Let me explain the case with an example.

Assume there are 20 pieces of an item in stock. These are spread on 2 bins: binMain has 14 pieces and binSpec has 6 pieces.

binSpec is a bin which is marked as "Specific".

We make 2 sales orders:

• SalesOrder1 orders and reserves 15 pieces
• SalesOrder2 orders and reserves 5 pieces

When we now want to ship the first sales order, we expect that 14 pieces can be taken as this is available in binMain.

However, this is not the case and BC shows less: it shows 20-5-6 (available stock - what is reserved by others - what is on dedicated bin) = 9.

As a result only 9 pieces can be shipped while we expect 14. In other words: inventory that is available to be sold is not taken when selling. We consider this as a major flaw as en ERP system should just present the correct quantities.

Here a more detailed explanation what I used in my communication with Microsoft:

Business Central has a module “Inventory” and “Warehouse Management”. Inventory is mostly used by customers; Warehouse Management is optional.

Both systems are independent but need to integrate at a certain point in the flow.

Inventory

In Inventory goods can be reserved for demands. This means we can distinguish between

• A: The quantity reserved for a specific demand 123 (example: Sales Order 123456) – (this can be the exact required quantity, or it can be less)
• B: The total quantity reserved for all demand except 123
• C: The total quantity that is not reserved for any demand
• D: the total quantity in stock
• E: the quantity that was demanded in demand 123

The following formulas apply

D = A + B + C

A <= E

To know what can be max picked for demand 123: this is A + C (or D – B) but should never exceed E.

Max_Inventory = min (A + C,E)

Warehouse Management

Warehouse Management is about implementing the physical storage in your warehouse where Business Central allows different settings and setups to accommodate the desired case.

Physical storage means we divide the warehouse into many bins. And as we all expect, different types of bins can be distinguished. These can be implemented using the existing properties on a bin (like special, standard, blocked, etc…) and to set bin in specific setups (like sales setup, production setup).

Here we can distinguish between

• X: total of quantity on a normal regular bin
• Y: total quantity on all special bins (this can and will be further divided depending on the properties of the bins, I just use one number to facilitate this description)
• Z: total quantity in this location (includes all bins defined in this location)

The following formula applies: Z = X + Y

To know what can be picked max: X (or Z – Y)

Max_WarehouseManagement = X

picking process when creating a warehouse pick

As both systems are independent my view is we can not use these figures in the same formula. So when I run the picking process for the demand 123, In my opinion the system should take the minimum of the 2 figures calculated above: Quantity_To_Pick = min(Max_Inventory ,Max_WarehouseManagement)

Again, I fully understand this is very over-simplified and maybe even does not make any sense at all. There are many more settings and situations in Business central to take care of. Also the case of the customer is more complex as described here as the system is using lot tracing with a FEFO approach.

So, apologies for that, I just wanted to highlight the reasoning I was making, so you better understand the thoughts I made.