How do I Set Up Storage Locations?

Overview:

Storage Locations are used to make Inventory Counts easier by aligning how items are counted with how and where they are stored. 

Setting up Storage Locations is a two-step process: 1) Define your Storage Locations, and 2) Assign items to a Storage Location or Locations.  This article will cover setting up Storage Locations. 

If you prefer to watch videos then here is a link to a Setting Up Storage Locations training video. Here is a link to an Assigning Items to Storage Locations training video. 

Things to Know:

• After you have set up Storage Locations and assigned items, you can print your Inventory Count Worksheet or display your item count entry by Storage Location, with items listed in your desired order (typically shelf-to-sheet order). 

• Inventory Items, Recipe Items, and Combined Items that have been flagged to be counted can be assigned to Storage Locations. 
• All food and beverage Inventory Items default to be counted (they are given a "Count When Active" status). Combined and Recipe Items default to not be counted unless you flag them as counted items.   
• The assignment of Inventory Items to Storage Locations is often done by someone at the restaurant who knows how and where inventoried Items are stored. Use this link to learn How to Assign Items to Storage Locations. 

Company Level Login: 

If you have multiple Sites and you have administrator access, then you should log in at the Company level from the company and site selection dropdown on the top right of the COGS-Well main menu (see the example below). When you add a Storage Location when you are logged in at the company level, you will have the ability to assign it to all or selected Sites:

Add or Edit Storage Locations:

To add, review, edit or delete Storage Locations, navigate to Inventory>Setup>Storage Locations from the Main Menu:

Upon selection of Storage Locations, a "Find Grid" similar to the one below will display a listing of all of your Storage Locations. In the example below we have selected the Company for Partners in Food which has 4 Sites. The Find Grid is showing Storage Locations that have already been set up:

The Add button at the top middle of the Find Grid is used to add a new Storage Location that has not already been set up in your database. Clicking on this button will take you to the add Storage Location criteria display.

Edit: To view or edit an existing Storage Location, click the "Edit" key in the row of the Storage Location name you wish to edit. To delete a Storage Location, click the "Delete" key in the row of the Storage Location name that you wish to delete.

Each column in the above display has a search function that enables you to search within that field. A global search option is at the top of the display.

If you select to add or edit a Storage Location, a criteria screen like below will display:

Location Name: Add or edit a Storage Location name (required field).

Sort Order: If you have a desired order that you prefer this Storage Location to print on an Inventory Count Worksheet or display on an Inventory Count Entry screen, then enter a numeric value for the Sort order (the lower the number the higher the sort order). If you do not enter a Sort Order then Storage Locations will print and display alphabetically. 

Source Location for Items: If you have already assigned items to another Storage Location and this storage location has the exact same items, and if you want to avoid having to maintain the item assignments for both Storage Locations, then you can select a Storage Location to use as the "source location for items" using the drop-down search and select. 

Note on Source Location: The items in a storage location that uses a source location for items will always have the exact same items and the same sequence order for those items that the source storage location has. 

Please note that there is also a "Copy Items" option in the Assign Inventory Items to Storage Locations feature that allows you to copy items from another storage location into a new storage location. Using the copy feature will enable you to change the sequence and/or select new items or unselect items after they are copied. 

Active: The default is Active. If you wish to make a Storage Location inactive (perhaps it is utilized in the summer only), click the box to remove the checkmark.  A Storage Location can be made Active again by clicking the box to return the checkmark.

Available to all Sites: Check this box if all of your Sites will have this same Storage Location.  If you uncheck the box then a Sites tab will appear.  Click on the Sites tab to assign this Storage Location to your desired Site or Sites.

Contains Bins: If you check this box then Items assigned to this Storage Location that has also been assigned a Bin Number can be sorted by Bin Number for Inventory Count Entry and on Inventory Count Worksheets. Bin Numbers can only be assigned to Items that are in a Storage Location that has this field checked.  Bin Numbers can be assigned to Items in the Storage Locations Assignments function (Inventory>Setup>Storage Locations Assignment). 

Save, Delete, or Exit: When you have made or updated your criteria, select Save and then select Exit. 

Assign Items to Storage Locations: You are now ready to Assign Items to Storage Locations or ask one of your Site-level Users to do the assignments.