Putaway
Definition
Putaway is the warehouse process of moving received goods from the dock to their assigned storage locations and confirming the placement in the inventory system. It closes the receiving process and makes stock available for picking.
In Practice
After freight is unloaded and checked in, putaway tasks direct workers to move each pallet or case to a location, either a fixed home for the SKU or a system-selected slot based on size, velocity, and zone rules. Scanning the location confirms placement, which is the moment inventory becomes accurate and pickable.
Putaway discipline has outsized downstream effects. Goods sitting unputaway on the dock are invisible to order allocation, so sales can be lost while stock physically exists in the building. Misplaced pallets create phantom stockouts and cycle-count discrepancies that take hours to chase. Dock-to-stock time, from trailer arrival to putaway confirmation, is the standard metric, with strong operations achieving under 24 hours.
For example, a DC receiving a hot container of a back-ordered SKU flags it for priority putaway, or bypasses storage entirely by cross-docking it straight to waiting customer orders.
Related Calculators
Related Terms
Pick and pack is the warehouse fulfillment process of retrieving individual items for an order from storage locations and packing them into cartons for shipment. It is the core labor activity in most order fulfillment operations.
Cross-DockingCross-docking is a distribution practice where inbound goods are unloaded and moved directly to outbound vehicles with little or no storage in between. Products flow across the dock rather than being putaway into racking.
Distribution CenterA distribution center (DC) is a facility designed to receive goods in bulk and rapidly redistribute them to stores, customers, or other facilities. Unlike a long-term storage warehouse, a DC is optimized for throughput and order fulfillment.
Dock SchedulingDock scheduling is the practice of assigning inbound and outbound trailers to specific dock doors and time slots, usually through an appointment system. It smooths workload at the warehouse and reduces carrier waiting time.