Creating and Managing Locations

Managing your inventory is crucial to having a seamless warehouse experience for the warehouse team and reducing cost and loss. ShipHero makes managing inventory easy and flexible for different business needs.

Locations are required to move inventory around and make it easy for the team to find specific products. Please visit our article, Optimizing Your Warehouse Layout with a Naming Scheme, for recommendations on getting started.

In this article, we cover:

• Location Settings
• Creating and Editing a Location
• Creating Multiple Locations via CSV

Location Settings

ShipHero offers various options to manipulate inventory and make it available to picking teams and customers. Below are the different properties that can be assigned to locations:

Creating and Editing a Location

In this section, we cover how to create and edit individual locations on the Inventory > Locations page. For more information on how to create multiple locations via CSV please see the section below.

Please note that the Location Type is the only location setting that can be edited in bulk, on the Inventory > Locations page. ShipHero does not currently support editing existing locations' data or settings via CSV.

How to Create a Location

1. Go to the Inventory > Locations page and select the Add a Location button.
2. Fill in the Location Name, and check the boxes next to the needed settings.
3. Select a Location Type (this is not required but is highly recommended).
4. If multi-warehouse is enabled, select the Warehouse where the location is being created.
5. Hit Save.

Things to Consider:

• For pickable locations, check the box for sellable first and then check the box for pickable.
• If the Location Name is the only information entered, then the location will be created on the Primary warehouse, pick priority 1, non-pickable, and non-sellable.

How to Edit a Location

1. Go to the Inventory > Locations page.
2. Select the Edit button in the Actions column for the location you need to update.
3. Make the required adjustments and click Save.

Things to Consider:

• A bin must be Sellable to be changed to Pickable. You can only change the Sellable status of a bin if it is **empty**.
• The name of a location is also the barcode value assigned to it. If you change the name of a location in any way, be sure to reprint your location barcode and replace it on the warehouse racking.

Creating Multiple Locations via CSV

Creating many bin locations can be time-consuming if done one at a time. Fortunately, creating multiple bin locations with a simple CSV upload is possible.

Things to Consider:

• Template Headers and Yes/No fields are case-sensitive. If 'Yes/No' is input without capitalizing the first letter, the system will default to 'No' for the Pickable/Sellable fields.
• For Multi-Warehouse Accounts, you will need to select the warehouse from the dropdown in which the locations are being added when you upload your file. Do not add an extra column for Warehouse.
• For large location uploads (i.e., over 500 locations), we recommend breaking your CSV into smaller batches of 100-200 locations.

How to Use the Locations CSV Upload

1. Go to the My Account > CSV Management page.
2. Click the Select Item to Update dropdown and select Locations.
3. Click Download Locations Template; all columns in the template are required fields. 
4. (Optional) Add the column Is Cart to create Transfer locations in bulk.  
5. Add the locations and their settings to the template and save.
6. Upload the file. (For multi warehouse accounts, you will need to select the warehouse you are creating the locations in as well.)

CSV Template Structure:

Example CSV Template:

Name,Pickable,Priority,Type,Sellable,Is Cart
A1,Yes,1,Bin,Yes,No
Rack-North-01,Yes,2,Pallet,Yes,No
Transfer-Zone-1,No,3,Bin,No,Yes

Troubleshooting Location Upload Errors

The most common upload errors occur from: 

• Incorrect capitalization of Yes/No values
• Missing required columns
• Extra or unnecessary columns
• Duplicate location names

If you're getting an error when uploading your Location CSV, follow these steps to resolve the issue. 

Step 1: Check Your Warehouse Selection and Permissions

The majority of errors relate to selecting the wrong warehouse during the upload process.

1. Verify Warehouse Selection:
   • Ensure the warehouse selected in the ShipHero dropdown menu during the upload process is the correct one where you intend to create the locations.
2. Verify Permissions:
   • Make sure your user account has the necessary permissions to create and manage locations within the selected warehouse.
3. Multi-Warehouse Accounts:
   • If you operate multiple warehouses, always confirm you are selecting the correct warehouse during the upload process for the locations listed in that specific CSV file.

Step 2: Validate Your CSV File Content

Even small mistakes in the CSV can cause the upload to fail.

1. Required Columns:
   • Confirm all required columns are present in your file. These fields are: Name, Pickable, Priority, Type, and Sellable.
   • If you are creating Transfer Locations you will also need to add the column Is Cart
   • DO NOT add any other columns to the file or you will receive an error. For multi-warehouse accounts, you will select the warehouse from the dropdown when uploading the file (e.g., do not add a 'warehouse' column).
2. Data Accuracy:
   • Check for any hidden characters or extra spaces in your location data that could cause validation errors.

Step 3: Use a Batch Upload Strategy

If the file is large, upload errors can be hard to pinpoint.

1. Upload in Small Batches:
   • If a large CSV fails, try uploading it in smaller batches (e.g., 100-200 locations at a time).
2. Isolate the Error:
   • Uploading in batches helps you isolate the specific location entry or entries that might be causing the error so you can correct them.