Warehouse management in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central covers both the inventory level and the more advanced warehouse level with bins, picks, and put-aways. Order documents like the purchase order and sales order are what you confirm with vendors and customers. Receipts and shipments let you bundle several orders together, even across different vendors, into one handling activity.
Put-aways move received goods into specific bins in the warehouse, and the put-away works the same way no matter whether the item comes from a purchase, a production order, a transfer order, or a sales return. Picks guide warehouse staff through the inventory to collect goods for a sales order, a production order, an assembly order, or a transfer order.
The difference between a pick and a movement is allocation. A pick created for a specific document, such as a production order consumption, is allocated to that order and can be posted directly as consumption. A movement is just an instruction to move items between bins without being tied to a document.
You can also adjust and count inventory at the warehouse level per bin, per item, or per section, and then synchronize the result back to the item level.
Order documents: purchase order and sales order
The starting point in the warehouse flow is the order documents. The purchase order and the sales order are the documents you confirm with your vendors and customers. They define what you expect to receive and what you have promised to ship.
Receipts and shipments let you bundle several orders
The next layer is the purchase receipt and the sales shipment. These documents let you bundle several orders into one handling activity.
On the purchase side, you might receive several purchase order lines from different orders on the same vendor, or even from different vendors, all arriving in one container as a single receipt. On the sales side, you can bundle several sales orders into one shipment. You can ship it to an external warehouse or handle it yourself in the inventory.
Put-away: storing received items in bins
Once you receive an item on the purchase receipt, you want to store it in a specific bin in the warehouse. That is what the put-away handles.
The put-away document looks the same regardless of where the item comes from. As a warehouse employee, you do not care whether the item arrives from a vendor, from production, from a transfer order, or from a sales return order. You put it away and get suggested bins to place the item in.
You can also create a put-away from production output bins to move finished goods back into the warehouse, or from consumption bins to handle leftover material that was not used in production.
Pick: guiding warehouse staff through the inventory
The pick guides you through a route in the inventory to collect goods, then pack and ship them. Picks are not only used for sales orders. You also pick for production orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders.
For a warehouse employee, the pick looks the same across all these document types. It is simply a pick activity, which is the actual movement of goods in the warehouse.
Pick versus movement: allocation is the key difference
Instead of a pick document, you can use a movement document. The difference comes down to allocation.
When you create a pick for a specific document, such as a production order consumption, the pick is allocated to that order. You can then post it directly as a consumption on the production order afterwards.
A movement is just an activity that signals the inventory to move items into the consumption bins in the production area. It is not tied to a specific order.
Production output and remaining material
When items are finished being produced or assembled, you output the quantity to an output bin in the production area. From there, you create a put-away to move the goods back into the warehouse.
If material is left over in the consumption bins after production, the warehouse staff handle it through a movement or a put-away in the warehouse.
Warehouse movements: planned and ad hoc
A warehouse movement is an activity that moves items from one bin to another. You can do it through a document, which is a planned movement where someone tells you what to move. You can also do an ad hoc movement, where you simply take items from one place and put them somewhere else.
Inventory adjustments and counting at the warehouse level
If the quantity in a bin for a specific item looks wrong, you can make an adjustment directly in the warehouse area and later synchronize it to the item level.
You can count the inventory per bin, per item, or per section. Counting from the warehouse entry perspective is fully supported, which gives you flexibility in how you organize and verify your stock.
Q&A
What is the difference between a pick and a movement in Business Central?
A pick created for a specific document, such as a production order consumption, is allocated to that order, and you can post it directly as a consumption afterwards. A movement is just an activity that signals the inventory to move items between bins, and it is not tied to a specific order.
Can I bundle several orders into one receipt or shipment?
Yes. On the purchase side you can bundle several purchase order lines from different orders on the same vendor, or even from different vendors, into one receipt. On the sales side you can bundle several sales orders into one shipment.
Does the put-away work the same for all sources of goods?
Yes. The put-away looks the same whether the item comes from a vendor, from production, from a transfer order, or from a sales return order. You put it away and get suggested bins to place the item in.
For which documents can I create a pick?
You can create picks for sales orders, production orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders. For the warehouse employee, the pick looks the same across all these document types.
How can I count inventory at the warehouse level?
You can count per bin, per item, or per section. Counting is supported from the warehouse entry perspective, and adjustments made in the warehouse area can later be synchronized to the item level.