Order Fulfillment Worksheet does not use Business Central‘s standard item availability, also known as Projected Available Balance, for its calculations. Instead, it uses its own calculation designed to reflect what is truly pickable in the warehouse right now.
The Problem With Standard Availability
Standard Business Central item availability can show a quantity that looks available on paper but does not reflect physical reality on the warehouse floor. For example, a company might show eight units of on hand inventory for an item, with standard availability showing only two once an existing order requiring six is accounted for. However, that simple calculation does not consider factors such as some of that inventory sitting in bins with expired lot numbers, product held in quality control hold, or other conditions that make certain quantities technically on hand but not actually pickable.
What the Worksheet’s Own Calculation Considers
Because of this gap, Order Fulfillment Worksheet performs its own availability calculation that accounts for the physical pickability of inventory rather than relying on the simpler standard calculation. This includes excluding inventory in blocked bins, product with locked serial or lot numbers, and items nearing or past an expiration date that should not be picked. It also considers the specific bin types involved, checking whether a bin is one that inventory can actually be picked from directly or whether a warehouse movement would first be required to make it accessible. The result is a more accurate reflection of what a warehouse worker could genuinely go pick right now, rather than a theoretical number based only on unrestricted on hand quantity minus outstanding demand.
Why This Distinction Matters
Relying on the simple standard calculation in a fulfillment context risks telling a warehouse team that something is available to ship when, in physical reality, restrictions on that inventory make it unusable for the order in question. By building its own calculation that incorporates these additional real world constraints, the worksheet avoids that gap and gives a number that can be trusted operationally, not just theoretically.
What This Means When Comparing Numbers
Users who compare the worksheet’s availability figures against a standard Business Central availability view for the same item should expect to see different numbers in many cases, and this is expected behavior rather than an error. The worksheet’s number will typically be more conservative and more reflective of what is genuinely pickable, while the standard calculation may show a higher, less restricted figure that does not yet account for lot status, bin restrictions, or expiration.
Related Tools
Order Fulfillment Worksheet performs its own availability calculation that incorporates bin restrictions, lot and serial status, and expiration dates, giving a more physically accurate view of what can be picked than the standard Business Central availability calculation alone.
In short, the worksheet intentionally replaces the standard availability calculation with its own logic to reflect true physical pickability rather than a simpler on hand minus demand figure.