Warehouses

What a warehouse means

A warehouse in Fohosat is any controlled storage location where stock can be counted. It may be a large main store, a small branch store, a refrigerator, a freezer, a shelf room, or a transit location. The important rule is simple: if staff need to know how much stock exists there, create a warehouse record for it.

Warehouses are linked to branches. This keeps stock ownership clear when a company operates multiple collection branches or processing sites. A manager can compare warehouses across the company, while branch staff can focus on the locations they use every day.

Company and branch views

The company workspace lists warehouses from every company branch, shows the Branch column and filter, and lets authorized users choose the owning branch during setup. A branch workspace lists only warehouses operated by the current branch. When an authorized branch user creates or edits a warehouse, the current branch is assigned by the server and cannot be replaced with a sibling branch.

Warehouse details

The warehouse form starts with the branch. Choose the branch that physically controls the location. Enter both the English and Arabic names so each locale shows a useful operational label. The names should be recognizable to staff, such as Main Store and المخزن الرئيسي. Code is optional, but it is useful when labels, printed forms, or internal SOPs refer to storage locations by code.

The Type field classifies the location as store, fridge, freezer, shelf room, or transit. This helps managers understand where stock sits and makes lists easier to scan. Use transit locations only when your process needs a temporary movement location; most branch-to-branch movements can be handled directly through transfers.

Storage conditions and contacts

Storage conditions describe the expected environment: room temperature, refrigerated, frozen, dark storage, or humidity controlled. Use this field for controlled spaces where the condition itself matters. For example, a freezer warehouse should not be used for room-temperature consumables unless your process explicitly permits it.

Address, contact person, and phone are helpful for multi-branch operations. They are especially useful when one storekeeper requests a transfer and another staff member must call the destination branch to confirm delivery or receiving availability.

Table and filters

The warehouse table shows name, code, branch, type, stock line count, and active status. Stock line count tells you how many item-and-lot records currently exist in that warehouse. A warehouse with many stock lines may need physical organization, bin labeling, or more frequent cycle counts.

Use the branch filter when reviewing one location. Use the active filter to hide old stores or closed branch locations. Warehouse deletion is disabled because receipts, transfers, stock levels, and audit history may depend on the record. Make a closed location inactive instead.

How warehouses affect stock

Every receipt must choose a warehouse. Every transfer chooses a source warehouse and a destination warehouse. Every stock level belongs to one warehouse. Because of that, a warehouse mistake can make stock look missing even when the quantity was entered correctly.

Before posting a receipt, confirm the warehouse is the physical destination of the stock. Before approving a transfer, confirm the source warehouse has enough available quantity. Before receiving a transfer, confirm you are receiving into the correct destination warehouse.

Opening setup

When setting up inventory for the first time, create warehouses before entering stock. Start with one warehouse for each branch's main store. Add separate fridge or freezer warehouses when the lab needs temperature-specific counts. Add shelf rooms or sublocations only if staff truly count them separately. Too many warehouses can slow down receiving and transfer work; too few warehouses hide operational risk.

After warehouses are created, record opening stock or receive the first vendor shipment. Then check the Stock Levels page to confirm quantities are in the expected locations.

Checklist

• Every active branch has at least one practical stock location.
• Temperature-controlled spaces are represented when they affect safety or expiry.
• Warehouse names match the language staff use during handover.
• Inactive or closed locations are not used for new receipts or transfers.
• Source and destination warehouses are checked before transfer approval and receiving.
• Stock line counts are reviewed during cleanup and physical count planning.