In a multi-location department store, each location has its own switch in a multiple independent node network. The same extension is used to represent a specific department across all stores. For example, extension 123 is assigned to the luggage department in all stores. If the customer migrates to a single distributed server, a user can no longer dial 123 to reach the luggage department in the store of their preferred location. To do this, the user must dial the complete extension to connect to the proper department.

In a similar scenario, using the multi-location dial plan feature, a user can dial a shorter version of the extension in place of the complete extension. For example, a customer can continue to dial 123 instead of 222-123.

Communication Manager takes leading digits of the location prefix, and adds some or all to the front of the dialed number as specified on the Uniform Dial Plan screen. The switch routes the call based on the analysis of the entire dialed string and the administration posted on the Dial Plan Parameters and Dial Plan Analysis screens.