TABLE OF CONTENTS

An Item represents an stocked, inventoried unit. Each variant of an item has its own identification and separate Item within WarehouseOS. For example, the same t-shirt in Small, Medium, and Large with Red, Green, and Blue colors would need 9 separate Items in WOS, one for each size/color combination.


Item Details

Items are typically created and the Item details are typically provided from an integration into a host system. Some details on the Item are more warehouse specific and are probably not available from the host system. Most of the attributes of an Item are simply meant to store attributes for integrations or identification when searching for specific details. Some attributes have specific purposes within WarehouseOS. Only attributes with specific purposes are listed below.


  • Item Number
    • Identifies the Item. Must be unique.
    • Usually relates to the SKU from other systems.
    • The Item Number can be edited, but it's a special kind of edit because of its unique nature. In the Edit Item Details section, click on the pencil icon to make this edit.
  • Item Description
    • Item Number and Description are shown during Picking and Packing.
    • Short, concise descriptions will make it easier to see in the various apps within WOS.
  • Master Item
    • This is meant to help identify groups of Items. Often a "Parent Item" value can be placed in this field.
    • The only use is with integrations that need to group Items together.
    • The Inventory Summary Report API can request a Master Item and retrieve the inventory summary details for all Items that share that value.
  • Weight
    • Weight is aggregated at the Order level and shown in the Batch Build Page. This can help identify large Orders in a more specific way than just number of lines on an Order.
    • Packing will provide a calculated weight of the package based on this weight value.
    • A standard Unit of Measure should be decided and the weight of all Items should match this value. The integration can be configured to adapt to this unit of measure as long as all Items are using the same one.
  • Cube
    • Cube is aggregated at the Order level and shown in the Batch Build page. This can help identify large Orders in a more specific way than just number of lines on an Order.
  • Category
    • Category is aggregated at the Order level and shown in the Batch Build page. This can help identify Orders with unusual or special Items that need a special Picking process or Cart.
  • Min/Max Qty
    • Min and Max quantities are used mainly for Replenishment. Multiple Min/Max quantities allow for different approaches of Replenishment to keep the pickface full or to pull overflow inventory from a different Area.
    • Cells are a special use-case and only a Max quantity is provided to identify the max amount of an Item that can fit within a Cell.
  • Reorder Point
    • A report is provided to show Items that have dropped below the reorder point.
  • Home Location
    • Identifies the default or main Location where this Item should be stocked for Picking.
    • See more details about the Home Location.
  • Putaway Zone
    • Identifies the Zone where this Item should be Put away during the inbound receiving process.
  • Replenishment Zone
    • Identifies the Zone where this Item should be Replenished to enable efficient Picking. 
    • If the Home Location is set, the Replenishment Zone will be assumed from the Home Location unless specifically set in this field.
  • Enable Replenish
    • Only Items flagged to be Replenished will be considered in the Replenish Report.
  • Require Lot Number
    • The Item requires that a Lot Number be provided. See more details about Lot Numbers.
  • Require Serial Number
    • The Item requires a Serial Number be provided.
    • If Packing is configured to ask for a Serial Number, these Items will provide a prompt to the Packer to provide a Serial Number for each Item.
  • Active
    • Only Items that are Active will be considered in the Replenish Report.



Merging Items

The Item Number must be unique and WOS does not allow a duplicate Item to be created. But in some cases where an external system changes that SKU slightly or there are other reasons to treat multiple Items as the same Item, Items in WOS can be Merged. The Item Merge will update relationships within the system so that any inventory, Orders, etc. can be updated to point to the correct Item.


During an Item Merge, one Item is selected as the Source and one as the Destination. The Source Item will ultimately be deleted and all of its relationships will be merged into the Destination Item. No attempt will be made to Merge the details of the Items. The two Items should be compared beforehand to make sure the Destination Item has all the correct and necessary details before the Merge.


Merge Two Items

  1. Open the Edit Item page of the Source Item, the Item that will ultimately be deleted.
  2. Click on the option Merge Into Item to open the Merge dialogue.
  3. Select the Destination Item, the Item that all of the relationships will be merged into.


The Item Merge can perform these actions:

  • Inventory, Orders, and Purchase Orders
    • By default, all Inventory, Orders, and Purchase Orders that related to the Source Item will be updated to now point to the Destination Item. 
    • This is not an option in the Merge but the basic functionality of the process.
  • Preserve Bundle Items 
    • This is will convert any Bundle that contains the Source Item so it now contains the Destination Item. 
    • This is optional and enabled by default.
    • If turned off, the Source Item will simply be deleted off any Bundles and it will not be replaced by the Destination Item.
  • Preserve Dedicated Locations
    • This will copy all of the Dedicated Locations on the Source Item so they are made available on the Destination Item. A duplicate check is performed to make sure the same Location doesn't get linked twice to the Destination Item.
    • This is optional and disabled by default.
  • Preserve Item Aliases
    • This will copy all of the Item Alias values on the Source Item so they are made to be an Item Alias on the Destination Item. A duplicate check is performed to make sure the same Alias doesn't get created more than once on the Destination Item.
    • This is optional and disabled by default.
  • Add Item Number as Alias
    • This option will set the Source Item Number as an Item Alias on the Destination Item Number. This would allow inventory that has been barcoded with the Source Item Number to be scanned and be identified as the Destination Item Number.
    • This is optional and disabled by default.