Managing Item Tracking and Printing Reports in Business Central

Managing inventory accurately is crucial for businesses, and item tracking features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) are valuable for maintaining traceability. However, users may encounter limitations when printing reports that include item tracking information. Here’s a look at these limitations and how they can be addressed through customization.

The Challenge: Printing Item Tracking Information

An individual attempted a stock movement using an Item Reclassification Journal and assigned a serial/lot number to the items. However, when printing the document, the report showed only general information and did not include the serial numbers or lot details. This behavior is due to a limitation in Business Central, which doesn’t print item tracking information by default.

Understanding the Limitation

By default, standard Business Central reports do not include item tracking information. This can lead to challenges in situations where comprehensive documentation is required for audits, compliance, or internal tracking.

Why Item Tracking Isn't Printed

• Standard Reports: Native BC reports focus on general information and lack detailed data points like serial or lot numbers.
• Database Structure: Item tracking information is stored in separate tables, which are not automatically linked to standard reports.

Solutions

Report Customization

The recommended solution is to customize the standard report to include item tracking data. This involves:

• Creating a Custom Report: Develop a new report that incorporates data from the Item Tracking Lines table.
• Modify Data Items: Add new data items to the existing report structure to fetch and print item tracking details.
• Link with Item Reclassification Journal: Ensure the customized report correctly links to the Item Reclassification Journal to fetch the relevant tracking data.

While Business Central's native reports may not include item tracking information by default, the flexibility of the platform allows users to customize reports to meet their needs. By developing custom reports or modifying existing ones, businesses can ensure comprehensive documentation that includes serial and lot numbers, crucial for effective inventory management.