Pick Order Priority Value Setup

Overview

The Pick Order Priority Value Setup in Business Central allows you to control and fine-tune the order in which inventory is picked for warehouse operations. Instead of relying solely on the standard BC Priority field, this functionality lets you combine multiple factors—such as expiration date, load carrier status, and bin priority—into a single calculated priority value. This value determines the pick order for both inventory display and the creation of pick documents.

Key Points:

  • The standard BC field Priority is used for basic bin or item prioritization.
  • The Warehouse App introduces the additional field Date Value, which represents the importance of date-based criteria (e.g., expiration date).
  • Both fields, along with other variables, are combined in the Pick Order Priority Value Setup to calculate a single priority value for each inventory entry.
  • The entry with the lowest priority value is picked first. The lower the priority value, the earlier it gets picked.

Field Explanations

The table Pick Order Priority Value Setup contains the following fields:

  • Scenario:

    • All – Applies to all scenarios
    • Pick – Outbound picking
    • Provision – Internal provision
    • Replenishment – Stock replenishment

  • Variable:

    • Expiration Date Value – Influences the impact of the expiration date on the priority.
    • Complete Load Carrier – Influences full load carriers
    • Partial Load Carrier – Influences partial load carriers
    • Rounding Type – Influences inventory rounding of zones and bins
      • Rounding Type Total – Used for entire load carriers or entire inventory
      • Rounding Type Storage Unit – Used for entire inventory stored with a storage unit of measure different from the base unit of measure
      • Rounding Type Required – Used for inventory not required in its full quantity and without load carrier or storage unit of measure
    • Mixed Storage Unique Item – Influences bins with only one item
    • Mixed Storage diff Item – Influences bins with multiple items
    • Production Provision Bin Priority – Considers the bin’s own priority (for Production Provision)
    • Same UoM – Influences inventory with the same unit of measure as the pick document

  • Priority Value:
    Used for absolute values (added directly to the total priority).

  • Priority Factor:
    Used for date-based calculations (multiplies the date value).

Functionality Description

The system calculates the final pick priority as follows:

  1. Start with Expiration Date Value:
    The system calculates a base value using the expiration date and the configured priority factor (reference date: 01/01/2000). For each day after 01/01/2000, the value of the priority factor is added once. Example: The priority of an item with an expiration date of 09/01/2025 is 937,500: 9,375 days since 01/01/2000

  2. Add Values for Full or Partial Load Carriers:
    If inventory is on a full or partial load carrier, the corresponding Priority Value is added.

  3. Add Values for Inventory Roundings:
    The value that is added here depends on the unit of measure the inventory is stored as and the inventory rounding of the zone and bin it is stored in.

  4. Add Values for Mixed Storage:
    The value added is for mixed inventory on a load carrier and depends on whether the same item or different items are stored on it.

  5. Add Production Provision Bin Priority:
    The bin priority value is only set for items on production bins. Setting this value very low enables the production provision functionality to always pick already provided quantity in the production zone over inventory that has not yet been moved from other zones and bins.

  6. Combine All Factors: The sum of all relevant values and factors results in a single priority value for each inventory entry.

Result:

  • Inventory entries are sorted by this priority value on the Pick Order page.
  • The system uses this order when creating pick documents, ensuring the most suitable inventory is picked first.
Important

Even if other fields result in a higher priority, FEFO (First Expired, First Out) always takes precedence.
This means inventory with an earlier expiration date will be picked first, regardless of its calculated priority.

Best Practice Suggestions

When configuring the Pick Priority Value Setup, keep these general guidelines in mind:

  • Always prioritize expiration dates (FEFO): The system will always pick inventory with the earliest expiration date first, regardless of other settings. Make sure your setup supports this if shelf life is critical. The only exception to this is the Weighting Breakbulk feature and field, which can be set on the item card. This allows for FEFO to be overruled. A more detailed explanation can be found below.
  • Use load carrier preferences to optimize logistics: If you want to reduce partial load carriers and improve efficiency, give higher priority to full load carriers—but only after ensuring FEFO is met.
  • Change one factor at a time: To understand the impact of each setting, adjust only one value at a time and observe the results.
  • Test and validate: Always test your setup with real or sample data to ensure the pick order matches your business goals.
  • Avoid over-adjustment: Setting values too high for any single factor can lead to unexpected pick orders and user confusion.
  • Document your changes: Keep track of adjustments for troubleshooting and future reference.
  • Resetting Setup: Deleting all lines in the setup and using the Initialize function at the top of the page reverts all changes to the default setup.

In summary:
Start with FEFO as your foundation, use load carrier and Zone Rounding priorities to fine-tune picking behavior, and always test changes to ensure they deliver the intended results.

Weighting Breakbulk

Weighting Breakbulk is a feature in warehouse management that allows you to influence how the system prioritizes the picking of inventory that is stored as full load carriers instead of load carriers that are not full which are commonly referred to as "breakbulk." Breakbulk inventory typically consists of partial pallets, open cartons, or loose items that are not handled as a complete unit.

What is Weighting Breakbulk?

  • Weighting Breakbulk lets you assign additional importance (or "weight") to pick either full load carriers or breakbulk inventory, depending on your operational goals.
  • By adjusting this setting, you can guide the system to prefer picking from full load carriers (for efficiency and speed) or from breakbulk inventory (to clear out partial stock and optimize space).

How does it interact with inventory, load carriers, and pick logic?

  • When enabled and configured, Weighting Breakbulk works alongside the Pick Order Priority Value Setup to determine which inventory is picked first. The set up value defines the amount of days that overrule FEFO in exchange for picking a complete Load Carrier.
  • For example, if your warehouse prefers to empty partial pallets before opening new ones, you can decrease the weighting for breakbulk or don't set it up at all. Conversely, if you want to prioritize picking full pallets for faster handling, you can increase the breakbulk weighting. If you set it e.g. to 30 (days), a complete load carrier is picked before a partial load carrier as long as its expiration date is no more than 30 days after the expiration date of the partial load carrier.
  • The system implements Weighting Breakbulk by adding the configured value (in days) as an offset to the Date Value of partial load carriers when calculating the base priority. For complete load carriers, no offset is applied. As a result, the Weighting Breakbulk value directly influences the calculated Priority Value visible in the Pick Order page: partial load carriers receive a higher (less favorable) priority value, causing complete load carriers to appear earlier in the pick order when their expiration date falls within the configured weighting window.

What does the value on the item card add?

The value on the item card is added as a number of days to the date value of partial load carriers and is then multiplied by the priority factor of the Expiration Date Value criterion. With the default priority factor of 100, one day of weighting therefore equals 100 priority points:

Weighting Breakbulk Amount added to the priority Effect
0 0 Pure FEFO, complete load carriers are not preferred.
1 100 A complete load carrier wins if it expires no more than 1 day later.
10 1,000 A complete load carrier wins if it expires no more than 10 days later.
100 10,000 A complete load carrier wins if it expires no more than 100 days later.

Example with the value 10: A partial load carrier with the expiration date 03/01/2026 has the date value 9,556 (days since 01/01/2000) and therefore the base priority (9,556 + 10) × 100 = 956,600. A complete load carrier with the expiration date 03/08/2026 arrives at 9,563 × 100 = 956,300 and is picked first. A complete load carrier with the expiration date 03/21/2026 arrives at 957,600 and stays behind the partial load carrier.

Note

The priority values for Complete Load Carrier and Partial Load Carrier (default 7 and 5) are added afterwards. They are much smaller than a single day step and only decide the order if both inventory entries have the same weighted date value.

Why is Weighting Breakbulk important?

  • It can have just as much impact on pick results as the Pick Priority Value Setup itself.
  • Properly configuring this feature helps you align picking behavior with your warehouse strategy—whether that's maximizing efficiency, minimizing leftover partials, or optimizing space usage.
  • Ignoring breakbulk weighting can lead to inefficient picking, excess partial pallets, or missed opportunities to streamline warehouse operations.

By thoughtfully configuring Weighting Breakbulk, you ensure that your warehouse picking process is both efficient and tailored to your specific needs.