Revolutionizing Inventory Management: How Advanced Inventory Count Enhances Business Central

Inventory management is the backbone of any successful business, but standard counting tools in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central often fall short—causing inefficiencies, errors, and bottlenecks. In this deep dive, Ryan and Emma explore the limitations of traditional inventory counting and unveil how Advanced Inventory Count transforms the process.

From enabling multi-user access and dynamic filtering to barcode integration and real-time validation, this solution streamlines inventory tracking, reduces errors, and accelerates operations. The discussion also highlights warehouse optimization strategies, including zoning, storage solutions, and employee training—key factors that maximize efficiency.

For businesses struggling with manual processes or outdated systems, this episode is a must-listen, offering actionable insights on leveraging Advanced Inventory Count to optimize operations, cut costs, and improve overall inventory accuracy.

Website: https://InventoryForDynamics.com

Episode Transcript

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

(57:00):
tips, tools and trends for Manufacturing, Distribution

(01:42:13):
and Dynamics 365 Business Central, brought

(02:20:58):
to you by Insight Works.

Ryan (03:19:06):
Okay, let's dig into this. We've got some notes and excerpts here

(04:10:47):
about DocXtender for Dynamics 365 Business

(04:49:32):
Central.

Emma (04:58:40):
Right.

Ryan (05:17:20):
And the basic idea, you know, we all have files

(06:05:14):
scattered everywhere, invoices, emails, whatever.

(06:29:11):
How do you actually link those directly to

(07:07:31):
your records in bc? That's what we want to

(07:50:37):
unpack today. Based purely on these sources.

Emma (08:25:30):
Yeah. And what's interesting about the material

(09:07:20):
is how practical it seems. Not much marketing

(09:55:08):
speak really. Just here's a problem, here's

(10:36:58):
how this tool apparently solves it.

Ryan (11:12:50):
Exactly.

Emma (11:24:10):
So yeah, our focus is just on the nuts and

(12:14:29):
bolts. How does this thing work for document

(12:54:44):
management? Inside Business Central, specifically

(13:19:54):
the cloud version, according to what you've

(13:55:08):
shared.

Ryan (14:00:10):
Right. So the core problem highlighted is,

(14:55:29):
is pretty universal. Lost files, scattered

(15:42:54):
documents, basically wasted time and inefficiency.

Emma (16:30:20):
We've all been there, searching endlessly,

(17:07:28):
totally.

Ryan (17:16:20):
And the solution presented is, well, pretty

(17:48:06):
simple on the face of it. Drag and drop. You

(18:33:29):
just pull your document, invoice, PO email

(19:05:16):
onto the Business Central record it belongs

(19:37:02):
to. One source. Even calls it a digital paperclip,

(20:17:53):
which I thought was kind of neat.

Emma (20:49:40):
That's a good visual, that digital paperclip

(21:27:27):
idea. It really gets at the simplicity, doesn't

(22:10:37):
it? Because linking it right there in context,

(22:53:48):
you immediately see how that saves time later.

(23:36:59):
No more hunting through shared drives for sure.

(24:20:10):
Plus it likely cuts down on errors, the documents

(25:08:45):
attached to the right place and you know, for

(25:57:19):
compliance, having that clear audit trail and

(26:35:06):
version control, it's all right there.

Ryan (27:07:30):
It does make you think though, how much time

(27:44:32):
do people spend just looking for the right

(28:17:28):
document in their day to day?

Emma (28:42:10):
Exactly. And the sources suggest this isn't

(29:23:15):
just for one department. They list quite a

(30:10:13):
few potential users.

Ryan (30:27:50):
Yeah, supply chain, manufacturing, accounting,

(31:08:40):
sales, quality teams, even hr. It covers a

(32:14:00):
lot of ground.

Emma (32:38:30):
And for each one, the benefit seems pretty

(33:16:19):
direct and practical.

Ryan (33:31:50):
Right. Like supply chain attaching POS invoices,

(34:17:13):
maybe packing slips right to the vendor record.

(35:09:06):
Or the purchase order itself. Instant visibility.

Emma (36:07:50):
Or manufacturing linking drawings, maybe work

(36:38:12):
instructions directly to a production order.

(37:08:35):
So. So it's right there for the shop floor.

Ryan (37:59:30):
And accounting, probably the most obvious one.

(38:48:17):
Keeping all the financial backup tied directly

(39:37:04):
to the transaction. Audits must be way easier.

Emma (40:32:50):
You'd think so. And sales too. Contracts, quotes,

(41:15:43):
important emails, links straight to the customer.

(41:53:15):
Or the sales order gives you that full picture.

Ryan (42:41:30):
So it's less about just storing files Somewhere

(43:13:30):
and more about getting them into the workflow

(43:45:30):
where people actually need them.

Emma (44:05:30):
Precisely. It's embedding them in the operational

(44:49:15):
context.

Ryan (45:04:40):
The sources also mentioned some newer Updates

(45:52:40):
in release 2.3. One was duplicate file management.

(46:47:31):
What exactly did the material say?

Emma (47:28:40):
That does okay, yeah, that one sounded interesting.

(48:10:51):
It seems it automatically handles things when

(48:47:46):
you try to upload the same file twice to SharePoint

(49:40:31):
via Doc Stander. It can replace the old one

(50:27:59):
or rename the new one. Apparently even works

(51:10:10):
with background uploads.

Ryan (51:26:00):
So the practical benefit there is cleaner records,

(52:27:00):
less confusion about versions.

Emma (52:58:50):
Pretty much it's like an automatic tidying

(53:33:30):
up tool. Helps make sure the linked document

(54:13:07):
is the right one. The current one stops that

(54:57:41):
digital clutter building up.

Ryan (55:18:50):
Okay, that makes sense. Another one was multi

(56:03:38):
language folders.

Emma (56:17:30):
Ah, yes. Instead of SharePoint folders having

(57:07:33):
like cryptic system names.

Ryan (57:36:10):
Yeah, like table numbers or something.

Emma (57:56:10):
Right. The sources say they now use the actual

(58:50:10):
table captions from Business Central, the names

(59:32:10):
people recognize.

Ryan (59:51:20):
Which seems small, but I guess makes navigating

(60:34:00):
Those folders in SharePoint much more intuitive

(61:11:20):
for users regardless of their language setting

(61:48:40):
in bc.

Emma (61:59:20):
Exactly. Just makes it easier to find stuff

(62:36:40):
if you do browse SharePoint directly.

Ryan (63:04:40):
Yeah.

Emma (63:20:40):
The material also briefly noted some expanded.

Ryan (64:11:59):
Integration options like integration events

(64:48:08):
and expose procedures. Sounds a bit more technical.

Emma (65:46:00):
Yeah, more for developers or maybe power users.

(66:28:50):
But the so what is that? It allows Doc Standard's

(67:22:23):
core function to connect more seamlessly with

(67:59:52):
other apps or. Or custom processes.

Ryan (68:32:00):
Ah, okay. So you could potentially automate

(69:17:55):
attachments from other systems, perhaps beyond

(69:57:17):
just the manual drag and drop.

Emma (70:36:40):
That seems to be the implication. It opens

(71:09:12):
up possibilities.

Ryan (71:21:20):
And one final point, the source is really hammered

(72:09:20):
home with the commitment behind it. InsightWorks

(72:46:40):
apparently states it's 100% free, fully supported,

(73:24:00):
and they keep improving it.

Emma (73:54:40):
Yeah, and that commitment, well, it means reliability,

(74:30:43):
doesn't it? Knowing it's not just some tool

(75:06:47):
they released and forgot about.

Ryan (75:30:40):
Right.

Emma (75:36:40):
Whether you're attaching five documents a day

(76:16:12):
or 5,000, knowing it's supported and free adds

(77:01:23):
definite practical value.

Ryan (77:31:40):
So if we wrap this up based on the sources,

(78:30:25):
the main takeaway is that Doc Tender offers

(79:17:26):
a very direct drag and drop way to link documents

(80:16:12):
to records in business Central Cloud, it seems

(81:03:13):
positioned as a straightforward fix for those

(81:44:21):
common problems. Scattered files, wasted time

(82:19:37):
impacting lots of different roles.

Emma (82:50:20):
Which leads to a final thought, maybe something

(83:36:46):
for you listening to. Consider. If linking

(84:17:24):
essential documents directly into your main

(84:52:14):
business system is now this. Well, simple and

(85:38:40):
free, what does that really mean for the future

(86:30:54):
of paperwork in systems like bc? What other

(87:17:21):
manual document processes could potentially

(87:46:22):
be streamlined or even automated just by having

(88:32:48):
that direct contextual link readily available.

(89:07:38):
Makes you wonder, doesn't it?