Essential supply chain apps to extend Dynamics 365 Business Central

For organizations running Dynamics 365 Business Central, supply chain execution is often where operational complexity becomes most visible. Receiving overseas shipments, managing containers, tracking landed costs, and ensuring inventory is accurately valued can quickly turn into manual, error-prone processes when handled outside the ERP.

At Rand Group, we work with many Business Central customers who are looking to extend their supply chain capabilities without replacing the ERP they already trust. That’s where purpose-built apps come in. In this blog, we’ll walk through two essential Business Central supply chain apps created by Rand Group to automate and streamline the receiving process: Inbound Container Handling and Landed Cost Validator.

Both apps are available on Microsoft AppSource and are frequently deployed together to give organizations greater visibility, accuracy, and control over inbound logistics.

Business Central provides a strong foundation for purchasing, inventory, and financial management. However, global supply chains introduce real-world scenarios that standard ERP workflows don’t always address out of the box. Containers often carry multiple purchase orders, landed costs arrive weeks after goods are received, and legal ownership of inventory may transfer before goods reach their final destination.

When these scenarios are managed manually, businesses face common challenges:

• Limited visibility into container status and contents
• Inaccurate inventory valuation during transit
• Delayed or inconsistent landed cost allocation
• Disconnected tracking between operations and finance

Extending Business Central with targeted supply chain apps allows organizations to keep these processes inside the ERP, maintaining a single source of truth while reducing administrative effort.

The Inbound Container Handling app is designed to manage shipping containers directly within Business Central. Instead of tracking container details in spreadsheets or external systems, users gain a single, centralized screen to oversee the entire container lifecycle.

With this app, teams can create containers and assign detailed tracking information, including carrier data, estimated freight, and key dates. Purchase order lines can then be linked to a container, allowing multiple POs—or portions of POs—to be grouped together. This reflects how goods are actually shipped in real-world scenarios, where containers rarely align one-to-one with purchase orders.

As transactions are processed, container values such as total purchase value and quantities are automatically updated. Scheduled receipt dates are synchronized between the container and all linked purchase orders, ensuring consistency across procurement and receiving.

One of the most valuable capabilities of the Inbound Container Handling app is support for FOB (Free on Board) receipts. In many international shipping scenarios, organizations take legal possession of goods as soon as they leave the supplier’s dock, even though the inventory has not yet arrived at its final location.

With FOB receipts, goods can be received into an in-transit location inside Business Central. This allows inventory ownership and financial reporting to remain accurate while keeping stock physically segregated from available warehouse inventory. Once goods arrive at the port, distribution center, or final warehouse, they can be transferred through multiple locations as needed.

This approach gives supply chain and finance teams accurate reporting throughout the shipment journey, supporting better decision-making and compliance.

The app also enables organizations to track container capacity by comparing the size of goods on linked purchase order lines to the container’s defined capacity. This provides a percentage-full view that helps teams understand how efficiently containers are being utilized.

While capacity tracking assumes reasonable packing efficiency, it still offers valuable insight for planning future shipments, consolidating orders, and reducing freight costs over time.

For organizations managing overseas shipments and multi-PO containers, Inbound Container Handling brings structure and visibility directly into Business Central. Explore our Inbound Container Handling app.

The Landed Cost Validator app complements container management by automating the calculation and accrual of landed costs during the receiving process. Landed costs typically include freight, duties, and taxes—expenses that are often invoiced long after goods have been received.

Without automation, these costs are frequently applied retroactively or inconsistently, leading to inaccurate inventory valuation and distorted margins. Landed Cost Validator solves this by calculating and accruing costs at the time of receipt.

Users can define landed cost options as flat amounts per unit, flat totals per receipt, or percentages of cost. These options can be grouped and assigned at the purchase order line or item level, allowing costs to default automatically during purchasing and receiving.

In the latest version of the app, users can preview expected landed costs before goods are received. This gives finance and operations teams early visibility into true inventory costs, even when supplier invoices have not yet been received.

As goods are received—whether through a standard receipt or a container-based receipt—landed costs are accrued automatically to the general ledger. Inventory is valued accurately from the start, improving reporting and margin analysis.

When freight or duty invoices arrive later, Landed Cost Validator allows users to pull accrued costs directly onto the invoice. The app maintains a detailed sub-ledger showing what has been accrued, what has been invoiced, and any variances between the two.

This variance analysis helps organizations quickly identify discrepancies and ensures financial statements remain accurate throughout the purchasing lifecycle. Both the general ledger and inventory ledger stay in sync, reducing reconciliation effort at month-end.

Landed Cost Validator is ideal for organizations that receive goods before freight, duty, or tax invoices arrive, helping them accurately value inventory and avoid manual adjustments later. Explore our Landed Cost Validator app.

Inbound Container Handling and Landed Cost Validator are often deployed together because they address two sides of the same challenge: managing inbound goods and valuing them correctly. Containers provide the operational structure for receiving, while landed costs ensure financial accuracy.

Together, they allow organizations to:

• Track containers, POs, and locations in one place
• Take legal possession of goods at the right time
• Accurately value inventory during transit
• Maintain clean accruals and invoice matching

All of this happens natively inside Business Central, eliminating the need for external systems or manual workarounds.

For Business Central customers evaluating supply chain apps, the goal is rarely to replace the ERP—it’s to extend it. Rand Group Business Central apps are designed to close functional gaps while preserving Business Central’s core strengths: visibility, control, and financial integrity. By embedding container management and landed cost automation directly into Business Central, organizations gain more than operational efficiency. They gain confidence in their data, more accurate inventory valuation, and a scalable foundation to support growth as supply chain complexity increases.

If you’re exploring ways to modernize your inbound logistics, improve cost accuracy, or better manage global shipments within Business Central, contact Rand Group to discuss which supply chain apps align best with your operational and financial goals.