Control inventory, bins, picking, put-away and shipping from one connected ERP. Dynamics 365 Business Central provides scalable warehouse management that grows with your operation.
Warehouse performance directly affects customer service, cashflow and operational efficiency. Delays in receiving, inaccurate stock levels or inefficient picking processes quickly lead to missed delivery dates and rising costs. Many organisations rely on disconnected warehouse tools or manual processes that make it difficult to maintain accuracy and visibility.
Dynamics 365 Business Central includes built-in warehouse management functionality designed to help businesses track inventory placement and manage warehouse activities accurately. Microsoft states that the core goals of warehouse management in Business Central are to maintain visibility of inventory levels and locations, and to enable fast, accurate receiving, picking and shipping of goods.
Unlike standalone warehouse management systems, Business Central links warehouse activity directly to purchasing, sales and finance. This means that physical warehouse actions update inventory and financial records in real time, reducing errors and manual reconciliation.
Warehouse operations vary widely. Some teams need simple structure, while others require advanced control. Business Central supports both.
Business Central manages warehouse activity inside the same system as inventory, purchasing and sales. Stock movements, bin locations and availability are always in sync with the rest of the business, removing the need for separate reconciliation.
Warehouse managers can see stock levels, bin utilisation, open picks, inbound receipts and outbound shipments in one place. This improves planning, reduces firefighting and helps teams prioritise work based on real demand.
Business Central supports different levels of warehouse complexity. Teams can start with basic receiving and shipping, then introduce bins, put-aways, picks and directed workflows as volume and complexity increase.
Structured warehouse workflows reduce manual handling, rework and stock corrections. Automation across put-away, picking and replenishment helps teams process more orders without increasing headcount.
Separating physical warehouse actions from inventory posting improves traceability. Warehouse tasks must be completed correctly before inventory and financial records are updated, reducing errors.
Data taken from a survey we commissioned in December 2024. Click here to view
of businesses are utilising an ERP
businesses are dissatisfied with their current ERP
of businesses say using an ERP has contributed to achieving business outcomes
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides practical tools that reflect how warehouses operate day to day.
Warehouses can be structured into locations and bins that mirror the physical layout of the building. This gives precise control over where items are stored and picked from, improving accuracy and efficiency.
Bin-level control and structured workflows reduce discrepancies between physical stock and system records.
Guided picking and consolidated shipping workflows help teams process orders faster and with fewer errors.
Businesses with multiple warehouses or distribution centres benefit from consistent processes and shared visibility across locations.
Automation replaces spreadsheets, manual stock adjustments and duplicate data entry across warehouse operations.
As order volumes grow, Business Central allows warehouses to introduce more structure without changing systems.
Example use cases
This page focuses on running the warehouse floor: bins, picking and stock accuracy. For warehousing as a service business, see our warehousing page.
Illustrative, anonymised examples based on typical scenarios in this sector.
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Most trials drop you into a generic demo company that looks nothing like the way you actually work. Ours doesn't. We configure your free trial around your business and the use case you care about, so you and your team can test real scenarios with data and processes you recognise.
It starts with a short questionnaire about your industry, your current systems and what you want to prove out. Once that's back with us, your tailored trial can usually be made available within a few working days. Prefer a guided walkthrough first? A standard demo is still on the table - just tell us which you'd like.
Complete a short questionnaire covering your industry, processes and the things you most want to test.
We set up a Business Central environment around your use case, so you're not clicking through a generic demo company.
Your tailored trial is typically ready within a few working days of the questionnaire coming back to us.
These are the problems that come up again and again when we talk to warehouse management businesses about their systems. If two or three of them sound familiar, the issue is usually structural rather than a matter of trying harder with the current setup.
If picking, putaway and adjustments are recorded on paper and keyed in later, the system record and the shelf drift apart. Every full count becomes a large write-off nobody can explain.
Without directed putaway and pick, location logic depends on who's on shift. Fast-moving lines end up scattered and the same order gets picked three different ways.
Receipting against purchase orders, checking quantities and putting away are three separate manual steps in many warehouses, and a backlog at goods in delays everything downstream.
Sales commits to a delivery date without seeing allocated stock, inbound purchase orders or pick capacity, so promises are made and then rescued.
Three situations that reflect the patterns we see most often in warehouse management. Each one describes a type of business, the problem it started with and what changed once Business Central was set up around it.
These are anonymised, illustrative scenarios built from common patterns in the sector. They aren't customer stories, and no figures here are attributed to any individual organisation.
Third-party logistics operator, one site, mixed pallet and piece picking
Illustrative scenarioDistributor with two warehouses, around 4,000 active lines
Illustrative scenarioE-commerce and wholesale hybrid operation
Illustrative scenarioLicensing is published and predictable. Implementation isn't, because it depends on what you ask the system to do. Here's the licence position, then the things that genuinely move the number in this sector.
£6.20per user / month
Read, approve, enter time and expenses. No full transactional access
£61.50per user / month
Finance, sales, purchasing, projects, basic stock and warehousing
£84.60per user / month
Everything in Essentials plus manufacturing and service management
Microsoft UK list prices, per user per month on an annual subscription, correct at the time of writing. Check the current figure on Microsoft's pricing page.
Warehouse operations usually need Business Central Premium, because advanced warehousing, directed putaway and pick sit above the Essentials feature set once you move to bin-level control. Warehouse operatives using handheld devices commonly access the system through a scanning app licensed alongside, rather than a full named user seat each, which changes the licence count considerably.
Warehouse go-live is the highest-risk cutover on this list because the physical count and the system have to agree on day one. Budget for the count, the temporary drop in throughput during the first fortnight, and floor-level training rather than classroom training.
Warehouse teams need reliable systems that keep inventory accurate and orders moving. Dynamics 365 Business Central brings warehouse management, inventory, purchasing, sales and finance together so your operation can run more efficiently and scale without disruption. To learn more about Business Central for warehouse organisations, or to see the platform in action, get in touch via this short form.
Yes. Advanced warehousing supports bins, put-away and directed picking.
Yes, typically with a scanning add-on for receiving, picking and counting.
No. This page covers warehouse operations. The warehousing page covers storage businesses billing clients.
It is a set of tools that manage receiving, put-away, bin storage, picking, shipping and inventory movement within the ERP.
For many organisations, yes. It provides warehouse management inside the ERP, with the option to extend functionality as needed.
Yes. It supports bins, zones and structured storage layouts.
Yes. Advanced configurations enable directed put-away and pick workflows.
Yes. It supports multiple locations with shared visibility and reporting.
Yes. Mobile and scanning extensions are available for warehouse teams.
Yes. Physical warehouse actions are validated before inventory and financial records are updated.
Yes. It is delivered as a secure Microsoft cloud ERP.
Yes. Businesses can start simple and add structure as complexity increases.
Many see improvements once picking, put-away and stock visibility are centralised.
Looking at Business Central beyond warehouse management? See the full Dynamics 365 Business Central overview for features, pricing considerations and how implementation works, or read our guide to choosing a Business Central partner.
