Advanced Planning | BRICKLEAD - Online Docs

Overview

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Introduction

Advanced Planning app enhances supply chain planning in Dynamics 365 Business Central by introducing lot eligibility rules into the planning calculation process. It automatically excludes lots (and other tracking entities) that should not be considered as supply - such as expired or blocked tracking - so planners can generate more accurate MRP/MPS suggestions and avoid compliance issues downstream.

This app is especially relevant for industries where shelf-life and quality compliance are critical (e.g., food manufacturing and distribution), where the standard planning engine may treat expired or non-compliant lots as available supply.

Key Usage Scenario’s

Ensure planning suggestions only rely on usable inventory.
Understand why planning did or did not create supply suggestions - Analyze demand, eligible supply, and exclusions when no planning lines are created - gaining visibility into why the system considered demand already covered or supply unusable.
Validate lot eligibility before committing to production or purchasing decisions - Review detailed lot‑by‑lot eligibility information directly from the Planning Worksheet before carrying out action messages.
Anticipate future supply issues caused by expiring inventory.
Run planning in the background and start the day with ready‑to‑review suggestions.
Collaborate on demand planning using Excel without losing system control - Export demand forecasts for offline review and adjustment by multiple stakeholders, then safely re‑import validated data into Business Central.

Key Concepts and Definitions

Advanced Planning: An extension for Dynamics 365 Business Central that enhances the standard MRP/MPS calculation by applying lot‑level eligibility rules. It ensures that only usable, compliant inventory is considered as supply during planning.
Planning Worksheet: The standard Business Central page used to calculate and review supply and demand suggestions through MRP and MPS. Advanced Planning extends this calculation logic without changing the standard execution or action‑carrying process.
Expiration Date: The date after which a lot is no longer considered suitable for use or sale. Advanced Planning evaluates expiration dates against the demand due date, not the planning calculation date.
FEFO (First Expired, First Out): An allocation method where eligible lots with the earliest expiration date are consumed first. Advanced Planning assumes FEFO logic when distributing supply across multiple eligible lots.
Blocked Tracking: A status that prevents a lot, package, or serial number from being used in transactions. When enabled in setup, Advanced Planning excludes blocked tracking entries from planning calculations.
Rolling Supply (or Rolling Stock): Supply quantities that are not yet physically available in inventory but are expected in the future (e.g., purchase orders, production orders, assembly orders). Advanced Planning evaluates rolling supply using theoretical future attributes such as predicted expiration or sell‑by date.
Theoretical Expiration Date: An estimated expiration date for rolling supply, calculated using the expected receipt or due date plus the Expiration Calculation defined on the Item Card. It is used to determine future supply eligibility during planning.
Log Planning Information: A read‑only analysis page introduced by Advanced Planning that records how the planning engine evaluated supply and demand. It shows which lots were included or excluded, the reason for exclusion, and how quantities were allocated.
Planning Profile (Calculation Profile): A saved set of Planning Worksheet filters and options used to automate regenerative planning runs through Job Queue. Profiles allow recurring, background planning execution with consistent parameters.

Getting Started

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App Installation and Prerequisites

System Requirements

Dynamics 365 Business Central (Essential or Premium edition).
Permissions to install apps from Microsoft AppSource.
Items using tracking (Lot, Package, or Serial No.) to benefit from Advanced Planning logic.

Optional Bricklead Extensions but recommended:

Inspection Status
Quality Requirements & Specifications (QRS)

Application Requirements

Only Advanced Planning logic applies to tracked items (lot/package/serial). Non-tracked items follow standard planning behavior.
Exclusions depend on configuration (expired/blocked tracking).
Planning allocation assumes FEFO (earliest expiry consumed first).
Integrations can extend exclusion rules to include Inspection Status and Quality Requirements & Specifications (sell-by / shelf-life).

Installation Steps

Navigate to Extension Management in Dynamics 365 Business Central
Search for “Advanced Planning by Bricklead” in AppSource
Select Install and accept the terms and conditions
Wait for installation completion (typically 2-3 minutes)
Refresh your browser to see new menu items

Firts Steps with Advanced Planning

Run Assisted Setup

Use the Search and look for Advanced Planning Assisted Setup.
Follow the guided steps to configure planning exclusion rules.
Default options include:
- Excluding blocked tracking
- Excluding expired tracking
The values defined here are saved to Advanced Planning Setup.

Review Advanced Planning Setup

Open Advanced Planning Setup from the Search menu.
Review and adjust the exclusion settings if needed:
- Exclude Blocked Lots
- Exclude Blocked Packages
- Exclude Blocked Serial Nos
- Exclude Expired Tracking
These settings control how eligibility rules are applied during planning.

Run Your First Planning Calculation

Open the Planning Worksheet.
Set filters for:
- Item No
- Location Code
- Variant Code (if applicable)
Run Calculate Regenerative Plan as usual.
Advanced Planning applies eligibility rules automatically during the calculation.

Analyze Planning Results

From the Planning Worksheet, choose Log Planning Information.
Review:
- Which lots were included or excluded
- The reason for exclusion (expired, blocked, inspection status, sell‑by)
- How supply and demand were balanced
Use this page to validate results before carrying out action messages.

Key Pages and Their Purpose

Page	Purpose
Advanced Planning Setup	Setup page where exclusion rules are maintained and adjusted after installation.
Log Planning Information	Analysis page used to understand how planning evaluated demand and supply.
Calculation Profile (FactBox)	FactBox displayed on the Planning Worksheet when automated planning is configured. Allows users to run, edit, or troubleshoot background planning runs.
Export / Import Demand Forecast Wizards	Tools used to export forecast data to Excel and import updated quantities back into Business Central with validation.

Setup & Configurations

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Advanced Planning Assisted Setup

Advanced Planning includes an assisted setup wizard to guide users through initial configuration. The wizard focuses on enabling planning exclusion rules to ensure compliance-aware supply calculations.

Wizard options (defaults):

Exclude Blocked Lots from Planning = True
Exclude Blocked Packages from Planning = True
Exclude Blocked Serial Nos from Planning = True
Exclude Expired Tracking from Planning = True

The values selected in the wizard are inherited into Advanced Planning Setup.

Advanced Planning Setup

Advanced Planning introduces a dedicated setup page to control which tracking entities are excluded from planning supply:

In the General tab, fill in the following fields:

Field	Description
Exclude Blocked Lots from Planning	Specifies whether lots marked as blocked are excluded from planning calculations. When enabled, blocked lots are not considered available supply.
Exclude Blocked Packages from Planning	Specifies whether packages marked as blocked are excluded from planning calculations.
Exclude Blocked Serial Nos from Planning	Specifies whether serial numbers marked as blocked are excluded from planning calculations.
Exclude Expired Tracking from Planning	Specifies whether tracking entries whose expiration date is earlier than the demand due date are excluded from planning calculations.

Planning Calculation Processes

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Advanced Planning extends the standard Calculate Regenerative Plan routine when executed from the Planning Worksheet by applying tracking eligibility checks for each demand (sales, production, forecast).

Eligibility Rules

Expired tracking exclusion (if enabled): exclude lots/packages where Expiration Date < Requisition Line Due Date.
Blocked tracking exclusion (if enabled): exclude lots/packages/serial numbers where Blocked = True.
FEFO allocation: eligible lots are consumed starting with the earliest expiration.

Rolling stock (future supply without received lots): When supply is not yet received/produced, Advanced Planning estimates eligibility using theoretical expiration.

Theoretical Expiration Date = Expected Receipt or Due Date + Item Expiration Calculation

Purchase supply uses Expected Receipt Date
Production supply uses Due Date
Assembly supply uses Due Date

If Expiration Calculation is not defined, the inbound quantity is assumed available.

Log Planning Information

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Log Planning Information is an analysis page created to show how the planning engine evaluated supply and demand - specifically which tracked supply was included or excluded, and why. This page is non-editable and is based on the standard Inventory Profile concept.

Page Behavior

The page opens filtered by the selected worksheet template/name and the last selected line.
When users run Calculate Regenerative Plan, the log is regenerated for the selected worksheet template/name (existing records are replaced).
When users Carry Out Action Message, log information related to accepted.
Reservations override FEFO allocation: if reservation entries exist, the reserved quantity influences the net demand considered.

Page capabilities

Grouped by Due Date (collapsible groups)
Export to Excel
Filter by any field (standard filtering)

Actions

Show Document: Opens the source document behind the selected log line; Supports Shift + F7 shortcut behavior.

Key Fields

Log lines reflect whether they represent Supply or Demand, and show aggregated quantities (base UoM):
- Demand Quantity (Base) = total gross requirement in the period.
- Supplied Quantity (Base) = eligible supply applied to demand after exclusion rules.
- Planning Suggestion Qty (Base) = additional quantity proposed by planning after eligible supply is applied.
- Outstanding Quantity (Base) = remaining uncovered quantity before suggestions are carried out.
- Balanced Demand = reconciliation after supply + suggestions allocation.
Message logic (explains inclusion/exclusion):
- Available supply: “Available for planning” shown in green.
- Excluded supply: “Tracking Information is [expired/blocked] …” shown in red, with relevant tracking fields also red.
- Predicted exclusion (rolling supply): “Predicted expiration date MM/DD/YYYY – supply excluded from planning” shown in red.

Unplanned Items

Even if the planning run produces no suggestions for some items (because demand is already covered), Advanced Planning provides a notification that allows users to review calculation details at the worksheet scope via a temporary log: “Calculation completed. No planning lines were created for some items. Click here to review calculation details.”

FactBoxes

Item Details - Planning

This FactBox shows planning parameters from the Stockkeeping Unit (Item + Location + Variant). If the SKU does not exist, it falls back to the Item Card planning settings.

Untracked Planning Elements

The existing Planning Worksheet FactBox remains available to help interpret planning parameters and explain cases where Balanced Demand may not be zero due to planning policies (e.g., reorder point/qty effects).

Automate Regenerative Plan Calculation

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Advanced Planning enables background calculation of the Planning Worksheet using Job Queue, so planners can work with pre-calculated MRP/MPS suggestions without waiting for long blocking runs. Users can save filter sets with dynamic date formulas and re-run with one click.

Setup

Save to Job Queue (Request Page Field) The Calculate Plan – Plan. Wksh. request page includes a new field:

Save to Job Queue: saves the current options/filters as a reusable calculation profile for Job Queue execution.

Saved Planning Calc. / Calculation Profile: A saved calculation profile is stored per Worksheet Template + Worksheet Name and tracks planning options (MPS/MRP), forecast options, dynamic date formulas, last run status, and recurrence link. This saved calculation is presented as FactBox on the Planning Worksheet.

Actions (available on profile FactBox and Req. Wksh. Names)

Run Now: Execute the selected planning calculation profile immediately in the background, using the saved filters and options associated with the profile.
Edit: Open and edit the report and scheduling information related to the selected planning calculation profile, including filters, options, and recurrence settings.
Get Error Log: View the planning error log generated during the execution of the regenerative planning calculation. This action behaves the same as the standard Get Error Log action available on the Planning Worksheet, with the following important improvement:
- It allows users to review planning errors even when no planning lines were created on the Planning Worksheet.
- This is especially relevant for automated or background planning runs, where the worksheet may be empty but errors still occurred (for example, blocked items, uncertified BOMs, or invalid planning setup).

Business Rules

Saving a calculation to the Job Queue: When Save to Job Queue is enabled, the system automatically creates a Job Queue entry using the selected Planning Worksheet, filters, and options. This allows planning to run automatically in the background at the scheduled frequency, without user interaction.
Handling existing calculation profiles: If a calculation profile already exists for the same Planning Worksheet template and batch, the system asks whether you want to replace it.
- Choosing Yes updates the existing profile with the new settings.
- Choosing No still runs the planning calculation once, but keeps the existing automated profile unchanged.

What happens during a background planning run?

Each automated run follows the standard regenerative planning behavior:
- Existing planning suggestions for the selected worksheet template and batch are removed.
- The system recalculates planning from scratch using the saved filters and options.

Controlling how errors are handled

The Stop and Show First Error option determines how issues during planning are managed:

When enabled, the calculation stops as soon as the first error is encountered and the job is marked as failed.
When disabled, the calculation continues for other items, and all errors can later be reviewed using the Get Error Log action.

Export/Import Demand Forecast

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App Installation and Prerequisites

Advanced Planning provides a dedicated tool to export and import Demand Forecast entries using Excel. This feature is designed to support collaborative forecasting, bulk updates, and extended planning horizons, while keeping full validation and control inside Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Typical usage scenarios

This feature is especially useful when you need to:

Review and adjust demand forecasts with multiple stakeholders (sales, operations, supply chain) outside Business Central.
Work with long term forecasts that exceed the standard matrix visibility (for example, multiple years).
Apply bulk corrections or updates to large sets of forecast data.
Replace or increment existing forecasts in a controlled and auditable way.
Prepare demand data in Excel before importing it back into Business Central for planning.

Available actions

Export Demand Forecast Export the current demand forecast to Excel, respecting the selected forecast, filters, and view settings.
Import Demand Forecast Import an Excel file containing demand forecast data, with full validation and preview before committing changes.

These actions are available on:

Demand Forecast List
Demand Forecast Overview

Export Demand Forecast

When you select Export Demand Forecast, a request page opens allowing you to define the scope of the export.

The export feature respects the current context of the Demand Forecast Overview by default, including:

Forecast Name
Forecast Type (Sales Item, Component, or Both)
Date filter
Item, Location, and Variant filters
Period view (Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year, or Accounting Period)

Export Options

Export in Sales Unit of Measure

Disabled: quantities are exported in Base Unit of Measure
Enabled: quantities are exported in Sales Unit of Measure

This allows planners to work in the unit of measure most meaningful for forecasting discussions, while preserving conversions during import.

Excel File Structure

The exported file is structured to support reliable round trip editing.

Sheet 1 – Forecast Header

Contains contextual information about the export process:

Forecast Name
Forecast Type
Date Filter
Item / Location / Variant filters
View By (period type)
Unit of Measure settings

This sheet is used during import to validate context consistency.

Sheet 2 – Forecast Data

Contains the actual forecast quantities.

Each row represents a unique combination of:

Forecast Name
Item No.
Variant Code (if applicable)
Location Code (if applicable)
Period (date or period start/end)
Quantity
Unit of Measure Code
Entry Description (free text)

The Demand Forecast Overview in Business Central can display a maximum of 32 periods at a time. This is a standard system limitation, and the Export Demand Forecast functionality follows the same rule.

The export retrieves a maximum of 32 periods.
These periods always start from the starting date defined in the Date Filter
If the Date Filter spans more than 32 periods:
- No warning is shown
- Only the first starting date + 32 periods are exported

Import Demand Forecast

Import wizard

When selecting Import Demand Forecast, a guided Data Migration Wizard opens.

The wizard leads you through the following steps:

Select the Excel file previously exported (or formatted accordingly).
Analyze and validate the data.
Review detected errors or warnings.
Apply valid forecast entries to Business Central.

Import mode

On the Import Settings step, you must choose how the imported quantities should be applied:

Update Mode (default): Replaces existing forecast quantities with the values from Excel for matching keys (same Forecast Name, Item, Location, Variant, Period).
Add Mode: Adds the imported quantities on top of existing forecast quantities.

Validation rules

Before any data is committed, the system performs full validation, including:

Forecast Name exists and matches the target forecast.
Required columns are present and correctly formatted.
Item, Location, Variant, and Units of Measure exist.
Period dates align with valid planning periods.
- When importing forecast data, the system validates that the import file contains no more than 32 periods
  - If the file contains forecast data for more than 32 periods, the import is blocked and an error is shown.
  - The user must split the data into multiple imports or reduce the period scope before retrying.
Period type matches the current forecast view (e.g. monthly vs weekly).
Quantities are numeric.
No duplicate key rows exist in the import file.

All validation issues are displayed together, ensuring users can address them efficiently.

Handling validation issues

When errors are detected, users can:

Fix: Edit the invalid row directly in the import buffer, then revalidate and apply it.
Dismiss: Exclude the problematic row from the import. Dismissed rows are ignored and not imported.

You can also proceed with importing only the valid rows, while leaving invalid ones unresolved.

Integration with Inspection Status

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The Advanced Planning extension is designed to work seamlessly with the Inspection Status app, ensuring that planning calculations reflect real-world quality and compliance constraints at lot level.

When both apps are installed, Advanced Planning inherits additional fields and business rules that allow the planning engine to automatically exclude lots that are not eligible for planning due to inspection-related restrictions.

Setup

The integration extends the Lot Inspection Status table/page with:

Exclude from Planning (Boolean) - also visible on the list.

Meaning: if enabled for an inspection status, any lot assigned that status should be excluded from planning supply calculation.

Business Rules

Planning behavior (Calculate Regenerative Plan)

When the Inspection Status app is installed, Advanced Planning evaluates both the current inspection status, and the future inspection status that applies on the demand due date (if a future status is scheduled to take effect).

This means the same lot might be eligible today but become ineligible for demand due next week, and planning will treat it accordingly.

Rolling supply (not yet in inventory)

For “rolling stock” (future supply without a lot yet), inspection status can be predicted using default inspection status rules based on:

Inbound entry type (purchase/production/…) and
Entity Type (Item/vendor rules).

Log Planning Information

To support troubleshooting, the log is extended with a new field Inspection Status inherited from Lot No. Information. The log is also extended with new message patterns when inspection status causes exclusion:

“Lot with Inspection Status %1” (red)
“Next Inspection Status %1 – supply excluded from planning” (red)
“Predicted Inspection Status %1 – supply excluded from planning” (red)

Integration with Quality Requirements & Specifications

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The Advanced Planning extension is designed to work seamlessly with the Quality Requirements & Specifications (QRS) app, enhancing planning accuracy in shelf-life-sensitive and quality-driven industries.

When both apps are installed, Advanced Planning inherits additional setup options and planning rules that allow the planning engine to evaluate lots based not only on expiration, but also on sell-by constraints and customer-specific minimum shelf-life requirements.

Setup

When the Quality Requirement Specification extension is installed, two fields are introduced on QRS Setup:

Plan with Sell-By Restrictions (Boolean) - When enabled, planning applies sell-by / shelf-life checks.
Sell‑By Evaluation Method (Enum) – enabled only if Plan with Sell‑By Restrictions = True.
- Lot Sell‑By Date
- QRS Minimum Shelf Life

Business Rules

Planning behavior (Calculate Regenerative Plan)

Sell-by / shelf-life logic is only applied when Plan with Sell‑By Restrictions is enabled. If disabled, planning behaves normally and for Sales demand ignores sell-by restrictions (other eligibility rules may still apply, like blocked).

Sell‑By Evaluation Methods:

Method Lot Sell‑By Date: When selected, planning uses the Sell‑By Date stored on the Lot No. Information card:

If Sell‑By Date is valid after the demand due date → eligible
If Sell‑By Date is on or before the demand due date → exclude

Fallback rules:

If the lot has no Sell‑By Date → use Expiration Date as fallback.
If sell-by is defined at item level but the lot has no Expiration Date, the lot is excluded for planning purposes (for cases where expiration is required to validate).

Method QRS Minimum Shelf Life: When selected, planning uses the Minimum Shelf Life requirement from QRS Document Lines attached to the demand (Sales Order Line / Production Component).

Special rules:

If the user manually deletes the QRS Document Line, the system assumes all lots are acceptable for that demand and does not apply sell-by/expiration restrictions for that line (blocked still depends on APL setup).
If Minimum Shelf Life exists but the lot has no Expiration Date, the lot is excluded.

Demand-type Specific Rules

There are different evaluation depending on demand source:

Assembly Orders demand: exclude if Lot Expiration Date < Requisition Line Due Date (expiration-based).
Demand Forecast (not component): fall back to Sell‑By Date evaluation; compare Sell‑By Date with demand due date; if Sell‑By Date ≤ due date → exclude.
Sales Orders demand: apply method chosen (Sell‑By Date or QRS Minimum Shelf Life) using due date comparison.
Production Order Components demand: apply method chosen (Sell‑By Date or QRS Minimum Shelf Life) using component due date comparison.

Rolling supply (not yet in inventory)

For future supply, the system also evaluates predicted dates:

Predicted Expiration Date is computed using Expiration Calculation logic.
Predicted Sell‑By Date is calculated as: Predicted Expiration Date + Minimum Shelf Life (from Item Card)

Log Planning Information

When QRS integration is present, the Log Planning Information page has the following new fields:

Sell‑By Date (from Lot No Information)
QRS Minimum Shelf Life (from QRS Document Lines)

The log is also extended with new message patterns when inspection status causes exclusion:

“Lot with Sell‑By Date %1” (red)
“Does not meet customer minimum shelf life (required: %1)” (red)
“Predicted Sell‑By Date MM/DD/YYYY – supply excluded from planning” (red)

Integration with QRS and Inspection Status

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The Advanced Planning extension is designed to work seamlessly when both Inspection Status and Quality Requirements & Specifications (QRS) are installed, enabling planning calculations to respect customer-specific quality requirements and inspection compliance at the same time.

When all apps are present, Advanced Planning combines the inherited rules from both integrations so that only lots that meet the required inspection status and shelf-life criteria are considered as eligible supply during MRP/MPS planning.

This combined integration is particularly valuable when quality requirements vary by customer or order context, and when lot compliance can change over time (for example, due to scheduled inspection status changes). It helps planners avoid generating suggestions that would later fail during picking, shipment, or consumption, and it provides full traceability through Log Planning Information, including detailed messages explaining whether exclusion was driven by QRS requirements, inspection status restrictions, or both.

Business Rules

The combined integration exists to exclude noncompliant lots (or projected future supply) when:

QRS requires a specific inspection status and/or minimum shelf life
Lot’s inspection status (current or projected at demand date) does not match or is excluded.

Combined rules and precedence

The combined integration adds the following rules to the Advanced Planning application:

Lots whose Inspection Status has Exclude from Planning = TRUE are always excluded regardless of QRS requirements.
When a QRS Document Line exists, the system must enforce Required Inspection Status defined by QRS for Sales/Production demand.
If the QRS required inspection status itself is marked “Exclude from Planning”, it becomes a conflicting requirement; planning should treat it as unsatisfiable by existing lots and will result in new supply suggestions with projected compliant status.
If QRS Document Line is manually deleted, then that demand line behaves as “no specific QRS requirements”; global inspection exclusion rules remain active.

Log Planning Information

The Log Planning Information page is extended with new message when a lot doesn’t meet the QRS required inspection status: “QRS Required inspection status: %1; lot status at due date: %2 – supply excluded” (red).

Pages and UI Reference

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This page provides an overview of the main pages, dialogs, and UI elements introduced or extended by the Advanced Planning app and explains their purpose in daily planning activities.

Planning Worksheet

Purpose: Central working page where planners calculate and review MRP/MPS suggestions.

Advanced Planning additions:

Applies eligibility rules (expired, blocked, inspection, sell‑by) during calculation.
Provides access to Log Planning Information.
Displays the Calculation Profile FactBox when automated planning is configured.

Advanced Planning Setup

Purpose: Configuration page used to maintain planning exclusion rules after installation.

Key settings:

Exclude Blocked Lots from Planning
Exclude Blocked Packages from Planning
Exclude Blocked Serial Nos from Planning
Exclude Expired Tracking from Planning

These settings determine how supply eligibility is evaluated during planning.

Log Planning Information

Purpose: Analysis page used to understand how demand and supply were evaluated during planning.

Key capabilities:

Shows included and excluded lots with clear explanations.
Displays aggregated quantities per demand period.
Groups data by Due Date.
Supports filtering and Export to Excel.
Helps explain why planning suggestions exist — or why none were created.

This page is read‑only and used for validation, troubleshooting, and audit purposes.

Calculation Profile (FactBox)

Purpose: Manage and monitor automated regenerative planning runs.

Available actions:

Run Now
Edit
Get Error Log (available even if no planning lines exist)

Calculate Regenerative Plan (Request Page)

Purpose: Standard Business Central request page extended by Advanced Planning.

Advanced Planning additions:

Save to Job Queue option to create automated planning profiles.
Saves dynamic date formulas when used with automation.

Demand Forecast Overview

Purpose: Standard Business Central page used to maintain demand forecasts.

Advanced Planning additions:

Export Demand Forecast
Import Demand Forecast

These actions support Excel‑based forecast collaboration within system limits.

Lot Inspection Status (If Inspection Status is installed)

Purpose: Define inspection‑related eligibility for lots.

Advanced Planning addition:

Exclude from Planning flag
Determines whether lots with a given inspection status are excluded from planning calculations.

Quality Requirements & Specifications Setup (If QRS is installed)

Purpose: Define quality and shelf‑life requirements that influence planning.

Advanced Planning additions:

Plan with Sell‑By Restrictions
Sell‑By Evaluation Method

Used to align planning with customer‑specific quality requirements.

Advanced Scenarios

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Advanced Planning supports complex planning and supply chain scenarios that go beyond basic lot exclusion. Here are some examples:

Multi-level eligibility checks: Plan for items where lots must pass both expiration and inspection status checks and may also need to meet customer-specific shelf-life requirements.
Rolling supply with predicted compliance: Evaluate inbound supply (purchase or production orders) based on predicted expiration and inspection status at the expected receipt date, ensuring only future-compliant lots are considered.
Customer-driven planning: Use QRS integration to enforce minimum shelf-life and required inspection status for specific customers or sales orders, automatically excluding lots that do not meet these requirements.
Automated planning for high-volume environments: Schedule background regenerative planning runs for large datasets, ensuring planners start each day with pre-calculated suggestions and error logs, even when no planning lines are created.
Audit and traceability for compliance: Use Log Planning Information to provide a full audit trail of planning decisions, including reasons for exclusion (expiration, blocked, inspection status, shelf-life), supporting quality and regulatory audits.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

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Common Issues and Solutions

No planning lines created

If a planning run produces no suggestions, check the Log Planning Information page for detailed analysis of demand, supply, and exclusion reasons. A notification will guide you to the temporary log.

Error log not available

Use the Get Error Log action from the Calculation Profile FactBox. This is available even when the Planning Worksheet is empty.

Importing more than 32 periods

The import will be blocked and flagged as an error. Split your forecast data into multiple imports or reduce the period scope.

Lots excluded unexpectedly

Review the exclusion messages in Log Planning Information. Check Advanced Planning Setup, Inspection Status, and QRS settings for eligibility rules.

Job Queue not running as expected

Confirm that the Calculation Profile is correctly configured and that the Job Queue entry is active. Check error logs for scheduling or data issues.

FAQs

Q: Can I use Advanced Planning for non-tracked items? No, Advanced Planning logic applies only to tracked items (lot/package/serial). Non-tracked items follow standard planning.

Q: What happens if I disable Plan with Sell-By Restrictions? Sell-by and minimum shelf-life checks are not applied; only expiration, blocked, and inspection status rules are used.

Q: How do I troubleshoot forecast import errors? Use the Data Migration Wizard to review and fix invalid rows. Only valid rows will be imported.

Q: Can I automate planning for multiple worksheet templates? Yes, you can create separate Calculation Profiles for each template and batch.

Q: How do I see why a lot was excluded? Open Log Planning Information and review the message and color coding for each lot.

Security and Permissions

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Permissions

To use this extension, users require permission sets that match their responsibilities (read-only vs execution vs administration).

Permission Set	Description
(BRIAPL_READ) Advanced Planning- Read	View Advanced Planning pages and data (read-only).
(BRIAPL_BASIC) Advanced Planning - Basic	Includes all Read permissions plus the ability to manage planning profiles, run regenerative plan calculations manually, import/export demand forecasts, define exclusion rules for lot eligibility, and view detailed planning logs.
(BRIAPL_ADMIN) Advanced Planning - Admin	Full access, including automation setup and scheduling.

Data Retention and Privacy

Data Storage

All Advanced Planning data stored in Business Central database
Follows standard Business Central retention policies
No external data transmission
The app stores operational planning data such as:
- Planning calculation profiles
- Planning logs (Log Planning Information)
- Temporary analysis data for planning results
Exported Demand Forecast files are stored wherever the user chooses (local machine, OneDrive, SharePoint).

Privacy Compliance

Advanced Planning works entirely within the customer’s Business Central tenant.
The app does not collect or store sensitive personal data beyond standard Business Central records.
Access to data is controlled through Business Central permission sets.
Privacy and compliance for exported Excel files are managed through the customer’s Microsoft 365 policies.

Data Archiving

Planning log data can be exported to Excel for documentation or audit purposes.
Unused planning calculation profiles can be deleted to keep the environment clean.
No automatic data archival or deletion is enforced by the app.

Security Best Practices

Assign permission sets according to user roles (Read, Basic, Admin).
Restrict Admin permissions to users responsible for setup and automation.
Store exported Demand Forecast files in approved and secured locations.
Review Log Planning Information after planning runs to validate results and investigate exclusions.

Supported Editions

This app supports the Essential and Premium editions of Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Supported Countries

All countries where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is available.

Supported Languages

Dutch, English, French, Portuguese.