Inventory Type Placement Rules
Table of Contents
- 1. What This Scenario Is
- 2. How to Set It Up in the System
- 3. What Daily Operations Look Like
- 4. Boundaries and Related Features
1. What This Scenario Is
A warehouse often stores regular, bonded, defective, and disposal-pending stock at the same time. Giving inventory a type name is not enough to prevent it from being put away, moved, or returned to the wrong area. Inventory type placement rules turn those handling requirements into destination restrictions, stopping invalid operations before warehouse staff complete them.
| Business scenario | Boundary to protect | Rule combination |
|---|---|---|
| Bonded stock must remain in approved areas | Bonded stock cannot enter general areas, and regular stock cannot enter the bonded area | Allow the bonded type only in selected bonded zones, and enable exclusive placement on those zones |
| Defective and disposal-pending stock must stay isolated | Exceptional stock cannot be mixed into normal shippable areas | Allow exceptional types only in isolation zones, and enable exclusive placement on those zones |
The two rule layers solve different problems: allowed zones on an inventory type control where that type may go, while exclusive placement on a zone controls which types may enter that zone. Configure both when you need two-way isolation.
2. How to Set It Up in the System
Quick links: Plan zones and types first | Set allowed zones for inventory types | Set exclusive placement for zones | Confirm coverage warehouse by warehouse
2.1 Plan zones and types first
List the inventory types that need isolation and the zones that can receive them in each operating warehouse. Inventory types are shared across the company, but allowed locations point to individual zones. If the same bonded type can arrive at three warehouses, all three warehouses need a zone that can receive it.
| Setting target | What to configure | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Restricted inventory type | Select every zone where the type may be placed | Prevent this type from entering unselected or unzoned formal storage shelves |
| Zone that needs isolation | Enable “Exclusive placement,” then select “Allowed inventory types” | Prevent unlisted inventory types from entering the zone |
| General inventory type | Leave allowed zones unset | Allow the type to enter any non-exclusive formal storage shelf |
2.2 Set allowed zones for inventory types
In the Warehouse Operations System, go to “Warehouse Settings” → “Inventory Types.” Open “Placement zones” for the target type and select every zone it may enter. You can select zones across warehouses; see Inventory Type Settings for field and operation details.
If you clear every allowed zone and confirm, the inventory type becomes unrestricted and can enter any non-exclusive zone. This removes the restriction; it does not mean that the type cannot be placed anywhere.
2.3 Set exclusive placement for zones
Go to “Warehouse Settings” → “Warehouses,” open the warehouse detail page, and add or edit a zone. For a zone that needs isolation, enable “Exclusive placement” and select “Allowed inventory types.” See Warehouse Zones for the exact location.
An exclusive zone with no allowed inventory types accepts no inventory. You can use this to close an area temporarily, but confirm that the allowed list is not empty if the zone still needs to receive stock.
2.4 Confirm coverage warehouse by warehouse
After configuration, confirm that every restricted type has at least one usable zone in each operating warehouse. If a type is allowed only in Warehouse A's zones, Warehouse B has no valid formal storage shelf for it. The system blocks put-away instead of automatically sending it to a general zone in Warehouse B.
If a warehouse also uses zone picking, its zones affect how picking work is divided. Review the current picking arrangement before changing zone boundaries.
3. What Daily Operations Look Like
Quick links: How the system checks | What to do when blocked | Removing stock from an invalid location
3.1 How the system checks
The rules apply when inventory is about to enter a destination shelf. The system excludes invalid locations when it offers put-away shelves, then checks again when warehouse staff scan the actual destination.
| Daily operation | When the destination follows the rules | When the destination breaks the rules |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound put-away | Put-away can be completed | Placement on the destination shelf is blocked |
| Shelf movement | Stock can enter the new shelf | The movement cannot be completed |
| Return to shelf after picking and returned-goods inbound | Stock can return to an allowed zone | Placement in an unallowed zone is blocked |
| Shelf replenishment | Stock can replenish an allowed destination | Replenishment to an unallowed destination is blocked |
3.2 What to do when blocked
The error message identifies the restricted inventory type and its allowed zones. Scan a formal storage shelf inside one of those zones. If the warehouse has no allowed zone, ask someone with configuration access to add a zone for that warehouse under “Placement zones,” then retry the operation.
Do not use an unzoned shelf just to complete the task. An unzoned formal storage shelf is also invalid for a restricted inventory type.
3.3 Removing stock from an invalid location
The rules check only the destination shelf, so they do not prevent warehouse staff from removing stock from the wrong location. If a stocktake reveals existing stock in an invalid area, create a shelf movement and move it to one of the allowed zones listed in the error message.
Temporary staging, carrier handoff, and other non-storage locations are not subject to formal-shelf placement restrictions. Virtual warehouses and system-reserved locations are also exempt. Stocktakes, inventory imports, and inventory transformations record physical facts or change inventory attributes and are not blocked by this rule; physical stock must still be moved to a compliant location afterward.
4. Boundaries and Related Features
Quick links: Rule boundaries | Changing and removing restrictions | Related features
4.1 Rule boundaries
- Rules work at the zone level and cannot directly restrict an entire warehouse. To restrict a whole warehouse, select its individual zones.
- A restricted type cannot enter an unzoned formal storage shelf.
- An exclusive zone accepts only types on its allowed list. If the list is empty, no inventory may enter.
- Rules do not proactively scan existing stock. Moving an occupied shelf into another zone does not immediately block or move the stock on it; review the stock and create shelf movements after the change.
- When zones serve both placement restrictions and zone picking, changing them may alter how later picking work is assigned.
4.2 Changing and removing restrictions
Clearing all allowed zones from the inventory type page requires confirmation and makes the type unrestricted. If removing a relationship from the zone page would leave a type with no allowed zones, the system blocks the change. Remove the restriction from the inventory type page instead, so a controlled type is not made unrestricted by accident.
A zone that is still used by placement rules cannot be deleted. Reassign the affected types or remove their restrictions from the inventory type page first. If the system says the settings changed while several people are editing them, reload the latest settings before saving again.
4.3 Related features
| Feature | Purpose | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory Types | Create inventory classifications and set the zones each type may enter | Go |
| Warehouses Detail | Create zones, enable exclusive placement, and maintain allowed types | Go |
| Inbound | Apply destination restrictions during daily receiving and put-away | Go |
| Shelf Movements | Move existing stock to a location that follows the rules | Go |