How does a Warehouse Shipment work in Business Central?
A warehouse shipment is a document to combine more than one source document, maybe several sales orders, or outgoing source documents like transfer orders, service orders, etc.
This is what happens in the video
A warehouse shipment in Business Central lets you combine several source documents into one document for your warehouse. You can bundle multiple sales orders, transfer orders, service orders, and purchase return orders together, then handle them all from a single place.
The warehouse shipment shows only the remaining quantities that still need to go out. If a sales order has an original quantity of 20 but only 3 are outstanding, the warehouse shipment shows only the 3 you are about to ship.
The warehouse shipment does not contain cost amounts or sales amounts. It deals only with physical quantities, which makes it a clean document for warehouse staff to work with.
You can post the warehouse shipment directly, and this posts all the underlying source documents at the same time. You can also create warehouse picks from it if you use bin and pick functionality.
What a warehouse shipment is
A warehouse shipment is a document that combines more than one source document. That could be several sales orders, or other outgoing source documents like transfer orders and service orders. In short, it is a way to bundle everything you want to send out of the house into one document that your warehouse can handle easily.
How to add document lines to a warehouse shipment
You can fill the document lines in several ways. One option is simply to pick and mix the documents you want. For example, on a location set up as a warehouse center, you might include a purchase return order, two sales orders, and one transfer order on the same shipment.
You select the headers of your outbound documents, which all need to be released, and press OK. You then have one document with many lines, drawn from all those different source documents.
The warehouse shipment shows only remaining quantities
The warehouse shipment does not contain any information about cost amounts or sales amounts. It applies only to remaining quantities.
This matters in practice. A related sales order might have an original quantity of 20 with an outstanding quantity of 3. On the warehouse shipment, you only see the 3 you are actually going to ship. That makes it a clear, practical document for the people working in the warehouse.
Creating warehouse picks from the shipment
If you use pick functionality with bins, you can create warehouse picks directly from the shipment. You can create a single pick for the whole bundle, covering all the items across all the lines.
If you are not using picks, you can handle the warehouse document directly without that extra step.
Posting the warehouse shipment
When you are done, you can post the warehouse shipment directly from the document. Posting the shipment posts all the underlying source documents that you are handling at once.
This way you can both handle the items physically and do the posting from the same place.
Q&A
What is a warehouse shipment in Business Central?
A warehouse shipment is a document that combines more than one outgoing source document into one. You can bundle sales orders, transfer orders, service orders, and purchase return orders so your warehouse can handle them from a single document.
Does a warehouse shipment show prices or costs?
No. A warehouse shipment does not contain cost amounts or sales amounts. It deals only with quantities, and specifically the remaining quantities still to be shipped.
Which quantity appears on the warehouse shipment?
Only the remaining outstanding quantity. If a sales order has an original quantity of 20 and an outstanding quantity of 3, the warehouse shipment shows only the 3 you are about to ship.
Do the source documents need to be released to add them to a shipment?
Yes. You select the headers of your outbound documents, which all need to be released, and add them to the warehouse shipment.
Can I post the source documents from the warehouse shipment?
Yes. When you post the warehouse shipment, it posts all the underlying source documents at the same time, so you can both handle the items physically and complete the posting from one place.
Do I need to use pick functionality to use warehouse shipments?
No. If you use pick functionality with bins, you can create a pick for the whole bundle of lines. If you are not using picks, you can handle the warehouse document directly.