Suggested by Michael Mason – New
We propose enhancing the Product Lifecycle State configuration in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations by introducing separate toggles for “Purchase Order Generation” and “Purchase Order Receiving” under the Enabled Business Processes section.
Many organizations, including several of our customers, need the ability to phase out Released Products in a controlled and operationally efficient way. A common and practical requirement is to allow existing Purchase Orders (POs) for the item to proceed (i.e., continue receiving and invoicing), while preventing the creation of new POs for the item going forward.
Currently, the only method to manage this is by modifying the item description to include a manual note such as “Do not order,” which is prone to error and lacks enforcement by the system.
In the Product Lifecycle State configuration, the existing “Block Purchase Order” option disables both Purchase Order Creation and Purchase Order Receiving. This eliminates the ability to support in-flight procurement while blocking new activity.
We suggest introducing two distinct options: one to enable or block Purchase Order Creation and another to enable or block Purchase Order Receiving. This would provide precise control over the product’s procurement phase and better support phase-out and obsolescence planning.
If separating PO actions is not feasible in the short term, an alternative solution would be to add “Purchase Requisitions” to the list of processes available in Enabled Business Processes. Since most procurement flows are initiated through requisitions, this would allow organizations to restrict early procurement steps while still allowing open POs to complete.
This enhancement would support more sophisticated product lifecycle management practices, reduce reliance on manual workarounds, prevent unintended purchases of obsolete or restricted items, and better align D365 with real-world supply chain practices.