Item and Product are terms that have a similar meaning and as both terms are used in the D365 system, it is confusing and important to understand the glossary in its true terms.
The term that D365 associates for an Inventory entity is Product.
When a product is being designed at an abstract level it is called Product Master. This serves as a template or model for creation of the actual products. We have three important aspects to consider when thinking about a product master.
- Product Dimension: Will the product have additional variants on its inception as a product.
- Storage Dimension: What level of storage details would be maintained for the product when it is created. This could be a combination of Location, Warehouse, Pallet etc
- Tracking Dimension: Will the product be tracked for Batch and Serial information during its movement across the different transactions.
With all the above attributes decided and attached to the product master; an Item is created which is a physical concept and will have transactions created against itself.
Product also has a classification called Product Type which could either be Item or Service which are self-explanatory.
Products are released to legal entities where they are relevant and released Items are created in the entities where they are authorized.