Setting Up Storage Zones

Storage zones let you subdivide a location into physical areas like warehouse sections, aisles, shelves, and bins. This guide covers how to create and manage zones using the storage zone management form (frmLocationStorageZones).

What Are Storage Zones?

A storage zone represents a physical area within a location where inventory is stored. Zones are organized in a hierarchy that mirrors your actual warehouse layout:

• Warehouse (Location)
  • Area A (zone)
    • Aisle 1 (child zone)
      • Shelf 1-A (child zone)
        • Bin 1-A-01 (child zone)
        • Bin 1-A-02 (child zone)
      • Shelf 1-B
    • Aisle 2
  • Area B
  • Unassigned (system zone)

This hierarchy can be as deep as needed. A small shop might have just a few top-level zones, while a large warehouse might have four or five levels of nesting.

Opening the Zone Manager

The zone management form is opened from Settings > Locations, then selecting a location and clicking Manage Storage Zones. Access requires the INV_MANAGE_STORAGE_ZONES permission. Users without this permission see an "Access Denied" message and the form closes.

Zone Types

Each zone has a type that describes what kind of physical area it represents:

Zone types are primarily for organizational clarity. They help users understand the warehouse layout at a glance but do not impose any functional restrictions.

The Zone Tree View

The left panel of the form displays all zones in a TreeView hierarchy. The tree is built from a flat list of zone records using a two-pass algorithm:

1. First pass — Creates a TreeNode for each zone
2. Second pass — Attaches each node to its parent (based on parent_zone_id). Zones without a parent become root nodes.

Root zones are sorted with the Unassigned zone always appearing first, followed by other zones sorted by sort order and then by name alphabetically.

Each node in the tree displays:

• The zone name
• The zone code in brackets (if set), e.g., "Shelf 1-A [S1A]"
• "(Inactive)" suffix for deactivated zones

Inactive zones are displayed in gray text. The Unassigned zone is displayed in a darker gray.

The tree is fully expanded by default so you can see the complete hierarchy at a glance.

Zone Fields

When you select a zone in the tree or click to create a new one, the right panel shows the detail fields:

Creating Zones

Creating a Root Zone

1. Click the Add Root button
2. The detail panel clears and shows "New root zone" in the parent info
3. Enter the zone name (required) and optionally fill in code, type, sort order, and capacity
4. Click Save
5. The tree refreshes and the new zone appears at the top level

Creating a Child Zone

1. Select the parent zone in the tree
2. Click the Add Child button
3. The detail panel clears and shows "Under: [Parent Name]" in the parent info
4. Enter the zone name and other details
5. Click Save
6. The tree refreshes and the new zone appears nested under its parent

If no zone is selected when you click Add Child, AccuArk shows: "Please select a parent zone first."

Editing Zones

1. Click any zone in the tree
2. The detail panel populates with that zone's current values
3. Modify any fields
4. Click Save
5. The tree refreshes with the updated information

The Unassigned Zone

Every location has a system-managed Unassigned zone with special behavior:

• Always exists — AccuArk creates it automatically for each location. You cannot delete it.
• Cannot be edited — The zone name is read-only, the type dropdown is disabled, and the delete button is disabled when the Unassigned zone is selected.
• Catches unrouted stock — When stock is received and no routing rule resolves a zone (and OverflowToUnassigned is enabled in location receiving settings), stock is placed here.
• Receives stock from deleted zones — When a zone is deleted, any stock in that zone is automatically moved to the Unassigned zone.
• Always appears first — In the tree view, the Unassigned zone is sorted to the top of the root nodes.

Think of the Unassigned zone as a safety net. It ensures stock is never lost due to missing routing rules or zone deletions.

Deactivating Zones

Unchecking the Is Active checkbox and saving marks a zone as inactive. Inactive zones:

• Appear in gray text with an "(Inactive)" suffix in the tree
• Are hidden from the StorageZonePicker control by default (unless ShowInactiveZones is enabled)
• Are excluded from receiving routing if DisallowInactiveZones is enabled in location receiving settings
• Retain their stock — deactivation does not move stock out of the zone

Deactivation is reversible. Simply check Is Active again and save to reactivate.

Deleting Zones

To delete a zone, select it in the tree and click Delete.

What Happens on Delete

• Confirmation required — A dialog asks you to confirm. If the zone has child zones, the message includes the count: "Delete [zone name] and its X child zone(s)? Stock in deleted zones will become unassigned."
• Stock is reassigned — Any stock in the deleted zone (and its children) is moved to the Unassigned zone
• Child zones are deleted — All child zones are removed along with the parent
• The Unassigned zone cannot be deleted — Attempting to delete it shows: "Cannot delete the Unassigned zone."

Tips

• Start with a simple hierarchy — Begin with top-level areas and add detail as needed. You can always add shelves and bins later.
• Use zone codes for labeling — Short codes like "A3-S2-B07" are easier to print on labels and scan with barcode readers than full zone names
• Set sort orders for logical flow — Use sort order values like 10, 20, 30 (leaving gaps) so you can insert new zones between existing ones without renumbering everything
• Set capacity for utilization tracking — The Zone Explorer shows utilization percentages only for zones with a capacity value set. This helps identify which areas are full and which have room.
• Mirror zone structure across locations — If you have multiple warehouses, using the same zone naming convention and hierarchy at each location makes training easier and keeps operations consistent