Dispatch Unit#

When manufacturing complex products, it may be necessary to break them down into dispatch units for dispatch in order to enable efficient transportation. In order to be able to map this process in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central¹, KUMAVISION factory365 supports the management of dispatch units in both production and logistics.

The introduction of dispatch units can currently cover three different scenarios, which are described below.

Setup#

Engineering and Design Setup#

In the Engineering and Design Setup, you have the option of using the Use Dispatch Unit for ED Sort switch on the Execution FastTab to control whether you want to visually display the logistical structure breakdown divided into the corresponding dispatch units in an E+D order. Activate this switch for this option. In the E+D order, the "Logistical" option can then be selected in the process for the visualized display via the "Structure breakdown" field.

Dispatch Unit#

Via the Dispatch Unit you can define them in general by assigning a code (abbreviation) and an associated description.

Assignment in master data#

Dispatch units can be defined in advance during the planning phase. For this purpose, a dispatch unit code can be entered in the lines in the production BOMs, which does not yet have a fixed reference to a specific production order. This dispatch unit code is then adopted when a production order is created.

Assignment in workflow#

If there is an existing production order, dispatch units can be assigned to the components. This assignment can be made both in the component lines and in the released and completed E+D orders in the respective lines. In addition, the project module has been integrated so that the assignment can also be made directly from the project structure.

The fields "Dispatch unit code", "Project-specific dispatch unit", "Component as dispatch unit" and "Transfer quantity to dispatch unit" can be displayed on the respective pages.

Transfer of components#

Components combined into higher level dispatch unit#

A production order is created in which the components are to be transferred to a production warehouse for assembly. The components are combined into easily transportable dispatch units. These components can be inserted into a transfer order from a released and a completed E+D order.

To do this, first select the desired lines and then execute the "Transfer marked Dispatch Units" function in the line menu.

The system checks whether the components to be transferred have already been consumed. If the components marked accordingly have been consumed, a transfer order is created to transfer the dispatch units from the component location to the production location. The information from the stock transfer route is used for the "In Transit Code". In the production order dispatch unit list, you can now see that the "Quantity in outgoing document" has been changed.

The corresponding dispatch unit item is displayed in the drilldown and you can switch to the corresponding document using the "Show document" function. If the storage locations are subject to goods issue or goods receipt, these can be created and posted according to the standard.

No new item entries are created in the background as the components have already been consumed. The postings create new dispatch unit entries. These can be used to check the status from the dispatch unit overview (opens when you lookup a dispatch unit). Once the receipt has been posted, the order is completed. The dispatch unit can now no longer be dispatched as it has already delivered the full quantity.

Individual Components as dispatch unit#

The system checks whether the components to be transferred have already been consumed. If this is the case, a transfer order is created to transfer the dispatch units from the component location to the production location. The information from the transfer route is used for the "In Transit Code". In the production order dispatch unit list, you can now see that the "Quantity in outgoing document" has been changed.

The "Transfer quantity to dispatch unit" field can be used to control whether only a partial stock transfer of the component should take place. The field is pre-assigned with the quantity available for stock transfer. This is the difference between the booked quantity and the quantities already in dispatch or dispatched. It is therefore necessary that at least the quantity of the component to be dispatched is booked as consumption.

If the stock transfer is to take place, you can select the relevant lines in the E+D order or the project structure and transfer them to a stock transfer order using the "Transfer selected dispatch units" function. The rest of the process corresponds to the procedure described in the section "Components combined into a higher-level dispatch unit".

Dispatch units in sales#

If a production item is sold, the dispatch units stored in the production order can also be inserted in a goods issue that was created from a sales order. The "Insert dispatch units" function can be used for this in the goods issue.

If the sales line was reserved for a corresponding item entry, the dispatch units from this production order are then automatically inserted. If there is no reservation, a selection of item entries is opened and you can decide which item is to be sold.

After selection, the dispatch units belonging to the item are added to the goods issue.

If the production order associated with the entry has not yet been completed, you must confirm that you wish to continue.

The original line is retained, but the quantities are removed as this item is automatically posted in the background after the dispatch units have been posted. The goods issue is now posted with dispatch units as in the standard system. Once the posting is complete, the original item is also delivered and can be invoiced.

Project specific or production order dispatch units#

In conjunction with the plant engineering solution, it is also possible to use dispatch units across production orders within a project. Further information can be found at Shipping preparation.

Dispatch units entries#

When inserting a dispatch unit into a document, entries are written. These can have 4 statuses:

• Outgoing (Dispatch): A transfer has been created or a goods issue has been created from a sales order without anything having been posted
• In Transit: The goods have left the warehouse but have not yet arrived, i.e. the (goods) issue has been posted but the (goods) receipt has not
• Receipt: The receipt of the goods has been recorded, but not yet booked.
• Delivered: The goods have been delivered completely. The items are used to track the quantities in the dispatch units overview, even if the posted documents should already be deleted.