A zone is a logical grouping of locators. A zone may represent a specific work area(s) such as a Packing station(s) or it may just indicate an area where material movement occurs. The locators for a zone may span one or more subinventories

You can specify a zone for an operation when you define the operation plan. This association determines the candidate set of locators where the particular operation is performed. You can use zones to define the path that material takes in the course of completing an activity. Defining zones is not mandatory especially if the warehouse is small and the operations are not complex where subinventories and/or locators could suffice.

A locator that exists in one zone of type labor planning cannot exist in another zone of type labor planning. However, the locator may exist in one or more zones of type ATF (zones associated with Advanced Task Framework).

Consider the following example: a warehouse manager creates a zone named BULKlabor of type Labor Planning Zone for bulk picking employees and adds the following locators within the BULK subinventory: (B1.1.1, B1.1.2, B1.2.1, B1.2.2, B1.3.1, B1.3.2, B1.4.1, B1.4.2). The bulk area of the warehouse is quite large, so the warehouse manager creates two zones: one for picking and another for put away within the BULK subinventory. The warehouse manager creates the following two zones of type ATF Zone for picking and put away: BULKpick1 and BULKpick2 . The warehouse manager adds the following locators to each zone:

• BULKpick1: B1.1.1, B1.1.2, and B1.2.1

• BULKpick2: B1.2.2, B1.3.1, and B1.3.2

Because BULKpick1 and BULKpick2 are of zone type ATF Zone, the warehouse manager can add the locators to those zones. However, this would not be possible for zones of type labor planning zone.

1. Navigate to the Zones Summary window.

2. Select the zone type:

   • ATF Zone (zones associated with Advanced Task Framework): This is the default value for existing customers who use zones. You can add locators to multiple ATF zones so that a locator in one ATF zone can exist in many ATF zones.

   • Labor Planning Zone: Select this zone to enable labor planning calculations for wave planning.

     Attention: A locator that exists in one zone of type labor planning cannot exist in another zone of type labor planning. However, a locator may exist in one or more zones of type ATF (zones associated with Advanced Task Framework).

3. Navigate to the Zone Summary window.

4. Enter the name of the zone in the Name field.

5. Optionally, enter a description of the zone in the Description field.

6. Select the type of zone:

   • ATF Zone (zones associated with Advanced Task Framework): This is the default value for existing customers who use zones. There are no restrictions for these types of zones, so you can add locators in ATF Zones to multiple ATF zones. A zone that exists in one ATF zone can exist in many ATF zones.

   • Labor Planning Zone: Select this zone to enable labor planning calculations for wave planning.

     For labor planning zones, if a locator exists in one zone (of type labor planning), then it cannot exist in another zone of type labor planning. The locator may however exist in one or more zones of type ATF.

     Consider the following example: a warehouse manager creates a zone named BULKlabor of type Labor Planning Zone for bulk picking employees and adds the following locators within the BULK subinventory (B1.1.1, B1.1.2, B1.2.1, B1.2.2, B1.3.1, B1.3.2, B1.4.1, B1.4.2). The bulk area of the warehouse is quite large, so the warehouse manager would like to create two zones: one for picking and another for put away within the BULK subinventory. The warehouse manager creates the following two zones of type ATF Zone for picking and put away: BULKpick1 and BULKpick2 . The warehouse manager adds the following locators to each zone:

     • BULKpick1: B1.1.1, B1.1.2, and B1.2.1

     • BULKpick2: B1.2.2, B1.3.1, and B1.3.2

     Because BULKpick1 and BULKpick2 are of zone type ATF Zone, the warehouse manager can add the locators to those zones. However, this would not be possible for zones of type Labor Planning Zone.

7. Optionally, select a Disable Date from the list of values. If you enter a date in this field, the zone is disabled on this date.

8. Choose the Enabled Flag to enable the zone.

9. Select the Labor Enabled check box to enable labor planning for the zone. However, if Labor Planning Zone is selected as the zone, then the Labor Enabled check box is disabled for the row.

10. Save your work.

11. Choose View/Modify to open the View Modify Locators window.

    The locators window contains the following fields:

    • Message

    • Subinventory

    • Locator Name

    • Locator Status

    • Picking Order

    • Dropping Order

    • Inventory Location Type

    • Locator Disable Date

    • Locator Type Meaning

    • Subinventory Status

    • Subinventory Type

      To sort the locator information by a particular field, select the field name in the header row.

   To Filter Locators:

1. Navigate to the Locators window.

2. Choose Filter

3. Choose the filter criteria. The criteria are as follows:

   • Message

   • Subinventory Code

   • Locator Name

   • Locator Status Code

   • Picking Order

   • Dropping Order

   • Inventory Location Type

   • Locator Disable Type

   • Locator Type Meaning

   • Subinventory Status Code

   • Subinventory Type Meaning

4. Choose Ok to add apply the filters, choose Clear to clear the fields, or choose Cancel to cancel the locator additions.

   To Refresh the Locators Window:

1. To refresh the locators window to view the most current information, choose Refresh.

   To Add Locators to a Zone:

1. Choose Add from the Zones Summary window.

2. Optionally, select a zone, or range of zones from the list of values to create zones within a zone.

   Note: If you choose to select a zone or range of zones, you cannot select a subinventory or locator.

3. Optionally, select a subinventory, or a range of subinventories from the list of values. If the subinventory, or subinventory range does not contain any locators, you cannot enter and locators in the Locators field.

4. Optionally, select a locator or range of locators from the list of values. You also have the option to select All locators within the subinventory or subinventories.

5. Optionally, enter the subinventory type the available types are Storage and Receiving. See: Defining Subinventories.

6. Optionally, enter the locator type, the available types are: Consolidation Locator, Dock Door, Inspection Station, Packing Station, Receiving, Staging Lane, and Storage Locator. For more information see: Defining Stock Locators .

7. Optionally, select the Subinventory Status from the list of values.

8. Optionally, select the Locator Status from the list of values.

9. Choose Ok to add the Locators to the zone, choose Clear to clear the fields, or choose Cancel to cancel the locator additions.

10. To add more locators to the zone repeat the procedure.

11. Save your work.

   To Remove Locators from a Zone:

1. Navigate to the Zone Summary window.

2. Choose Remove Locators.

3. Enter the locators to remove from the zone.

4. Choose OK, to remove the locators, Clear, to clear the information from the window, or Cancel to cancel.