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Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
Suggested Answer

Guidance on best method for production orders

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Posted on by 18
Hello All
I am new to Business Central and hoping that you will be willing to help me with what I think is a relatively complex scenario by advising a good way to deal with it. I have come into a business where unfortunately there is very little knowledge of the existing Business Central system so would appreciate any guidance or assistance.
 
Sales Order 1:
90 x Manufactured Product A
Of these 90 Products 20 have an Upgrade X only
Of these 90 products 20 have an Upgrade Y only
Of these 90 products 10 have an upgrade of X and Y
 
90 x Product A have a unique serial number
Product A has a BOM
Upgrade X has its own BOM (sub assembly)
Upgrade Y has its own BOM (sub assembly)
 
Sales Order 2:
20 x Manufactured Product B
Of these 20 Products 10 have an upgrade Z
 
20 x Product B have a unique serial number
Upgrade Z has its own BOM (sub assembly)
 
Production Orders / Capacity / Batch
I can only manufacture 25 x Product A or B per week (5 per day)
I want to split my orders into production batches of 25, bearing in mind that this would cover 2 x sales orders.
ie. 1 order might need several production orders OR several orders might need a single production order!
 
Purchasing / Stock / MRP
We operate a Just in Time production facility and I want to order via MRP once per week, ie. once for each batch.
 
Other complication (low priority issue)
in an ideal scenario I would like to be able to "allocate" the Upgrade X, Y or Z to the appropriate serial no. for the product to which they relate.
 
Could anyone suggest how I might be able to do this?
Feel free to ask for any more information if necessary.
 
Thanks in anticipation.
 
Neil
I have the same question (0)
  • Ben Baxter Profile Picture
    6,575 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at
    You will likely need to use Item Variants.  You could do it with individual Item No. per Product + Upgrade, but then your Item list is messy.  By using Variants and Stockkeeping Units (SKUs), you can define the specific BOM per build.
     
    For your batch production, set a Max. Order Quantity per SKU on the Planning Tab, with the Reordering Policy set to Lot-for-Lot.  This will make what is needed based on demand, and if demand exceeds 25 it will break it into multiple Production Orders.
     
    For your MRP, if you want it to order the material specific to the Prod. Order set your Reordering Policy on the raw material to Order.  If you want it to group the demand, set the Reordering Policy to Lot-for-Lot.  Both policies allow for Lean/Just in Time style inventory.
     
    It sounds like your Upgrades are Serialized parts (upgraded motor or features to a main product).  This means they would be sub-assemblies and can have their own serial number.  Linking the sub-component serial to the finished serial no. is available in AppSource extensions or via a custom table populated during Output recording.
     
    So most of this is available out of the box, with the exception being the tracking of which serialized component is in which serialized finished good.  I would encourage you to reach out to your partner to ensure you get the system setup correctly from the beginning to avoid headaches down the road.
     
    Best Regards,
    Ben Baxter
    Accent Software Inc
  • Suggested answer
    Rishabh Kanaskar Profile Picture
    6,148 on at
    Hi,
     
    You can approach this using standard Manufacturing in Business Central with some setup adjustments:
    > Create BOMs for Product A and B, including Upgrade X, Y, and Z as subassemblies.
    > Use Sales Orders with Reservations/Serial Tracking to ensure each finished item has a unique serial no.
    > Split demand into multiple Released Production Orders manually or by planning worksheet, aligning with your weekly capacity (25 units). You can combine demand from multiple Sales Orders into a single production order if required.
    > Run MRP (Planning Worksheet) weekly to generate purchase suggestions for raw materials based on the batch.
    > For upgrades tied to serials, you may need to handle via item tracking + custom process or by separate production orders for upgraded units.
     
    This way you respect capacity, batch production, JIT purchasing, and still keep traceability with serial nos.
     
    Thanks
    Rishabh
  • Suggested answer
    Jeffrey Bulanadi Profile Picture
    8,760 on at

    Hi Neil,

    Your scenario involves layered BOMs, serial tracking, upgrade logic, and batch-based production constraints. BC can handle this, but it requires a clean setup across production orders, routing, and planning.

    Here’s a structured approach:

    1. Structure Your BOMs and Routing Clearly
    • Define Product A and B with their base BOMs.
    • Create separate BOMs for Upgrade X, Y, and Z as subassemblies.
    • Use Production BOM Versioning if upgrades vary by customer or batch.
    • Link upgrades via Production Order Components or phantom BOMs if they’re always consumed with the base item.
    2. Use Separate Production Orders per Upgrade Group
    • Split your 90 units of Product A into three production orders:
    • 60 units with no upgrade or single upgrade
    • 10 units with both Upgrade X and Y
    • Do the same for Product B.
    • This allows you to manage routing, capacity, and component consumption cleanly.
    3. Batch Planning and Capacity Management
    • Use Production Order Scheduling to limit batch size to 25 per week.
    • Group orders by due date and capacity using the Planning Worksheet or Order Planning page.
    • Consider using Firm Planned Production Orders to lock batches weekly.
    4. MRP and Just-in-Time Purchasing
    • Run MRP weekly using the Planning Worksheet.
    • Set reorder policies to “Lot-for-Lot” and lead times to match your weekly cycle.
    • Ensure your upgrade BOMs are included in MRP by linking them to the main item or subassembly demand.
    5. Serial Number Allocation and Upgrade Mapping
    • Use Item Tracking Lines to assign serial numbers during production.
    • For upgrades, use custom fields or dimensions to tag which serial number received which upgrade.
    • Alternatively, use Production Journal Comments or a custom extension to log upgrade-to-serial mapping.
     

    Helpful Reference
    Create production BOMs - Business Central | Microsoft Learn
    Supply Planning - Business Central | Microsoft Learn
    Track items with serial, lot, and package numbers - Business Central | Microsoft Learn
    Tracking Production and Consumption Serial Numbers in Business Central - ERP Software Blog
    Solved: Serial Number and Item Tracking for Assembly Items


    If you find this helpful, feel free to mark this as the suggested or verified answer.

    Cheers
    Jeffrey

  • Sumit Singh Profile Picture
    10,079 on at
    Hi All,
     
    This question also appears to date back to August 2024, and it is likely that the issue has already been resolved or the original poster has found a workaround. It is unclear why older questions are resurfacing in the latest posts. I kindly request that everyone check the posting date of the query before responding, as the primary objective is to assist the original poster. If more than 13 months have passed, it is reasonable to assume that the user is no longer following the thread. Therefore, we should avoid commenting on such posts, as they appear in the latest feed and may lead others to engage unnecessarily. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
  • Suggested answer
    Nimsara Jayathilaka. Profile Picture
    4,836 on at
    Hi Neil
     

    1️⃣ Use Configuration BOM or Production BOM variants for optional upgrades

    Each upgrade (X, Y, Z) can be modeled in one of these ways:

    Create separate item numbers for each configuration

    • Product A
    • Product A + Upgrade X
    • Product A + Upgrade Y
    • Product A + Upgrades X & Y

    Each has its own Production BOM and routing (if needed).

    Pros: Easiest for planning, production orders, and traceability.

    Cons: More master data (extra items).

     

    2️⃣ Manage batch production via Production Orders and Capacity

    • Set Routing for Product A/B with capacity constraint = 5 units/day.

    • In planning, use Planning Worksheet or MRP to generate weekly batches (25 units) based on due dates and capacity.

    • You can manually group multiple Sales Orders into one Production Order for efficiency:

    • Use the Combine Orders function or manually plan a Production Order for 25 units.
    • Then link output quantities back to sales orders using Reservations or Item Tracking (serials).
     

    3️⃣ Purchasing and MRP (Just in Time)

    • Use Reorder Policy = Lot-for-Lot on all raw materials and subassemblies.
    • MRP will then plan purchase orders only for the current batch based on your production orders and weekly planning horizon.
    • Run the Planning Worksheet weekly (e.g., every Monday) before launching your next 25-unit batch.

    4️⃣ Serial No. Tracking and Upgrade Assignment

    • Enable Item Tracking for Product A and B (Serial Number = Required on Output and Sales).
    • Enable Lot/Serial tracking for upgrades (optional).
    • During production output posting, assign serial numbers.
    • If you want to record which serial received which upgrade:
      • Use the Item Tracking Lines window on the Production Journal to link the correct serials to subassembly consumption lines.
      • Optionally, use Item Tracing or Serial Information for reporting.
    • If you prefer a more visual assignment:
      • Some companies create a custom field or table (“Upgrade assignment”) linking finished product serials to upgrade serials
     
     

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