- Feature
- Use inventory put-aways and picks for subcontracting
- Availability
- Generally available (October 2026)
- Industry focus
- Apparel and textile manufacturing (cut, make and trim)
Apparel brands that manufacture often keep design, cutting and quality control in-house but send sewing, embroidery or finishing to cut-make-trim (CMT) partners. Fabric and cut panels go out, and finished garments come back. Handling that flow in the warehouse has been awkward for companies with simpler warehouse set-ups. Business Central 29.0 lets subcontracting use the same inventory put-aways and picks the warehouse already uses.
The industry challenge
A typical apparel manufacturer with a basic warehouse might:
- Send cut panels to a CMT partner for sewing
- Send semi-finished garments to an embroiderer, then on to finishing
- Receive finished garments back and put them away by size and colour into bins
Many such businesses use inventory put-aways and picks, a basic warehouse approach, rather than full warehouse receipts. Until now, subcontracting flows didn't fit neatly into that approach. Staff had to switch to different documents or work around the system, and work in progress sent to subcontractors was hard to represent correctly.
What Microsoft delivered in Business Central 29.0
According to Microsoft, companies using basic warehouse configurations can now include subcontracting in the same inventory activities they use for other inbound and outbound work:
- Inventory put-aways for subcontracting purchase lines at locations that require put-away but not warehouse receipts
- Inventory picks and return put-aways for WIP transfer orders
Microsoft explains that posting behaviour follows the type of operation:
- For the final subcontracting operation, posting the put-away records physical production output and the related capacity, and serial and lot tracking flows through.
- For an intermediate operation, the activity records outside processing without creating physical item or warehouse entries.
- For a WIP transfer, the activity shows the transfer quantity but the base quantity stays zero, so it represents production progress, not stocked inventory.
The activities handle partial and repeated processing, unit conversions and splitting across bins. Microsoft notes some limits. Item tracking isn't supported for WIP item transfers, and some follow-up processes remain restricted.
Where the value shows up
| Business area | Impact for an apparel manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Warehouse process | One familiar flow for own and subcontracted goods |
| Inventory accuracy | Finished garments put away into the right bins on return |
| WIP visibility | Goods at subcontractors tracked as progress, not stock |
| Traceability | Lot tracking flows from production order to output |
| Training | No separate process for warehouse staff to learn |
A worked scenario
Consider a premium knitwear brand that knits and cuts in-house and sends garments to a CMT partner for linking and finishing (an illustrative example). Its warehouse uses inventory put-aways with bins but no warehouse receipts.
With Business Central 29.0, the planner creates the subcontracting purchase order from the production order for the final finishing operation. When finished jumpers arrive, the warehouse creates an inventory put-away from the purchase order and puts them away by size into bins, splitting lines across bins as needed. Posting records the production output and lot numbers. Panels sent to a separate embroiderer for an intermediate operation are recorded as outside processing, not as physical stock.
Adoption considerations
- Check your location set-up. Put-aways for subcontracting need locations that require put-away but not receipt.
- Map final versus intermediate operations. Posting behaviour differs, so routings must reflect reality.
- Plan lot tracking. Assign lots from the production or subcontracting document where needed.
- Know the limits. Item tracking isn't supported on WIP transfers.
- Train the warehouse. Show staff the subcontracting variants of put-aways and picks.
The bottom line
Apparel manufacturers that rely on CMT partners need their warehouse processes to handle subcontracted goods as smoothly as their own. Inventory put-aways and picks for subcontracting in Business Central 29.0 bring those flows into the everyday warehouse routine, with the right accounting behind them. It's a practical step for any manufacturer with a basic warehouse and an outsourced production model.
If subcontracted goods create warehouse workarounds in your business, it's worth reviewing your process with an experienced Business Central adviser.
Source: Microsoft roadmap 573355