What's New: Enhanced Inventory Analytics (2026 release wave 1)
Enhanced inventory analytics in Business Central 2026 release wave 1: ABC analysis in Power BI and Excel, an Item Age Composition report, eight reports moved to Excel and Word layouts, four legacy reports to be deprecated, and subtotals and analysis views planned for 28.x.
- Introduction to Enhanced Inventory Analytics
- ABC Analysis Feature
- Modernizing Inventory Reports
- Subtotals and Analysis Views
- Resources and Related Topics
- General Business Central Resources
Overview
The video presents inventory analytics as a key investment area for the release wave. It demos ABC analysis in a new Power BI app and in an Excel layout, both driven by a new ABC Analysis Setup page where threshold percentages must sum to 100 percent. The Excel layout was originally only in the German and Swiss versions and is now available in all regions.
It also covers modernizing inventory reports. Eight reports get Excel and Word layouts to replace legacy layouts, and a new Item Age Composition report shows quantity and value together. Four legacy reports will be removed over the next three release waves. Subtotals are not in 28.0 and are planned for 28.x, along with four pre-built analysis views for item ledger entries.
Key points
- ABC analysis classifies items as A, B or C by sales percentage thresholds, defined on the ABC Analysis Setup page; the percentages must sum to 100 percent.
- The same setup serves both the Power BI app and the Excel layout for ABC analysis.
- The ABC Excel layout has a printable worksheet and an analysis worksheet sliced by ABC class and inventory posting groups; it was previously only in German and Swiss versions and is now delocalised to all regions.
- Eight reports get Excel and Word layouts replacing legacy layouts; four legacy inventory reports will be removed over the next three release waves.
- The new Item Age Composition report shows item age by quantity and value in one report.
- Inventory reports in 28.0 have no subtotals; subtotals for all new reports are planned for 28.x.
- Four pre-built analysis views for item ledger entries are planned for 28.x and can be customized or hidden through personalization.
Features
| Feature | Status | At | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC Analysis in Power BI | status not stated, demoed | 1:30 | |
| ABC Analysis Excel Layout | status not stated, demoed | 2:45 | |
| ABC Analysis Setup Page | status not stated | 3:59 | |
| Item Age Composition Report | status not stated, demoed | 5:14 | |
| Excel and Word Layout Modernization | status not stated, demoed | 6:00 | |
| Legacy Inventory Report Deprecation | announced | 6:19 | “then we are deprecating four the the four reports will will be removed from the product over the next three release” (6:19) |
| Inventory Report Subtotals | status not stated | 6:53 | |
| Analysis Views for Item Ledger Entries | announced | 7:27 | “for item ledger entries in version 28.x we will add these four new um pre-built analysis views” (7:39) |
| Inventory Analytics Help and Discoverability | status not stated | 4:33 |
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.
- page 7160 “ABC Analysis Setup” at 3:59
- table “Item Ledger Entries” at 7:39
Not found in BC28-30: table “Item Ledger Entries”.
Quotes
- 0:16 “inventory analytics is actually one of the key investment areas in the analytics analytics content for this release wave”
- 0:51 “Everything you could do back 6 12 months ago with legacy reports in IDE you can now do either with Power BI with Excel”
- 1:52 “you are categorizing your inventory in three A B and C types. You define what’s the percentage of your sales that should be class”
- 2:45 “in the German and Swiss version of Business Central it actually had ABC analysis already whereas other localizations did not”
- 6:39 “All of this is available in 28.0. Um And then we got some feedback”
- 6:53 “in 28.0 versions the inventory reports do not have subsections or subtotals”
- 7:39 “for item ledger entries in version 28.x we will add these four new um pre-built analysis views so that when you open that in”