What is a bin location?

A bin location is a storage address, not a waste bin. In banking, “BIN” means bank identification number, which is unrelated.

How bin locations work in an Indian D2C or omnichannel warehouse

A numbering scheme

Build the code from the largest area to the smallest, in the order a person walks:

Zone – aisle – rack – level – position

Example. The bin A-03-B-2 is zone A (fast-moving beauty), aisle 03, rack B, level 2 from the floor. If a shelf holds several bins, add a position: A-03-B-2-04. The layout below is illustrative.

Aisle 03, rack B	Position 01	Position 02	Position 03	Position 04
Level 3	A-03-B-3-01	A-03-B-3-02	A-03-B-3-03	A-03-B-3-04
Level 2	A-03-B-2-01	A-03-B-2-02	A-03-B-2-03	A-03-B-2-04
Level 1	A-03-B-1-01	A-03-B-1-02	A-03-B-1-03	A-03-B-1-04

Use the same number of characters in each part (03, not 3), so codes sort correctly in a spreadsheet and on a pick list.

Bin types

• Pick face: the bins pickers take orders from, at reachable height.
• Reserve or bulk: full cartons or pallets that refill the pick face.
• Returns: where returned items wait for a quality check.
• Quarantine: damaged, expired or held stock that must not be picked.
• Blocked: a bin taken out of use, for example while a rack is repaired or a count is investigated.

How bins are used

1. Putaway records which bin each received unit went into.
2. Picking: the pick list is sorted by bin code, so the picker walks the aisles once.
3. Counting: cycle counts go bin by bin, so a difference points to one place.
4. Moves: stock moved from reserve to pick face, or merged from two half-empty bins into one, is recorded as a bin-to-bin move.

Labels. Put a barcode label with the code in large print on every bin, readable from the aisle and scannable at arm’s length. Label the rack ends with the aisle and rack, so a new picker can find a bin without help.

Moving a small warehouse from “shelf 3” to coded bins

1. Draw the floor plan and mark zones by product type or sales speed.
2. Number aisles, racks and levels, then positions where shelves are shared.
3. Print and fix labels before moving any stock.
4. Count each bin as you assign stock to it, and record the result.
5. From that day, record every putaway and move by bin.

Common mistakes

• Codes that skip numbers or change format halfway through the warehouse.
• Mixing SKUs in one bin without recording each one. The picker can’t tell which item the record means.
• Not blocking damaged or quarantined bins, so stock in them gets picked.
• Moving stock without recording the move. The record and the shelf stop matching.
• Labels only readable up close, which slows every pick.

Related metrics

• Bin utilisation = bins in use ÷ total bins. Example: 1,140 of 1,200 = 95%, which leaves little room for a big delivery.
• Count variance by bin = bins with a difference ÷ bins counted. Example: 6 of 200 = 3%.
• Putaway time = time from GRN to stock recorded in a bin. Example: 2.5 hours on average.

Bin locations in the Indian context

• Dated goods. Food labels carry a batch or lot number and expiry or use-by dates under the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 (regulations 5(9) and 5(10)). Putting batches away separately, with the batch recorded per bin, is what lets the warehouse pick the earliest expiry first.
• A marketplace “location” is a warehouse, not a bin. Flipkart’s seller API documentation says sellers provide every location their products are picked up or dispatched from, with details such as the registered address and GSTIN for each. Bin codes are the brand’s own addresses inside one such location.
• Small warehouses. Many brands start with stock on open shelves in one room; coding bins is the first step towards scanning and bin-by-bin counts.

How Fretron CommerceOS handles bin locations

Bin-level accuracy is live in the Fretron CommerceOS warehouse module. Fretron CommerceOS includes warehouse management for receiving and putaway, and directed putaway is live in its warehouse module. It does not choose the closest empty bin or optimise slotting. The warehouse team works the floor on a phone, without handheld hardware, and picking is scan-guided: bin, then item. There is no offline mode, and labels print from the web, not the phone. A bin can be blocked with a reason. Stock can be moved between bins, and bins consolidated.