Lot Inheritance of Batch Attributes and Shelf Life Dates in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2

Editor's note: This article highlights one of the new SCM features within the R2 release of Dynamics AX 2012.  A previous article summarized the major R2 changes for supply chain management.

In some scenarios, the shelf life dates and/or batch attributes of a manufactured item can be inherited from its ingredients. In a bulk/pack scenario, for example, a bulk item can be packed into different containers identified by unique end-item numbers, and the expiration date for a batch of the bulk item can be inherited by the batch for each packed item. As a second example, a manufactured item with multiple ingredients can inherit the earliest expiration date of the ingredient batches. A third example involves cutting a steel beam or slitting a rolled good to produce a parent item, and the batch attributes of the parent item can be inherited from its component. These lot inheritance capabilities have been included in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2.

The new capabilities only apply to a formula item (or planning item) and its associated batch orders; they do not apply to a BOM item and its associated production orders. They require setup information for the applicable formula ingredients, and the setup information differs slightly for supporting shelf life inheritance versus batch attribute inheritance. In both cases, reporting the finished quantity for a batch order results in lot inheritance.

Define a Formula Line for an Ingredient with Shelf Life Inheritance 

A formula line for an ingredient with shelf life dates has two additional policies labeled the "Inherit shelf life dates to end item" checkbox and the "Inherit shelf life dates to co-products" checkbox.  You assign one ...