How to setup Transfer Routes

This is what happens in the video

Transfer Orders in Business Central let you move items between Locations. To make them work, you need to set up an In-Transit Location and define Transfer Routes. The In-Transit Location holds the cost of the item while it is being moved, so it sits on neither the shipping Location nor the receiving Location until the receipt is posted.

You enable an In-Transit Location by check-marking the ‘Use as In-Transit Location’ field on a Location card. This Location cannot store items and is not included in normal quantity calculations. You then build a Transfer Route matrix that defines which Locations you can transfer from and to.

Remember to add the Transit Location to your Inventory Posting Setup. If you skip this step, posting the Transfer Order fails with an error. You should set it up for every Inventory Posting Group code you use.

What an In-Transit Location does in Business Central

When you transfer an item from one Location to another, the item is rarely available instantly. It might be on a truck, a plane, or some other transport. During that time the cost of the item should not sit on the shipping Location and not on the receiving Location.

The In-Transit Location handles exactly that. While the item is being moved, its cost is parked on the Transit Location. Business Central interprets the item as being on one Location until it is received on the other, so it stays accounted for the whole way.

How to set up an In-Transit Location

Start by creating a new Location specifically for this purpose. In your Locations, define a Location Code. You can call it Transit or whatever makes sense to you.

On that Location, check-mark the ‘Use as In-Transit Location’ field. This applies a set of special rules:

• The Location cannot be used for storing items.
• The Location is not included in the various quantity views, because items on it are still counted as belonging to one of the real Locations.

How to define a Transfer Route

Once the In-Transit Location is in place, you can define a Transfer Route. The Transfer Route is a matrix where you define where you want to transfer from and where you want to transfer to.

For example, if you want to transfer from Location SIMPLE1, you scroll right in the matrix and set up the routing to SIMPLE2, to your WAREHOUSE, or to any other destination you need.

There are rules that apply to which Transfer Routes are valid, and an error will occur if a route does not work. The main rule is that you cannot transfer in an endless loop.

What happens when you post a Transfer Order

With the route in place, you can create a Transfer Order, for instance from Location SIMPLE1 to Location WAREHOUSE. Business Central automatically uses the Transfer Route you defined for that combination.

When you post the shipment, the item is posted out of the shipping Location and into the Transit Location. It stays there until you post the receipt on the receiving side, at which point it lands on the destination Location.

Inventory Posting Setup for the Transit Location

You also need to add the Transit Location to your Inventory Posting Setup. If you do not, posting fails with an error.

In the Inventory Posting Setup, define a line for your Transit Location. In a simple test you might do it only for finished goods, but in practice you should set it up for all the different Inventory Posting Group codes you use.

Q&A