If you run a fully directed warehouse in Business Central, the inbound flow moves goods through a fixed sequence of documents: purchase order, warehouse receipt, and warehouse put-away. Each step posts its own records, so you always know where your goods are.
You enable this flow either by ticking “Directed Put-away and Pick” on the location card, or by enabling “Require Receipt”, “Require Put-away”, and “Require Bin” together.
When you post a warehouse receipt, Business Central creates a posted purchase receipt with item ledger entries, a posted warehouse receipt with warehouse entries, and a warehouse put-away document. When you register the put-away, the goods move from the receive bin into your inventory bins.
When the full inbound warehouse flow applies
The full inbound flow in Business Central kicks in when you use the most advanced warehouse setup. You get there in one of two ways.
The first way is to enable “Directed Put-away and Pick” on the location, which is the big checkmark in the location setup. The second way is to enable all three options separately: “Require Receipt”, “Require Put-away”, and “Require Bin”.
In both cases you use all the possible warehouse documents, which means the goods pass through several steps before they land in inventory. Here is how that looks from start to finish.
Step 1: Release the purchase order and create a warehouse request
It all starts with a purchase order. You can also work with several purchase orders if you want to bundle them together.
The first thing you do is release the purchase order. Releasing it automatically creates a warehouse request per purchase order. That request is what lets the warehouse pick up the order in the next step.
Step 2: Create the warehouse receipt
Next you create a warehouse receipt. You have two ways to do this.
- From each purchase order, which creates separate receipts.
- From the warehouse receipt itself, where you fetch the purchase order and bundle several orders into one receipt.
The warehouse receipt is the document where you actually do the receiving. You can print it out and hand it to the people in the warehouse zone. They enter the quantity when the goods arrive, and then they post the receipt.
When the receipt is posted, the item goes from not existing in Business Central to sitting in the receive zone. Posting does three things at once:
- It creates a posted purchase receipt, which creates item ledger entries.
- It creates a posted warehouse receipt, which creates warehouse entries.
- It creates a warehouse put-away document, ready for taking the goods from the receive bin and moving them into the inventory bins where you want to store them.
Step 3: Perform and register the put-away
From the warehouse put-away document, you print out the document and perform the actual put-away. You register which bin you add the item to and in which quantities.
If you end up using other bins than the ones suggested, you modify the lines before you register. Registering the put-away creates a registered warehouse put-away document and moves the items from the receive bin into the warehouse bins. It also creates warehouse entries to handle the move.
That completes the full inbound warehouse flow. The goods are now in your inventory bins, and every step along the way has its own posted or registered document with matching ledger and warehouse entries.
Q&A
How do I enable the full inbound warehouse flow in Business Central?
You enable it either by ticking “Directed Put-away and Pick” on the location card, or by enabling “Require Receipt”, “Require Put-away”, and “Require Bin” together. Both options give you the full set of warehouse documents.
What happens when I release a purchase order in a directed warehouse?
Releasing the purchase order automatically creates a warehouse request per purchase order. The warehouse request is what allows you to create a warehouse receipt in the next step.
Can I bundle several purchase orders into one warehouse receipt?
Yes. Instead of creating a separate receipt from each purchase order, you can create the warehouse receipt first and then fetch and bundle several purchase orders into that one receipt.
What records does Business Central create when I post a warehouse receipt?
Posting the warehouse receipt creates a posted purchase receipt with item ledger entries, a posted warehouse receipt with warehouse entries, and a warehouse put-away document for moving the goods from the receive bin to the inventory bins.
What does registering the warehouse put-away do?
Registering the put-away creates a registered warehouse put-away document and moves the items from the receive bin into the warehouse bins. It also creates warehouse entries to record the movement. If you used different bins than suggested, you modify the lines before registering.