Production Order Picking with Advanced WMS in Microsoft Dynamics AX

Editor's Note:  This represents the first of a 3-part series about production order picking and receiving, and is drawn from the Essential Guide for Discrete Manufacturing using Microsoft Dynamics AX: 2016 Edition. A previous article described the series of Essential Guides. 

The coordination of warehouse activities to support production represents a critical issue for many manufacturing scenarios.  Raw materials must be delivered to the relevant work centers that require them, and different options apply to the completed manufactured item - such as placement in a stocking location, or in a production location for further processing or inspection.  The warehouse management capabilities within an integrated ERP system can help coordinate these activities.

This three-part series focuses on the Advanced WMS capabilities within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 and the new Dynamics AX, and how they support issuing material to a production order and reporting a finished quantity.  It also applies to batch orders.  The first part covers production order picking, the second covers wave picking of production orders, and the third covers production order receiving. 

With respect to production order picking, it is easiest to start with a basic business process for a simple yet typical scenario, and explain the related life cycles, reversing transactions and key constructs.  The basic process provides a baseline for explaining variations such as wave picking for multiple production orders.  These topics are reflected in the ...