What's new in SCM: Subcontracting (2026 release wave 2)

Overview

The video walks through the updated Subcontracting extension in Business Central. The presenter says it was silently released in minor update three, was not pre-installed on new or upgraded environments, and is available from the App Store but not forced. The original subcontracting is described as somewhat limited.

The demo follows one process: set the component supply method on the bill of materials, create the production order, create the subcontracting purchase order from the routing line, and move components or work-in-progress items by transfer order. It then covers item charges, vendor pricing rules, and receiving through a purchase receipt, warehouse receipt or inventory put-away, including serial numbers.

Key points

• The Subcontracting extension was released silently in minor update three without being pre-installed. New environments on the latest version now get it pre-installed. Upgraded environments can install it from Microsoft Marketplace, from AppSource inside Business Central, or from the notification on the legacy Subcontracting worksheet.
• Component supply method on BOM lines has three options: transfer from warehouse, consignment at vendor, or vendor supplied. Set it before the production order is created.
• The vendor card has a new field for the location that tracks components held at the vendor. Production order components set to consignment at vendor or vendor supplied point to this location. The company still owns those components.
• A subcontracting purchase order can be created from the production order routing line without the legacy subcontracting worksheet. The worksheet is still available for bulk operations. The order holds component, operation, description and instruction comment lines.
• A routing operation can name a work-in-progress item, which is transferred to the subcontractor instead of raw materials. Posting the transfer registers the WIP item in a new WIP ledger entry type, which is used to work out how much to transfer back.
• Subcontracting pricing uses the closest quantity match, not the smallest price. If the order amount is below the vendor’s minimum amount per line, the unit price is minimum amount divided by quantity.
• With directed put-away locations, a warehouse receipt is created instead of a direct purchase receipt (already available since 28.3). Serial numbers can be assigned and a put-away created only for the last operation. Inventory put-away for basic locations is new. Serial numbers can be set on the production order or in the purchase document.

Features

A status with a roadmap link comes from the Microsoft 365 roadmap feature this part of the video covers (matched by Haiku; links Opus dropped are not used); other statuses need a status word in the video itself.

AL objects mentioned

As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.

• table “Bill of Material” at 3:44
• page “Production Order” at 5:57
• page “Production Routing” at 7:38
• page 50 “Purchase Order” at 8:41
• page 99000768 “Manufacturing Setup” at 10:05
• page 5740 “Transfer Order” at 14:38
• table “Work in Progress Ledger Entry” at 15:23
• table 32 “Item Ledger Entry” at 17:30
• page 51 “Purchase Invoice” at 16:51
• page “Subcontracting Order” at 23:23
• page 5768 “Warehouse Receipt” at 23:34
• table 5832 “Capacity Ledger Entry” at 24:40
• page “Inventory Put Away” at 25:32

Not found in BC28-30: table “Bill of Material”, page “Production Order”, page “Production Routing”, table “Work in Progress Ledger Entry”, page “Inventory Put Away”.

More than one object has this name, so none is linked: page “Subcontracting Order”.

Quotes

• 0:08 “we are silently released it in minor update three, but in this time we did not pre-install it on new environments”
• 0:37 “original subcontracting which was present in Business Central for many years was maybe a little bit limited”
• 1:42 “subcontracting operations can benefit from the same warehouse uh processes. So, no need to handle them differently.”
• 2:06 “As I mentioned, for new environments in the latest version, you will get up pre-installed.”
• 3:57 “Component supply method. So, what I’m trying to do here, I decided to use these three components in my subcontracting operation”
• 7:27 “on vendor card, we have a new field where we will track components which are on vendor location. They still ours”
• 8:41 “Purchase order subcontracting purchase order is created and I can actually open it and check it”
• 10:05 “create production order info line, which is on. And this one instruct system once subcontracting order is created to additionally insert comment line”
• 13:32 “if subcontracting is like the second one, then we are probably giving to subcontractor not only raw materials. We’re giving them something not finished.”
• 15:23 “So, once I will post it, the first line will indeed create item ledger entries. The second one, no. No, it will be registered”
• 21:08 “In subcontracting we give closest match price. So, even if you are buying 200, it sounds you should not buy 200.”
• 21:56 “Because our vendor subcontractor wants minimum amount per deal. So, like whatever you order, not less than 100 per line.”
• 22:20 “So, system does it differently. If it’s less than 100, put amount as 100 divided by quantity and this is your price.”
• 23:34 “So, instead, what can I do? Create warehouse receipt, as expected.”
• 25:58 “i can define it in the production order and then they will be copied to uh purchase order”
• 26:20 “You can use any receiving method you like, either normal purchase document, warehouse receipt, or inventory put away.”

Disclaimers in the video

• 0:08 preview: we are silently released it in minor update three, but in this time we did not pre-install it on new environments, neither on upgraded ones
• 0:24 subject-to-change: available on App Store, available for installation, but not forced. We gathered feedback and now we are kind of reintroducing it in a different level