For manufacturing businesses, bill of materials (BOM) creation is one of the key areas to be considered when selecting an ERP system. For many years Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) has been the standard by which ERP systems are measured, however, it has entered its end-of-life cycle, leaving many businesses turning to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC).
Let’s take a look at how BOM creation and routing are handled in GP and BC, and how businesses moving from GP to BC can expect the transition to go.
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GP vs. BC: Bills of Materials (BOMs) – Structure & Types
In Dynamics GP, different types of BOMs are created in the system and are selectable from a drop-down menu including Manufacturing and Engineering BOMs, as well as Configured and Super BOMs. Most GP users rely on Manufacturing BOMs for day‑to‑day production, while Super BOMs are typically used for configuration scenarios. GP also supports Phantom BOMs, which allow components to be exploded directly into the parent BOM without creating a separate production step.
These different BOM types are typically linked to specific items or item classes, meaning users have fewer choices to make when creating orders.
These same ideas exist in Business Central, but they’re handled in a more flexible and scalable way.
In Business Central, BOMs are managed as Production BOMs.
Instead of creating multiple item numbers for similar products, Business Central introduces the concept of variants.
Variants allow you to use a shared base BOM, and then layer in differences—such as color or finish—without duplicating the entire structure.
Business Central also supports Phantom BOMs, which automatically explode during production, just like in GP—but with cleaner maintenance and better visibility.
So, while the terminology is slightly different, the core BOM concepts from GP are fully supported—and expanded—in Business Central.
GP vs. BC: BOM Version Control & Revisions
In GP, BOM revisions allow you to track historical versions of a Bill of Materials.
If a component changes, whether it’s quantity or item revision, you create a new BOM revision.
These revisions give you a history of changes, but typically only one revision is actively used during production.
Business Central takes this idea further with a built‑in versioning workflow.
In Business Central, BOMs use formal version statuses.
A new BOM starts in a ‘New’ or ‘Under Development’ state, and only becomes usable once it’s Certified.
Certified versions are locked for production, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
If changes are needed, the BOM can be moved back into development.
Multiple versions can exist, and the most recently certified version becomes the default—giving you both control and flexibility.
This structured versioning helps eliminate errors while making BOM changes easier to manage over time.
GP vs. BC: Routings & Production Flow
In GP, routings define the sequence of operations required to build an item.
Each routing is marked as either Primary or Alternate.
Routings can also be placed on hold, released, or archived, controlling whether they can be used in manufacturing orders.
All routing details—sequences, work centers, labor, and machines—are managed from a single routing card.
Business Central approaches routings with more scheduling flexibility.
In BC, routings are independent objects that can be reused across items.
One major difference is the ability to define Serial and Parallel routings.
Serial routings run operations one after another, while parallel routings allow multiple operations to occur at the same time—reducing total production time.
Routing link codes also allow materials to be consumed at specific operation steps, improving planning accuracy.
This gives manufacturers more control over how work is scheduled and executed.
GP vs. BC: Work Centers, Labor, and Machines
In GP, work centers are used to define where work is performed.
Labor, machine time, and employees are all associated directly with the work center.
Machine IDs can be used optionally, and GP allows you to track both in‑house and outsourced operations.
Business Central separates these concepts for more flexibility.
In Business Central, work centers handle labor and subcontracting, while machine centers are optional and act as a subset of work centers.
This allows you to model capacity more accurately—especially when multiple machines perform the same operation.
Costs, overhead, and capacity are calculated automatically based on how each center is defined.
The result is more accurate costing and better production planning.
GP vs. BC: Outsourcing & Subcontracting
In GP, outsourced operations are defined using outsourced work centers and machine IDs.
Vendor IDs are linked directly to these steps, allowing purchase orders to be created from manufacturing orders.
These purchase orders stay linked back to the manufacturing order, providing traceability. However, this also leads to individual contractors having flat costs that need to be manually changed in GP.
Business Central streamlines this process.
In Business Central, subcontracting is handled directly through subcontractor work centers which enable individual contractors to have unique cost calculations.
Vendors are assigned on the work center, and costs are typically defined on the routing itself—based on units rather than time.
This approach reduces manual setup while keeping purchasing and production tightly connected.
Subcontracting remains familiar in Business Central—but becomes easier to manage.
GP vs. BC: Production Orders & Execution
In GP, manufacturing orders move through statuses such as Quote, Open, Released, and Complete.
When an order is released, materials are allocated, and the selected BOM version is locked in for production.
Business Central follows a similar lifecycle with clearer planning stages.
In Business Central, production orders move through Planned, Firm Planned, Released, and Finished statuses.
Refreshing the production order automatically schedules operations based on routing and BOM data.
Material consumption can be handled using forward, backward, or manual flushing—giving teams flexibility in how production is recorded.
For GP users, production orders in Business Central will feel familiar—but more automated and more visible.
In short, BC, true to its status as a modern, agile ERP platform, is a more flexible, customizable platform that gives manufacturers more control over their bill of materials creation and completion processes.
Watch the full "Modernizing Manufacturing: GP vs. Business Central - What Really Changes?" Webinar OnDemand
