In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can control how items with expiration dates get assigned to sales orders by using the remaining shelf life percentage. This setting makes sure you never promise a customer an item that is too close to its expiration date.
You set the remaining shelf life percentage in the assigned quantity setup card under item availability general setup, on the dates tab. If you enter 60, the system only assigns batches that have at least 60% of their shelf life remaining.
You must apply the same percentage in the graphical inventory profile setup for each user ID. The assigned quantity functionality and the graphical profile are two separate features, so you need to configure both to get a consistent picture.
Assigning quantity based on expiration date in Business Central
When you work with items that are set up with expiration date handling, Business Central limits how much it assigns to a sales order line based on what is actually available before the items expire.
Take an item set up with an expiration date. If you enter a demand of 2,504, the system might only assign 3,220 units in total across the lines, because the rest of the stock has already expired or will expire before it can be delivered.
If you look at the graphical profile, you can see exactly why. An item batch expires on July 28, which means you don’t have enough usable stock to cover the full remaining demand. When you view the profile without including the assigned quantity, you might see a small negative inventory, for example 480 units. That is the true expiration picture. The item expires on July 28, and the customer would never receive an item that is close to expiration.
What remaining shelf life percentage means
The term that controls this behaviour is remaining shelf life. You find the setting by going to item availability general setup and then into the assigned quantity setup card. On the dates tab there is a field called remaining shelf life percentage.
If you enter 60 in this field, it means that when you sell an item handled with an expiration date, the remaining shelf life of the batch must be at least 60%. If a batch does not meet that threshold, it is excluded based on its expiration date and won’t be assigned to the order.
Apply the same setting to the graphical inventory profile
If you use the graphical inventory profile, you need to set the same percentage there. Go to item availability, but choose the availability setup rather than the general setup. Find the setup for your user ID and enter the same remaining shelf life percentage, for example 60.
You should repeat this exercise for all users who work with remaining shelf life. The graphical profile and the assigned quantity are two different functionalities, but when they use the same percentage they reflect the same picture. That consistency is what you want.
A practical example with two sales order lines
Using the same item, assign 2,500 on the first line and 4,000 on the second line. There is no available stock for the second line at all.
When you view the graphical profile for this scenario with the 60% setting applied, you can see that the first batch on inventory expires much earlier. As a result, the first sales order line gets its quantity from the second batch instead. That second batch then expires long before the last sales order lines, so those lines get nothing.
This is exactly how the functionality is supposed to work. It lets you assign quantity according to the remaining shelf life percentage, so the items you deliver still have enough usable shelf life when they reach the customer.
Q&A
What does the remaining shelf life percentage control in Business Central?
It controls how much of a batch’s shelf life must remain when you assign an item with an expiration date to a sales order. If you set it to 60%, the system only assigns batches that have at least 60% of their shelf life left.
Where do you set the remaining shelf life percentage?
You set it in the assigned quantity setup card under item availability general setup, on the dates tab, in the field called remaining shelf life percentage.
Why do you need to configure the setting in two places?
The assigned quantity functionality and the graphical inventory profile are two separate features. To get a consistent picture, you set the remaining shelf life percentage in the assigned quantity setup card and also in the availability setup for each user ID who uses the graphical profile.
What happens if a batch does not meet the remaining shelf life threshold?
The batch is excluded based on its expiration date and won’t be assigned to the order. The system assigns from another batch instead, or assigns nothing if no usable stock is available.