Setup Transport method on Items

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you set up the vendor transport method on an item by opening the item card, going to the Replenishment section, and entering the vendor number. Business Central then pulls the transportation method from the vendor card and uses it to calculate the total lead time automatically.

The total lead time is the sum of two fields: the vendor lead time (the internal handling time at the vendor) and the transport time (how long shipping takes). If a vendor ships by sea, the transport time might be three months. The vendor lead time might add seven days of handling, giving a total lead time of three months and seven days from purchase to delivery on the ramp.

You can override the transport method and transport time on individual items. If a specific item always ships by air, you change the transport method on that item, and the lead time recalculates automatically. You can also adjust the transport time manually. This means items from the same vendor can have different lead times even when they use the same transport method.

Setting up the vendor transport method on an item card

To set up the vendor transport method on items in Business Central, open the item card and go to the Replenishment section. Enter the vendor number, and the system handles the rest.

When you enter the vendor number, Business Central automatically takes the vendor transportation method from the vendor card. From that point, a lot of the calculation happens in the following fields, including the lead time calculation.

How the transportation method affects lead time

The transportation method comes from the vendor card. In one example, a vendor ships by sea, and it normally takes three months from when the goods leave the vendor until they reach you.

The vendor lead time is a separate field that corresponds with the lead time calculation on the vendor card. In this case, it represents the vendor’s internal handling time. For this example, that handling time is seven days.

The total lead time calculation is a standard field, and it is built from two parts:

• The vendor lead time (the internal handling time)
• The vendor transport time (the shipping time)

With a transport time of three months and a vendor lead time of seven days, this item takes three months and seven days from the day you purchase it until you get it on the ramp.

Overriding the transport method and transport time on individual items

For any item that has a vendor number with a transport method, you can change the specific transport method or the transport time on that particular item.

If you know that an item always comes by air, you change the transport method to air. The total lead time recalculates automatically. In the example, switching to air brings the total down to nine days.

You can also adjust the transport time manually. If you know that air shipments from this vendor only go out once a week from the airport, you can set the transport time to account for that weekly shipment.

This flexibility means that all items from the same vendor can have different lead times, even when they share the same transport method.

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