Directed Putaway

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Prerequisites
• How Directed Putaway suggests locations
• How to put away a Purchase Order using suggested locations
•  Clearing a warehouse location 
• Product Preferred Zones
• How to move stock using suggested locations (Scan Move)
• Filtering, sorting and searching locations
• Known limitations
• Providing Feedback

Overview

Directed Putaway helps you decide where to store stock by suggesting suitable warehouse locations in the mobile app. Suggestions are ranked based on your warehouse location setup and the stock being put away.

You can select the location you want to use and then scan the location barcode to confirm the putaway.

Watch the walkthrough below from Vincent to see how Directed Putaway works: 

 

Prerequisites

To use Directed Putaway:

• Your account must be Premium, Professional, Professional Plus or Enterprise.
• The app must be version 6.61.0 or later on iOS or Android.
• The user must have the “Packer” role. See User Roles Explained.
  
• You must enable Directed Putaway from the mobile app settings Settings -> Scroll Down -> Optional Features -> Directed Putaway (set it to ON).
• The warehouse locations are set up correctly in the web app. Navigate to Warehouse > Warehouse Locations to check them.

Directed Putaway uses the following warehouse location settings when generating suggestions:

• Product Types: The location must accept the Product Type assigned to the product.
• Pick Efficiency: Used to rank locations. Standard locations use values from 1–20, while pick face locations use values from 21–30.
• Warehouse Location Type: Locations can be configured as Single Pallet or Multiple Pallets. For Multiple Pallets locations, the maximum pallet capacity is also considered.
• Product Preferred Zones: Warehouse Location Zones can be configured to be preferred on a per-product basis. See: Preferred Zones.

• While optional, we recommend your products have a pallet quantity configured, as this will prioritise empty locations when putting away full pallet quantities, and avoid recommending locations which would be overstocked. Go to Warehouse > Products, click Edit for the product, and check the Unit of Measure settings.

   

• If you use Replenishment, your pick face locations and product replenishment settings must also be configured. See How to set up Replenishment.

How Directed Putaway suggests locations

CartonCloud checks every active location that accepts the product's type and gives each one a score. 

The score is based on the Location Selection Methods the location matches:

• Locations that match more methods score higher, and the highest-scoring location is ranked first.
• Highly efficient locations rank higher. When you put away a full pallet, CartonCloud favours empty, highly efficient locations.
• Pick faces are hidden by default. When you turn on Pick Face, pick faces linked to the product through Replenishment settings always rank above pick faces that are not linked.

• The top-ranked location is marked Suggested. You can choose any location in the list instead.

Understanding a location in the list

Each location in the list shows:

• The location name, and how many SKUs and units it currently holds.
• Icons for the Location Selection Methods it matched. A target icon means the product is currently stored there.

Tap a location to expand it and see:

• A tag for each Location Selection Method it matched.
• Barcode: the location's barcode.
• Rank: its position in the list.
• Warehouse Location Efficiency: the efficiency set on the location.

Product Preferred Zones

• Directed Putaway uses each product's Preferred Zones for the In Zone Location Selection Method. Preferred Zones are set per product, for each warehouse the product belongs to.
• Set them one product at a time on the Preferred Zones tab of the View Product page, or in bulk from Warehouse > Products > More > Export Preferred Zones and Import Preferred Zones.
• Only Administrators can set Preferred Zones. You can choose up to 10 zones per warehouse, from zones that already exist on your warehouse locations.
• If a product has no Preferred Zones for the warehouse, In Zone matches no locations for that product.
• For step-by-step instructions, see Preferred Zones.

 

How to put away a Purchase Order using suggested locations

• Open the CartonCloud mobile app and select Putaway mode. See Accessing Putaway Mode.
• Select the Purchase Order. 
• Receive and verify the products as normal. See Putaway process. 
• The Purchase Order shows each line as Awaiting Location. Select a line and tap Locate.

• The Scan Move screen opens with the product already selected. CartonCloud automatically recommends a location, shown as a button under the product. The Using line underneath lists the Location Selection Methods used to find it.

• To use the recommended location, go to it and scan its barcode into the To Location field. You can also type the location name.
• To see other options, tap the recommended location. The Choose a location list opens with all suggested locations in rank order.

• Tap Select against the location you want. The list closes and your chosen location is shown on the Scan Move screen.
• Go to the chosen location and scan its barcode into the To Location field to complete the move.
• The app returns you to the Purchase Order so you can locate the next line.
  

 

 Clearing a warehouse location 

You can clear a warehouse location from a product line in the Purchase Order putaway flow at any status up to and including Verified. Once the PO reaches Allocated, the location is locked and cannot be cleared.

To clear a location:

1. Open the Purchase Order and select the product line.
2. Tap the location assigned to the line.
3. Select Clear location.

The line returns to Awaiting Location and can be reassigned a new location.

How to move stock using suggested locations (Scan Move)

• Open the CartonCloud mobile app. Tap the menu icon, select Switch Mode, then select Scan Move.
  Suggestions are not yet available in Move Cart.
• Scan or enter a location barcode, POP barcode or pallet barcode in the Scan Location or Purchase Order Product field.
• The stock is shown with its current location. Tap Suggest Location.
• The Choose a location list opens with suggested locations in rank order. If the stock is already in the best location, its current location is ranked first.
• Tap Select against the location you want. The Scan Move screen shows the move from the current location to your chosen location.
• Go to the chosen location and scan its barcode into the To Location field to complete the move.

Filtering and searching suggested locations

• On the Choose a location list, tap the filter icon.
• Under Location Selection Methods, tap a method to turn it on or off. Methods that are on are shaded blue. Pick Face is off by default.

• Under Sorting, choose Rank (default), Location Name A-Z or Location Name Z-A.
• To find a specific location or area, tap the search icon and type part of a location name, for example RC.
  

Known limitations

The following limitations apply today and will be improved over the coming weeks. 

• Several users at once: suggestions are not reserved. Two users can be offered the same empty location at the same time.
• Mixed pallets: suggestions are based on a single product. Pallets holding several different products get less accurate suggestions.
• Clearing a location when stock is Allocated: you cannot clear a location in the Purchase Order putaway flow once the PO is Allocated. 

• Location contents: the list shows how many SKUs and units a location holds, but not which products. Showing a location's contents when you expand it is coming.

• Move Cart: does not currently show suggested locations.
• Full Replenishment Compatibility: Currently, replenishment pick faces are recommended  when Pick Faces are enabled in the filter. However, they do not take into account whether other stock of the product should be replenished first.

Providing Feedback

Please let us know your feedback and help us shape future enhancements to this feature! Feedback Form