Round 40 of our Dynamics GP vs. Dynamics 365 Business Central Functionality Face-Off kicks off the manufacturing rounds. Yesterday, in Round 39 on kitting and assembly, we covered light assembly — grabbing parts and packing a bundle. Today we step onto the shop floor.
Real manufacturing needs two master records. A bill of materials (BOM) says what goes into the product. A routing says how it gets built — which work centers, in what order, and how long each step takes. Together they drive scheduling, material needs, and cost. Both GP and Business Central have them. The difference is how much ceremony it takes to build them — and how safely you can change them later.
How you do it in Dynamics GP
GP’s shop-floor features live in the Manufacturing module — a separate, deeper product than the inventory Bill of Materials we covered yesterday. Before anyone builds a BOM or routing, the module itself needs setting up.
Step 1 — Set the defaults. Manufacturing has its own system defaults and per-user preferences. You set BOM behavior in the BOM Preference Defaults window (Microsoft Dynamics GP menu >> Tools >> Setup >> Manufacturing >> System Defaults >> Bill of Materials), and routing behavior in the Routing Preference Defaults window (Microsoft Learn — Manufacturing Setup Part 1). There are also per-user preference windows for both BOMs and routings (Microsoft Learn — Manufacturing Setup Part 2).
Step 2 — Build the BOM. In the Bill of Materials Entry window, you pick the finished item and add components in a tree view. GP supports different BOM types and keeps revision history in its own tables.
Step 3 — Build the routing. In the Routing Sequence Entry window (Cards >> Manufacturing >> Routings >> Routing Entry), you enter a sequence number for each step, pick a Work Center ID, and fill in the Time and Costing details (Microsoft Learn — outsourcing features in Manufacturing). If you reuse the same block of steps across many items, GP offers pointer routings — but only after you enable them in the Routing Preference Defaults window first.
Step 4 — Link and check. Components tie to routing steps through the BOM Routing Link window, which also drives where materials are issued from. And details matter: if a finished good has no primary routing, standard cost won’t roll up (Microsoft Learn — Standard Cost isn’t rolling up).
It all works — GP shops have run production on it for decades. But the knowledge lives in windows, preference defaults, and rules your team learns the hard way.
How you do it in Business Central
Business Central treats BOMs and routings like recipes with change control. Every record has a status — New, Under Development, or Certified — and only certified records can be used in production.
Step 1 — Create the production BOM. Search for Production BOMs, choose New, and add a line per component: the Quantity per (say, 4 wheels per car), an optional Scrap %, and a Routing Link Code if the component should be issued at a specific operation. A line can even point at another production BOM for sub-assemblies. When it’s right, set the Status to Certified (Microsoft Learn — Create production BOMs).
Step 2 — Create the routing. Search for Routings, choose New, and pick Serial or Parallel. Then add operation lines — 10, 20, 30 — each with a work center or machine center, Setup Time, and Run Time. The Concurrent Capacities field even handles staffing math: put two people on a packing step and the run time is cut in half. Certify it (Microsoft Learn — Create routings).
Step 3 — Attach both to the item card. Fill in the Production BOM No. and Routing No. fields on the item, and every production order for that item pulls the certified recipe automatically.
Step 4 — Change it with a version, not an overwrite. Need a new component mix starting July 1? Don’t edit the live BOM. Create a version, Copy BOM, make the change, set the Starting Date, and certify it. Business Central automatically uses whichever certified version is valid on the work date, and the Prod. Active BOM Version action shows you which one that is. The old version stays intact for reference. Routings version the same way.
Side by side
| Task | Dynamics GP | Business Central |
|---|---|---|
| Before you start | Set system defaults and user preferences for BOMs and routings | Set up work centers; no preference windows required |
| Build the BOM | Bill of Materials Entry window, tree view | Production BOM page, one line per component, Scrap % built in |
| Build the routing | Routing Sequence Entry, sequences and work centers | Routing page, operations with setup/run times and concurrent capacities |
| Protect against accidental edits | Discipline and user preferences | Certified status — production only uses certified records |
| Change the recipe over time | Edit the BOM or routing; revisions tracked in tables | Versions with starting dates; the right version activates automatically |
| Reuse routing steps | Pointer routings (enable in preference defaults first) | Copy Routing / Copy BOM actions |
Why BC comes out ahead
Credit where due: GP Manufacturing is a full-strength module, and features like pointer routings and the BOM Routing Link show real depth. Plenty of plants run on it today.
Business Central’s edge is control and simplicity. The Certified status means a half-finished BOM can never sneak into a production order. Versions with starting dates mean engineering changes are planned, dated, and reversible — the system flips to the new recipe on the right day, and the old one is still there to compare, a workflow Microsoft keeps polishing in recent release waves. And because it’s all in the same web client as your items — set up the same way we showed in Round 23 on item setup — there’s no separate module culture to learn, no preference windows to tour first.
Let’s talk about your shop floor
Aisling Dynamics helps GP Manufacturing shops map BOMs, routings, and work centers into Business Central — including deciding what belongs in assembly versus full production. See what we offer, then contact us or call (251) 293-0555 to talk through your routing list.
Next up in the Face-Off: production orders — GP Manufacturing Order Processing vs. Business Central’s production order lifecycle, from release to finish. See you tomorrow.
Suggested URL: https://aislingdynamics.com/manufacturing-boms-routings-dynamics-gp-vs-business-central/