The sales configurator in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central lets you create orders and hierarchies for items that are specific to a single sales order. When you build a configured sales order, the system automatically creates the related production orders and purchase orders, and ties them together with a reference number that points back to the originating sales order line.
You can navigate from the top-level sales order into the connected purchase orders and production orders. Each of these orders carries an automatically generated reference number containing the sales order number and the sales order line number. That reference is what binds the whole hierarchy together, so you always know which supply order belongs to which sales order line.
How the sales configurator builds order hierarchies
When you use the sales configurator, you create orders and hierarchies for the items that are specific to that sales order. The configured order is not a standard catalogue item with a fixed structure. It is built for the individual order, and the supply needed to fulfil it is created alongside it.
Once the hierarchy exists, you can show it and navigate into the underlying orders. From the top-level sales order you can drill into purchase orders or production orders that contain items unique to that order. This gives you a clear view of everything that has to happen to deliver the configured product.
How reference numbers link production and purchase orders to the sales order
When you open one of the connected orders, you see an automatically created reference number. The reference number combines the sales order number and the sales order line number. This is the mechanism that holds the hierarchy together.
The practical benefit is traceability. On each supply order, whether a production order or a purchase order, you can see that the reference number relates to a specific sales order line. You always know why an order exists and which customer order it supports.
Q&A
What does the sales configurator in Business Central create?
It creates sales orders together with the order hierarchy for items that are specific to that sales order, including the related production orders and purchase orders needed to fulfil it.
How are production orders and purchase orders linked to the sales order?
Each related order gets an automatically created reference number that contains the sales order number and the sales order line number. This reference binds the hierarchy together and links every supply order back to a specific sales order line.
Can I trace which sales order a production or purchase order belongs to?
Yes. On each production order and purchase order you can see the reference number, which tells you exactly which sales order line the order relates to.