Create Purchase Orders from Drop Shipments

If you have worked with drop shipments in Business Central, you know the process has always been a bit... indirect. You would create a sales order, mark lines for drop shipment, and then separately create a purchase order and use the Get Sales Orders action to pull those lines in. It worked, but it was not exactly smooth, especially when you were juggling multiple orders.

With Business Central 2026 Release Wave 1 (BC28), Microsoft has simplified this workflow. You can now create purchase orders directly from the sales order itself using the Create Purchase Orders action. On top of that, drop shipment lines are now included in the Order Planning page when you calculate plans, and the Planning Worksheet page gets a dedicated Drop Shipment action group.

What Exactly Changed?

1. Create Purchase Orders Directly from Sales Orders

Previously, to create a purchase order for a drop shipment, you had to leave the sales order, go to the purchase side, and manually pull in the sales lines. Now there is a Create Purchase Orders action right on the sales order. Business Central looks at your drop shipment lines, figures out the vendor from the Item Card or Stockkeeping Unit Card, and suggests the purchase order lines for you. You review, tweak if needed, and you are done. 

2. Drop Shipments Included in Order Planning

The Order Planning page now considers drop shipment lines when you run Calculate Plan. Before this update, drop shipment demand was essentially invisible to the planning engine. Now it shows up alongside your other demand, which gives you a more complete picture of what you need to order and when.

3. New Drop Shipment Actions in Planning Worksheet

The Planning Worksheet page now includes a dedicated Drop Shipment action group with Get Sales Orders and Sales Orders actions. This mirrors what the requisition worksheet already had, bringing consistency across the planning tools.

Tip: Vendor Determination Business Central picks the vendor from the Item Card's Vendor No. field first. If you use Stockkeeping Units (SKUs), the vendor configured on the SKU for that location takes priority. You can always override it on the Create Purchase Orders page before confirming.

Before vs. After: Quick Comparison

 

Area	Before (BC27 and earlier)	After (BC28)
Creating POs from Sales Orders	Create PO separately, then use Get Sales Orders from the purchase order	Create Purchase Orders action directly on the sales order
Order Planning	Drop shipment lines not included in Calculate Plan	Drop shipment lines are included when calculating plans
Planning Worksheet	No dedicated drop shipment actions; only available in requisition worksheet	New Drop Shipment action group with Get Sales Orders and Sales Orders actions