Should you use Item Numbers or Item Variants to handle actual variants?

When working with item variants in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can choose between two different data structures. You can use the standard variant structure with one item number and an underlying item variant table. Or you can create each variant as a separate item number.

The single item number per variant approach makes warehouse scanning easier and gives you a cleaner inventory overview. The standard variant table approach keeps your item list shorter when you have many variants. You can use both strategies at the same time, because the template on the item card determines which structure each item uses.

You should decide which strategy to use before you build your master data structure.

Two ways to structure item variants in Business Central

Some customers prefer to work with variants using the normal structure. You have one item number and then the underlying item variant table where you can add all the different variants. Other customers prefer a structure where each variant is created as a separate item number.

Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, and it largely comes down to taste and how your business operates.

Advantages of separate item numbers per variant

Creating each variant as its own item number gives you a single number to work with. In the warehouse this makes scanning easier, and everywhere you handle the item number you only deal with one number. It is also easier to get an overview of the inventory on the item list. Many customers want one unique item number with nothing else attached to it.

Disadvantages and how to handle long item lists

The main disadvantage of separate item numbers is that your item list can become very long if you have many item variants. The standard variant table keeps the list shorter.

You can work around the long list. For example, you can filter on the style variant being false, and then you don’t see all the variants. It is easy to build overviews in many different ways, so the length of the list does not have to be a problem.

How the item template controls the variant strategy

You can run both strategies at the same time within the same database. The template on the item card determines, for each item, whether it uses one strategy or the other.

One item can use a style template pointing to item or table number 5401, which is the item variant table. Another item, for example item number 7000, can use a style template called T-shirt item variant, which works on the item table directly.

When you create item variants, or when you use the matrix windows on purchase and sales orders, the system automatically determines which structure applies based on the template. As a user, the functionality looks the same in both cases. The only visible difference is that you have many item numbers on the item list when you use separate item numbers per variant.

What to decide before building your master data

Before you create your master data and data structure, you should discuss whether you want to use one strategy, the other, or even a combined strategy. Making this decision up front saves you from reworking your structure later.

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