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Containers

A container is a physical thing that holds goods and has a code of its own — a box, a tote, a pallet, a cart. It sits either in a cell or inside another container, and the system always knows which.

This section covers moving a container: taking it, with everything inside it, to another cell or handing it to a carrier.

Moving a container is not the same as moving goods​

This is the distinction to get right before anything else.

Moving a container — what this section describes — moves the container itself. Its contents travel with it, unchanged: the same goods, the same quantities, the same packaging. No document is created, nothing is reserved, and the move takes effect the moment it is confirmed.

Moving goods is Relocation. There the container stays where it is and its contents change — goods go from a cell into a container, out of a container into a cell, or from one container to another, optionally repacked on the way. That work is a document with a plan, reservations and a closing step.

A quick way to tell them apart: if the pallet itself ends up somewhere else, you want this section. If the pallet stays put and what is on it changes, you want Relocation.

Purpose and type​

Every container carries a purpose — what it is for. A storage tote, a pick cart, a finished unit bound for a customer. Purpose is set when the container is created, and it is not decoration: it decides which cells the container may be moved into. See Container purposes for the list and the rules.

Every container also has a type, which describes it physically — its dimensions and weight limits, and whether it is allowed to hold other containers inside it.

When the feature is available​

Container movement is switched on per warehouse, by the Use container movement setting. Where it is off, the screens described in this section are not part of the operator's day.

Container policies​

There is a second, independent warehouse setting: Use container policies. It is worth understanding before you turn it on, because it does less than its name suggests.

Left off — which is the default — every container operation is allowed, and no policy is consulted.

Turned on, the system starts looking for a policy. If none has been configured, the operation is still allowed. Policies are permissive until one exists: turning the switch on does not restrict anything by itself. Only once a policy has been created for a container type do its rules start refusing anything.

So a warehouse that turns the setting on and sees no change is not looking at a broken switch — it is looking at a warehouse with no policies yet. The intended path is to run permissively, learn which rules you actually need, and add them one at a time.

Where to go next​