# Bin location

> A bin location is the address of a place in your stockroom, so anyone can be told where to find a product without being shown.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/bin-location/
- Also called: Bin, Storage location
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Tom Beckwith, Engineer, Store Standards

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It describes the shelf, not the stock on it. The shelf keeps its code when the
product changes.

## Numbering the racking

Work from big to small, and keep every part the same width:

- Aisle, then bay, then shelf, then position
- `A-03-2-04` reads as aisle A, bay 3, second shelf up, fourth slot along
- Number bays from the same end of every aisle

Print the labels as [Code 128](https://storestandards.com/glossary/code-128/) so they can be scanned.
A scanned location is never mistyped, and it is the fastest part of a
[putaway](https://storestandards.com/glossary/putaway/) to get wrong by hand.

## What it buys you

A new starter with a [pick list](https://storestandards.com/glossary/pick-list/) can work their first
shift without asking anyone where things are. That is the whole return, and
it is worth more than it sounds in December.

## Where it goes wrong

Locations that describe the stock. `HOODIES` is fine until you move the
hoodies, and then it is a lie printed on the racking.

The other one is a dead spot. One bay behind a steel upright where the Wi-Fi
does not reach, so the scan never registers and somebody writes the count on
their hand. Walk the room with a phone before you number it, and find out
where the signal goes.

## Related terms

- [Putaway](https://storestandards.com/glossary/putaway/): Putaway is moving stock from the receiving area onto the shelf it will be picked from, and recording where it went.
- [Pick list](https://storestandards.com/glossary/pick-list/): A pick list is the sheet or screen that tells someone which products to collect for an order, and where each one is.
- [SKU](https://storestandards.com/glossary/sku/): A SKU is your own code for one exact thing you sell, down to the size and colour. You invent it, and only your shop uses it.