# Put-Away

> Source: https://netray.co/glossary/put-away
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Glossary

## Short answer

Put-away is the warehouse step that moves received goods from the receiving dock to a storage location and records that location in the system. Directed put-away uses rules to choose the best bin.

## Aliases

- putaway
- directed put-away

## Category

manufacturing

## Full Definition

After receiving and any inspection, goods sit in a receiving or quality location. Put-away moves them to storage and updates inventory by bin. Until that scan, the stock exists in the ERP but cannot be picked reliably.

Directed put-away rules choose bins by item attributes: size, weight, velocity, hazmat class, temperature, lot control or customer reservation. Simple rules assign a fixed home bin per item. More complex rules look for open capacity, consolidate partial pallets and keep fast movers near the dock.

In Infor LN, warehouse inbound procedures include storage tasks that generate put-away orders. SyteLine uses location transactions to move stock from a receiving location, and NetSuite supports bin put-away with its warehouse features. All of them depend on the receipt posting first, often tied to a purchase order or a work order completion.

The most common failure is delay or skipped scans. Goods get shelved in the nearest gap, the record shows the dock, and the next picker finds an empty bin.

## Why It Matters

- Fast put-away shortens dock-to-stock time, which frees material for production and shipment.
- Correct bin records are the foundation of pick accuracy.
- Rule-based location choice reduces space waste and walking distance.
- Controlled put-away protects quarantine and lot-controlled stock from being picked early.

## In Practice

Twenty pallets arrive on one truck. Without rules, the forklift driver uses whichever aisle is open and the clerk keys bin numbers later. With directed put-away on handhelds, the driver scans the pallet and the system returns a bin; the stock record updates at the moment of the scan.

## Faq

### What is directed put-away?

**Answer:** It is a system-guided put-away where rules pick the storage bin and the operator confirms by scanning the item and the bin.

### What is dock-to-stock time?

**Answer:** The elapsed time from arrival at the dock to the item being available in a pickable location. It is a standard warehouse KPI.

### Why does put-away cause inventory inaccuracy?

**Answer:** Delayed or unrecorded moves leave the system showing stock in the wrong place. Pickers then cannot find it, and counts drift.

## Search terms

put-away, putaway process, directed put-away, what is put away in warehouse, put-away rules ERP, dock to stock time

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