Business Central is expanding its subcontracting capabilities — giving manufacturers proper control over the parts of production they outsource. 

Here is a statistic that surprises people outside manufacturing: some companies outsource up to 75 percent of their production. A business might keep research, design, quality control, and sales firmly in-house — and send most of the actual making out to specialist subcontractors. It is a smart model. It unlocks cost savings and gives access to specialised skills and technologies a company could never justify owning itself. 

But it also creates a control problem. The moment your raw materials leave your warehouse for a subcontractor, and finished goods come back, your ERP needs to track all of it — the transfers, the components, the costs, the item tracking — or you lose visibility over a huge chunk of your own production. With the 2026 Wave 1 release, Business Central is expanding exactly these subcontracting capabilities. 

What's Being Added 

The standard Business Central solution already meets many manufacturing needs. This release deepens its support for outsourced production with capabilities including: 

Subcontractor logistics for materials and components. Logistics flows that manage subcontractor transfers for raw materials and components, with warehouse handling and item tracking. 

Subcontractor logistics for finished goods. Finished goods receipts with item tracking and warehouse handling from purchase orders, plus flows that manage subcontractor transfers of finished goods. 

Flexible pricing. Pricing that considers the work center, item, dates, and quantity — so the cost of an outsourced operation reflects reality. 

More transparency. Enhanced usability and greater transparency across production processes, so outsourced work is as visible as in-house work. 

These build on Business Central's existing subcontracting tools — work centres linked to a subcontractor vendor, unit-or-time-based costing, subcontracting worksheets, subcontractor price lists, component management, item charges, and automatic location handling — to give a fuller, end-to-end picture of outsourced production. 

Why This Matters for African Manufacturers 

Across Africa, manufacturing is growing — and much of it is networked rather than vertically integrated. A clothing brand uses cut-make-trim subcontractors; a food producer outsources packaging; an engineering firm sends components out for specialist machining. For all of them, subcontracting visibility is not a nice-to-have: 

Cost control. Work-centre-and-quantity-based pricing, plus item charges for transport and packaging, mean you can allocate the true cost of outsourced operations to each production order — not just guess at it. 

Inventory accuracy. Item tracking and warehouse handling on subcontractor transfers mean materials sitting at a subcontractor's premises are still accounted for, not lost from view. 

Fewer errors. Automatic location management and transfer orders reduce the manual juggling — and the mistakes — that come with moving stock in and out of third-party sites. 

Scalability. A manufacturer can lean further into the outsourcing model — and grow — without losing operational control of what happens outside its own walls. 

Before and After: A Clothing Manufacturer in Durban 

Before: A clothing brand designs and sells in-house but outsources cutting and sewing to several workshops. Fabric leaves the warehouse on a spreadsheet and a hope; finished garments come back, and the team manually reconciles what was sent, what returned, and what it all cost. Stock at the workshops is effectively invisible, and costing each style accurately is guesswork. 

After: Each workshop is set up as a subcontractor. Business Central manages the transfer of fabric out and garments back, tracks the items at every step, and applies work-centre-based pricing plus transport item charges to each production order. The brand always knows where its stock is and what each style truly costs — and can scale its network of workshops with confidence. 

At a glance 

Feature: Expanded subcontracting capabilities in production processes 

Availability: Planned for July 2026 (2026 Release Wave 1, version 28) 

Covers: Material and finished-goods transfers, item tracking, warehouse handling, flexible pricing 

Note: Italian localizations transition to the new worldwide solution via a Feature Management key 

Why Resellers Should Take Note 

For CSP resellers and partners, subcontracting is a specialist, high-value conversation with manufacturing customers — a segment where the right configuration genuinely transforms operations. Many manufacturers have been managing outsourced production with spreadsheets, manual transfer journals, or costly bolt-on apps. Helping them set up native subcontracting — work centres, subcontractor pricing, component and location management, and item-charge costing — is exactly the kind of deep, sticky engagement that defines a trusted manufacturing partner. With Business Central also adding quality management capabilities in the same wave, there is a broader operations story to tell. 

The direction is clear: Business Central is maturing into a serious platform for networked, outsource-heavy manufacturing — not just the vertically integrated factory. For African manufacturers building flexible, subcontractor-based production networks, that means the core ERP increasingly reflects how they actually operate. 

Let's Talk 

If your business outsources part of its production and you are losing visibility — or money — in the handoffs, Business Central's expanded subcontracting capabilities are worth a serious look. 4Sight's Dynamics Africa Services team can configure subcontracting for your production processes, from subcontractor pricing to material transfers and cost allocation. 

Book a subcontracting and manufacturing review with 4Sight. 

References 

[1] Use subcontracting capabilities in production processes (2026 release wave 1 plan) — Microsoft Learn 

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2026wave1/smb/dynamics365-business-central/use-subcontracting-capabilities-production-processes 

[2] Subcontracting overview — Microsoft Learn 

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/production-how-to-subcontract-manufacturing 

[3] Update 28.0 for Business Central 2026 release wave 1 — Microsoft Learn 

learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/whatsnew/whatsnew-update-28-0