Why Item Setup Matters
Every scan in a warehouse management system lands on an item record. Receiving, putaway, picking, counting, and shipping all read from it, so the choices you make when you set up items carry into every task. Getting them right up front pays off in several ways:
- Fewer picking errors, because every pack size scans as the right item and quantity
- More accurate inventory, because counts and moves land on one clean record per product
- Smoother receiving, because lots, expiry dates, and inspections are captured at the dock
- A faster implementation, with less cleanup after go-live
Rocket’s handheld app works by scanning. Each barcode belongs to one item and one unit of measure, so a scan tells Rocket what the product is and how many units it represents. A GS1-128 barcode that carries a lot and an expiry date fills those in from the same scan.
Anatomy of a SKU
A well-built SKU (stock keeping unit) tells you what a product is at a glance. Build it from short segments in a fixed order, so anyone can read it.
SKU Best Practices
- Keep SKUs short but descriptive.
- Use letters, numbers, and dashes. Spaces and slashes cause trouble for scanners and spreadsheets.
- Keep the same segment order and widths across every product.
- Use abbreviations people will remember, such as BLK for black.
- Leave room to grow, with enough digits in the item number for products you have not added yet.
- Keep the SKU separate from the barcode. The SKU is your name for the product; the UPC on the box comes from the manufacturer.
The SKU is the item ID. It can be up to 50 characters and must be unique, and Rocket stops you from creating the same SKU twice. The item import calls for letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores. Each item can also record the manufacturer’s name and part number, and each supplier’s own SKU, alongside yours.
ABC Classes and Cycle Counts
ABC classification ranks items by how much they matter, so your counting effort goes where errors cost the most. Usage value is what you move in a year: units used times unit cost. A typical starting split:
| Class | Share of Items | Share of Usage Value | Count Every | Typical Items |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | About 20% | About 80% | 30 days | High-value, fast-moving items |
| B | About 30% | About 15% | 90 days | Moderate value and movement |
| C | About 50% | About 5% | 180 days | Low-value, slow-moving items |
Review the classes every quarter, and after seasonal shifts, so they reflect what is moving now.
Every item has an A, B, or C cycle count class, and you set how many days apart each class is counted: 30, 90, and 180 days unless you change them. Each night Rocket turns that schedule into the day’s count work, starting with the items that have gone longest without a count.
To see what is moving, the Fast Movers view ranks products by order count and quantity over the last 7, 30, or 90 days or the year to date.
Grouping Your Items
Groups make a large catalog easier to search and organize. Common ways to group items:
An item can belong to several groups at once, so the same product can sit in a category group and a subcategory group. Storage rules that a location has to enforce belong in item classes, covered below.
Units of Measure and Barcodes
Units of measure (UOMs) let you receive, store, and pick the same product at different pack levels. Give each pack level its own unit and its own barcode.
Link each unit to its own barcode: the UPC on a single bottle, the case code on the carton. Receivers can then scan whatever is in front of them, and the system records the right quantity.
Each item has a default unit plus as many others as you need, each with a conversion factor and its own barcode. A barcode can belong to only one item and unit, so one scan always means one product and one pack size. At receiving, the operator records the unit being received and Rocket converts the quantity.
Item Classes
Item classes record how a product must be stored and handled, so it only goes where it is allowed.
| Item Class | Storage | Special Handling | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambient | Room temperature | Standard handling | Dry goods, hardware, packaged goods |
| Refrigerated | 32–40°F (0–4°C) | Keep the cold chain unbroken | Dairy, fresh produce |
| Frozen | 0°F (−18°C) or below | Frozen storage only | Frozen foods, ice cream |
| Hazmat | Approved, separated storage | Follow hazardous-materials rules | Chemicals, batteries, flammables |
Item classes are yours to define. Create classes such as Refrigerated, Frozen, or Hazmat, give each item its class, and limit each location to the classes it may hold. If someone tries to put an item away in a location that does not allow its class, Rocket refuses the putaway. Our warehouse location setup guide covers planning those locations.
Items can also be marked as needing inspection. Rocket receives them straight onto a hold and routes them to an inspection location, and held stock cannot be allocated to an order.
Lot and Expiry Control
Lot control tracks production batches, so you can find every unit from one batch if a supplier issues a recall or a quality problem turns up. Expiry control adds a date to each lot, so older stock ships first and nothing expires on the shelf.
Expiry Control Best Practices
- Set a warning window, such as 30 days, for stock that is about to expire.
- Allocate first-expired, first-out (FEFO), so the earliest dates ship first.
- Decide in advance what happens to near-expiry stock: discount, return, or dispose.
- Check expiry dates during cycle counts.
Turn on lot control for an item and Rocket asks for the lot at receiving; turn on expiration as well and it asks for the date. Rocket keeps lots from mixing on a pallet, and the transaction history records the lot on every movement.
By default, Rocket allocates the earliest-expiring stock first. The Expiration report lists what expires in the next 30 days unless you change the range, and one click puts the whole list on hold.
Setting Up Items in Rocket
Once your SKU format and classes are settled on paper, setup in Rocket follows the same order:
- Settle your SKU formatDecide the segments, their order, and their widths before you create the first item.
- Create item classes and groupsClasses for storage rules such as Refrigerated, Frozen, or Hazmat; groups for how you sort the catalog.
- Set your count scheduleChoose how many days apart A, B, and C items are counted.
- Add your itemsOne at a time or from a CSV file. Each row carries the SKU, name, item class, groups, cycle count class, lot and expiration settings, units of measure with their barcodes and conversion factors, and supplier SKUs, and the import flags any row with a problem.
- Scan-test before go-liveScan every pack size of a few real products and check that each one comes up as the right item and quantity.
During implementation, our team trains yours on this setup. See how inventory management works in Rocket.