Introduction

  • 3 minutes

A company operating multiple distribution centers receives supplier shipments daily and fulfills both online and store replenishment orders. To meet these requirements, inbound receipts are captured and directed to optimal locations, replenishment keeps forward-pick areas stocked, and outbound work is released in waves to maximize throughput. Barcode-enabled mobile scanning validates each step—receive, move, pick, pack, ship—while real-time inventory visibility reduces exceptions, improving on-time delivery and lowering handling costs.

The Warehouse management module of Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management standardizes and optimizes warehouse execution to improve inventory accuracy, increase throughput, and support reliable, on-time fulfillment across distribution, manufacturing, and retail operations. The module gives warehouse and operations leaders consistent control over inbound, storage, movement, and outbound processes, aligned with transportation, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, transfers, sales, and returns.

Key capabilities

  • Inbound receiving and put-away with controlled, repeatable workflows

  • Location management to organize storage and optimize space utilization

  • Inventory movement and replenishment to maintain picking efficiency

  • Picking, packing, and shipping execution to support multiple fulfillment channels

  • Wave, work, and task management to balance labor and increase throughput

  • Mobile device and barcode scanning to reduce errors and improve traceability

  • Real-time inventory visibility to support better service and decision-making

Business value and outcomes

  • Higher inventory accuracy: fewer discrepancies through scanning and controlled execution

  • Faster fulfillment: reduced cycle time from receiving to shipping

  • Lower operating cost: improved labor productivity via wave/work management

  • Reduced fulfillment errors: fewer wrong picks and wrong shipments

  • Better customer experience: more reliable delivery performance and order status confidence

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you're able to:

  • Manage warehouse layout.

  • Describe reservation hierarchies.

  • Describe unit sequence group.

  • Describe license plate.

  • Describe location directives.

  • Describe work templates.

  • Describe the Warehouse Management mobile app.

  • Describe wave templates.

  • Describe cycle counting.

  • Describe replenishments.

  • Describe packing dimension and containerization.