Break Bulk Labeling

Break Bulk Labeling lets you take inventory from a bin, split it into a set number of smaller packs, and print a label for each pack. Where it is set up to, it also moves the packed quantity to a different bin before the labels print.

Business value

It is common to receive or produce inventory in one pack size and need it in another. A typical example is breaking a bulk bag of an ingredient into smaller, pre-weighed quantities that are then used in production. Those smaller packs need labels, and it helps to know how much has already been packed and how much is still waiting to be packed.

Break Bulk Labeling is a lightweight way to do exactly that. You do not need a production order, an assembly order or a separate pack item. You choose the item, where it is, the lot, how many labels you need and how much goes in each one. The system checks the inventory, prints the labels and records what was done.

Features at a glance

• Pick the item, location, bin and lot, then enter the number of labels and the quantity per label in any unit of measure set up for the item.
• The total quantity is calculated for you, in both the chosen unit of measure and the item's base unit of measure.
• The inventory in the bin, for that lot, is checked before anything is posted or printed.
• The label type, and whether inventory is moved, come from a setup for each location and bin, so users do not have to decide.
• Optionally, move the packed quantity to another bin with an item reclassification journal that is registered for you.
• Labels print through the existing label engine, using the same label templates, label selections and printer selections as the rest of Advanced Production.
• The lot's expiration date is shown and saved on the entry, ready to print on the label.
• Optionally record what the packs are for, with a For Item No., a For Production Date and a Comment that can all be printed on the label. The item being labelled is checked against the production BOM of the For Item No.
• Every registration is logged, and you can reprint the labels or find the posted entries from the log.
• Labels can be exported to a file or shown on screen instead of printed, without changing the global setup.

Move the inventory, or leave it in place

For each location and bin you decide whether registering a break bulk also moves the inventory.

Leave it in place. The labels print and the entry is logged, but the inventory stays in the source bin. This is the simplest option, but the system cannot tell what has been packed from what is still to be packed. Because the inventory never leaves the bin, the inventory check keeps passing, and the same inventory could be labelled again. Keeping track of what has been packed is left to the user.

Move it. An item reclassification journal line moves the total quantity from the source bin to a destination bin, and it is registered automatically before the labels print. The source bin then holds only what is still to be packed, and the destination bin holds what has been packed and labelled. Because the inventory check is made against the source bin, you cannot label more than is actually there.

Recommendation

We recommend moving the inventory wherever possible. Weighing out and packing ingredients usually happens in a different location or physical area from where the bulk inventory is stored, so a separate destination bin for packed inventory reflects what is really happening on the floor. It also makes the inventory check meaningful. The reclassification option exists specifically to give you this separation between packed and unpacked inventory.

Setting up

1. Break Bulk Setup

Search for Break Bulk Setup in Tell Me. Create one line for each location and bin that inventory is broken down from. You can have only one line for each combination of location and bin.

Field	Description
Location Code	The location the inventory is taken from. The location must use bins, and locations that use directed put-away and pick are not supported.
Bin Code	The source bin the inventory is taken from.
Label Type Code	The label type used to find the label template and printer. See Label selection.
Create Reclass Journal	Moves the packed quantity to the destination bin before the labels print. Recommended.
Reclass Destination Bin Code	The bin the packed quantity is moved to. It must be in the same location and must be a different bin from the source bin. Required when Create Reclass Journal is turned on.

2. Reclassification journal

If any Break Bulk Setup line has Create Reclass Journal turned on, fill in Reclass Journal Template and Reclass Journal Batch on the Advanced Production Setup page. Break Bulk Labeling posts only its own line, so the batch can be shared with other users.

If the batch has a number series, the document number comes from it. Otherwise the document number is BB followed by the break bulk entry number.

3. Label template

Create a label template with Source Table set to 58863, Break Bulk Entry. Map the placeholders in the label content to fields on that table. Fields you are likely to want include Item No., Item Description, Lot No., Expiration Date, Comment, Quantity per Label, Unit of Measure Code, No. of Labels, Total Quantity, Location Code, Bin Code and Destination Bin Code. See Label templates and Field mapping.

Each label printed for a break bulk is identical and represents one pack, so the placeholder you most likely want for the pack quantity is Quantity per Label.

To print what the packs are for, map a placeholder to Comment, or to For Item No. and For Production Date separately. These fields are optional, so the placeholder prints blank when they are not filled in.

4. Label selection and printer selection

Create a Label Selection of type Item for the label type, pointing to the template. You can set it up for an item, an item category or all items. Then create a Printer Selection (Labels) line for the label type and template. See Label selection and Printers.

On the Label Types page, choose Label Templates to open the templates used by a label type. From there you can import the label content and maintain the field mapping.

5. User defaults (optional)

On the Advanced Production User Setup page, you can give each user a Default Location Code and Default Bin Code. When that user selects an item on the Break Bulk Labeling page, the location and bin are filled in for them.

You can open all of these setup pages from the Setup group on the Break Bulk Labeling page.

Using Break Bulk Labeling

Search for Break Bulk Labeling in Tell Me. You can also open it from the Journals section of the Production Planner Role Center, and from the Released Production Orders list and Released Production Order card.

1. Select the Item No. The unit of measure defaults to the item's base unit of measure, and the location and bin default from your user setup.

2. Check or change the Location Code and Bin Code. The label type and reclassification details are filled in from the matching Break Bulk Setup.

3. Select the Lot No. if the item is lot tracked. The lookup lists only lots that have inventory in the selected bin. The Expiration Date is filled in from the open item ledger entries for the lot at the location.

4. Optionally, enter For Item No. and For Production Date to record what the packs are for. To pick them from a production order, choose the ... (assist edit) button on For Item No. It lists the released production order lines that use the item being labelled, showing the item being produced, its description and the starting date, earliest first. Choosing a line fills in For Item No. and For Production Date from it. You can still use the normal lookup to choose any item.

   The item being labelled must be a component of the For Item No. The production BOM comes from the stockkeeping unit for that item at the location, or from the item when the stockkeeping unit has none. The version used is the one active on the For Production Date, or on the work date when it is blank. Sub-BOMs are included. This is checked when you enter the fields and again when you register.

5. Enter the No. of Labels and the Quantity per Label. Change the Unit of Measure Code if the pack quantity is in a different unit of measure. The totals update as you go.

   The Comment fills in from For Item No. and For Production Date, for example For: FG-1000, 30/09/2026. You can overwrite the comment with your own text. It then stays as you typed it, even if you change the other two fields. Clear it to fill it in again.

6. Choose Register.

Total Quantity (Base), Label Type Code, Label Output and Show Request Page are shown when you choose Show more on the page.

When you register, the system:

1. Checks the details, the Break Bulk Setup, the label template and printer, and that there is enough inventory in the bin for the lot. If a For Item No. is entered, it also checks the item is a component of it.
2. Records a break bulk entry, including the expiration date and the optional For Item No., For Production Date and Comment.
3. Registers the item reclassification journal, if the Break Bulk Setup requires it. The inventory is checked again immediately before posting.
4. Prints the labels.

The page is then cleared, ready for the next break bulk. Your choice of Label Output, Show Request Page and Show All Users is kept.

If a check fails, nothing is posted or printed and nothing is logged. If the reclassification journal fails to register, no labels are printed, and the error is recorded on the entry.

Label output

Label Output controls where the labels go. It defaults from Label Printing Mode on the Advanced Production Setup page, but you can change it on the page for your own session without affecting anyone else.

Label Output	What happens
Send to Printer	The labels are sent to the printer from the printer selection.
Export to File	The labels are downloaded as a text file, so you can inspect the label content.
Show on Screen	The label content is shown in a message.
Preview	The labels are shown as they will print, in the PDF viewer. Needs label preview to be turned on. See Previewing labels.

caution

Preview sends the label details, including item numbers, lot numbers, expiration dates and comments, to the external Labelary service to render them. Use it only if your organisation is comfortable with that information leaving Business Central.

All the labels for one break bulk are sent as a single job, so an exported file contains every label.

A printer is only needed when Label Output is Send to Printer. For Export to File, Show on Screen and Preview, the printer selection still needs to point to a label template, but the printer name can be left blank. This lets you test a label design without a printer.

Turn on Show Request Page if you want to confirm or change the label output each time you register. The Breakbulk Labels request page then opens before the labels print.

Reviewing and reprinting

The lines at the bottom of the Break Bulk Labeling page show the most recent break bulk entries first. By default you see only your own entries. Turn on Show All Users to see everyone's.

The full history is also available on the Break Bulk Entries page, which you can find in Tell Me.

From either place you can:

• Reprint Labels for the selected entries. The request page opens so you can choose the label output and, if you need to, a different number of labels.
• Find Entries for the selected entry. This opens the standard Find Entries page for the reclassification document number and posting date, showing the item ledger entries and warehouse entries that were posted.

If labels fail to print, for example because the printer is unavailable, the item reclassification journal has already been registered and the entry is kept. Reprint the labels from the entry once the problem is fixed.

Things to know

• Variants are not supported. Only inventory with a blank variant code is checked and moved.
• For a lot-tracked item, the item tracking code must use Lot Warehouse Tracking. This is what allows the inventory of the lot in the bin to be checked.
• The reclassification journal line is always posted in the item's base unit of measure, for the total base quantity.
• If the lot has an expiration date, it is carried across to the destination bin.
• The destination zone is recorded on the entry when the destination bin belongs to a zone.

Extensibility

Codeunit BreakBulkMgt_AP_TSL publishes OnAfterSelectProdOrderComponent. It is raised after a production order line is chosen from the For Item No. assist edit, once For Item No. and For Production Date are filled in. Subscribe to it to fill in further fields from the production order, for example the No. of Labels and Quantity per Label.

[IntegrationEvent(false, false)]
local procedure OnAfterSelectProdOrderComponent(var BreakBulkEntry: Record BreakBulkEntry_AP_TSL; ProdOrderLine: Record "Prod. Order Line"; ProdOrderComponent: Record "Prod. Order Component")

Validate the fields you change on BreakBulkEntry, so the totals are recalculated.