License Plating for Pick and Ship in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
The outbound workflow has three distinct steps where labor time accumulates: building the pallet during picking, verifying the pallet at shipping, and generating the carrier label before the driver arrives. Warehouse Insight compresses all three. Workers build license plates as they execute picks, dropping a fully tracked pallet at the shipping dock. The shipping worker scans the LP barcode once to confirm that the entire pallet’s contents match the warehouse shipment. Dynamic Ship generates the carrier label from the same device. The driver picks up a labeled, verified, posted shipment — and the only scan at shipping was one barcode.
At a Glance
- Build outbound pallets as license plates during the pick run: scan items onto the plate as you work through the pick document.
- Drop the completed pallet at shipping — contents are already confirmed in Business Central from the picking process.
- Scan the LP barcode once at shipping to confirm the full pallet against the warehouse shipment document.
- Dynamic Ship generates the carrier label, packing slip, and bill of lading from the handheld after LP confirmation.
Have a Question about License Plating for Pick and Ship?
Key Capabilities
Build license plates during picking. Workers press Start License Plate from the pick application menu, or scan a license plate template barcode to create a new plate instantly. They continue picking normally, scanning items onto the plate as they work through the pick document. Pick lines from different bins can all belong to the same outbound license plate — unlike receiving, outbound LP building does not require all lines to share the same bin.
Multiple plates per pick run. Workers build as many license plates as required during a single pick run. When one pallet is full, the worker presses Stop License Plate, prints the label, applies it, and starts a new plate. Each plate in Business Central has its own barcode and contents.
Deferred shipping by a second worker. The pallet moves to the shipping staging area with its LP label attached. A different worker handles the shipment later. The license plate carries the continuity between picking and shipping — no paper handoff, no re-verification of contents at the dock.
Single-scan shipment confirmation. The shipping worker opens the warehouse shipment document and scans the LP barcode. Warehouse Insight confirms all items and quantities on the plate against the shipment lines simultaneously. Business Central updates in real time. For multi-pallet shipments, the worker scans one barcode per pallet rather than confirming line by line.
Partial license plate handling at shipping. When only part of a license plate’s contents belongs to the current shipment, workers choose from four handling options: create a new plate for unused items, remove the excess from the plate, remove only the used portion, or unbuild the plate entirely. The default handling option is configurable in Business Central’s device configuration.
Dynamic Ship carrier label generation. After LP confirmation at shipping, workers trigger Dynamic Ship from the device menu. Dynamic Ship generates carrier labels for FedEx, UPS, and other supported carriers, along with packing slips and bills of lading — the label prints to the dock printer. The entire sequence — LP scan, shipment confirmation, carrier label — happens on a single handheld device without switching applications.
Photo capture before carrier pickup. Workers take photos of completed pallets from within the shipping application before goods leave the dock. Photos attach automatically to the warehouse shipment record in Business Central, creating a timestamped condition record for carrier damage claim defense.
How License Plating Works for Pick and Ship
The workflow begins in the pick aisle. The worker opens the pick document and presses Start License Plate or scans a template barcode to create the first plate. They pick items from bins and scan each one onto the plate as normal. Each scan adds the item and quantity to both the pick document and the license plate record in Business Central. When the pallet is physically full, the worker presses Stop License Plate, confirms the print prompt, and the LP label prints to the configured printer. The worker applies the label and starts the next plate if needed.
When all picking is complete and the pallets are dropped at the shipping staging area, the shipping workflow begins. The worker opens the warehouse shipment document on their device. They scan the LP barcode on the first pallet. Warehouse Insight instantly confirms all items and quantities on that plate against the shipment lines. Business Central updates all associated lines simultaneously. The worker repeats for each pallet. When all pallets are confirmed, they trigger Dynamic Ship from the menu, select the carrier and service, and the carrier label prints to the dock printer.
The post action closes the shipment in Business Central. The driver picks up a pallet that is labeled, documented, and posted — without the shipping worker ever scanning an individual item.
Why Outbound License Plating Delivers the Highest ROI
License plating is most commonly discussed as a receiving and put-away tool. The efficiency gains at receiving are real, but modest compared to those on the outbound side.
On the outbound side, license plating eliminates the re-verification step at shipping. A picker who builds pallets as license plates during the pick run has already confirmed the contents in Business Central. The shipping worker does not re-verify what the picker already scanned. That elimination of duplicate work across every outbound pallet and every shift compounds into significant labor savings at scale.
The connection to Dynamic Ship further extends the value. A shipping workflow that previously required confirming contents, exiting to a separate carrier system, entering shipment details, and generating a label becomes a single-device, three-step sequence: scan LP, trigger Dynamic Ship, print label.
Who Uses LP Pick and Ship
Pickers build outbound license plates during pick runs, filling pallets or boxes and printing LP labels before dropping completed loads at the shipping staging area. Shipping staff scan LP barcodes to confirm entire pallets at the dock door in a single step, trigger Dynamic Ship for carrier labels, and post shipments from the handheld. Operations managers configure LP usage behaviors, posting controls, and Dynamic Ship carrier options in Business Central. For operations where picking and shipping run on different shifts, the license plate carries the verified pallet contents from one shift to the next, eliminating the need for a paper handoff.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Outbound license plate building during picking allows items from different bins to belong to the same plate. This is the key difference from receiving LP building, where all lines must share the same bin. A picker moving through multiple bin locations in a single pick run adds items from each location to the same outbound pallet without restriction.
Yes. Workers start and stop license plates as many times as needed within a single pick document. When one pallet is full, the worker stops the plate, prints the label, and starts a new one. Each plate has its own barcode and confirmed contents in Business Central. Multi-pallet pick runs build as many plates as the order volume requires.
When a worker scans an LP barcode in the shipping application, Warehouse Insight identifies the warehouse shipment document associated with that plate. It confirms the plate’s contents against the shipment lines. The shipping worker does not need to search for the shipment by document number or customer name. The LP barcode links the pallet to the shipment in Business Central.
Workers choose from four handling options when a partial LP is scanned at shipping: create a new plate for the unused items, remove the excess from the plate and leave it in the bin, remove only the used portion from the plate, or unbuild the plate entirely. The default option is configurable in Business Central’s device configuration, so operations with a consistent partial LP handling policy set it once and workers see the correct default automatically.