Assigning Helm Location Codes to Your Map

Why Link the Codes

A map with racking on it looks right but knows nothing about your locations. Once each shelf carries its Helm location code the map becomes useful: search a code and it lights up, zone shading appears, replayed pick runs route to the right bays, and the 3D view shows a plate on every location.

Example: Helm holds 1,200 location codes for the Northampton site in the form A03-R07-S2 (aisle, rack, shelf). The map has eight aisles of racking coded A01-R01 through A08-R15, each with four shelves. Auto-assign locations matches the codes to the racks by their shared prefix and places all but a handful. The remaining codes, which belong to a cage in goods-in, are dragged onto a storage point by hand.

Before You Start

• The map must be linked to a Helm warehouse. It is, automatically, if Helm had a default warehouse when the map was created. The Locations tab reads that warehouse's codes.

• Place and shape the racking first. Decide whether each rack is an open bay (one code per bay) or has shelves (one code per shelf), and split wide bays into sections if Helm codes them separately. See Racking, Shelves & Components.

• Give racks sensible codes if you plan to auto-assign. Matching is by prefix: a Helm code A03-R07-S2 lands on the rack coded A03-R07, shelf 2.

The Locations Tab

Open the Locations tab in the left sidebar. The pill on the tab shows how many Helm codes are not yet on the map.

• Unassigned: every Helm code for this warehouse that is not yet placed, with its Zone. Filter with the Filter codes / zone box, switching between Contains, Starts with and Ends with. Long lists show 300 at a time; filter to narrow down. When everything is placed the panel says so.

• Assigned locations: click the ribbon to expand a searchable list of every rack and storage point with the codes on each shelf.

• Export and Import for the spreadsheet round trip. See Importing & Exporting Location Codes with a Spreadsheet.

• Auto-assign locations: matches unassigned codes to racks by pattern, for your review.

Assigning Codes by Hand

Drag a Code onto the Map

1. Find the code in Unassigned. Tick several to move them together.

2. Drag the code (or the ticked batch) onto a rack or storage point on the canvas. On a split rack, where you drop along its width chooses the section.

3. A toast confirms, for example Added A03-R07-S2 to A03-R07 · shelf 1.

Tick Codes, Then Add Them to a Shelf

1. Select a rack or storage point on the canvas.

2. Tick the codes in Unassigned. The footer changes to Add N codes to {rack} and lists the rack's shelves: Shelf 1, Shelf 2 and so on, each with an Add button. A rack with no shelves shows Open bay; a split rack groups them under Left, Right and so on.

3. Click Add on the shelf you want.

From the Rack's Properties

1. Select the rack. In the Properties panel, expand Locations.

2. Click Add next to a shelf. Type to search the unassigned codes, use the arrow keys to move, Space to tick and Enter to add, or click Show all codes.

3. Click Add N, then Done.

Each code on a rack shows how many SKUs it holds where Helm supplies stock data. Click the code to see the SKU, Description and Stock lines. To take a code off, remove it and confirm Remove {code} from Shelf N?.

Storage Points

For a free-standing spot that is not a rack (a container, a floor area, a cage), place a Storage point from the Points section and type its codes into Location codes in the Properties panel. Separate several codes with commas or spaces.

Moving & Unassigning Codes

• Drag an assigned code from Assigned locations or from the rack's Properties onto another shelf or rack to move it.

• Drag it up into the Unassigned pool to unassign it. Toasts confirm each move.

• A code can live in one place only. Moving it removes it from where it was.

Auto-Assigning by Pattern

Auto-assign locations reads the unassigned codes, groups them by their pattern (for example A9-A9-A9) and matches each group to racks whose code is a prefix of the location code, taking the trailing number as the shelf. Nothing changes until you review and confirm.

1. Click Auto-assign locations at the bottom of the Locations tab.

2. Optionally describe your numbering, then click Start.

3. Review the matches. Each card is one code pattern and shows:

   1. a confidence badge (High, Medium or Low);

   2. how many codes it covers, with an example, and where they will go;

   3. a note if some need a layout check, such as codes that imply shelves on a rack drawn as an open bay.

4. Tick the groups you want to apply. High groups are pre-ticked. Codes that match nothing stay in the pool.

5. Click Assign N codes. A toast confirms, and the whole assignment is one undoable step.

When Your Codes Do Not Match the Rack Codes

If the location codes follow a different scheme from the codes on your racks, a card headed Rename your racks to match these codes? may appear. It shows the proposed old and new rack codes in order (top to bottom, left to right) and offers Rename N racks + assign M codes. Check the order against the plan before you click; the rename and the assignments apply together as a single undoable step. The card is only offered when the renaming lines up cleanly with your racks.

Checking Your Work

• A rack whose codes span more than one Helm zone shows a warning on its Zone field. It usually means a code is on the wrong rack.

• Switch on Helm zones under View options > Heatmap. Zones should form tidy blocks; a lone patch of colour is worth a second look.

• Search a few codes with Search code or SKU in the header and confirm each jumps to the right bay.

• Switch to 3D: every assigned location shows a plate on the beam, so gaps are easy to spot.

Best Practices

Fix the Layout Before the Codes

Splits, shelves and open bays should mirror how Helm codes the location. Changing them afterwards is allowed, but codes on a removed shelf drop back to the pool.

Use Auto-Assign for the Bulk, Hands for the Odd Ones

Let the pattern matching place the regular racking, then drag the leftovers: cages, floor spots and the shelf under the stairs rarely follow a pattern.

Export a Copy When You Are Done

Click Export once the codes are placed. The spreadsheet is a handy record and the fastest way to make bulk changes later.

FAQ

Why does the pool say no Helm locations for this warehouse?

The map is not linked to a Helm warehouse, or Helm has no locations for it yet. Check the warehouse shown on the map card, and that locations exist in Helm.

Can a code be on two racks?

No. Each code lives in one place. If you drag it somewhere new it moves.

Auto-assign placed nothing.

Matching is by prefix, so the rack codes on the map must begin the location codes. Either rename your racks to match (the dialog offers this when it can), or assign by hand or by spreadsheet.

Does assigning a code change anything in Helm?

No. The link lives on the map only. Helm's locations are never edited.

If a batch of codes will not place and the pattern looks regular, contact Helm support with the map name and a few example codes; the team can check how they are being read.