Inventory · Setup & configuration · 10 min read

Set up warehouse structure and putaway

Create warehouses, locations, zones, docks, receiving and shipping steps, putaway rules and reorder rules.

Before you begin

Creating warehouses, bins and reorder rules needs inventory.operate. Zones, docks, routes, putaway rules, and the lifecycle buttons need warehouse.manage. The company policy decides whether new warehouses and bins start as drafts.

Create a warehouse

1. Open Inventory > Configuration > Warehouses and click New warehouse.
2. Enter a Code (2 to 30 letters, digits, underscores or hyphens, saved in capitals) and a Name. The code cannot change later because its locations are named from it. Keep codes short, ideally under 16 characters.
3. Tick Ships orders that name no warehouse if this is the default. Only one warehouse per company holds this; ticking it clears the other.
4. Save.

The system creates the Stock, Input and Output locations. Renaming the warehouse renames those locations too, but bins you named by hand are unchanged.

Lifecycle

A warehouse goes Draft, Reviewed, Active, Archived. Use Mark reviewed, Activate, Back to draft, Archive and Reactivate. Only Active takes stock; a receipt into a draft warehouse is refused. Archive is refused while the warehouse holds or reserves stock or has open transfers.

Zones

Open Inventory > Configuration > Zones and click New zone. Enter the warehouse, a code, a name, a Kind (receiving, bulk storage, fast pick, slow pick, cold storage, hazardous, quarantine, packing, dispatch, returns) and a Pick priority (lower picks first).

Locations and bins

1. Open Inventory > Configuration > Locations & bins and click New bin.
2. Enter Code (up to 24, unique), Name, Warehouse and Inside (the parent, normally the stock location).
3. Choose Zone, Role, Barcode, Capacity (units; 0 means no limit) and Walk order (pick path, lower first).
4. Set Stock here is for special areas such as Quarantine, and Whose stock for consignment (the owner is required for a supplier, customer or third party).
5. Tick Blocked to keep a bin out of use; untick Allow mixed lots to keep one lot per bin.

A location cannot sit inside itself. Delete works only for a bin nothing has ever touched. Otherwise archive it.

Receiving and shipping steps

Open Inventory > Configuration > Routes & operations, choose the warehouse and set the steps.

For each operation you can tick Work through tasks and Must be packed, and choose the Remainder policy (company default, backorder or cancel). Changing steps does not disturb documents in flight; they finish on the route they started on.

Putaway rules

1. Open Inventory > Configuration > Putaway rules and click New rule.
2. Choose the Warehouse and optionally a Product (blank means any).
3. Choose the Strategy: Fixed bin, Empty bin in zone, First bin with room or Next to the same product.
4. Choose the Bin for Fixed or the Zone for the others. It must belong to the same warehouse.
5. Set the Priority; the lowest number that fits wins.

Blocked bins are never used, a bin that would go above capacity is skipped, and a bin that disallows mixed lots is skipped for a different lot. Example: a 100-unit bin holds 90; receiving 20 units skips it because 110 exceeds capacity.

Docks

Open Inventory > Configuration > Docks & staging and click New dock (receiving, shipping or staging lane, open or closed). A closed dock cannot be booked.

Reorder rules

Open Inventory > Configuration > Reorder & pick-face rules and click New rule. Choose product, warehouse and kind. For a replenish rule enter Minimum, Maximum, Safety stock, multiple, lead days and Supply by (Buy, Manufacture or Transfer). Transfer needs a different source warehouse. A pick-face rule needs the pick bin and the bulk location it refills from. Maximum must not be below minimum. Saving the same product and warehouse again updates the rule.

Good to know

• Zone, dock and warehouse codes are fixed after creation.
• Edit conflicts are caught: 'This record changed. Reload it before saving.'