A warehouse described the way it really is.
Each warehouse is divided into areas, sub-areas and locations. A sub-area knows what it is for and what may be stored together, a location carries its dimensions, levels and picking sequence, and the 2.5D view shows occupancy and blocks without walking the racks.
- Warehouse → area → sub-area → location
- Mixing rules
- Customs status
- 2.5D view
The structure the whole goods flow runs on
Receiving, replenishment, picking and counting rely on the same model. The more accurate the model, the fewer decisions fall on people during a shift.
Warehouse hierarchy
Warehouse, area, sub-area and location, across several warehouses. Warehouse types: ramp, dock, chamber, storage and building, with storage zones and priority zones.
Sub-area purpose
Picking, storage, reserve, receiving, dispatch, quarantine or returns. A sub-area has an A–D category and a list of permitted stock types.
Stock mixing rules
You decide what may share a location: the same item, lot, owner, block status, stock type or receipt order — at three levels of strictness. Plus multiple LPNs and a virtual LPN per sub-area.
Locations with dimensions and sequence
Dimensions, row, column and level, number of levels, maximum handling units, picking sequence and a pick-face flag. A location can be dedicated to a customer or an item, and blocked with a reason.
Handling units
A pallet, carton or other unit with weight, maximum weight, volume and dimensions (length, width, height).
Items with rules
Mandatory lot, serial number format, shelf life and minimum remaining shelf life at receipt and at issue. An issue rule per item: FIFO, LIFO, FEFO or by picking sequence; ABC and ADR class and a temperature range.
Customs status
Locations and sub-areas carry a customs status — commercial, customs or mixed — so goods under customs supervision are kept apart from free goods.
2.5D view and free locations
An isometric view of locations by row, column and level, coloured by occupancy, block, location type or customs status, filtered by area and sub-area. Plus a list of free locations.
Master data import from Excel
Items, warehouses, areas, sub-areas, handling units and quality statuses are imported from a file, so the model is not entered by hand, location by location.
How a warehouse is described
The order runs from the whole to the detail — and each layer inherits the rules of the one above.
- 01
Warehouses and types
Enter the warehouses, their types and zones, plus goods owners if the warehouse holds stock for several companies.
- 02
Areas and sub-areas
Each sub-area gets a purpose, a category and its permitted stock types.
- 03
Mixing rules
Decide what may share a location and how strictly that is checked.
- 04
Locations
Dimensions, levels, picking sequence, pick-face and any dedication to a customer or item.
- 05
Items and handling units
Lot, serial number, shelf life, issue rule and unit dimensions, imported or entered.
- 06
Review in 2.5D
Occupancy, blocks and customs status are visible on the isometric view.
What changes in practice
Stock for several owners in one warehouse
The goods owner is part of every document, and mixing rules can keep different owners’ goods on separate locations. That is the basis for a warehouse that works for several companies.
Pick-face and sequence as data
A location carries a picking sequence and a pick-face flag, and an item can be issued by that sequence. The same locations are used by replenishment rules with min and max values.
Occupancy without a walk-round
In the 2.5D view the colour moves from green to red as a location fills up, and blocked or customs locations stand out in their own colouring mode.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run several warehouses?
Yes. Each warehouse has its own areas, sub-areas and locations, and warehouse types cover ramp, dock, chamber, storage and building.
What are mixing rules?
Rules set per sub-area that decide what may share a location: the same item, lot, owner, block status, stock type or receipt order. Strictness is chosen at three levels.
What does the 2.5D view show?
An isometric view of locations by row, column and level. It is coloured by occupancy, block, location type or customs status, and filtered by area and sub-area.
Can I import existing master data?
Yes, from an Excel file: items, warehouses, areas, sub-areas, handling units and quality statuses.
Does NG WMS support customs warehousing?
Locations and sub-areas carry a customs status, receiving records customs data, dispatch has sub-types for customs clearance and re-export, and there is a customs label template.
Related
- Stock and replenishmentStock by location and LPN, quality blocks and replenishment that starts from a proposal.
- InboundWhat was announced, what arrived and the difference — on one order, with lot and expiry.
- LabelsTemplates by type, owner and supplier — and a printer you do not pick again for every label.
- Inbound6 min read
Goods receiving in a warehouse: checks, discrepancies and putaway
An error that gets past the dock travels through the whole warehouse. What good receiving looks like step by step — from the advance notice to goods on a location — and what to do with shortages, overages and goods of doubtful quality.
- WMS basics6 min read
What is a WMS, and when does a warehouse need more than an ERP?
A WMS runs stock by location, task and scan; the ERP keeps the books. What a warehouse management system actually does, how it differs from an ERP inventory module, and the signs that you have outgrown spreadsheets.
- Cycle count4 min read
Counting stock without stopping the warehouse: scope, variances and decisions
A stock count does not have to mean a closed warehouse. How a targeted scope is set, what the open-document pre-check protects and why no variance should reach the ERP without a decision.
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.
- office@konissoftware.com
- Phone
- +381 66 000 977