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About mandatory inventory dimensions

Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

This topic covers the description, usage, and configuration of mandatory inventory dimensions.

About mandatory dimensions

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can set the Warehouse dimension to be mandatory for a storage dimension group. When the Warehouse dimension is mandatory in a storage dimension group, the dimension must be specified when you include a product on an order line. By default, the Site dimension is mandatory. Therefore, a value for this dimension must always be specified when you include a product on an order line.

Benefits of using mandatory dimensions

Some of the benefits of using mandatory dimensions are as follows:

  • Mandatory dimensions guarantee that users specify dimension values on all inventory transactions.

  • Mandatory dimensions ensure the visibility of dimension values on all inventory transactions. For example, a mandatory Warehouse dimension enables users to track the location of inventory items.

  • The Site dimension guarantees that all inventory transactions are associated with a site so that master planning functions across all sites.

Mandatory dimensions and active dimensions

By default the Warehouse dimension is Active. However, if you want to set it to Mandatory, the dimension will be optional. Active and mandatory dimensions are distinguished by the following:

  • If a warehouse dimension is active, the dimension value must be specified in order to handle inventory items in a physical process.

  • If a warehouse dimension is active and mandatory, the dimension value must be already specified when the product is included on a transaction line.

Example:

  • Product one is associated with a storage dimension group where the Warehouse dimension is active but not mandatory. If you include this product on a sales order line, you do not have to enter a value for the Warehouse dimension. If you want to adjust the on-hand quantity for the product, a value must be specified for the Warehouse dimension.

  • Product two is associated with a storage dimension group where the Warehouse dimension is active and mandatory. In this case, you must specify a value for the Warehouse dimension when you include the product on the sales order line.

Configuration of mandatory dimensions

The mandatory setting varies depending on the dimension. Use the following to help you:

  • You can decide whether to set the storage dimension, Warehouse, to mandatory.

    Click Product information management > Setup > Dimension groups > Storage dimension groups.

  • You cannot set the remaining storage dimensions, Location and Pallet ID, or the tracking dimensions, Batch number and Serial number, to mandatory.

When you set an inventory dimension to mandatory, the following configuration values also apply:

  • By default, the Blank receipt allowed check box is cleared and unavailable. This setting guarantees that you specify the mandatory dimension whenever you receive items into inventory.

  • The Blank issue allowed check box is cleared and unavailable by default. This setting guarantees that you specify the mandatory dimension whenever you deduct items from inventory.

See also

About inventory dimensions and dimension groups