Contract process manufacturers running Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central face a distinct set of operational challenges. Formulas must scale by batch size, lot traceability must follow materials from receipt through finished goods, and costing must reflect actual production conditions. Standard Business Central handles discrete manufacturing well, but process manufacturing requires Business Central process manufacturing add-ons that support recipes, batch tracking, quality workflows, and co-product outputs.
Naviona delivers process manufacturing configurations inside Business Central using COSMO CONSULT components, backed by 25 years of manufacturing-specific implementation experience. This article compares six add-ons that extend Business Central for contract process manufacturing, evaluated on traceability, formula support, costing, and operational fit.
Quick guide: 6 best process manufacturing add-ons for Business Central
- Naviona with COSMO Process Manufacturing: Best overall process manufacturing configuration for Business Central
- Vicinity Manufacturing: Formula-focused extension for food, beverage, and chemical batch production
- YAVEON ProBatch 365: GMP-oriented extension for regulated process industries
- Acumens Contract Manufacturing: Subcontracting and outsourced production tracking within Business Central
- ECOSIRE Formula & Recipe Management: Ratio-based recipe cards with catch-weight and co-product handling
- Insight Works Enhanced Planning Pack: Planning worksheet enhancements for MRP-driven process environments
How we chose the best process manufacturing add-ons for Business Central
Process manufacturing inside Business Central requires more than a feature checklist. Your recipes, batch workflows, quality checks, and costing methods must work together in the same system your finance team trusts. We selected these add-ons based on how well they address real operational requirements that contract process manufacturers deal with every day.
- Recipe and formula management: Can you define percentage-based formulations, scale batch sizes proportionally, and manage formula versions without workarounds?
- Lot and batch traceability: Does the add-on provide forward and reverse lot tracking from raw material receipt through finished goods shipment, including intermediates?
- Quality control integration: Are quality checks, sample management, and disposition workflows built into the production process rather than bolted on after the fact?
- Costing accuracy: Does actual production data feed directly into inventory valuation, margin reporting, and financial close rather than relying on manual adjustments?
- Co-product and by-product handling: Can the system record multiple outputs from a single production run and allocate costs appropriately?
- Contract manufacturing support: Does the add-on manage outsourced production, vendor-held inventory, and subcontractor cost tracking within your Business Central environment?
- Implementation and partner depth: Is the add-on backed by consultants who understand manufacturing operations, not just software configuration?
The 6 best process manufacturing add-ons for Business Central
1. Naviona with COSMO Process Manufacturing: Best overall process manufacturing add-on for Business Central
Contract process manufacturers need their ERP to reflect how production actually works: recipes that scale, lots that trace from receipt to shipment, quality checks embedded in workflow, and costing that matches what happened on the floor. Naviona configures Business Central with COSMO Process Manufacturing to address these requirements as a connected system, not a collection of separate modules.
Where most implementations stop at software setup, Naviona validates the configuration using your actual products, your real data, and your production scenarios. The approach starts with documented business requirements, identifies which capabilities fit standard Business Central, which require COSMO CONSULT components, and which depend on Naviona-developed functionality or integration.
Naviona has over 25 years of experience implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central across plastics, specialty metals, and chemical manufacturing. With 350 or more installations, the COSMO Process Manufacturing configuration that Naviona delivers covers recipe management, sequence planning, quality management, batch traceability, co-product handling, and production costing aligned to actual consumption.
Naviona with COSMO Process Manufacturing features
- Recipe and production structure management: Define percentage-based formulations, manage multiple recipe versions, and link recipes to routings, test plans, and production instructions in a single production structure. This means your R&D formulas connect directly to commercial production without re-entry.
- Sequence planning and capacity scheduling: Plan production orders across work centers, machine centers, and personnel with constraint-aware scheduling. You can see shortages, bottlenecks, and resource conflicts before they disrupt your production calendar.
- Forward and reverse batch traceability: Track raw materials, intermediates, and finished batches through every production step. If a quality issue arises, you can trace the affected lots both forward to customer shipments and backward to source materials.
- Integrated quality management: Embed test plans, sample handling, vendor rating, and quality disposition into purchasing, production, and shipping workflows. Quality status controls whether material can be consumed, produced, or shipped.
- Co-product and by-product accounting: Record multiple outputs from a single production run with appropriate cost allocation, giving your finance team accurate inventory valuation and margin visibility.
- Manufacturing-first implementation methodology: Naviona begins with your manufacturing operation and documented requirements. The solution design identifies what fits standard Business Central, what COSMO components address, and what requires additional configuration or integration.
Naviona with COSMO Process Manufacturing pros and cons
Pros:
- Covers recipe management, quality, traceability, co-products, and costing as a connected system inside Business Central rather than requiring separate applications
- Validated with your actual data and production scenarios before you commit, reducing the risk of post-go-live surprises
- Backed by senior consultants with over 20 years of manufacturing ERP experience across plastics, specialty metals, and chemicals
Cons:
- The scope of COSMO components required depends on your specific operation, so an initial requirements analysis is needed to determine the right configuration
- Organizations with very simple discrete-only production may not need the full process manufacturing feature set
- Implementation timelines vary based on operational complexity, number of products, and integration requirements
2. Vicinity Manufacturing: Formula-driven extension for batch production scheduling
Vicinity Manufacturing provides a standalone process manufacturing application that integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The extension focuses on formula-based production for food, beverage, chemical, paint, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Vicinity includes formula version control, multi-facility support, and production scheduling with MRP capabilities tailored to batch environments.
The application offers certificate of analysis generation, R&D project tracking, and yield analysis. Vicinity connects to Business Central for financials, purchasing, and inventory while handling production scheduling and formula management within its own interface.
Vicinity Manufacturing features
- Formula management with version control: Manage formulas separately from production BOMs, with the ability to track multiple versions and switch between them during production runs
- Multi-facility production support: Modify formulas and routing for each manufacturing location, then develop capacity plans that reach across all facilities
- Certificate of analysis generation: Automatically generate, store, and forward certificates of analysis for any customer and lot combination
Vicinity Manufacturing pros and cons
Pros:
- Includes multi-facility formula management, which allows location-specific recipe adjustments
- Offers built-in certificate of analysis generation and R&D project tracking
- Provides production scheduling with batch ticket and planned order workflows
Cons:
- Operates as a separate application alongside Business Central rather than functioning entirely within the Business Central interface
- Quality management capabilities are less extensive than dedicated quality modules available in other add-ons
- Does not include sequence planning or personnel planning functionality for production floor coordination
3. YAVEON ProBatch 365: GMP-ready extension for regulated process manufacturers
YAVEON ProBatch 365 is a Business Central extension built for regulated process manufacturing industries including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and beverage, and chemicals. The extension adds manufacturing specifications that combine bills of material and routings into a single structure, along with GMP-compliant workflows including audit trails and digital signatures. YAVEON serves more than 1,000 customers globally.
The extension supports feature-based item tracking, where actual lot characteristics can influence component quantities in production. YAVEON also provides compliance documentation for FDA, EU GMP, and other regulatory frameworks common in process manufacturing.
YAVEON ProBatch 365 features
- Manufacturing specifications: Combine bills of material and routings into unified structures with version control and effective dates
- GMP compliance tools: Audit trails, digital signatures, and structured update management that support validation for regulated environments
- Feature-based production: Adjust input quantities based on actual lot characteristics, which supports active ingredient management and potency-based calculations
YAVEON ProBatch 365 pros and cons
Pros:
- Includes GMP compliance tools with audit trails and digital signatures built into production workflows
- Supports feature-based lot tracking that adjusts production quantities based on actual material properties
- Available as a native Business Central extension in both cloud and on-premises deployments
Cons:
- The extension is primarily designed for regulated industries, so manufacturers without strict compliance requirements may not use many of its specialized features
- Documentation and support resources are primarily available in German and English, which may limit accessibility for some teams
- Does not include built-in contract manufacturing or outsourced production tracking capabilities
4. Acumens Contract Manufacturing: Subcontracting and outsourced production tracking
Acumens Contract Manufacturing by SBC Dynamics is a Business Central add-on designed specifically for companies that outsource production to third-party manufacturers. The extension formalizes the contractor-client relationship within Business Central, tracking production orders, vendor-held raw materials, and labor costs associated with outsourced manufacturing.
The add-on focuses on supply chain flexibility for companies that lack in-house production capacity or choose to outsource specific product lines. Acumens tracks vendor invoices and cost allocation related to contract manufacturing operations.
Acumens Contract Manufacturing features
- Outsourced production order tracking: Monitor production orders placed with external contractors, including status updates and completion tracking
- Vendor-held inventory management: Maintain visibility of raw materials stored at the contractor’s location, reducing your own storage requirements
- Contract cost tracking: Track labor and production expenses associated with each contract manufacturing agreement for accurate cost allocation
Acumens Contract Manufacturing pros and cons
Pros:
- Addresses the specific workflow of outsourced production, which standard Business Central does not handle natively
- Provides visibility into vendor-held inventory and contractor production status from within Business Central
- Available on Microsoft AppSource for both cloud and on-premises Business Central environments
Cons:
- Focused exclusively on contract manufacturing, so it does not include recipe management, quality control, or batch traceability
- Does not provide formula-based production capabilities, which means process manufacturers would need an additional add-on for in-house batch production
- Limited publicly available documentation on implementation scope and partner network
5. ECOSIRE Formula & Recipe Management: Ratio-based recipe extension for Business Central
ECOSIRE Formula & Recipe Management is a per-tenant Business Central extension that adds formula and recipe-based production capabilities. The extension replaces rigid production BOM quantities with ratio and percentage-based ingredient lines, includes a batch sizing engine that scales recipes to target output quantities, and handles co-products and by-products within the same production run.
ECOSIRE also supports catch-weight and variable-yield tracking, reconciling actual posted output against theoretical yield with configurable tolerances. The extension uses table and page extensions over standard Business Central items and production BOMs rather than maintaining a parallel data model.
ECOSIRE Formula & Recipe Management features
- Percentage-based recipe cards: Define ingredient lines as ratios that sum to 100%, with automatic recalculation when batch sizes change
- Catch-weight and yield tracking: Reconcile actual production output against theoretical yield using configurable tolerance thresholds
- Potency-based calculations: Adjust ingredient quantities based on active ingredient assay and concentration, supporting dilution-to-target workflows
ECOSIRE Formula & Recipe Management pros and cons
Pros:
- Extends standard Business Central production BOMs and items directly, avoiding a separate data model or parallel application
- Includes potency and concentration-based ingredient calculations for active ingredient management
- Supports co-product and by-product output lines within a single production run
Cons:
- Does not include quality management, test plans, or sample handling workflows within the extension
- Built as a per-tenant custom extension rather than a broadly deployed AppSource product, which may affect update cadence
- Does not include production scheduling, sequence planning, or capacity management capabilities
6. Insight Works Enhanced Planning Pack: MRP and planning optimization for Business Central
Insight Works Enhanced Planning Pack extends Business Central’s planning worksheets with additional tools for MRP simulation, safety stock management, and demand forecasting. The pack includes an enhanced planning worksheet, a forecasting worksheet, and an item planning review for tuning reorder parameters.
While not a process manufacturing extension on its own, the Enhanced Planning Pack addresses a common gap for process manufacturers: unreliable MRP output that leads to excess inventory or missed production schedules. The tools help you simulate planning scenarios and bulk-update planning parameters based on actual consumption data.
Insight Works Enhanced Planning Pack features
- MRP scenario simulation: Test planning scenarios before releasing purchase and production orders, reducing the risk of over-ordering or under-ordering materials
- Forecasting worksheet: Generate demand forecasts based on historical trends and push them directly into Business Central’s demand table
- Planning parameter review: Adjust reorder points, safety stock levels, and time buckets based on real consumption data rather than estimates
Insight Works Enhanced Planning Pack pros and cons
Pros:
- Addresses MRP and demand forecasting gaps that process manufacturers commonly encounter with standard Business Central planning
- Includes tools for bulk-updating planning parameters, which reduces manual maintenance of item reorder settings
- Integrates with other Insight Works products including Shop Floor Insights and Warehouse Insight
Cons:
- Does not include recipe management, batch traceability, or quality control capabilities
- Focused on planning optimization rather than production execution, so it must be paired with a process manufacturing extension
- The production order analysis and routing analysis tools require separate licensing from the planning worksheets
Comparison table: The best process manufacturing add-ons for Business Central
| Add-On | Recipe Management | Quality Integration | Batch Traceability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naviona with COSMO | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vicinity Manufacturing | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| YAVEON ProBatch 365 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Acumens Contract Mfg | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| ECOSIRE Formula Mgmt | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Insight Works Planning | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
What should contract process manufacturers look for in a Business Central add-on?
Contract process manufacturers operate under a specific set of constraints. Your client defines the product specification, your operation must execute it precisely, and your documentation must prove compliance at every step. The right Business Central add-on connects formulation, production, quality, and traceability in one system.
Look for recipe management that supports percentage-based formulations and version control. Your formulas change as ingredients, suppliers, and client requirements shift. The system must preserve a controlled history of what was approved and what was produced.
Batch traceability is non-negotiable. You need to trace raw materials through intermediates to finished goods and customer shipments, both forward and in reverse. If a client flags a quality concern, you must identify every affected lot within minutes, not days.
How does process manufacturing differ from discrete manufacturing in Business Central?
Standard Business Central manufacturing is built around discrete production: fixed bills of material, unit-based consumption, and routing steps that produce a single finished item. Process manufacturing operates differently. Recipes use proportional ingredient quantities that scale with batch size, and a single production run can generate multiple outputs.
Process manufacturers also deal with variable yield, potency-based ingredient adjustments, and quality disposition workflows that determine whether a batch can be shipped, reworked, or scrapped. According to a recent analysis of manufacturing approaches in Business Central, these operational differences require purpose-built extensions. These requirements go beyond what standard Business Central manufacturing modules handle without add-on extensions.
Naviona addresses this gap by configuring COSMO Process Manufacturing components inside Business Central, connecting recipe management, quality control, and traceability to your financial system. The scope depends on your specific operation and documented requirements.
Why Naviona with COSMO Process Manufacturing is the best add-on for contract process manufacturers
Selecting the right Business Central add-on for contract process manufacturing comes down to operational fit. Your add-on must handle recipes, traceability, quality, and costing as a connected system, not as separate tools that require manual handoffs between departments.
Naviona delivers this connected system by configuring COSMO Process Manufacturing inside your Business Central environment, validated with your actual data and production scenarios. With over 25 years of manufacturing ERP experience and 350 or more process manufacturing installations, Naviona brings the operational knowledge to identify which components your operation requires and how they should be configured.
If you need to evaluate how Business Central with process manufacturing fits your contract manufacturing operation, discuss your requirements with a senior manufacturing consultant at Naviona. The conversation starts with your manufacturing process, not with software features.
FAQs about Business Central process manufacturing add-ons
Can Business Central handle process manufacturing without an add-on?
Standard Business Central supports discrete manufacturing with fixed bills of material and unit-based production orders. Process manufacturing requirements like percentage-based recipes, batch scaling, co-product outputs, and quality disposition workflows require add-on extensions. Naviona configures COSMO Process Manufacturing inside Business Central to address these gaps for batch and formula-driven operations.
What is the difference between recipe management and a production BOM?
A production BOM defines fixed quantities of components per unit of output. Recipe management uses proportional ingredient lines, typically expressed as percentages, that scale automatically when batch size changes. Naviona implements recipe management through COSMO production structures, which combine formulas, routings, test plans, and instructions in a single page.
How does batch traceability work in Business Central with COSMO Process Manufacturing?
Batch traceability tracks raw material lots through intermediates and finished goods to customer shipments. Naviona configures forward and reverse tracing so you can identify every affected lot when a quality issue arises. The traceability scope depends on your operation and is defined during the requirements analysis phase.
Do I need all COSMO components for process manufacturing?
No. The required COSMO components depend on your operation. Naviona begins with documented business requirements and identifies which components fit your production processes. Scope should be based on documented requirements for recipe management, quality, traceability, costing, planning, and integrations. Some manufacturers require the full suite; others need only specific modules.
Can Naviona help with contract manufacturing workflows specifically?
Yes. Naviona configures Business Central to support contract manufacturing scenarios, including outsourced production, vendor-held inventory, subcontractor cost tracking, and supply material management. The configuration connects these workflows to your quality, traceability, and financial systems inside Business Central.
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