Inventory Visibility - Automatically or Manually select the right warehouse:
Hard Allocation - Link inbound purchase orders directly to back-ordered sales orders or work orders, ensuring incoming inventory is automatically routed to fulfill specific commitments. When a PO is received, the system knows exactly which customer order or production run it's destined for—eliminating manual matching, preventing overselling, and honoring delivery promises without intervention.
Soft & Hard (Reserved) Allocation
BizAutomation’s Allocation management helps you get as close as possible to achieving what are two seemingly contradictory goals: maximizing order ship-date accuracy while minimizing the risk of stockouts.
Hard Allocation
Prevents the age-old problem of losing your ability to ship an order on-time because what was available when the order was created goes on back-order by the time it’s fulfilled. Works equally well with partial or ship-complete order mandates.
Prioritize allocations for key accounts:
If you manufacture: It’ll keep production lines moving by immediately committing BOM picks to work-orders from stock, while also committing and routing inbound BOM stock from POs, immediately from the moment it’s received and put-away.Because work-orders can link to sales-orders, and can be hierarchical, where a sub-assembly of a parent off-shoots to a work order to build it to meet the demands of the parent work-order – BizAutomation’s hard allocation capabilities are an absolute must-have.
If you configure or build kits: If your organization builds kits, you already know how quickly things can go south when and you have, say 15 out of the 20 kit members in stock, which can get even more dicey if those back-orders have to be purchased from multiple vendors. Our hard-allocation capabilities address this issue by reserving kit components at the time of pick-to-kit on the outbound side. Simultaneously, we reserve incoming inventory from vendor shipments based on their expected receive dates, directing each shipment to the designated assembly location as it arrives.
If you regularly transfer inventory for order fulfillment: You’ll have the option to receive to order from the destination warehouse.
Multi-Dimensional Soft Allocation
Order allocation is typically a single-dimension affair based on FIFO ship-dates where oldest orders ship first. But what if your least profitable, smallest customer put in their order a day before your biggest more profitable customer for the same item and there’s only a single unit in stock ? It’s an extreme example but wouldn’t you rather know ? Taking the blinders off is exactly what BizAutomation’s multi-dimensional soft allocation modeling lets you do.
Allocate based on your priorities, with 15 possible combinations. For example:
Inventory Items
Non-Inventory Items
Item Relationships - Any item can have a relationship with another item for strategic purposes. For example, you might have a raw material or part that's a required accessory or a non-required option for another item and need that communicated while building an order.
All items can be sold individually - Regardless of their affiliation to other items.
Inventory can be converted into Dropship items on the fly while building an order - Either as a planned event or as a last minute solution to a back-order (BizAutomation has full inventory visibility during order creation).
Kit Assembly & Disassembly - Assemble kits on demand or disassemble them to return components to available inventory. BOM members can include inventory items, non-inventory items, and service items (e.g. labor). Ideal for light manufacturing, bundling, and handling returns.
Nested Sub-Assemblies - Assemblies can be nested within a BOM of another Assembly, enabling multi-level manufacturing workflows.
Units of Measure (UOMs)
Core Inventory Essentials
Inventory Audit Trails - Track every inventory insert, update, and delete event, including when, where, and how, which include both automated and manual sources such as changes committed by employees.
Transaction Audit Trails - As items are added to sales and purchase orders, returned via vendor or customer RMAs, or modified via transfer orders, transactions will recorded so you can easily track them.
Lot & Serial Number Traceability - Full chain of custody tracking for lot-controlled and serialized items. Instantly identify which lots were received from which vendors and which customers received specific lots or serial numbers, supporting regulatory compliance and rapid response. Enforce FIFO/FEFO picking strategies based on Expiration Dates.
Recall Readiness - Execute product recalls in minutes, not hours. Trace affected products forward to identify which customers received them and backward to identify which vendor supplied them by lot or serial number.
Customer and Vendor Item Trackability - Track items bought and sold from within Customer and Vendor records, providing quick visibility into supplier relationships and customer purchase history by item.
Real-time warehouse execution from mobile devices. Every picking operation—Sales Orders, Transfer Orders, RMAs, Kits, and Work-Order BOMs—is guided, captured, and optimized through our mobile-first WMS.
Track purchase order receipt status: fully received, partially received, or un-received with complete audit trails. While receiving, warehouse staff capture lot numbers and serial numbers at the point of entry to establish traceability from moment one. Include Bill of Lading or Packing Slip IDs for future reference and quick dispute resolution. Support multiple receipt methods: direct to bin, to staging for inspection, or to 3PL locations.
Monitor inbound shipments with confidence-based ETA tracking. Integration with FreightPOP and EasyPost provides real-time carrier status: expected ship date (60% confidence), vendor shipped date (80% confidence), carrier in-transit confirmed (95% confidence), and out-for-delivery confirmed (99% confidence). Predictive delivery dates help warehouse managers prepare receiving staff and staging areas.
Flag items for quality inspection during the receiving process. Record pass/fail status with detailed notes and photos. Route items based on inspection results: approved items proceed to put-away, rejected items go to returns staging, and items on hold await further review. Track vendor quality scorecards to identify problem suppliers and improve procurement decisions.
Put-away is conducted completely paperless using mobile devices and barcode scanners. Directed put-away logic automatically routes items to optimal bin locations based on: Item Velocity (ABC classification), Warehouse Zone (type of product), and Storage Capacity (weight/cube constraints). System suggests the best location; worker scans bin, confirms item, completes transaction. This reduces put-away time while improving space utilization and picking efficiency.
Leverage inbound shipments from mass procurement consolidation, enabling your warehouse to operate like a well-oiled 3PL. Freight-forwarding logistics enable orders to flow into and out of the warehouse using distribution workflows: put-away (store inbound), ship-out (fulfill customer orders), or transfer-to (move to another location). Perfect for consolidators, distributors, and companies managing inventory for multiple business units or customers.
Define your warehouse physical structure from top to bottom: Zones (optional grouping by product type, temperature, hazmat status) → Aisles/Bays (major sections) → Racks/Levels (vertical organization) → Shelves/Locations (individual storage positions) → Bins (UPC-level granularity, if needed). Every location is barcode-labeled and mobile-accessible. Text-editable fields with from-to filtering enable quick updates and queries: e.g., "show all items in Aisle 1–5" returns everything in that range.
Organize zones by business function: Receiving (inbound staging), Picking (primary picking bins), Packing (consolidation and ship prep), Shipping (dock staging), Returns/Quarantine (damaged or disputed items), and Quality Hold (items pending inspection). Zone-based routing automates workflow logic: items flow from receiving through picking to packing to shipping without manual intervention.
Directed put-away automatically routes items to optimal locations based on velocity, zone type, and capacity constraints. Fast-moving (A-items) go near packing stations to reduce picking distance. Slow-movers go to overflow storage. This reduces put-away labor while improving inventory turns and space utilization by 15–25%.
Assign warehouse workers to dedicated zones. Workers become expert in their assigned areas, reducing picking errors by 15–25% through specialization and familiarity. When orders span multiple zones, the system coordinates zone pickers to ensure complete order fulfillment. Eliminates picker confusion and improves accuracy.
Add multiple production locations reflecting work-centers for kitting and BOM assembly. Track inventory flows from raw materials through work-in-process to finished goods. Integrate with manufacturing operations to ensure component availability and backflushing accuracy.
Internal Bin & Location Transfers - Move inventory within a warehouse from one location to another (Aisle, Rack, Shelf, Bin) using mobile devices. Scan source location, scan item, confirm quantity, scan destination location. All transfers are tracked with complete audit trail.
Generate multiple warehouses to represent any type of storage: traditional "Warehouse," retail "Store," mobile "Truck," "Vending Machine," "Kiosk," or any other inventory location. Each warehouse maintains independent inventory, location structures, and operational workflows.
Create Virtual Warehouse locations in BizAutomation, then API-connect to any 3rd-party warehouse management system (WMS) that supports external API connectivity. Perfect when most inbound inventory comes from a few large suppliers (typically labeled by supplier name). Maintain unified inventory visibility while leveraging best-of-breed WMS solutions for specialized 3PL operations.
Automatically select the optimal warehouse for each order based on multiple criteria:
Archive warehouses that are no longer in use with the ability to un-archive or rename them if desired. Retains complete transaction history for auditing, compliance, and historical analysis. Perfect for managing seasonal locations or consolidating operations.
Full Warehouse and Cycle Counting - Divide and conquer inventory counting seamlessly by enabling warehouse managers to assign batch counts to staff or warehouse teams based on the entire warehouse, or any portion thereof - section by section, including aisles, racks, shelves and bins (or any combination thereof depending on how you define warehouse locations). Supports both full physical counts and perpetual cycle counting for ongoing accuracy.
ABC Classification Support - Prioritize count frequency by item value or sales velocity. Focus frequent cycle counts on high-value or high-turnover A-items, while counting slower-moving C-items less often for labor efficiency and accuracy where it matters most.
Continuous Counting & Flagging - Enable pickers—the tip of the spear—to flag inaccurate on-hand quantities from their hand-held devices as they come across them. Later, authorized warehouse staff can confirm and update counts, maximizing inventory integrity.
Variance Tracking & Reconciliation - Track and report all inventory count variances. When discrepancies exceed defined tolerances, the system can trigger automatic recount requests and provide root cause documentation, supporting continuous improvement.
Support for barcode scanners and mobile wireless devices - Count inventory wirelessly using mobile devices and barcode scanners. Scan item and bin barcodes for real-time inventory updates, reducing human error and increasing speed.