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For freight forwarders, 3PL warehouses and transport operators around Jebel Ali, Dubai South and Khalifa Port, we set up Dynamics 365 to show what every job actually earned.
Dynamics 365 for logistics in the UAE lets freight forwarders, 3PL warehouses and transport operators see margin per shipment, pallet or trip. Business Central treats each shipment or contract as a job with cost accruals for late carrier bills, while Supply Chain Management adds warehouse scanning and transportation management. Neither is a full forwarding operations system, so specialist tools are often integrated.
Dynamics 365 for logistics in the UAE serves three quite different businesses: freight forwarders who buy and resell space on ships, planes and trucks; 3PL operators who store and handle other companies' goods; and transport companies running their own fleets. They share one problem. Revenue is easy to see, but the cost of each shipment, pallet or trip arrives late, from many vendors, in several currencies.
Microsoft covers these needs at two levels. Business Central can treat each shipment or contract as a project, so carrier charges, customs fees, trucking and handling costs post against the job that earned the revenue. Supply Chain Management adds warehouse management processes with a mobile scanning app, and transportation management for load building, routes and freight rates. Neither includes a full freight forwarding operations system, so forwarders often keep a specialist operations tool and integrate it with Dynamics 365 for finance.
We are a Microsoft Partner in Dubai and work with operators across JAFZA, Dubai South, Dubai CommerCity, KEZAD and the Sharjah free zones. For a platform-neutral view of the sector, see ERP for logistics companies.
These problems come up across forwarding, warehousing and transport operators.
Shipping lines, airlines and customs brokers invoice weeks after the job is billed to the customer. Without accruals, early margin looks healthy and later months absorb the true cost.
3PL contracts bill by pallet, by cubic meter, per movement and for value-added services such as labeling. If billing is calculated by hand from warehouse reports, some activity is never invoiced.
Costs come in USD, EUR and CNY, while customers pay in AED or USD. Exchange differences distort job profitability unless rates are handled consistently.
Clients expect 3PLs to know exactly where their goods are, by lot, serial or expiry. Paper put-away and picking lists cause mismatches and claims.
Fuel, Salik tolls, fines, tires and repairs are paid centrally but not linked to vehicles or trips. Nobody can say which routes or customers are actually profitable.
This is a common flow for an operator offering forwarding, clearance and warehousing to the same customer. Each step posts to the customer's job.
One shared database: every step updates stock, finance and reports in real time.
Business Central covers job costing and finance. Supply Chain Management adds advanced warehouse and transport features. 3PL billing is usually an extension.
Each shipment, consignment or client contract is a project in Business Central, with budgeted cost and revenue per charge type.
Expected carrier, port and customs costs are accrued when the job is billed, then matched against vendor invoices when they arrive.
Location directives, work templates, wave picking and cycle counting, run from the Warehouse Management mobile app on handheld scanners.
Load building, route planning, carrier rates and freight reconciliation for operators that plan their own shipments.
Storage, handling and value-added service charges calculated from warehouse transactions and contract rates, then invoiced per client each period.
Trucks, trailers and forklifts registered as fixed assets, with fuel, tolls, repairs and fines posted to each vehicle using dimensions.
Vendor and customer documents in any currency, with exchange rate updates and realized gains or losses posted automatically.
Power Pages portals or APIs let clients see stock and order status, and integrations connect tracking systems and operations tools.
We build one view for operations and one for finance. Operations tracks volumes and service, and finance tracks margin and unbilled work.
Logistics touches customs, free zones and cross-border VAT more than most sectors. We configure Dynamics 365 to support the rules; confirm treatment with your tax advisor.
International transport of goods and passengers, and related services, can be zero-rated if conditions are met, while local deliveries are standard-rated. We set charge types with their own VAT settings so each invoice line is treated consistently.
Goods moving within and between VAT designated zones, such as parts of JAFZA, follow special rules. We keep customs declaration numbers on jobs and receipts to support VAT and customs audits.
Drivers, warehouse operatives and office staff are paid through the Wage Protection System. We integrate a WPS-capable payroll solution and allocate labor cost to warehouses and fleets.
Logistics firms in free zones may consider Qualifying Free Zone Person status, which depends on qualifying activities and substance. Tagging revenue by activity and customer location supports your advisor's analysis.
Most logistics invoices are B2B and will move to PINT AE through an Accredited Service Provider from January 2027 for revenue of AED 50 million or more and July 2027 for others. Check the latest Ministry of Finance and FTA guidance.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change; confirm current FTA, MOHRE and Ministry of Finance guidance with your advisor.
A Business Central rollout for a forwarder or 3PL often takes 12 to 20 weeks. Adding Supply Chain Management warehouse processes extends this.
Durations are typical ranges; your plan is agreed after discovery.
We map service lines, charge codes, 3PL contract rates and how jobs are opened and closed today.
We decide what stays in your operations or tracking tools and what moves to Dynamics 365, and design the integrations.
Job templates, charge types, accruals, warehouse setup and the 3PL billing extension are built and tested.
One warehouse or one client account runs scanning and billing live before other sites follow.
Open jobs, client stock and balances move over at month-end, and we support the first full billing cycle.
Sector pages, Dynamics 365 modules and free zone guides for logistics operators.
We configure the system for the rules UAE businesses report against, and test it before go-live.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the FTA, MOHRE or your advisor. See all UAE compliance guides.
On-site workshops in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and remote or on-site delivery across the Northern Emirates and free zones.
Official sources and references
Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Rules change, so confirm current requirements before acting.
Still have a question? Our consultants are happy to help.
Ask an ExpertNot as a full operations system. Business Central handles job costing, billing and finance for each shipment, but bookings, documents and tracking are often run in a specialist forwarding tool. We integrate the two so jobs, charges and invoices flow into Dynamics 365.
Yes, with a 3PL billing extension. It reads stock and movement data, applies each client's contract rates and creates invoice lines for storage, handling and extra services each billing period.
Not always. Business Central supports barcode scanning through mobile apps and extensions, which suits many single-site warehouses. Supply Chain Management's warehouse management is a better fit for high-volume, multi-client or multi-site operations.
Expected costs are accrued against the job when it is billed. When the vendor invoice arrives, it is matched to the accrual and any difference is posted to the job, so margin reports stay accurate.
Yes. Each vehicle can be a fixed asset and a dimension value, so fuel, tolls, fines and maintenance post against it. Trip-level costing usually needs a simple extension or integration with your fleet tracking system.
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
