Warehouse Management

Quarantine locations.
Isolate suspect inventory.

Keep problem inventory out of your sellable stock. Quarantine locations isolate returns, damaged goods, and suspect items until they are inspected and dispositioned.

Why quarantine matters.

01

Returns gone wrong

Customer returns a product. Without inspection, it goes back to sellable stock. Next customer receives used or damaged goods. Two unhappy customers.

02

Quality issues

A batch has potential defects. You need to hold it while investigating, but you can't just delete it from inventory. Visibility without sellability.

03

Damaged receiving

Shipment arrives with visible damage. Some units are fine, some aren't. Separate the bad units while counting and stocking the good ones.

Quarantine types.

Quarantine locations hold stock but exclude it from available-to-sell quantity.

01

Returns quarantine

All returns land here first. Inspection determines: restock as-is, restock after cleaning, sell as refurbished, or dispose.

02

Quality hold

Suspect batches held for investigation. Customer complaints, QC failures, or supplier issues trigger holds pending review.

03

Damaged goods

Visibly damaged inventory awaiting disposition. May be salvageable, repairable, or destined for disposal or donation.

Inventory view with quarantine.

Bucket Units Status
Sellable stock 450 Available for orders
Returns pending inspection 28 Quarantine: returns
Quality hold — batch #4521 120 Quarantine: QC hold
Damaged — awaiting disposal 15 Quarantine: damaged
Total on hand / Available to sell 613 / 450 163 held in quarantine

Returns quarantine workflow.

01

Return received

Package arrives. Scanned into Returns Quarantine zone. The system logs receipt date, original order, and return reason.

02

Inspection

QC staff inspects item. Checks for damage, completeness, and resale condition. Records inspection notes and photos.

03

Disposition decision

Select disposition: restock (move to sellable), refurbish (rework zone), or dispose (write off).

04

Move to destination

Item moves from quarantine to final location. If restocked, available-to-sell updates. If disposed, COGS adjusts.

Disposition options.

01

Restock as-is

Item passes inspection. Move to sellable inventory. Same SKU, full price.

02

Refurbish

Needs cleaning or minor repair. Move to rework zone, then restock or sell as refurbished.

03

Sell as B-stock

Cosmetic damage only. Create B-stock SKU, discount price, or route to outlet channel.

04

Dispose

Not salvageable. Write off inventory, record disposal reason. Donate if applicable.

FAQ

Common questions.

How do quarantine locations affect inventory counts?
Quarantine inventory is 'on hand' but not 'available to sell.' You see it in total inventory counts and inventory value reports, but it doesn't show as available on sales channels or get allocated to orders.
Can I automate quarantine rules?
Yes. You can set rules like 'all returns go to quarantine' or 'items with damage reason code go to damaged quarantine.' You can also set SLAs: alert if items sit in quarantine longer than X days without disposition.
How does quarantine affect financials?
Quarantine inventory retains its cost basis. When you dispose of items, the write-off posts to a designated expense account. When you restock, no journal entry, it just becomes sellable again. Refurbish/rework can add labor cost to the item's value.

See how it works
with quarantine workflows.

See how Fulfil handles returns quarantine, quality holds, and disposition workflows.