Feature Overview
Intercompany trading only works smoothly when the people creating sales and purchase orders can see what stock is really available on the other side of the relationship — and when lot, serial, and quality information travels with the goods instead of getting re-typed. This feature covers two related capabilities: looking up a partner company's item availability on demand from a sales or purchase document, and automatically carrying item tracking (lot numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates) and quality attributes across when a shipment is posted.
The availability lookup is available directly from the item card and from sales/purchase/return order lines via an Intercompany action (shortcut Ctrl+I). It queries every intercompany vendor linked to the item — the default intercompany vendor, the item's own vendor, and any item-vendor records — and shows live inventory from each partner company the current user can reach. Selecting a line from the result applies that vendor, variant, and location straight back to the order line, so the person creating the order never has to leave the document or log into the partner environment.
Once an order flows through to posting, item tracking is not left behind: lot numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates, and three quality-related fields (Test Quality, Certificate Number, Blocked) are captured on the Supply Company's shipment and carried across in a dedicated intercompany table, so they are automatically applied to the linked purchase line and registered on the Sales Company's purchase receipt.
Key Facts
| Category | Values |
|---|---|
| Where to trigger a lookup | Item Card, Sales Order/Return Order lines, Purchase Order lines, Sales Quote lines |
| What the lookup checks | Every intercompany vendor for the item (default vendor, item's vendor, item-vendor list), skipping blocked vendors |
| What gets carried at posting | Lot No., Serial No., Expiration Date, Warranty Date, Test Quality, Certificate Number, Blocked |
| Related setup field | Default Intercompany Vendor (Intercompany Setup, "As a Sales Company") |
| Integration points | Sales/Purchase/Return Order lines, standard BC Item Tracking, the transaction flow's posted shipment → purchase receipt step |
Getting Started
- Open Intercompany Setup and, under "As a Sales Company", optionally set Default Intercompany Vendor — orders will default to this vendor when checking availability, though it can be overridden per order.
- Make sure the items you intend to trade are linked to an intercompany vendor — either via the item's own Vendor No., an Item Vendor record, or the default vendor above.
- Confirm the partner's IC Partner Card has a working connection (see "Setting Up a Partner Company") — availability lookups fail if the partner can't be reached.
- On a sales order line, purchase order line, or the Item Card, select the item and choose the Intercompany action (Ctrl+I).
- Review the returned availability per partner vendor, select the desired line, and confirm — the vendor, variant, and location are applied to your order line automatically.
- If the item uses lot or serial tracking, no extra setup is needed: tracking data captured at shipment on the Supply Company side is carried automatically when the Sales Company's purchase receipt is posted.
Related Features
This feature depends on Setting Up a Partner Company for the underlying connection used to query remote inventory, and on Automatic Order Creation Between Companies, since the vendor/variant/location chosen here is written directly onto the order line that automation later processes. It also plugs into standard Business Central Item Tracking — lot/serial numbers aren't a separate intercompany concept, they ride along inside the existing tracking framework, just extended with three quality fields (Test Quality, Certificate Number, Blocked) that are specific to intercompany shipments.
User Stories
Check partner stock before confirming a sales order line
As a sales order processor
I want to see live stock availability at the intercompany supply company
So that I can confirm a realistic delivery date without contacting the partner directly
Setup:
- On the sales order line, enter the item and requested delivery date.
- Choose the Intercompany action (Ctrl+I).
- Review the availability results per partner vendor and select a line.
Note: The requested delivery date must be filled in first — the lookup uses it as the availability date.
Check partner stock from a purchase order
As a purchasing user
I want to look up intercompany vendor stock directly from a purchase order line
So that I can pick the right vendor/variant without switching systems
Setup:
- On the purchase order line, choose the Intercompany action.
- Confirm the line is not a drop shipment and has a requested receipt date.
- Select a result to apply it to the line.
Note: The action is not available on drop-shipment purchase lines.
Check availability directly from the Item Card
As a sales or inventory user
I want to check an item's intercompany availability without opening an order
So that I can answer a stock question quickly
Setup:
- Open the Item Card for the item.
- Under item availability actions, choose Intercompany (Ctrl+I).
- Review availability across all linked intercompany vendors for today's date.
Look up availability from a sales quote
As a sales quote creator
I want to check partner stock while still quoting, before the order is confirmed
So that I can quote a realistic delivery promise
Setup:
- On the sales quote line, use the Intercompany action the same way as on a sales order line.
Look up availability on a sales return order line
As a returns processor
I want to check intercompany stock context on a return order line
So that I can handle a return consistently with normal order processing
Setup:
- On the sales return order line, use the Intercompany action.
Default to a preferred intercompany vendor automatically
As an Intercompany administrator
I want to set a default intercompany vendor for the sales company
So that order lines and availability lookups default to the right partner without manual entry every time
Setup:
- Open Intercompany Setup.
- Under "As a Sales Company", set Default Intercompany Vendor.
- New sales order lines will inherit this vendor into the Intercompany Vendor field automatically; it can still be overridden per order.
Override the default vendor on a specific order
As a sales order processor
I want to override the default intercompany vendor on one particular order
So that an exception doesn't require changing the global setup
Setup:
- On the sales order, change the Intercompany Vendor field to the desired vendor.
- When looking up availability afterwards, only that vendor is queried — previous results for other vendors are not shown alongside it.
Fall back to any vendor linked to the item
As a sales order processor
I want to still get availability results even without a default vendor set
So that the lookup remains useful for items without a preferred partner
Setup:
- Leave the order's Intercompany Vendor blank and no default vendor configured.
- Run the Intercompany lookup — the app checks the item's own Vendor No. and any Item Vendor records instead.
Note: If no intercompany vendor can be found at all, the lookup reports "No intercompany vendors found."
Skip blocked vendors automatically
As an Intercompany administrator
I want to blocked vendors excluded from availability results automatically
So that users are never routed to a partner that shouldn't be traded with right now
Setup:
- Block the vendor on the Vendor Card as normal.
- Availability lookups silently skip that vendor going forward — no extra intercompany-specific action needed.
Trace lot and serial numbers back from a purchase receipt
As a warehouse or quality user on the Sales Company side
I want to see the same lot/serial numbers that were shipped by the Supply Company
So that I have full traceability without asking the partner for shipment details
Setup:
- No manual setup — post the intercompany purchase receipt as normal.
- Lot/serial numbers, expiration dates, and warranty dates recorded at the Supply Company's shipment are applied automatically to the posted purchase receipt.
Review quality attributes carried from the supply company
As a quality control user
I want to see Test Quality, Certificate Number, and Blocked status for received intercompany stock
So that I can make quality decisions without contacting the supplying company
Setup:
- Open the Item Tracking Summary page for a received intercompany item.
- Review the Test Quality, Certificate Number, and Blocked columns — populated automatically for intercompany-tracked entries.
Note: These three fields only display data when the app is enabled for the current company; they are read-only.
Rely on tracking data without extra intercompany configuration
As an Intercompany administrator
I want to have item tracking sync work automatically once standard BC item tracking is set up
So that I don't need a separate intercompany tracking configuration
Setup:
- Set up item tracking (lot/serial) on the item as usual in standard Business Central.
- No additional intercompany setup step is required — tracking data flows through the existing outbox/inbox transaction as part of the normal transaction flow.
Field Reference
| Field name | Where to find it | What it does | Default value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default Intercompany Vendor | Intercompany Setup ("As a Sales Company") | Vendor used by default when an order line doesn't specify one; can be overridden per order | (blank) |
| Intercompany Vendor | Sales Order / Sales Return Order | The specific intercompany vendor for this order's lines; inherited from the default vendor if set | (blank) |
| Test Quality | Item Tracking Summary | Quality classification carried from the supply company's shipment | (blank) |
| Certificate Number | Item Tracking Summary | Certificate reference carried from the supply company's shipment | (blank) |
| Blocked | Item Tracking Summary | Indicates the tracked entry was flagged as blocked at the supply company | No |