Intercompany

Abakion Intercompany is a supply chain automation app for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that eliminates the manual work involved in trading between two BC environments. Where standard BC Intercompany requires users to manually transfer journal entries through an IC outbox and inbox, the Abakion Intercompany app automates the order flow — from the moment a Sales Company releases a sales order to the moment a posted shipment and invoice appear on both sides — using a direct web service connection between the two environments.

The app is built around a company-role model. Every BC company that participates in intercompany trading is assigned a role: a Sales Company places purchase orders to a supply partner and receives delivery and invoice confirmations back; a Supply Company receives IC sales orders, fulfils them, and posts shipments and invoices that are automatically synchronised back to the Sales Company. A company can also act as both simultaneously. Each role is configured once through the Assisted Setup wizard, and each partner relationship is then configured individually on the IC Partner Card.

Beyond the core order flow, the app adds capabilities that standard BC does not provide: real-time inventory lookup into the Supply Company's stock before placing an order, automatic propagation of lot and serial numbers across company boundaries, flexible pricing rules (use normal prices, accept prices from the IC customer, or zero-profit pricing), configurable ship-to address handling, and custom field transfer for non-standard data that travels with every IC document. All web service calls are logged in the Interaction Log, giving administrators full visibility into what was exchanged and when.

Feature Map

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Common Concepts

Several concepts appear across multiple articles. Understanding them once makes the rest easier to follow.

Company Roles

Every BC company that uses the app has a single role: Sales Company, Supply Company, or Sales & Supply Company. The role is set in the IC Setup page under IC Company Type and drives which parts of the setup are relevant. A Sales Company initiates transactions; a Supply Company fulfils them. The Sales & Supply Company role combines both, which is common in multi-tier group structures where one company buys from a parent and sells to subsidiaries.

Web Service Connection

All data exchange between companies happens via a direct HTTPS web service call — there are no files, no shared databases, and no manual inbox handling. Each IC Partner Card holds the connection details for one partner environment: the BC environment URL, company name, and OAuth 2.0 credentials (Tenant ID, Client ID, Client Secret). Credentials are stored encrypted in Isolated Storage and never visible in plain text. The connection is configured through the IC Partner Web Service Setup wizard and can be tested before going live.

The Assisted Setup Wizard

The fastest way to configure a company for the first time is the Intercompany Assisted Setup wizard. For a Sales Company it creates an IC vendor, a drop-shipment purchasing code, an IC partner record, and optional item-vendor entries. For a Supply Company it creates an IC customer and a partner record pre-configured with inbound automation defaults. The wizard does not configure the web service connection — that is done separately on the IC Partner Card after the wizard completes.

IC Partner Card

Every partner relationship is managed on the IC Partner Card. It is divided into sections that reflect the company's role: outbound purchase automation and inventory settings for the Sales Company's view, and inbound sales automation, pricing, and fulfilment settings for the Supply Company's view. Most automation behaviour — whether orders are released, shipped, and invoiced automatically — is controlled by flags on this card, not on the IC Setup page.

The Auto Import Inbox Setting

On the IC Partner Card, the Auto import inbox setting controls how the Supply Company processes incoming IC transactions. No Handling means a user must manually process the IC inbox. Handle with Job Queue queues a background worker that processes all pending transactions and retries failures automatically. Handle with Web Service processes transactions synchronously at the moment the Sales Company sends them — with automatic fallback to the Job Queue for large documents or transient errors. Most new installations use Handle with Web Service.

Typical Workflows

Setting up a new intercompany relationship

1. In the Sales Company, run the Intercompany Assisted Setup wizard. Choose Sales Company as the type, enter the IC partner code and vendor details.
2. In the Supply Company, run the Assisted Setup wizard. Choose Supply Company (Inventory), enter the IC partner code.
3. In both companies, open the IC Partner Card for the other company and run the IC Partner Web Service Setup wizard. Enter the connection URL, company name, and OAuth 2.0 credentials. Test the connection.
4. In the Sales Company, configure outbound automation flags (Auto Release Outbound Purchase, IC Inventory Check, etc.).
5. In the Supply Company, configure inbound automation flags (Auto Release Inbound Sales, Auto Create Sales Shipment, Auto Create Sales Invoice, Post Sales Order).
6. Create a test sales order in the Sales Company and release it. Verify that a purchase order and an IC sales order appear in both environments.

Daily order flow (fully automated)

1. Sales Company user creates and releases a sales order for a customer.
2. The app automatically creates a purchase order to the IC Supply vendor and sends it to the Supply Company via web service.
3. The Supply Company's IC inbox processes the transaction and creates a sales order automatically.
4. The Supply Company posts a shipment → the Sales Company's purchase order receipt is created automatically.
5. The Supply Company posts an invoice → the Sales Company's purchase invoice is created and can be posted.

Troubleshooting a failed transaction

1. In either company, open the IC Interaction Log (search for IC Interaction Log Entries).
2. Filter by IC partner and date. Look for entries with HTTP status other than 200/201.
3. Open the failed entry and download the Response XML to read the error message.
4. Fix the underlying issue (e.g. missing posting setup, locked record, expired token).
5. If the transaction was queued, check the Job Queue Entries under category SCBIC.
6. Reprocess the transaction manually from the IC inbox, or reopen and re-release the source document.

Setup Checklist

Before going live with an intercompany relationship, verify:

• Both companies have the app installed and activated (trial or subscription)
• Both companies have BC standard IC enabled and IC Partner records exist on both sides
• The Assisted Setup wizard has been completed in both companies
• The web service connection is configured and tested on the IC Partner Card in both companies
• Automation flags on the IC Partner Card match the agreed fulfilment process
• At least one test transaction has been processed end-to-end in a sandbox environment
• The Job Queue entry for IC inbox processing is active (if using Handle with Job Queue mode)
• Users who will monitor transactions have access to the IC Interaction Log

Integration with Other Abakion Apps