Storage aid types (cartons)

Set up cartons and other load carriers with dimensions, weight and capacity so they can be chosen at the packing station.

Storage aid types describe load carriers and packaging such as cartons or pallets, with dimensions, own weight and capacity. Each type is saved as an article marked as packaging (article attribute "pack_type"), the SKU being its article number.

Exactly these articles appear at the packing station under Choose carton (Kartonage wählen) and as Default carton (Standard-Kartonage) of a freight carrier. Without at least one storage aid type there is no carton to choose at the packing station.

Screenshot: Storage aid types list with Name, SKU, Warehouse, Dimensions (L×W×H), Max. weight, Max. volume and Status

Before you start

Your user needs the permission for Storage aids (Lagerhilfsmittel) and, to create, edit or delete, the matching permissions – ask your administrator.

Step by step

Open WMS › Warehouse › Storage aids (WMS › Lager › Lagerhilfsmittel).
Click Create new storage aid type (Neuen Lagerhilfsmittel-Typ anlegen).
Enter Name (Name) and SKU (SKU). With more than one warehouse, choose the Warehouse (Lager) – or keep All warehouses (Alle Lager).
Optional: Description (Beschreibung), Length / Width / Height (Länge / Breite / Höhe), Weight (Gewicht), Maximum weight (Maximales Gewicht) and Maximum volume (Maximales Volumen).
Tick Active (Aktiv) and click Save (Speichern). You see "Storage aid type successfully created." (Lagerhilfsmittel-Typ erfolgreich erstellt.)

Screenshot: Form "Create new storage aid type" with Name "Carton S", SKU, Warehouse and the section "Dimensions and capacities" filled in

Fields and options

Field	Meaning	Required
Name (Name)	Name of the carton or load carrier	yes
SKU (SKU)	Article number of the packaging article. The article is created when you save.	yes
Warehouse (Lager)	Warehouse the type is used in. All warehouses (Alle Lager, empty): every warehouse. Only shown if you have more than one warehouse.	no
Description (Beschreibung)	Free text	no
Length / Width / Height (Länge / Breite / Höhe)	Dimensions, each greater than 0	no
Weight (Gewicht)	Own weight of the packaging	no
Maximum weight / Maximum volume (Maximales Gewicht / Maximales Volumen)	Capacity, each greater than 0	no
Active (Aktiv)	Only active types are offered	–

Create a storage aid directly in the catalogue

Every storage aid type is an article, so you can also create it like any other article in the catalogue – handy if you keep your cartons and pallets in a category of their own, e.g. "Packaging".

Create the article in the catalogue – see Create an article. Assign it to your packaging category if you like.
In the attribute group Warehouse (Lager), set the attribute Packaging / storage aid (Verpackung / Lagerhilfsmittel) to Yes (Ja).
Optional: in the group Dimensions (Abmessungen) enter Length, Width, Height, Weight, Maximum weight (kg) and Maximum volume (m³), and in the group Basic Data (Grunddaten) the Warehouse (Lager; empty = all warehouses).
Save the active article. It now appears under WMS › Warehouse › Storage aids and at the packing station under Choose carton.

The other way round, every type you create under Storage aids ends up as an article in the catalogue. If the SKU already exists there, X-Sitter does not create a second article but tells you so – then set Packaging / storage aid to Yes on the existing article.

If your catalogue has no attribute Packaging / storage aid, create it first as an attribute field with the slug pack_type (selection Yes = yes / No = no) – see Attribute fields.

Where storage aid types are used

Packing station: selection under Choose carton – see Packing. A type whose packaging article has the attribute Is a pallet (Ist Palette, group Warehouse in the article) set to yes turns the package into a pallet: no parcel label, the order goes to loading – see Pallets at the packing table.
Freight carriers: selection of the Default carton, which is preselected at the packing station – see Freight carriers.
Warehouse settings: the Default storage aid (Standard-Lagerhilfsmittel) on the tab Configurations – see Warehouse settings.

Screenshot: Packing station with the "Choose carton" selection listing the storage aid types

Delete a storage aid type

Click the delete button and confirm the question. If the type is still used, the dialog tells you so – the assignment is removed there as well. This action cannot be undone.

Good to know / Troubleshooting

Message	Cause	Solution
Please enter a name. (Bitte gib einen Namen ein.)	Name is empty.	Enter a name.
Please enter a SKU. (Bitte gib eine SKU ein.)	SKU is empty.	Enter a SKU.
The length must be greater than 0. / The width … / The height … / The maximum weight … / The maximum volume must be greater than 0.	A negative value is entered.	Enter a positive value or leave the field empty.
Ein Artikel mit dieser SKU existiert bereits im Katalog. Bitte dort „Verpackung / Lagerhilfsmittel“ auf „Ja“ setzen, dann erscheint er hier. (an article with this SKU already exists in the catalogue)	New type with the SKU of an existing article.	Set Packaging / storage aid to Yes on the existing article – or choose another SKU.
Another item in the catalog already has this SKU. (Ein anderer Artikel im Katalog hat bereits diese SKU.)	While editing, you chose a SKU another article has.	Choose another SKU.
Dem Katalog fehlt das Attribut „pack_type“ (Verpackung / Lagerhilfsmittel). Bitte zuerst im Katalog anlegen. (the catalogue has no attribute pack_type)	The attribute field is missing in your catalogue.	Create the attribute field `pack_type` (see the note above).