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Warehouse overview ​

The Warehouse section tracks how much of each product and component you hold. It sets goods aside for the orders that need them, and it records every box that comes in or goes out. This page explains the main ideas of the section and shows which screen to use for each job.

The three numbers ​

Every stock figure in Complaia is one of three numbers. Most questions about goods that "cannot be shipped" come from mixing them up.

NumberMeaning
On handHow much is physically in the warehouse. On Stock levels it is the Quantity column.
ReservedHow much of that is already set aside for a document. It is still on the shelf, but no other order can take it. On Stock levels it is the Reservations column.
AvailableWhat is left for anything new. On Stock levels it is the Available column.

Available = On hand − Reserved (never below zero)

For example, when 10 pieces are on the shelf and 4 of them are reserved, 6 are available.

A surprising number is usually a reservation

A product can show plenty in Quantity and still be refused, because all of it is reserved. Click View reservations on the Reserved tile of Stock levels. It opens the Reservations tab, where you see which documents hold the goods.

How an order travels through the warehouse ​

text
  RECEIVE ──▶ STOCK ──▶ RESERVE ──▶ PACK ──▶ HAND OVER or LOAD ──▶ on its way
  booked in   on hand   set aside   boxed    box leaves stock
                │                                 ▲
                │                                 └── ROUTE RETURNS
                │                                     (a box that came back)
                └──▶ GOODS ISSUE ──▶ leaves stock without an order
  1. Goods arrive. You book them in on Goods receipt, or against an external receipt document prepared in advance.
  2. They wait as stock. On Stock levels they are on hand and available.
  3. Stock is reserved for the order. Stock reservation sets the goods aside for that order. Nothing moves. Available goes down.
  4. The order is packed. On Order packing you scan the goods into boxes and close them. Stock still does not go down.
  5. The boxes leave. This is the step where stock goes down. Where it happens depends on how the order travels:
    • a courier takes the boxes: Shipment handover;
    • your own vehicle takes them on a route: Loading, or the same scan on a POS terminal or in the mobile app;
    • the customer collects them: Hand over to customer in the shipment details, see Shipments.

A document is reserved and packed in one warehouse. With the advanced warehouse type, Complaia never fills an order from a second warehouse on its own. Move the goods first with a stock transfer.

Some things happen outside this sequence:

  • Goods issue takes goods off stock without an order, for example write-offs, samples or internal use.
  • Route returns books a box back in when your driver could not deliver it.
  • Stock transfer moves goods between warehouses. It works with the advanced warehouse type.
  • Stocktaking counts the shelves and corrects the quantities. While a session is open, the warehouse is frozen for the whole company. Receiving, reserving, packing and issuing are refused. Boxes handed over or loaded during that time wait, and leave stock after the session. Plan stocktaking in advance.
  • Production output comes in from the shop floor. Finished goods first wait in the buffer of their workstation. They can be reserved only after they reach a warehouse. See Shop floor.

Movements: every change is recorded ​

Every change to stock is recorded as a movement: a receipt, an issue, a box leaving stock, a return, a transfer or a correction. To see why an item shows a certain figure, click its row on Stock levels. The movement history of that item opens.

A reservation is not a movement. It changes Available without changing Quantity, because the goods have not moved.

Two warehouse types ​

The warehouse runs as one of two types, chosen for the whole company:

  • Simple — one place, nothing to choose. Screens never ask where goods are.
  • Advanced — several warehouses, each split into segments (some screens call them zones), such as a rack or a cold room. Receiving and issuing ask you for a warehouse and a segment, stock shows a Location, and each order is reserved in one chosen warehouse.

The menu adapts to the type. Warehouses and Stock transfer appear only with the advanced type. Warehouse location appears only with the simple type. See Warehouse type for how to switch.

The screens ​

The Warehouse section of the menu has four groups.

GroupMenu itemWhat you do there
Order handlingStock reservationSet goods aside for orders, see and release reservations
Order packingScan an order into boxes, close them, print or dispatch the labels
Shipment handoverScan the boxes a courier takes. They leave stock here
LoadingFollow and close the loading of your own vehicles' routes
OperationsGoods receiptBook incoming goods onto stock
External receiptsPrepare a supplier delivery as a document and receive against it
Goods issueTake goods off stock without an order
Route returnsBook back boxes that were not delivered
Stock transferMove goods between warehouses (advanced type only)
StocktakingCount the warehouse and post the differences
StockStock levelsQuantities, reservations, availability, movement history, CSV import and export
ConfigurationWarehousesWarehouses and their segments (advanced type only)
Warehouse locationName, address and map position of your warehouse (simple type only)
CartonsBox templates offered while packing
Warehouse typeOpens a window where you switch between simple and advanced

The mobile app and POS terminals ​

Part of this work can be done away from the browser:

  • In the mobile app, depending on your permissions, the home screen offers:

    • in Order handling: Stock reservation, Packing, Shipment handover and Route returns;
    • in Warehouse: Receive stock, Move, Stock, Scan a segment, Stocktake and History. Move and Scan a segment appear only with the advanced warehouse type;
    • in Loading: Route loading.

    See Driver app.

  • On a POS terminal, a kiosk in the hall. A terminal can show the tiles Warehouse, Stock reservation, Packing, Shipment handover, Loading and Route returns. Which of them it shows is set for each terminal. See POS terminals.

The rules are the same everywhere: the same reservations, the same boxes and the same freeze during stocktaking. While a stocktaking session is open, a POS terminal shows the screen Stocktake in progress instead of its tiles.

Permissions ​

Access is granted per role in Settings → Roles & permissions. The table names each warehouse permission as the role editor shows it.

To do thisYou need
Use Stock levels and Warehouse location; see warehouses, cartons and box labels; see the Handed over and To clarify tabs of Shipment handoverWarehouse: View
Use Goods receipt, External receipts, Goods issue, Route returns and Stock transfer; scan and hand over boxes on Shipment handover; import CSV; read the movement historyWarehouse: Stock movements
Use Stock reservationStock reservation
See and release reservationsWarehouse: Reservations
Use Order packingOrder packing
Use Loading, and scan route loading in the mobile appRoute loading
Manage warehouses, segments and cartons; save the warehouse location; switch the warehouse typeWarehouse: Manage
Open the Stocktaking screensStocktake: view
Enter and scan counted quantitiesStocktake: counting
Start a session, close counting, cancel a sessionStocktake: session management
Post the differences of a session onto stockStocktake: post differences

The built-in Warehouse worker role holds every permission above except Stocktake: post differences. That permission is separate so that the people who count are not automatically the people who correct the books. Grant it to whoever is responsible for stock.

Menu items you have no permission for are hidden, and most buttons you cannot use are hidden as well. See Roles & permissions.

Complaia ERP documentation

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