This article explains how to create a warehouse shipment and a warehouse pick from a sales order in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The standard warehouse flow runs in a fixed order. You first release the sales order, then create and release a warehouse shipment, then create a warehouse pick from that shipment.
The warehouse pick guides the user through the inventory with take and place actions. The take action tells the user which bin to collect items from. The place action tells the user to put the items in the shipping bin. After moving the items to the shipping bin, you post the warehouse shipment, which also posts the sales order.
A single warehouse shipment header can combine several source documents. You can add multiple sales orders or outbound transfer orders to one warehouse shipment using filters or by adding source documents manually.
The standard warehouse flow in Business Central
Creating a warehouse shipment and a warehouse pick is part of the standard warehouse functionality in Business Central. It is not specific to the Mobile WMS app, but understanding it is the basis for using the app correctly during the pick.
The flow follows a fixed sequence:
- First you create a warehouse shipment.
- From the shipment you create a warehouse pick.
- You perform the pick, where you can use the mobile functionality.
- The pick moves the items from the warehouse area into the shipping zone or shipping bin.
- After the items are in the shipping bin, you post the warehouse shipment, which also posts the sales order.
Creating and releasing the warehouse shipment
Start from a sales order. Before you can create a warehouse shipment, you need to release the sales order. Once it is released, you can create the warehouse shipment directly from the order.
Before creating the pick, you need to release the warehouse shipment. One of the ideas behind the warehouse shipment is that it can hold more than one source document. You can use filters to pull in many source documents, so a single warehouse shipment header can contain several sales orders, outbound transfer documents, and similar. This lets you combine source documents on one warehouse handling document.
Creating the warehouse pick
After releasing the warehouse shipment, you can create a warehouse pick from it. You find the pick document through the navigation menu by opening the pick lines and then the pick card.
On the pick card you see a take action and a place action. The pick document tells the user where to go and what to do. It points to a bin code in the inventory, tells the user to pick a number of pieces, for example six pieces, and then place those pieces in the shipping bin you have set up. This is a take and place activity. The purpose of the document is to guide the user around the inventory and into the shipping area.
From the mobile perspective, the relevant part is the take actions, since they tell the user where to take the items from.
Q&A
What is the correct order for the standard warehouse flow in Business Central?
Release the sales order, create the warehouse shipment, release the warehouse shipment, create the warehouse pick from the shipment, perform the pick, and finally post the warehouse shipment, which also posts the sales order.
Can one warehouse shipment contain more than one sales order?
Yes. A single warehouse shipment header can hold many source documents, such as multiple sales orders or outbound transfer documents. You can use filters or add source documents manually to combine them on one warehouse handling document.
What is the difference between the take action and the place action in a warehouse pick?
The take action tells the user which bin to collect the items from in the inventory. The place action tells the user to put those items in the shipping bin you have set up.
What does the warehouse pick document do?
It guides the user around the inventory. It specifies the bin code to pick from, the number of pieces to pick, and the shipping bin to place them in.
What happens when you post the warehouse shipment?
Posting the warehouse shipment also posts the sales order.