Warehouse Management

Quarantine Locations

Keep problem inventory out of your sellable stock. Quarantine locations isolate returns, damaged goods, and suspect items until they're inspected and dispositioned.

See How It Works

Why Quarantine Matters

Returns Gone Wrong

Customer returns a product. Without inspection, it goes back to sellable stock. Next customer receives used or damaged goods. Now you have two unhappy customers.

Quality Issues

A batch has potential defects. You need to hold it while investigating—but you can't just delete it from inventory. You need visibility without sellability.

Damaged Receiving

Shipment arrives with visible damage. Some units are fine, some aren't. You need to separate the bad units while counting and stocking the good ones.

How Quarantine Works in Fulfil

Quarantine locations are special inventory zones that hold stock but exclude it from available-to-sell quantity.

Quarantine Types

Returns Quarantine

All returns land here first. Inspection determines: restock as-is, restock after cleaning, sell as refurbished, or dispose.

Quality Hold

Suspect batches held for investigation. Customer complaints, QC failures, or supplier issues trigger holds pending review.

Damaged Goods

Visibly damaged inventory awaiting disposition. May be salvageable, repairable, or destined for disposal/donation.

Inventory View with Quarantine

Sellable Stock 450 units
Available for orders
Returns Pending Inspection 28 units
Quarantine: Returns
Quality Hold - Batch #4521 120 units
Quarantine: QC Hold
Damaged - Awaiting Disposal 15 units
Quarantine: Damaged
Total On Hand: 613 units
Available to Sell: 450 units

Returns Quarantine Workflow

1

Return Received

Package arrives at warehouse. Scanned into Returns Quarantine zone. System logs receipt date, original order, and return reason.

2

Inspection

QC staff inspects item. Checks for damage, completeness, and resale condition. Records inspection notes and photos.

3

Disposition Decision

Based on inspection, select disposition: Restock (move to sellable), Refurbish (move to rework zone), or Dispose (write off).

4

Move to Destination

Item moves from quarantine to final location. If restocked, available-to-sell updates. If disposed, inventory writes off and COGS adjusts.

Disposition Options

Restock As-Is

Item passes inspection. Move to sellable inventory. Same SKU, full price.

Refurbish

Needs cleaning or minor repair. Move to rework zone, then restock or sell as refurbished.

Sell as B-Stock

Cosmetic damage only. Create B-stock SKU, discount price, or route to outlet channel.

Dispose

Not salvageable. Write off inventory, record disposal reason. Donate if applicable.

Common Questions

How do quarantine locations affect inventory counts?
Quarantine inventory is "on hand" but not "available to sell." You see it in total inventory counts and inventory value reports, but it doesn't show as available on sales channels or get allocated to orders. This gives you visibility without risk of shipping problem stock.
Can I automate quarantine rules?
Yes. You can set rules like "all returns go to quarantine" or "items with damage reason code go to damaged quarantine." You can also set SLAs: alert if items sit in quarantine longer than X days without disposition.
How does quarantine affect financials?
Quarantine inventory retains its cost basis. When you dispose of items, the write-off posts to a designated expense account. When you restock, no journal entry—it just becomes sellable again. Refurbish/rework can add labor cost to the item's value.

Ready to manage problem inventory?

See how Fulfil handles returns quarantine, quality holds, and disposition workflows.

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