Incoming shipments and delivery orders¶
In Odoo, there are many different ways to process receipts and deliveries for products moving in and out of a warehouse.
A company’s preferred method of receiving, or shipping, products depends on several factors, such as the type of products stocked and sold, the size of the warehouse, the amount of receipts and delivery orders processed daily, and so on.
Enabling the Multi-Step Routes feature in Odoo’s Inventory app settings allows users to change the manner in which receipts and deliveries are processed in the database.
The default incoming and outgoing routes in Odoo are set to receive and deliver goods in one step. However, once the Multi-Step Routes feature is enabled, the incoming and outgoing routes can be changed to either two steps or three steps.
Note
To activate the Multi-Step Routes feature, navigate to . Under the Warehouse section, tick the checkbox next to Multi-Step Routes, and click Save.
Doing so also enables the Storage Locations feature, if not already enabled.
Adding additional steps to receipts and deliveries moving in and out of the warehouse adds additional operations that must be completed before a product is finally received or shipped.
These configurations vary, depending on the needs of the business. They also depend on any requirements for the products stored, including the performance of quality control checks on received products, or the use of special packaging on shipped products.
One-step flow¶
The receiving and shipping rules for a one-step configuration are as follows:
Receipt: receive products directly from vendors into stock. No intermediate steps between receipt and input to stock occur.
Shipping: ship products directly from warehouse stock to customer. No intermediate steps occur before shipping.
Can only be used if not using First In, First Out (FIFO), Last In, First Out (LIFO), or First Expired, First Out (FEFO) removal strategies.
Items are received or shipped directly into/from stock.
Suited for warehouses that require receipts and/or deliveries to be handled quickly.
Recommended for small warehouses with low stock levels, and for non-perishable items.
Two-step flow¶
The receiving and shipping rules for a two-step configuration are as follows:
Input + stock: bring products to an input location before moving into stock. Products can be organized by different internal storage locations, such as various shelves, freezers, and locked areas, before being stocked in the warehouse.
Pick + ship: bring products to an output location before shipping. Packages can be organized by different carriers, or moved to shipping docks before being shipped.
Minimum requirement to use lot numbers, or serial numbers, to track products with a FIFO, LIFO, or FEFO removal strategy.
Products received will not be available for manufacturing, shipping, etc., until they are transferred into warehouse stock.
Recommended for larger warehouses with high stock levels, or when stocking large items (e.g., mattresses, large furniture, heavy machinery, etc.).
Three-step flow¶
The receiving and shipping rules for a three-step configuration are as follows:
Input + quality + stock: receive products at the input location, transfer them to a quality control area, and move the ones that pass inspection into stock.
Pick + pack + ship: pick products according to their removal strategy, pack them in a dedicated packing area, and bring them to an output location for shipping.
Can be used when tracking products by lot or serial numbers when using FIFO, LIFO, or FEFO removal strategy.
Products received will not be available for manufacturing, shipping, etc., until they are transferred into stock.
Required for any warehouse needing to perform quality control inspections before receiving items into stock.
Recommended for very large warehouses with very high stock levels.