How does internal warehouse processes work in Business Central?
In a warehouse, we have different internal activities, which are not about picking or putting away stuff from outside the warehouse, but just to handle in the warehouse. I will give you an overview in this video.
This is what happens in the video
In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, warehouse management includes internal activities that handle items already inside the warehouse. These activities are separate from the inbound and outbound work of putting away and picking items. The three main internal activities are warehouse movements, inventory adjustments, and bin counting.
A warehouse movement moves items from one bin to another. You can do it ad-hoc when items take up too much space, or you can base it on a movement document created by another activity, for example to refill pick bins from back-end storage.
An inventory adjustment corrects warehouse entries when the physical count on a bin does not match the system. The adjustment creates warehouse entries and later updates the item ledger entries when it synchronises.
Bin counting lets you count a complete bin with all its items and record the date it was counted. This makes annual and quarterly inventory counts easier, because you can target only the bins that have not been counted within a given period. In a warehouse environment, you normally count per bin rather than per item.
Internal warehouse activities in Business Central
In a warehouse you have several internal activities that are not about picking or putting away items coming from outside. These activities exist purely to handle items already inside the warehouse.
Warehouse movements between bins
The most simple internal activity is a warehouse movement. You take some items from a bin and register the bin code, item number, and quantity, then add them to another bin with its own bin code.
You can carry out a warehouse movement in two ways:
- Ad-hoc: You move items simply because they take up too much space in a bin and you want them in another bin.
- Based on a movement document: Another activity has created a document telling you that specific items should be moved from one bin to another. This could be a refilling or fulfilment of pick bins with back-end items.
Inventory adjustments on warehouse entries
Another internal activity is the inventory adjustment, which is about adjusting the warehouse entries. If you look at an item in a bin and count it, and the count does not match what is in the system, you need to make an adjustment.
When you make an inventory adjustment on a bin, it creates warehouse entries. Later, when it synchronises to the item ledger entry level, it maintains the item ledger entry as well.
Bin counting and inventory counting
Bin counting is an activity to count a complete bin. If you want to count one full bin with several items on it, you run a counting activity and count all of it. You can record the count date on the bin, so you always know when it was last counted.
This pays off when you reach your annual or quarterly inventory counts. Instead of counting everything, you can count only the bins that have not been counted within a given period.
You can run inventory counts per bin or per item. In a warehouse environment, you would normally count per bin, because that is the easiest and most logical approach.
Q&A
What are internal warehouse activities in Business Central?
Internal warehouse activities handle items already inside the warehouse, rather than picking or putting away items from outside. The main ones are warehouse movements, inventory adjustments, and bin counting.
What is the difference between an ad-hoc warehouse movement and a movement based on a document?
An ad-hoc movement is one you decide to do yourself, for example because items take up too much space in a bin. A movement based on a document is created by another activity, such as refilling pick bins from back-end storage, which generates a document instructing you to move specific items.
What happens when you make an inventory adjustment on a bin?
The inventory adjustment creates warehouse entries. When it later synchronises to the item ledger entry level, it also maintains the item ledger entry.
Should you count inventory per bin or per item?
You can do both, but in a warehouse environment you would normally count per bin, because it is the easiest and most logical approach. Recording the count date on each bin also lets you target only the bins that have not been counted within a given period during annual or quarterly counts.