We have items with 2 different vendors that have different purchase units of measure

(4) Share

Report

Posted on by kimberley5231

Hello

We have several items that have 2 possible vendors. These items have the same vendor item number for both vendors but different purchase units of measure. One only sells in packs of multiple items and one sells them individually. We are trying to figure out how to get the purchase unit of measure to default to the correct code depending on which vendor is on the purchase order.

How can we do this? I've done a few experiments like setting up a variant for one of the vendors, setting up a vendor price list with the correct purchase UoM but that has to be manually added to the PO and it didn't change the UoM. We also looked into stockkeeping units but there doesn't seem to be a place to set the purchase unit of measure there either - even though we can set a different vendor.

Categories:

Dynamics 365 Business Central

I have the same question (0)

All responses (7)

Answers (1)

Suggested answer

RockwithNav 8,691 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Why Vendor Item number is same for 2 different Vendors?

System picks based on Vendor No, Vendor Item No, Item and Variant then how come it's conflicting if if we have same Vendor Item No.

Am I missing something?

1 people found this reply helpful.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
kimberley5231 75 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

The 2nd vendor uses the same numbers as the first vendor. I don't know why. But, your question has me wondering if we need to add something to the vendor item number for the 2nd vendor so it is unique for them and can have it's own unit of measure? I'm not sure if that would solve our issue.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

OussamaSabbouh 6,754 on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hello ,

Use Item Vendor records. Create one Item Vendor line per vendor on the Item card and set the Purchase Unit of Measure there. When the vendor is selected on the PO header and the item is added, BC automatically defaults the correct UoM for that vendor. Variants, SKUs, and vendor price lists don’t control vendor-specific purchase UoM. This is standard behavior, no customization needed.

Regards,

Oussama

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

YUN ZHU 95,937 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

How about simply creating two different items?
For example, Item A (PCS) and Item A (Package)

when changing the Package to PCS, some additional operations might be needed, such as Assembly Order.

Hope this helps as well.

Thanks.

ZHU

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Verified answer

DynaExperts 569 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!
In standard Dynamics 365 Business Central, there is no provision to define multiple Purchase Unit of Measure codes based on vendors. There is no field related to “Purch. Unit of Measure” or “Unit of Measure Code” in the Item Vendor Catalogue.
All Item Vendor related configurations are primarily intended for:

Vendor item references, Vendor-specific prices and discounts, Lead time calculation, Vendor prioritization

They do not control or influence the Purchase Unit of Measure. When creating a Purchase Order:Business Central picks the Purchase Unit of Measure from the Item Card. If that is blank, it defaults to the Base Unit of Measure. The selected vendor has no impact on the UoM chosen. This is standard product behavior.

To achieve the requirement, there are only two realistic options:

1. Create separate items
For example:

Item A (PCS)

Item B (PACK)

While this works technically, it often leads to:

Reporting and data maintenance issues

Higher risk of incorrect item selection by end users

Little real benefit compared to manually changing the UoM on the PO line

2. Customization (if this is a true business requirement)

Extend the Item Vendor Catalogue and create a custom field to store a vendor-specific Purchase Unit of Measure

During Purchase Order line-item selection, subscribe to a relevant Event [OnAfterAssignItemValues] to:

Identify the vendor-item relationship

Default the appropriate Unit of Measure based on the vendor [as defined in Item Vendor Catalogue]

This approach keeps a single item master while providing correct vendor-specific purchasing behaviour.

1 people found this reply helpful.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Kamal Khakhkhar 1,500 on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hii There,

you can just create a new item as per requirement and attach its UOM accordingly with vendor so it will not create confusion , along with that you will get more clear data.

if you found answer mark it answered.

Thank You,

Kamal Khakhkhar.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Assisted by AI

Khushbu Rajvi. 21,042 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

Like (2)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!
out of the box, Business Central cannot automatically default different purchase UoMs based on the selected vendor for the same item.

Create Separate Items (Standard, No Customization)

This is the only standard way.

ITEM-100-EACH → Purch. UoM = EACH

ITEM-100-PACK → Purch. UoM = PACK

Was this reply helpful? Yes No