Storage Locations & Lots

Where inventory is physically stored and how batch-level traceability is maintained.

Storage locations define where inventory is physically stored, and lots provide batch-level traceability for materials and products.

Storage locations

Storage locations use a hierarchical structure:

  • Warehouse: the top-level facility
  • Shelf: a section within a warehouse
  • Bin: a specific position within a shelf

Each location has:

  • Name: a descriptive label
  • Type: warehouse, shelf, or bin
  • Address: the physical address (for warehouses)
  • Parent / children: the hierarchical relationship (a bin belongs to a shelf, a shelf belongs to a warehouse)

This hierarchy lets you track inventory at any level of granularity: from "it's somewhere in Warehouse A" to "it's in Bin 3 on Shelf 12 in Warehouse A."

Lots

A lot provides batch-level traceability for materials and products. Each lot has:

  • Lot number: a unique identifier within the account and item
  • Item: the material, part, or product this lot tracks
  • Manufactured at: when the lot was produced
  • Expires at: when the lot expires (for shelf-life tracking)

Lots are unique per combination of account, item, and lot number: you can't have two lots with the same number for the same item.

Lot tracking

Lots are assigned at two key points:

  • During stocking: when materials arrive from a delivery, lot numbers are assigned as part of the stocking data
  • During inventory corrections: lots can be specified when performing reconciliation adjustments

Expiration tracking

Lots with expiration dates enable shelf-life management. You can see which lots are approaching expiration and prioritize them for consumption (first-expiry, first-out).

Note: this process is under active development

Related

Next: Change logs