Pick-face replenishment: from min/max rules to tasks
An empty pick location stops a picker mid-wave. How to set a minimum and maximum, how a proposal becomes a task, and what to do when replenishment is carried out differently from the plan.
In short
- Replenishment starts with a rule: per item you switch it on and set min and max for the pick location, a critical value and a replenishment quantity.
- The replenishment proposal shows available and reserved stock at the pick location, open tasks and source locations holding stock.
- A task is started, closed, cancelled or returned to new, and its status history stays with it.
- When goods are taken from another location, the actual location and a reason are recorded — plan and execution stay comparable.
- Two reports expose replenishments with deviations and items whose replenishment settings are incomplete.
Short answer: a pick location should be refilled before a picker finds it empty. In NG WMS that starts with a rule per item — min and max for the pick location, a critical value and a replenishment quantity. The replenishment proposal compares stock with the rule and offers goods from reserve locations, the proposal becomes a task, and every deviation from the plan is recorded with a reason. An order reservation can also trigger replenishment by itself.
Why a pick location needs a rule
A pick location is where goods are taken for orders; a reserve location is where goods wait. Without a rule, replenishment depends on someone noticing an empty shelf — usually when a picker is already standing in front of it. Then the picker waits, the order waits and the wave waits.
A rule turns that moment into planned work. Per item you switch replenishment on and set:
- a minimum and a maximum for the pick location,
- a critical value,
- a replenishment quantity.
The warehouse sets these values, based on the size of the location and the pace of outbound — the people who know best how much a location holds and how fast it empties.
What the replenishment proposal shows
The proposal for a pick location puts what you need for the decision in one place: available and reserved quantity, open tasks, min and max, the proposed quantity, and source locations with the stock available there.
Open tasks are there for a reason. Goods already on their way to the location should not be requested twice, and the reserved quantity shows how much the location is about to lose.
| Example (fictional item) | Value |
|---|---|
| Max for the pick location | 120 pcs |
| Currently at the location | 30 pcs |
| Room up to the maximum | 90 pcs |
The example only illustrates the gap to the maximum, not how the system calculates the proposal. The proposed quantity is shown next to reserved stock and open tasks, so you also see what is already on its way.
From proposal to task
Replenishment is generated for the whole warehouse or for selected items. When something outside the rule is needed, a task is created by hand, including for a specific LPN. A task is started and closed, and one that should not be carried out is cancelled or returned to new. The status history stays on the task, so you can later see what happened to it.
When reality departs from the plan
The proposed source location may be blocked off and the target one occupied. The operative then records the actual source or target location and a reason. A deviation is not the mistake — leaving it unrecorded is, because then the system and the shelf drift apart.
Replenishment on reservation
Reserving an order can trigger replenishment automatically, and that replenishment stays linked to the order that caused it. When a wave is built, the replenishments and exceptions step shows what is still waiting to be refilled before the wave is released to pickers.
Two reports worth watching
- Replenishments with deviations — plan against execution. If the same location keeps being refilled differently, the problem probably lies in the layout or the rule, not in the people.
- Bad configuration — items with replenishment switched on but no pick location or min/max. Without this report such a rule silently does nothing.
How replenishment, blocks and reservations are kept in stock is described on the Stock and replenishment page. How replenishment feeds into wave preparation is on the Outbound page, and pick locations are configured in the warehouse model.
Frequently asked questions
Who sets the minimum and maximum for a pick location?
The warehouse, per item and location. Along with min and max you set a critical value and a replenishment quantity, based on the size of the location and the pace of outbound.
Can replenishment be created automatically?
Yes: by generating for the warehouse or selected items, and when an order is reserved. Replenishment created on reservation stays linked to the order.
What if goods are taken from a different location than proposed?
The actual location and a reason are recorded. The report of replenishments with deviations later shows the difference between plan and execution.
How do you find an item whose replenishment is not working?
The bad configuration report lists items with replenishment switched on but no pick location or min/max value.
Want to see how this would look in your warehouse?
In a demo we walk through your receiving, picking and dispatch in NG WMS and show how NG Copilot supports your warehouse team.