its integrated project management features.
In GP, managing ETO could involve using projects to track costs but without BOM integration, or leveraging manufacturing orders for purchasing and production while sacrificing project-specific tracking. Business Central solves these limitations by offering “project tasks” (formerly “jobs”) that combine the best of both worlds. Planning lines in Business Central function as dynamic BOMs, allowing users to create purchase orders directly against the project, link assemblies, and track subcontractor costs. This structure also supports detailed comparisons of estimated versus actual costs, a feature that’s difficult to replicate in GP without workarounds.
Moreover, Sabre ETO enhances Business Central’s ETO capabilities with BOM import features and deeper manufacturing integration, making it a game-changer for project manufacturers transitioning from GP.
Sales and Production Order Integration
In GP, integrating sales orders with manufacturing orders involves SOP-MOP connections that generate linked documents, either manually or automatically. Business Central mirrors this functionality with its planning module, which links production orders to sales orders. While the overall process is similar, Business Central offers added flexibility through its MRP module, which provides real-time production suggestions based on order-level demand and inventory availability.
One standout feature of Business Central is its “capable to promise” functionality, which surpasses GP’s basic “available to promise.” Capable to promise analyzes all BOM components, lead times, and MRP rules to calculate an accurate delivery date. This makes it invaluable for manufacturers dealing with complex BOMs or multi-level assembly structures. While GP’s approach to order integration is functional, Business Central’s tools provide greater precision and efficiency, particularly for businesses requiring advanced planning capabilities.
Bills of Materials (BOM) and Routings
Both GP and Business Central offer strong support for BOMs and routings, but each system has its nuances. In GP, BOMs are tied to specific items, with options for regular, phantom, and effective-dated parts. Business Central takes a more flexible approach, allowing BOMs to exist independently of items. For example, multiple items (e.g., red, blue, and green variants) can share the same BOM, reducing duplication.
One area where Business Central excels is its native Excel integration, enabling users to mass update or upload BOMs with ease—a task that is cumbersome in GP. Additionally, Business Central supports multiple active BOM versions and status tracking for design, review, or engineering phases. On the other hand, GP’s routings include convenient features like combining labor and machine time on a single line, which Business Central requires separate entries for. However, Business Central compensates with robust ISV add-ons for shop floor data collection, further enhancing its capabilities for modern manufacturing environments.
See our favorite manufacturing add-ons for Business Central.
Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
Dynamics GP MRP is a bucketed system, meaning it calculates requirements for predefined time periods (e.g., weekly buckets). This approach, while traditional, can be less precise. In contrast, Business Central uses a bucketless MRP system that calculates requirements on a daily basis. This means that orders are planned for the exact dates they are needed, leading to more accurate scheduling and inventory management.
Business Central’s MRP is also more user-friendly, offering a simplified requisition worksheet for straightforward purchasing and a full planning worksheet for advanced scenarios, including MRP and MPS. While GP’s MRP is powerful, it can be challenging to set up and use effectively. Business Central provides an easier learning curve and better feature integration, making it a superior choice for most manufacturers.
Advanced Manufacturing Features
Business Central includes unique features that enhance its manufacturing capabilities. For example, the “value entry” system ensures accurate cost tracking across all layers of production, adjusting inventory values dynamically as items are consumed, subcontracted, or sold. This level of cost accuracy is unmatched in GP.
Another innovative feature in Business Central is the simulated production order, which allows manufacturers to create mock orders for quoting purposes. Additionally, Business Central supports production families, enabling co-products or by-products to be produced from a single routing—ideal for industries like automotive or injection molding. GP lacks direct equivalents for these features, highlighting Business Central’s more modern approach to manufacturing management.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why should I switch from Dynamics GP to Business Central?
A: Dynamics GP is becoming increasingly outdated with limited innovation. Business Central offers a modern, scalable, cloud-based solution with powerful integrations and AI capabilities.
Q: What is the long-term future of Dynamics GP?
A: Microsoft has indicated that it will continue supporting GP but with minimal innovation. Most of its focus is on Business Central and other cloud-based solutions.
Q: What industries benefit most from Business Central?
A: Industries with complex supply chains, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service-based industries greatly benefit from Business Central’s modern features.
Conclusion – You’ll Want to Upgrade Dynamics GP in the Near Future
As Microsoft phases out support for Dynamics GP by 2029, the manufacturing community faces a pivotal moment. While GP has served businesses well for decades, Business Central represents the future with its modern architecture, enhanced flexibility, and advanced integration capabilities.
For manufacturers, the decision to upgrade is more than a simple system swap—it’s an opportunity to elevate operations with features like dynamic project management, improved MRP, seamless sales and production order integration, and robust support for advanced manufacturing scenarios. Business Central not only matches GP in many areas but also surpasses it with its ease of use, scalability, and innovative tools like value entries and simulated production orders.
The transition from GP to Business Central may seem daunting, but it’s a necessary step for businesses that want to remain competitive in an evolving market. If you’re considering the move, now is the time to plan and prepare. With Sabre Limited’s expertise and solutions tailored for manufacturers, we’re here to help you every step of the way.
You might also want to read about some of Business Central’s top competitors and how they differ:
- Odoo vs Business Central
- NetSuite vs Business Central
- SAP Business One vs Business Central
- Acumatica vs Business Central
To discuss how Business Central can transform your manufacturing operations, book a one-on-one consultation with Sabre Limited’s president, Rob Jolliffe.
