Cracking the Code on Warehouse Inefficiencies: Real-Time Solutions for Business Central Users

This episode explores the costly and often overlooked inefficiencies hiding in warehouse operations—especially for companies using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Hosts Emma and Ryan unpack how small mistakes, such as mispicks and outdated manual processes, can quietly erode profits. They highlight actionable fixes, including real-time data capture, mobile-enabled workflows, and low-code customizations. Plus, they explore the hidden burden of managing warehouse devices and how centralized configuration can streamline operations. It’s a bright look at how technology can turn warehouses from bottlenecks into strategic assets.

Website: https://WMSforDynamics.com 

Episode Transcript

(05:20):
Welcome to Inside Insight, your quick hit of

(49:17):
tips, tools and trends for manufacturing, Distribution

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and Dynamics 365 Business Central, brought

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to you by Insight Works. Welcome back to the

Ryan (02:50:10):
deep dive. You know, we gather all sorts of

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source material, articles, notes, research,

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and pull out the really crucial insights. Today

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we're diving deep into Dynamics 365 Business

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Central, specifically, how it can be well optimized

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for some really intense, high pressure sales

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situations. So let me paint a picture for you.

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Imagine you're behind a busy counter. Could

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be a trade desk, you know, construction supplies,

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maybe an agricultural parts counter, or even

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just a small buzzing outlet store. Phones are

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just going off, walking customers are lining

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up. Maybe your inventory is a bit tight on

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certain things. In those moments, the margin

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for error, it's tiny, razor thin, really. And

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yet what we often hear and what our sources

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point to is that businesses using Business

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Central in these exact environments sometimes

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hit, well, friction. Trying to get that smooth,

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accurate, fast sales process isn't always straightforward.

Emma (16:39:50):
That's exactly right. You see the standard

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sales order pages in Business Central, they're

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incredibly powerful, no doubt about it, very

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comprehensive. But I'd argue they were really

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designed for maybe a more deliberate, detailed

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kind of sales process, not necessarily for

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the unique speed and frankly, chaos of those

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counter scenarios. And this mismatch, well,

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it often leads to some pretty critical errors.

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Errors that can ripple right through the business

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and cause real headaches.

Ryan (23:39:20):
Okay, that's a key point. Critical errors.

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What sort of things are we actually talking

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about here? And why do they seem to hit so

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much harder in these, like direct counter sales

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compared to maybe a longer B2B deal? Well,

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the pressure itself really magnifies the impact,

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doesn't it? We're talking about mistakes that

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sound small but are actually incredibly common

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and damaging things like picking the wrong

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customer record. Maybe they have special pricing

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you just missed or grabbing the wrong item

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variant. Instantly frustrating for the customer.

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Then there's just inconsistent pricing popping

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up, or maybe missing the payment step altogether

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in the rush. And sometimes, honestly losing

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the sale entirely because the whole process

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felt too slow or clunky. And these aren't just,

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you know, minor inconveniences. Each slip up

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directly hits your cash flow, erodes that customer

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trust with every correction needed, and can

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seriously mess up your inventory counts. Stockouts,

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phantom stock, it all stems from this.

Emma (38:11:30):
You absolutely nailed the cumulative effect

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there. Think about a typical day at that counter.

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Let's say a walk in, customer comes up, asks

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for us, two cables. Simple enough, right? But

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in that standard BC sales order screen, the

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Rep types it in manually. But often there's

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no immediate context right there, like no quick

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prompt for this customer's price or if it's

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even in stock at this location right now. Or

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even a fast way to tell if they're a new customer

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already in the system beyond asking their name

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and maybe spelling it out. I've heard stories

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genuinely where reps spend a couple of minutes

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just trying to confirm basic customer details.

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Now multiply that by say 50, maybe 100 transactions

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a day. You're not just looking at a few errors.

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You're looking at hours of lost time, frustrated

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staff, and yeah, a growing line of impatient

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customers. It's death by a thousand cuts, truly.

Ryan (51:11:30):
And it feels even more complex when you get

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to something that should be simple, like checking

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a price or confirming if something's actually

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available. The sources really highlight how

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easy it is for someone under pressure to just

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forget to apply the right customer record first

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or the specific discount code, or even select

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the right warehouse or store location for the

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transaction. And any one of those small misses

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can make the price default incorrectly. Or

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worse, make stock look like it's unavailable

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when it's actually sitting right there on a

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shelf. I mean, I remember waiting for a part

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once, being told, sorry, out of stock. Turns

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out it was there, just in a different bin.

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The system didn't point the rep towards that

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kind of frustration. Multiply that daily. Ugh.

Emma (62:41:20):
And you know, it's not just about the manual

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typing either. Even technology we think should

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solve this. Like barcode scanners, they have

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their limits. If they aren't backed by the

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right logic, if that scanner isn't plugged

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into an intelligent workflow within business

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Central. It doesn't always, you know, save

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the day like you'd hope. You might. Scan a

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cable, scan a power supply, great. But the

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system doesn't think, hey, people usually buy

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this specific power cord with those. It doesn't

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guide the rep, it doesn't suggest related items,

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doesn't stop them accidentally grabbing the

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10 foot version instead of the 6 foot one.

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The scanner just inputs data. It doesn't add

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that layer of context or intelligence.

Ryan (72:49:40):
Okay, so if we just take a step back here,

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it seems pretty clear Business Central on its

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own isn't perfectly tailored for what you call

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trade counter chaos. And it's not really a

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flaw in B.C. itself. Right. It's more a difference

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in design philosophy. Its core strengths are

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elsewhere. Comprehensive data, managing complex

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processes, solid recordkeeping. But for those

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super fast context, heavy high volume counter

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sales, the standard screens can fall a bit

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short. They Often lack, say, an easy way to

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just search by a phone number or maybe an email

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address, which is how counter customers often

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identify themselves. They don't usually have

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that built in logic guiding the order based

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on who the customer is or what they're buying.

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There aren't as many guardrails maybe to stop

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someone skipping a step or applying the wrong

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discount. And generally you don't see role

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specific screens optimized purely for speed

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and accuracy for those frontline counter staff.

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Right. So if standard BC isn't quite hitting

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the mark out of the box for these really rapid

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fire situations, what do Countersteph actually

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need? What would a system look like if it adapted

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to them instead of, you know, forcing them

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to adapt to it?

Emma (90:27:50):
Well, what's fascinating here, I think is shifting

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from just seeing it as a data entry screen

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to thinking about a genuinely guided sales

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experience. The staff need tools that streamline

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things and build in some intelligence. So first

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off, picture something like a take order wizard.

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And I don't just mean a form, I mean a structured,

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repeatable process. Step by step, it guides

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the user, find or create the customer, confirm

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the right location, then accurately enter the

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items. Crucially, with all the correct pricing

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logic already baked in and applied automatically, 149 99:38:43,653 --> 100:25:36,730 Emma