Putaway Rule

The Putaway Rule

The method by which incoming stock is automatically assigned to the proper warehouse or storage location is defined by a putaway rule.

Every rule is specifically tailored for a particular item, warehouse, and company, and it considers:

Warehouse Capacity – how much stock the location can hold
Priority – preferred order of warehouse selection (lower number = higher priority)

Auto-Assignment During Stock Transactions

The putaway rules are automatically applied when:

Purchase Receipts: when goods are received from suppliers
Stock Entries: Material Transfer or Material Receipt

ERPNext automatically chooses the ideal warehouse for item storage based on the rules, preventing overfilling and manual decision-making.

Why Use Putaway Rules

Putaway Rules help in:

Effective use of available space
Preventing overstocking in a single warehouse
simplifying warehouse operations, particularly when there are several sub-warehouses or racks

This will be especially helpful for large warehouse operations that need to strategically distribute stock across available space.

How to Access:

Home → Stock → Stock Transactions → Putaway Rule

1. Prerequisites

Make sure your ERPNext system has the following records before creating and implementing a putaway rule:

Stock Item You must have already created the item in the item master for which you wish to define a putaway rule.
The warehouse The Warehouse Master should be used to create the warehouse (or several warehouse locations) where the stock will be kept.

2. How to Make a Putaway Rule

In ERPNext, create a Putaway Rule by doing the following:

Go to the Putaway Rule list: Home → Stock → Stock Transactions → Putaway Rule To open the form, click "New."

Fill the following fields:

1. Item Select the item this rule applies to.

2. Name of Item (auto-filled) Show the item's name that has been selected.

3. Warehouse Select the warehouse that the system should use to store this item.

4. Company Select the company under which this rule should be active.

5. Capacity Enter the maximum amount of this item that can be kept in this warehouse.

6. UOM Choose a Unit of Measure for the capacity you entered, such as Box, Kg, or Nos.

7. Conversion Factor Decide how many Stock UOM units there are in one of the selected UOMs. For instance, set this to 10 if 1 Box = 10 Nos.

8. Stock UOM Srock UOM (auto-filled) displays the item's default stock unit.

9. Capacity in Stock UOM Capacity in Stock UOM (auto-calculated) is determined by multiplying the conversion factor by the capacity.

10. Priority Priority Determine the priority number. If there is space, 1 = highest → is used first.

Putaway form

11. Save the Putaway Rule.

Disable (Optional) the rule to stop its application without deleting it.

3. How it works

As mentioned before, the Putaway Rules are applied on Purchase Receipts and Stock Entries (Material Receipt & Material Transfer).

A checkbox called Apply Putaway Rule will allocate items to Warehouses based on the Putaway Rules.

putaway check

Putaway Rules are applied on checking this checkbox. They are also re-applied on save if this checkbox is enabled.

4. Warehouse Capacity Summary

The Warehouse Capacity Summary report provides a clear view of:

Current stock levels
Maximum allowed capacities
Available space remaining

Key Features:

1. Shows Only Relevant Warehouses The report displays only warehouses for which Putaway Rules have been set and are currently in place.

2. Matching Capacity and Actual Inventory Tracking how much of the booked capacity is utilized enables you to make space planning decisions.

3. Edit Capacity Button Every row contains an Edit Capacity button that refers you to the applicable Putaway Rule, enabling easy changes to:

- Capacity value

- UOM or Conversion

- Priority

4. Filter & Search You are able to filter by item, warehouse, and company and see stock balances relative to defined capacity.

Warehouse Report

5. Types of Putaway Application

ERPNext supports both Direct and Indirect putaway strategies depending on how your warehouse is structured and how inventory is handled upon receipt.

5.1 Direct Putaway

The final warehouse locations are promptly assigned to incoming stock.
Putaway Rules, which are automatically applied when creating a purchase receipt, serve as the basis for allocation.
There is no sorting or staging in between.
Ideal for basic or small warehouses where inventory is moved straight to racks or storage bins.

5.2 Indirect (or Combined) Putaway

Stock is initially delivered to a staging or temporary warehouse (such as the Receiving Bay).
Stock Entry → Material Transfer is then used to move the stock into final storage.
Then, rather than at receipt, the Putaway Rules are applied during the Stock Entry.
Perfect for intricate or sizable warehouse configurations that make use of:
Quality assurance
Sorting Zones
Handling buffer stocks

Purchase Receipt
Stock Entry