Getting Started with Warehouse Mapping

What Warehouse Mapping Does

Most warehouse teams carry the layout in their heads: which aisle is which, where the fast movers sit, how far a picker walks for an awkward order. Warehouse Mapping puts that knowledge on screen, to real dimensions, and ties every rack and shelf to the location codes in Helm WMS. Once the map exists you can:

• See where every location physically is. Search a code and the map highlights the rack, shelf and floor it lives on.

• Plan and compare layouts. Drag racking, walls, doors and packing benches around a scaled plan, or duplicate a map to try an alternative without touching the original.

• Test pick routes with your own jobs. Replay one of your real Helm picks or movements across the map and see the walking distance and time, stop by stop.

• Walk the warehouse in 3D. Switch to a 3D view of the same map, drop in at eye level and walk the aisles, which is a quick way to brief new starters or sanity-check a redesign.

Example: a 3PL takes on a new client and needs to decide where 40 pallets of slow-moving stock should live. The operations manager opens the site map, switches on zone shading to see how Helm zones are laid out, drops the pallets into a spare block of racking on the plan, then replays yesterday's busiest pick run to confirm the change has not added walking to the fast aisles.

Nothing you do in the map changes stock, orders or locations in Helm. The map reads from Helm; it does not write back to it.

Opening the App from Helm

Warehouse Mapping is a Despatch Cloud partner app. It is installed from the App Store inside Helm and then runs embedded in Helm, so there is no separate account or password.

1. In Helm, open the App Store and install Warehouse Mapping. You will be asked to accept the permissions the app needs to read your warehouses and locations.

2. Open the app from Helm. The first time your company launches it, the app links itself to your Helm company automatically. There is nothing to set up.

3. Every launch lands you on the Maps page, which is the app's home screen.

The Maps Page

The Maps page lists every map your company has made, one card per map. Each card shows the map name, the Helm warehouse it belongs to and when it was last updated. Maps built from the sample warehouse carry a Demo badge.

• Add map starts a new map. See Creating a Map.

• Add demo map adds a ready-built sample warehouse so you can explore the editor before mapping your own site.

• Search maps filters the cards by map name or warehouse name once you have more than one.

• Hover a card to reveal its duplicate and delete controls. Click anywhere else on the card to open the map.

A brand-new account with no maps shows No maps yet with an Add map button in the middle of the page.

Three Ways to Build a Map

When you click Add map you are asked how you want to build it. All three routes land in the same editor, so you can start one way and refine the map by hand afterwards.

• Upload a floor plan. Choose Build with AI and upload a PDF or image of each floor. The plan is read and drawn for you, with no questions asked, and you are shown what was assumed.

• Answer a short interview. Choose Build with AI without a plan and answer roughly a dozen questions per floor (size, racking direction, aisle count and so on) while the map builds live in front of you.

• Set it up manually. Enter the building size, optionally add a floor plan to trace over, and place everything yourself.

Building a Map with the AI Builder and Creating a Map cover each route step by step.

A Tour of the Editor

Open any map and you are in the 2D editor. The pieces you will use most:

• The header holds the map name (click it to rename), the level selector, undo and redo, the save indicator, search, the 2D / 3D toggle and the View options eye icon.

• The left sidebar has three tabs. Build is the component library and drawing tools. Locations is where Helm location codes are assigned to racks. Layers controls what draws on top and what is locked.

• The canvas is the scaled plan, with rulers along the top and left edges. Everything is drawn in real millimetres and shown in metres.

• The Properties panel on the right shows the settings of whatever you have selected: a rack's code, shelves and access side, a door's type and swing, an area's name and colour.

• The figure in the bottom-right corner captioned Drag to walk is the entrance to 3D walk mode. Drag it onto a clear aisle to drop in at eye level.

Using the Map Editor explains the canvas controls in detail, and Racking, Shelves & Components covers every component type.

How the Map Links to Helm

Each map belongs to one Helm warehouse: the warehouse Helm reports as your current, default warehouse when the map is created. The app reads that warehouse's location codes and zones from Helm so you can place them on the racks. Two things follow from this:

• Set a default warehouse in Helm first. If none is set, the Add a map dialog shows No warehouse in Helm and cannot continue.

• Codes are placed, not invented. The Locations tab lists the codes that exist in Helm and counts how many are not yet on the map. Assigning Helm Location Codes to Your Map explains the options.

Where to Go Next

• Creating a Map: adding a map, the manual route and the building size.

• Building a Map with the AI Builder: floor plans, the interview questions and reviewing the draft.

• Using the Map Editor: placing, moving, snapping, undo and shortcuts.

• Racking, Shelves & Components: every component and its properties.

• Levels, Layers & Floor Plan Underlays: mezzanines, floor shapes and tracing a drawing.

• Assigning Helm Location Codes to Your Map, and Importing & Exporting Location Codes with a Spreadsheet.

• Viewing Your Warehouse in 3D, and Walking Your Warehouse in 3D.

• Testing Pick Routes & Simulating Helm Jobs.

FAQ

Do I need a separate login for Warehouse Mapping?

No. The app opens inside Helm using your Helm session. There is no username or password for the app itself.

Can I map more than one warehouse?

Yes. Each map belongs to the warehouse Helm has as its default at the moment you create the map. Set the other warehouse as the default in Helm, then add a new map.

Will editing the map change anything in Helm?

No. The map reads warehouses, locations and zones from Helm and never writes back. Moving a rack on the map does not move stock.

Who can edit maps?

Anyone in your company who can open the app from Helm can create and edit maps. If a change is refused with a "Not allowed" message, speak to the person who manages your Helm account.

If you get stuck at any point, contact Helm support and quote the map name; the team can open the same map you are looking at.