TotalApp Docs

Storage Locations

Define and manage the warehouse location hierarchy — warehouses, zones, aisles, racks, shelves and bins — with barcode identifiers and per-location capacity tracking.

Overview

Storage Locations is the master-data screen for your warehouse's physical layout. It models the full location hierarchy — Warehouse → Zone → Aisle → Rack → Shelf → Bin — as a navigable tree, with each node carrying its own type, code, name, barcode, and capacity figures.

This hierarchy is the reference structure that other warehouse screens (Inventory, Slotting, Pick & Pack) point to when they record where a product physically sits. Keeping it accurate and up to date is the foundation for reliable pick paths, capacity planning, and barcode-driven scanning workflows.

Six Levels, One Tree

Every location has a type — Warehouse, Zone, Aisle, Rack, Shelf, or Bin — and an optional parent. Any location can be created at the top level (no parent) or nested under any other location, regardless of type. This lets you model a simple two-level "Zone → Bin" layout just as easily as a full six-level warehouse.

Core Concepts

TermMeaning
TypeWhat kind of location this is: Warehouse, Zone, Aisle, Rack, Shelf, or Bin. Chosen when the location is created and shown as a small label on every row.
Parent LocationThe location this one is nested under. Optional — leaving it unset makes the location a top-level entry in the tree. A Zone, for example, is commonly created as a top-level location representing an area like "Cold Storage" or "Receiving", with Aisles or Bins nested directly underneath it.
CodeThe short identifier for the location (e.g. "A1", "R3", "S2", "B04"), shown in the tree and used to build the human-readable location string elsewhere in the app.
BarcodeThe scannable code physically affixed to the location. Used by handheld scanners during putaway and picking to confirm the operator is at the correct spot.
Capacity / Used CapacityThe maximum and currently occupied unit count for a location. When both are set, an occupancy percentage is shown next to the node, colour-coded green/amber/red by fill level.

Location Tree

The main panel shows every location as an expandable/collapsible tree, indented by depth. Each row displays:

  • A level icon and label (Warehouse, Zone, Aisle, Rack, Shelf, or Bin) alongside the location's code and optional name.
  • The barcode, if one has been recorded.
  • An occupancy percentage with used/total capacity, if capacity tracking is enabled for that node.

Hovering a row reveals inline actions: Add Sub-Location, edit, and delete. Add Sub-Location is available on every row regardless of type — there is no fixed rule about which types can contain which.

Adding a Location

  1. Click Add Location in the header to open the location form, or hover an existing row and click Add Sub-Location to pre-fill that row as the parent.
  2. Choose the Type (Warehouse, Zone, Aisle, Rack, Shelf, or Bin) and, if this is not a top-level location, its Parent Location from the dropdown.
  3. Fill in the Code (required) and optionally a Name and Barcode.
  4. Set Capacity and Used Capacity if you want this location to show an occupancy indicator.
  5. Add any free-text Notes, then click Save.

Modeling a Zone

To represent an area like "Cold Storage" or "Hazmat", add a location with type Zone and no parent (top-level). Then add Aisles, Racks, Shelves, or even Bins directly underneath it by setting their Parent Location to that Zone.

Editing and Deleting

Click the pencil icon on any row to edit its details, including changing its Type or Parent Location. Click the trash icon to delete a location.

Cascade Delete

Deleting a location also deletes every location beneath it in the tree, regardless of type. Always confirm you are deleting the intended branch before proceeding — this action cannot be undone.

Search

The search box filters the tree by code, name, or barcode. Matching nodes are shown together with their full ancestor chain, and matching branches auto-expand.

Summary Tiles

Six tiles above the tree give an instant count of locations at each level — total Warehouses, Zones, Aisles, Racks, Shelves, and Bins currently defined.

AI Assistant

Storage Locations includes a right-edge AI Assistant panel that can review your location list and answer natural-language questions about it.

Data Validation

Flag locations missing a barcode, missing a code, or with capacity inconsistencies (e.g. used capacity exceeding total capacity).

Coverage Review

Identify zones or aisles with very few or no child locations defined, suggesting incomplete hierarchy setup.

Capacity Analysis

Highlight locations near or over capacity, and locations sitting mostly empty.

Structure Suggestions

Describe a physical warehouse layout in plain language and get a proposed location hierarchy (types, codes, parent relationships) you can create.

Save Assistant Answers as Reports

Any assistant response can be saved directly to My Reports with one click, so a validation pass or a proposed structure doesn't have to be re-generated later.

Dual Style Mode

Storage Locations supports both visual styles available in Settings → Appearance → Screen Style: the dark Workstation theme and the light Enterprise theme.

Quick Start

  1. Open Warehouse → Storage Locations from the sidebar.
  2. Click Add Location, choose type Zone, leave Parent Location empty, and save — this creates your first top-level area.
  3. Hover the new Zone row and click Add Sub-Location to add an Aisle underneath it, then repeat down to Rack, Shelf, and Bin as needed.
  4. Fill in barcodes and capacities as you go so scanning and occupancy tracking are ready from day one.
  5. Use the search box to quickly jump to any location by code, name, or barcode.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to fill in a barcode and capacity for every location?
No — both are optional. A location with no capacity set simply shows no occupancy indicator, and a location with no barcode is still fully usable in the tree.
Can a Bin have its own children?
Yes — any location type can have sub-locations. There is no fixed rule enforcing that Bins must be a leaf level, though in most warehouses they naturally are.
How do I add a Zone that isn't nested under a Warehouse?
Create the Zone with its Parent Location left as "None (top-level)". The hierarchy is flexible — you only need to set a parent for locations that are genuinely nested under another one.
Does deleting a location affect products already assigned to it in Inventory or Slotting?
Deleting a location here removes it from the Storage Locations tree only — it does not retroactively change the free-text location fields already recorded on inventory products. Reconcile any affected product locations separately after a deletion.