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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Small and medium business | Business Central, N... / Drop Shipment Issue: S...
Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
Suggested Answer

Drop Shipment Issue: Sales Invoice Posted but Purchase Invoice Failed (Partial Shipments)

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Posted on by Alis_ 4

We encountered a drop shipment issue in Dynamics 365 Business Central involving partial shipments, partial receipts, and credit memos, and we would like to understand whether there is a supported solution.


Scenario:

 

  • A Sales Order (SO) and Purchase Order (PO) are linked as a drop shipment.

  • The process works correctly for the first partial PO receipt and SO shipment.

  • That first partial transaction is later reversed using a Purchase Credit Memo and a Sales Credit Memo, which also works as expected.


    •  
 

Issue occurs in the next partial cycle:

 

  • When processing the next partial receipt and shipment, a Sales Invoice (SI) and Purchase Invoice (PI) are created.

  • During posting:

    • The Sales Invoice posts successfully.

    • The Purchase Invoice fails to post (no error message), and remains open.


      •  

  • As a result:

    • The PO line shows negative Quantity to Receive.

    • The drop shipment chain becomes blocked because the SI is already posted, so the related PI can no longer be posted.

    • The PI remains pending indefinitely.


      •  


    •  
 

Workaround attempted:

 

  • We created a standalone Purchase Invoice (not linked to the drop shipment) to post the vendor cost.

  • This allows the PI to be posted, but:

    • The negative Quantity to Receive on the original PO remains.

    • The original SO still has remaining quantity to ship.


      •  


    •  
 

Further complication:

 

  • For the remaining partial quantity on the SO:

    • The Purchasing Code on the SO line becomes blank, indicating the SO–PO drop shipment link is broken.

    • We cannot continue partial drop shipment processing on the same SO line.


      •  

  • As a workaround, we:

    • Create a new PO and link it to the existing SO.

    • However, when creating SI and PI again, the same issue repeats:

      • SI posts successfully

      • PI does not post

      • We again need to create a standalone PI to proceed.


        •  


      •  


    •  
 

Questions:

 

  1. Is this behavior (SI posting successfully while PI fails silently) expected in drop shipment scenarios?

  2. Is there a supported way to:

    • Prevent Sales Invoice posting if the Purchase Invoice cannot be posted?

    • Recover or re‑establish the drop shipment link for remaining partial quantities?


      •  

  3. Is there a recommended or supported solution to avoid:

    • Negative Quantity to Receive on PO

    • Broken SO–PO drop shipment linkage

    • Repeated need for standalone Purchase Invoices in partial drop shipment scenarios?


      •  


    4.  

 
Categories:
Dynamics 365 Business Central
I have the same question (0)
  • Suggested answer
    OussamaSabbouh Profile Picture
    OussamaSabbouh 11,792 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Hello,
    This behavior is not expected but usually happens when the drop-shipment chain becomes inconsistent after partial reversals with credit memos. In Business Central, drop shipments rely on the linked Sales Order and Purchase Order quantities staying aligned, and when partial receipts/shipments are reversed with credit memos, the quantity and cost applications can become mismatched, which may lead to issues like negative Qty. to Receive on the PO, broken SO–PO linkage (Purchasing Code cleared), and the Purchase Invoice failing to post while the Sales Invoice posts successfully. Because BC doesn’t enforce posting the PI before the SI, the SI can post even if the purchase side later fails, leaving the chain blocked; in these cases the supported approach is usually to review item ledger/value entries for open applications and continue processing with a new SO–PO pair, since restoring the original drop-shipment link is typically not supported once it’s broken.
     
    Regards,
    Oussama Sabbouh
  • Suggested answer
    Aziz Skhiri Profile Picture
    Aziz Skhiri 230 on at

    hello , This is a known limitation / edge-case behavior in partial drop shipments + reversals (not a bug per se, but inconsistent chain handling).

    Supported / best ways:

    • No built-in block to prevent SI if PI fails.

    • Recovery: Usually create new PO + relink to existing SO (what you're doing).

    • Avoidance:

      • Try full cycles only (avoid partial reversals).

      • Use Return Orders instead of Credit Memos for reversals (better link preservation sometimes).

      • Or get a small custom validation extension (common fix). 

        •  
    • Your current workaround (new PO + standalone PI when stuck) is actually the most recommended/supported path right now. Hope this helps you ! 

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