Can you undo a registered pick?

The warehouse registers a pick, and then someone discovers it was the wrong item, the wrong quantity or the wrong bin. In many systems there is an undo button. In Business Central the answer is more nuanced and depends on which type of pick it is. Here is what we have been able to confirm in the standard documentation, and the ways you can go. It is written for the warehouse manager and for the people who set up the process.

Two kinds of pick

BC has inventory picks and warehouse picks. Inventory picks are used in simpler locations, and for internal processes such as production the consumption is posted at the same time as the pick is posted. Warehouse picks are used at locations that require pick and shipment, and are tied to a warehouse shipment. You cannot create a warehouse pick from scratch. It is created from a shipment or in the pick worksheet.

Before the pick is registered

Here you have freedom. Microsoft Learn mentions that you must delete the individual warehouse picks first if you want to combine already created pick instructions into one new pick. You can also change the quantity to handle, and use Split Line if the item is to be taken from several bins.

After registration

In the documentation we have reviewed, there is no action that undoes a registered pick. We have therefore not been able to confirm a real undo function for registered picks. Check in your version whether registered picks have such an action, and ask your partner.

What you can do instead is correct the effect:

Move the items back with a warehouse movement or a movement worksheet. Learn uses the movement worksheet and Get Bin Content as the way to return surplus items in production.
If the pick is not registered, you can delete it and create a new one from the shipment.
If the shipment is already posted, check whether the posted shipment has an action to correct it, and have your partner confirm it.
For service orders there is an action, Undo Consumption, which inserts an opposite line on the posted service shipment. It applies to service only.

How to avoid undoing

Most undoing is about handling errors. Set up a short routine: check item no. and quantity before you choose Register Pick. Use Split Line rather than changing the quantity when a bin is short of items. Consider scanning if errors are frequent.

What a mistake costs

A wrongly registered pick is not only a warehouse problem. It can affect availability, reservations and delivery dates to the customer, because the system thinks the item is already on its way. The earlier the error is found, the cheaper it is to correct. Put the checkpoint before the registration, not after. A short spot check of picks with many lines or items with similar numbers catches most errors. Keep an error list for a week and see which types of error repeat before you invest in anything other than routine.

The difference between registered and posted

A pick that is registered is not the same as a shipment that is posted. Registration moves the items in the warehouse to the shipping area. Only posting the shipment sends the items out of inventory and creates entries at the customer. This means that an error discovered between the two steps can be corrected with a movement, while an error after posting requires a correction of the shipment itself. Ask your partner which actions are available in your particular setup.

The idea on our list

The idea of undoing a registered warehouse pick has 114 votes at Microsoft. At Addverk we collect ideas for small apps that could close gaps like this. They are ideas we are considering, not something you can download or buy today. The list of 30 ideas is on the Coming up page, and you can see which of them look like what you are missing yourselves.