Ask any warehouse worker about their biggest daily frustration and you’ll hear the same answer: time wasted looking for items. Products get put in the wrong spot, or in a “temporary” spot that becomes permanent, or in whichever empty shelf was closest when someone was in a hurry. When you can’t find something quickly, fulfilment slows, picking errors increase, and customers wait longer for their orders.
iMagic Inventory’s warehouse and bin location tracking gives every product a defined home in your facility and puts that information on your inventory list, invoices, and picking lists — so anyone can find anything, instantly.
How Location Tracking Works
In iMagic Inventory, each inventory item can be assigned a warehouse and a bin location. The warehouse is the highest-level division (useful if you operate from multiple sites or have separate areas like “Main Warehouse” and “Showroom”). The bin location is the specific shelf, rack, or area within that warehouse where the item is stored (for example, “A3-04” for aisle A, rack 3, shelf 4).
When someone needs to pick an item for an order, iMagic Inventory displays the bin location directly on the invoice or picking list. No guessing, no asking colleagues, no wandering.
Designing Your Location System
Before assigning locations, spend time designing a logical naming scheme for your facility. The most common approach is alphanumeric: letters for aisles, numbers for racks, and numbers for shelves. A typical format might be “B2-03” (Aisle B, Rack 2, Shelf 3).
Consistency is key. Once you establish the format, apply it everywhere. Write the location codes on your shelving with labels, so physical locations and iMagic Inventory records always match. When you receive new stock and put it away, the location goes into iMagic Inventory at the same time.
Benefits Beyond Picking Speed
iMagic Inventory’s location tracking delivers benefits beyond faster picking:
Stocktaking becomes faster. When you run a stock count in View > Stock Counts, iMagic Inventory lets you work through your warehouse systematically by location rather than by alphabetical product name. Counters move logically through the physical space rather than jumping back and forth.
New staff get up to speed faster. Instead of learning the warehouse layout through weeks of experience, a new employee can find any product on day one using the location codes shown in iMagic Inventory.
Relocation is managed properly. When you move stock to a different location — during a facility reorganisation, for example — updating the location in View > Inventory ensures the records stay accurate.
How to Set Up Warehouse and Bin Locations in iMagic Inventory
- Plan your location naming scheme before entering anything into iMagic Inventory. Write it down and label your physical shelving.
- In iMagic Inventory, go to View > Inventory and open a product record.
- Find the Warehouse and Bin Location fields and enter the appropriate values for that item.
- Save the item. Repeat for all products — this is worth doing in a single focused session for your whole catalogue.
- If you have many items to update, iMagic Inventory’s CSV import feature (File > Import) lets you update bin locations in bulk via a spreadsheet.
- Test the system by opening a New Invoice and adding items — the bin location should now be visible on the picking information for each line.
- During your next stock count in View > Stock Counts, sort the count list by bin location to work through your warehouse in physical order.
Maintaining Location Accuracy Over Time
Location tracking only works if it stays accurate. Make it a rule: every time stock is moved, iMagic Inventory is updated. Every time new stock is received and put away, the location is confirmed. Every time a product line changes location during a reorganisation, the iMagic Inventory record is updated the same day.
Consider adding a “location check” to your stock count procedure — when counting items, verify they’re in the location iMagic Inventory says. Discrepancies get corrected on the spot.
A well-maintained location system is a competitive advantage. Your team is faster, your error rate drops, and your customer service improves.
Download iMagic Inventory free for 30 days and bring order to your warehouse today.