More or Less: Warehousing in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Business Central

When implementing NAV/BC or evaluating your current level of warehousing functionality, it’s important to assess some of the following items:

1. Assess your current physical processes in the warehouse – How does inventory come into your warehouse? How is it received on the dock?  How long does it sit there?  Does the same person who receives it also put it away?  How does product get put away?  Are there any bar codes on the product?  Are they scannable? Etc..
2. Assess your current warehouse layout - Are there bins defined and identified? Are there clear receiving and shipping areas? Are there multiple products in multiple bins?  Do you pick from the bottom level or all levels?  Are your bins bar coded?  .
3. Assess your requirements for managing your inventory when it is in the four walls of your warehouse– For Example, The system should allow for a product to be received on the receiving doc and then a user should be directed to put away the product to a bin containing the same item until it is full and then to an empty bin.
4. Assess your team in the warehouse – How much change can they handle? How much change do they deal with now?  How do they react to new things?
5. Asses your requirements against the functionality against NAV/BC’s functionality.

There are two big things that may lead you to consider turning on more functionality.  The first is if you need to be able to handle multiple documents at one time.  For example, Advanced Warehousing enables you to be able to create a put away for multiple PO’s and assign that to one user to execute.  Another thing to take into consideration is if you need to be directed to do certain things.  For example, Advanced Warehousing gives you the ability to allow users to be directed where to put away product based on a put away template that can be defined for all items or by item.  On the sales side, you can be directed where to pick the product from as well. There are other things you want to consider as well but I find in a lot of implementations, the requirements for these two items can lead to a need for more warehouse functionality.