Key Distribution Strategy Checks Before Moving to Business Central

If you’re planning a move from Microsoft Dynamics GP to Business Central, preparing your data ahead of time is one of the most important steps you can take. In the next episode of our GP to BC migration webinar series, “Moving to BC? Things to Think About – Episode #3: Distribution Strategy for Business Central“, we focused on the distribution side of things, covering key areas in inventory, sales order processing (SOP), and purchase order processing (POP) that need attention before making the switch.

In Episode #1, we covered accounts, segments, and dimensions. In Episode #2, we tackled cleaning up customers and vendors. Now, let’s dive into your distribution data.

Review Your Customer and Vendor Data

Before we get into the distribution strategy, it’s worth revisiting some customer and vendor data points that directly affect your transactions. These are items we touched on in our last session, but they’re worth repeating because they carry over into your distribution workflows:

• Phone numbers and email addresses should be in the correct format
• Address IDs cannot be greater than 10 characters in Business Central
• Payment terms should be no more than 10 characters (GP allows up to 20)
• Customer City fields are 5 characters shorter in BC than in GP
• Address 2 is 10 characters shorter than GP
• Address 3 does not exist in Business Central
• User Defined Data should be reviewed for relevance

A helpful tip: once you’ve identified inactive customers and vendors, you can choose not to bring them over during the migration. This keeps your new system clean and clutter free from day one.

Inventory, SOP, and POP Data Analysis

This is where the bulk of the preparation comes in.

Here are the key areas to review:

• Types of inventory items – Understand what item types you’re working with and how they’ll map to Business Central.
• Item number length – Watch for duplication when item numbers are truncated, and check for leading spaces.
• Unit of Measure (UofM) schedules – Make sure active items have a UofM schedule assigned.
• Item classes – Review and clean up as needed.
• Purchase receipts – Ensure all purchase receipts have a valuation method on the record.
• Serial and lot settings – Confirm these are accurate before migration.
• Site and BIN lengths – Both are limited to 10 characters in Business Central.

It’s also important to note that vendor items do not automatically come over to Business Central, and pricing levels do not carry forward. Business Central offers different pricing options, so this is a great time to rethink your pricing strategy.

Clean Up Your Purchase Orders

Take a close look at your open purchase orders. Ask yourself:

• Do you have open POs with inactive or discontinued items?
• When was the last time you moved completed POs to history? We’ve seen customers move tens of thousands of POs to history, and the performance improvement in GP alone is significant.
• Are there POs that have been open for years that you’ll never receive or invoice? Maybe an AP invoice was entered by mistake instead?

If PO cleanup feels overwhelming, our MassPOClose tool can help streamline the process.

Review Your Sales Orders, Quotes, and Invoices

Before migrating, take a fresh look at your sales data:

• When was the last time quotes were reviewed? What about open orders or unposted invoices?
• Comments (CMNT) on orders and invoices do not automatically come over to Business Central. If you need them, work with your consultant to plan for that.
• Attachments do not automatically migrate to BC either, so plan accordingly.

This is also the perfect time to evaluate any custom functionality or custom data you’re currently using in GP. Think about what you truly need moving forward. Migration is the ideal moment to think about the future of your business processes.

How Implementation Specialists Can Help

Not sure where your data stands? We offer several tools and resources to help you get migration ready:

• Diagnostic Data Tool – Helps you understand what data needs to be changed before moving to Business Central.
• Smartlists – Identify data that should be reviewed so you can make informed decisions about what to inactivate, delete, or merge.
• Feature comparison guidance – We can walk you through what’s different between GP and BC so you understand what data can be transitioned and what will need to be set up fresh in Business Central.

Our consultants can guide you through the process at any time, and we recommend starting before you kick off your Business Central project.

Ready to Get Started?

If you have questions or need help preparing for your move to Business Central, we’re here for you.

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