What is and how to Manage Putaway Rules in Odoo18 Inventory

Inventory refers to a business’s stock of valuable tangible products that for future use whether for packaging, storage, transformation, utilization, or sale. For any company involved in manufacturing or selling goods, inventory is a a significant asset.

Odoo 18 Inventory Management offers the enhanced capabilities to handle the high volumes of operations and complex transactions with ease. and helps businesses to efficiently manage the product and asset inventories through the streamlined processes, automation and improved user interface.Odoo18 helps optimize warehouse operations by analyzing product flow and top sellers.

Steps to Managing Putaway Rules in Odoo18 Inventory

The process of removing the products from received shipments and placing them into their designated storage areas as putaway In Odoo18 this workflow is enhanced through the Multi-Step Routes functionality, which can in the Inventory module settings. Turning this on gives you Storage Locations and precise putaway rules. These rules make warehouse work faster and better organized by setting the best routes and spots for new items.

Let’s see Putaway Rules in Odoo18 in action with an example.
Imagine running a tech retail shop with a varied storage needs secure lockers for expensive electronics, dry areas for accessories and temperature-controlled cabinets for delicate batteries.

Setting Up Putaway Rules in Odoo18 for Smarter Inventory Management

In Odoo18 you can define the putaway rules based on product categories or individual products to automatically direct incoming stock to the correct storage location. By activating the Multi-Step Routes, Storage Locations in the Inventory module you can configure rules.

• Smartphones & Tablets → Secure Locker
• Accessories (e.g., chargers, earphones) → Dry Storage
• Batteries → Temperature-Controlled Cabinet

When a shipment is received Odoo18 will automatically apply these rules during the reception process and ensuring that each product in its appropriate area without manual intervention. This not only speeds up warehouse operations but also ensures safety and proper handling of sensitive items.

For example suppose we have a main warehouse location named WH/Stock. In Odoo18 we can create a sublocations under this parent location to better organize storage based on product requirements.

For instance sublocations like:

• WH/Stock/Secure Locker
• WH/Stock/Dry Storage
• WH/Stock/Temp-Controlled Cabinet

These sublocations allow you to apply the specific putaway rules that automatically guide products to the correct storage area upon receipt.

How To Set up new putaway rules in Odoo18

To set up new putaway rules in Odoo18, go to Inventory, Configuration, Putaway Rules, and click “Create”.
In the configuration window, you’ll specify the source location typically the initial drop zone where products arrive WH/Stock.

Odoo allows you to assign the destination location based on product, product category or package type. and This setup determines the first location the product lands before being automatically routed to its designated storage area, such as a Secure Locker for smartphones, a Dry Storage area for accessories, or a Temperature-Controlled Cabinet for batteries—ensuring efficient stock handling, security, and accuracy.

Next let’s create a purchase order for these products from a selected vendor.
In Odoo18 to create a purchase order (Purchase > Create, fill details, Confirm Order). This auto-creates an Inventory receipt, activating your putaway rules.
This integrated flow ensures the purchased goods correctly upon arrival at the warehouse.

After the purchase order confirmation we can verify whether the products are to the correct location as defined by the putaway rules.

How to Access and Configure Storage Locations in Odoo18

To check this in Odoo18 go to the Inventory module and the go to Configuration > Locations. Select the relevant sublocation as WH/Stock/Secure Locker.
Click the “Current Stock” or “Products” button in the location view to see the sublocation’s current inventory.

As shown in the example the inventory for a product like iPhone 15 Pro has been successfully moved and registered under the Secure Locker location, confirming that the putaway rule has been correctly applied.

Activating the Current Stock smart button from the location form will show a drop-down of products available at that particular location, including vital information like product name, storage location, quantity on hand, and quantity available.

click “Current Stock,” to see a product list for this location, includes the product’s name, total stock and how many are ready for use.

This explains how Odoo18 putaway rules operate.. In warehouses that store electronics and mobile devices, it’s essential to keep certain products separated to ensure safety, security, and proper storage conditions.
The lithium batteries are require the temperature-controlled environments while high-value smartphones need to stored in secure lockers, accessories can kept in standard dry storage.

Putaway rules play a essential role in this process by automatically directing the products to appropriate and predefined storage locations. This helps enforce storage best practices, prevents mishandling of sensitive components and ensures that items efficiently and safely reducing operational risks and supporting inventory accuracy.