About containers

Containers represent items in which other inventory items can be stored. Examples of containers are pallets, totes, tanks, and railcars.

You can load items into a container, then assign the entire container to an outbound document such as a sales or transfer order. Information specific to the items within the container (such as quantity or lot number) is automatically assigned to the document.

Some containers, particularly expensive ones like an entire railcar, are reusable. By creating specific container records, you can more easily track the containers that have been shipped out of your inventory.

Container items

You can set up a container in Microsoft Dynamics NAV as an item. Like any other item, both the quantity and value of a container item can be maintained in the program.

Designate an item as a container by selecting Container in the Item Type field on the item card. All other setup of the container is done through the Container Type setup.

The Item Type field also has a designation called Packaging. Because a container could be viewed as a type of packaging, it is important to clarify the difference between these two item types.

When an item is designated as a container, you can use it during the container assignment process to store other items. Designating an item as packaging material is for informational purposes only. Packaging items have no unique characteristics that differentiate them from other items.

Another difference between the two item types is that container items are typically defined more broadly than packaging items. A container item is meant to hold several inventory items, so it is usually set up to be very nonspecific. Many packaging items, on the other hand, exist for a select group of items, or even a single item. For example, a box that stores a particular finished good may have the name of that finished good printed on the side.

Container assignment

When setting up a container item, indicate the inventory items that can be assigned to that container through the Container Type page.

After the container type is set up, you can assign items to a container through several documents (sales, purchase, warehouse) or directly on the container page. This container page uniquely identifies the container in its current form through the container ID (the license plate number).

A container ID represents not only the container item itself, but also the container's contents. As a result, a container used several times receives a new container ID every time new items are assigned to it. A container ID lets you track the location of a container as it is currently being used, but does not preserve the history of a specific container from transaction to transaction.

Serialized containers

For users who need more comprehensive container records, you can serialize containers. Whenever a transaction line for a serialized container is posted, the program creates a container ledger entry in addition to the standard item ledger entry. You can view the ledger entries for a specific serialized container and navigate on these entries if desired.

Because every container is identified by a unique serial number, you can make additional changes to individual container records that would not be possible without serialization. For example, you can adjust the tare weight of a particular container.

Additional information and references:

To know more about	See
Tracking containers in your warehouse	Pallet/Container Tracking
Configuring tracking of containers	Configure Pallet/Container Tracking
Containers & weight	Tare Weight
Creating containers	Create container records
Using containers in your company	Process Containers
Handling containers	Container handling
Handling multi-item containers	Multi-item Container handling
Using production containers	Production Containers
Using SSCC codes to identify containers	SSCC Codes