Transfer inventory between locations

Article
08/16/2024

You can transfer inventory items between locations by creating transfer orders. Alternatively, you can use the item reclassification journal.

Note

To transfer items, you must set up locations and transfer routes. To learn more about setting up locations, go to Set up locations. You can't use transfer orders for blank locations.

Transfer orders

You can ship an outbound transfer from one location and receive an inbound transfer at the destination. You can:

Track a quantity in transit.
Define calendars, routings, and inbound and outbound handling times for date calculation and planning. To learn more about planning, go to About Planning Functionality.
Use different warehouse features for inbound and outbound locations.
Use transfer orders for direct transfers, with some limitations.

Item reclassification journals

You can use the Item Reclassification Journals page to:

Direct transfer of items between locations.
Move items between bins. To learn more about transferring items between bins, go to Move Items Unplanned in Basic Warehouse Configurations.
Change a lot or serial number to a new lot or serial number. To learn more about reclassifying serial and lot numbers, go to Reclassify serial or lot numbers.
Change the expiration date to a new date.
Reclassify items from a blank location to an actual location.
Create warehouse entries if you don't manage warehouse activities.

To transfer items with a transfer order

Choose the icon, enter Transfer orders, and then choose the related link.
On the Transfer Order page, fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.

Note

If you filled in the In-Transit Code, Shipping Agent Code, and Shipping Agent Service fields on the Trans. Route Spec. page when you set up the transfer route, the corresponding fields on the transfer order are filled in automatically.

When you fill in the Shipping Agent Service field, the receipt date at the transfer-to location is calculated by adding the shipping time of the shipping agent service to the shipment date.

There are several ways to fill in the lines:

Option	Description
Manually	On the Lines FastTab, fill in a line for an item, or use the Select items action to choose multiple items.
Automatically	* Choose the Get Bin Content action to select existing items from a specific bin at the location. * Choose the Get Receipt Lines to select items that just arrived at the transfer-from location.

You can now ship the items.

Choose the Post action, choose the Ship option, and then choose the OK button.

The items are now in transit between the specified locations according to the transfer route.

As a warehouse worker at the transfer-from location, proceed to receive the items. The transfer order lines are the same as when shipped and can't be edited.
Choose the Post action, choose the Receive option, and then choose the OK button.

Undo a transfer shipment

If you find a mistake in a quantity on a posted transfer order, as long as the shipment isn't received you can easily correct the quantity. On the Posted Transfer Shipment page, the Undo Shipment action creates corrective lines, as follows:

The value in the Quantity Shipped field is decreased by the undone quantity.
The value in the Qty. to Ship field is increased by the undone quantity.
The Correction checkbox is selected for the lines.

If the quantity shipped in a warehouse shipment, a corrective line is created in the posted warehouse shipment.

To complete the correction, reopen the transfer order, enter the correct quantity, and then post the order. If you're using a warehouse shipment to ship the order, create and post a new warehouse shipment.

Post multiple transfer orders in a batch

The following procedure explains how to post transfer orders in a batch.

1. Choose the icon, enter Transfer orders, and then choose the related link.
On the Transfer Orders page, select the orders to post.
In the No. field, open the context menu and choose Select More.
Select the checkbox for the lines for each order that you want to post.
Choose the Post action, and then choose Post Batch.
On the Batch Post Transfer Order page, fill in the fields as necessary.

Tip

For transfer orders that use an in-transit location, you can choose either Ship or Receive. Repeat this step if you need to do both. For orders where Direct Posting is turned on, both options work in the same way and post the order completely.
Select OK.
To view potential issues, open the Error Message Register page.

Note

Posting multiple documents might take some time and block other users. Consider enabling background posting. For more information, see Use Job Queues to Schedule Tasks.

Schedule a job queue entry to post multiple documents in a batch

Alternatively, you can use the job queue to schedule posting to happen at a time that's convenient for your organization. For example, it might make sense for your business to run certain routines when most of the data entry is done for the day.

The following procedure shows how to set up the Batch Post Transfer Orders report to automatically post direct transfer orders at 4 PM on weekdays. That time is just an example. The steps are the same for other documents.

Search for the Job Queue Entries page, and then choose the related link.
Choose the New action.
In the Object Type to Run field, select Report.
In the Object ID to Run field, select 5707, Batch Post Transfer Orders.
Select the Report Request Page checkbox.
On the Batch Post Transfer Orders request page, choose the Ship option, filter on Direct Transfer, and then select OK.

Important

It's important to set filters. Otherwise, Business Central will post all documents, even if they aren't ready. Consider setting a filter on the Status field for the value Released, and a filter on the Posting Date field for the value ..today. To learn more about filters, go to Sorting, Searching, and Filtering.
Select all checkboxes from Run on Mondays to Run on Fridays.
In the Starting Time field, enter 4 PM.
Choose the Set Status to Ready action.

Comparison of different settings for transfer orders

You can post transfer orders in different modes, with or without an in-transit location. Turn off the Direct Transfer toggle and select the temporary location in the In Transit Code field on the Transfer Order page. When you post the shipment of a transfer order that uses the in-transit location, the items on the line are no longer available at one of your locations because they're in transit. Direct posting ensures that an in-transit location isn't used and the shipment and receipt process simultaneously. The exact behavior of direct posting might can be different based on the value selected in the Direct Transfer Posting field on the Inventory Setup page.

The following table describes how the combinations differ.

Capability	The Direct Transfer field is disabled in the Transfer Order page	Direct Transfer is enabled on the Transfer Order page Direct Transfer Posting is set to Direct Transfer on the Inventory Setup page	Direct Transfer is enabled in the Transfer Order page Direct Transfer Posting is set to Receipt and Shipment on the Inventory Setup page
Use in-transit location	Yes	No	No
Can post receipt without shipment. Can use Undo receipt.	Yes	No	No
Partial posting	Yes	No	Yes
Item ledger entries	4: Transfer from From-Location, Transfer to In-Transit, Transfer from In-Transit, Transfer to To-Location.	2: Transfer from From-Location, Transfer to To-Location.	4: Transfer from From-Location, Transfer to blank, Transfer from blank, Transfer to To-Location.
Posted documents	Posted transfer shipment, Posted transfer receipt.	Posted direct transfer	Posted transfer shipment, Posted transfer receipt.
Reservation: inbound and outbound	Yes	Yes	Yes
Item Charges - assign to posted transfer receipt	Yes	No	Yes
Warehouse handling	Full	No	Limited, see below

Warehouse handling matrix for configuration: Direct Transfer is enabled on the Transfer Order page and Direct Transfer Posting is set to Direct Transfer on the Inventory Setup page.

From \ To	To: No warehouse handling	To: Warehouse receipt	To: Inventory Put-away	To: Directed put-away and pick
From: No warehouse handling	1	Not supported	1, 4	Not supported
From: Warehouse shipment	1, 2	Not supported	1,2,4	Not supported
From: Inventory put-away	1, 3	Not supported	1,3,4	Not supported
From: Directed put-away and pick	2	Not supported	2	Not supported

The numbers in the cells show the posting options that are supported.

Post from transfer order. For some combinations, you might need to fill in the Qty. to Ship field.
Create and post a warehouse shipment.
Create and post an inventory pick.
Create and post an inventory put-away. For some combinations you might need to fill in the Qty. to Ship field.

Regardless of the method, the shipment and receipt transactions are performed. For example you can create a transfer order from a location that requires inventory-pick to a location that requires inventory put-away. You can create and post the inventory put-away, and both the shipment and receipt transactions are created. You can also post such documents from a transfer order or from an inventory pick.

For more information about warehouse handling, see Warehouse management overview.

To transfer items with the item reclassification journal

Choose the icon, enter Item Reclass. Journals, and then choose the related link.
On the Item Reclass. Journal page, fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.
In the Location Code field, enter the location where the items are currently stored.

Note

To transfer items that have no location code, leave the Location Code field blank.
In the New Location Code field, enter the location that you want to transfer the items to.
Choose the Post action.

Tip

To avoid mistakes, use the Preview Posting action to review the entries that posting will create.

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