Configuring Warehouses

This guide is for implementers setting up warehouse infrastructure for a DRIMS deployment. You should be familiar with basic inventory concepts and disaster response coordination, but you don't need to know Python or Odoo internals.

Mental Model

DRIMS organizes warehouses into a three-tier hierarchy that mirrors real-world disaster response operations:

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│   Central Warehouse (Tier 1)    │  ← National stockpile
│   • High-capacity storage        │
│   • Receives bulk donations      │
│   • Supplies regional warehouses │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
           │ Distributes to
           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Regional Warehouses (Tier 2)   │  ← Provincial/district hubs
│  • Medium-capacity storage       │
│  • Serves multiple districts     │
│  • Coordinates local distribution│
└─────────────────────────────────┘
           │ Distributes to
           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│   Mobile Warehouses (Tier 3)    │  ← Field distribution points
│   • Temporary field locations    │
│   • Direct beneficiary access    │
│   • Rapid deployment capability  │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Key concepts:

• DRIMS-enabled warehouse: Any Odoo warehouse marked for disaster response operations

• Warehouse tier: Classification that determines the warehouse's role in the distribution chain

• Incident linkage: Warehouses can be assigned to specific disasters to track incident-specific inventory

• Area assignment: Links warehouses to geographic locations for routing and reporting

Enabling a Warehouse for DRIMS

Before a warehouse can be used for disaster response operations, it must be enabled in DRIMS.

Steps

1. Navigate to DRIMS → Inventory → Warehouses

   

2. Select an existing warehouse or create a new one using the New button

3. In the warehouse form, check the DRIMS Warehouse checkbox

   

4. Configure the DRIMS-specific fields (see next section)

5. Click Save

Warehouse Configuration

Once a warehouse is DRIMS-enabled, configure these fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
DRIMS Warehouse	Checkbox	Yes	Enables the warehouse for DRIMS operations
Warehouse Tier	Selection	Yes	Role in distribution hierarchy (Central/Regional/Mobile)
Area	Dropdown	Recommended	Geographic location from the area hierarchy
Linked Incidents	Multi-select	Optional	Specific disasters this warehouse serves

Field Details

Warehouse Tier

Choose based on the warehouse's role:

• Central - National or main stockpile that receives bulk donations

• Regional - Provincial/district hub serving multiple areas

• Mobile - Temporary field location for direct distribution

Area

Select the geographic area from your configured hierarchy (Province → District → Division). This determines:

• Which users can access the warehouse (based on area permissions)

• Routing decisions for automated dispatch suggestions

• Geographic filtering in reports and dashboards

Linked Incidents

Optional multi-select field to restrict the warehouse to specific disasters. When set:

• Only donations/requests for linked incidents can use this warehouse

• Dashboard metrics filter to show only linked incident data

• Useful for dedicated response warehouses (e.g., "Flood 2024 Response Center")

Leave empty to allow the warehouse to serve all incidents.

Linking Warehouses to Incidents

You can associate warehouses with specific disaster incidents in two ways:

Option 1: From the Warehouse Form

1. Open the warehouse in DRIMS → Inventory → Warehouses

2. Scroll to the Linked Incidents field

3. Click to select one or more incidents

4. Save the warehouse

Option 2: From the Incident Dashboard

1. Open the incident in DRIMS → Dashboard

2. Navigate to the Warehouses tab

3. Click Add to link existing warehouses

4. Select warehouses from the list

5. Save the incident

When to link warehouses to incidents:

• Dedicated response: A warehouse is set up specifically for one disaster

• Resource isolation: Strict separation of inventory between concurrent disasters

• Security: Limit warehouse visibility to incident-specific teams

When to leave warehouses unlinked:

• Shared facilities: One warehouse serves multiple ongoing disasters

• Permanent infrastructure: Regional hubs that handle all disasters in their area

• Flexible allocation: You want to reassign warehouse capacity as incidents evolve

Setting Up Warehouse Tiers

Central Warehouse Setup

Use case: National or main stockpile receiving bulk donations from international agencies.

Field	Recommended Value
Warehouse Tier	Central
Area	Leave empty or set to country level
Linked Incidents	Leave empty (serves all)

Typical configuration:

• High storage capacity

• Located near international ports/airports

• Receives donations in large quantities

• Distributes to regional warehouses

Regional Warehouse Setup

Use case: Provincial or district hub coordinating local distribution.

Field	Recommended Value
Warehouse Tier	Regional
Area	Set to province or district
Linked Incidents	Leave empty or link to regional disasters

Typical configuration:

• Medium storage capacity

• Strategically located within the region

• Receives stock from central warehouse

• Distributes to mobile units and distribution points

Mobile Warehouse Setup

Use case: Temporary field location for rapid deployment and direct beneficiary access.

Field	Recommended Value
Warehouse Tier	Mobile
Area	Set to district or division
Linked Incidents	Link to specific incident

Typical configuration:

• Temporary/portable infrastructure

• Located close to affected populations

• Minimal storage capacity

• Direct distribution to beneficiaries

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Single-Tier Deployment (Small-Scale)

For pilot programs or single-district responses:

Mobile Warehouse
├─ Area: Target District
├─ Tier: Mobile
└─ Incidents: Single active disaster

All donations received and distributed from one location.

Pattern 2: Two-Tier Deployment (Provincial)

For province-wide disasters:

Regional Warehouse (Provincial Capital)
├─ Area: Province
├─ Tier: Regional
└─ Serves
    ├─ Mobile Warehouse (District A)
    ├─ Mobile Warehouse (District B)
    └─ Mobile Warehouse (District C)

Regional hub supplies multiple field locations.

Pattern 3: Three-Tier Deployment (National)

For major national disasters:

Central Warehouse (Capital)
├─ Area: Country
├─ Tier: Central
└─ Serves
    ├─ Regional Warehouse (Province 1)
    │   └─ Mobile units in Districts 1A, 1B
    ├─ Regional Warehouse (Province 2)
    │   └─ Mobile units in Districts 2A, 2B
    └─ Regional Warehouse (Province 3)
        └─ Mobile units in Districts 3A, 3B

Full cascading distribution from national stockpile to field.

Pattern 4: Multi-Incident Shared Infrastructure

For regions with concurrent disasters:

Regional Warehouse (Shared)
├─ Area: Province
├─ Tier: Regional
├─ Incidents: [Empty - serves all]
└─ Handles
    ├─ Flood 2024 (Incident A)
    ├─ Drought 2024 (Incident B)
    └─ Landslide 2024 (Incident C)

One warehouse tracks inventory separately per incident but shares physical space.

Stock Health Indicators

DRIMS automatically calculates warehouse health based on alerts:

Health Status	Indicator	Meaning
Good	Green	No critical alerts, adequate stock levels
Warning	Yellow	Low stock alerts or items approaching expiry
Critical	Red	Stock-outs, expired items, or SLA violations

Health status is computed automatically based on:

• Low stock alerts for essential items

• Expiry warnings

• Pending requests exceeding delivery deadlines

You cannot set health status manually - it reflects the current alert state.

Are You Stuck?

Can't see DRIMS Warehouse checkbox?

Problem: The DRIMS Warehouse field doesn't appear on the warehouse form.

Solution: Ensure the spp_drims module is installed. Go to Apps → Update Apps List and search for "DRIMS". Install if not already active.

Warehouse doesn't appear in donation/request forms?

Problem: A DRIMS-enabled warehouse isn't showing up as an option when creating donations or requests.

Possible causes:

1. Incident mismatch: The warehouse is linked to specific incidents, but you're creating a donation/request for a different incident. Either unlink the warehouse from incidents (to make it available for all) or ensure you're working with a matching incident.

2. Area permissions: Your user account may not have access to the warehouse's assigned area. Contact your administrator to verify your area assignments in Settings → Users → [Your User] → DRIMS Area Access.

3. Warehouse tier mismatch: Some transaction types have tier restrictions. For example, bulk donations may be configured to only accept central warehouses.

How do I know which tier to assign?

Question: I'm not sure whether to make this warehouse Central, Regional, or Mobile.

Answer: Ask these questions:

• Where does it receive stock from? If from international donors → Central. If from another warehouse in-country → Regional or Mobile.

• What's its capacity? High-capacity → Central. Medium → Regional. Temporary/low → Mobile.

• How permanent is it? Permanent infrastructure → Central or Regional. Temporary field deployment → Mobile.

• Who does it serve? Other warehouses → Central or Regional. Direct beneficiaries → Mobile.

If still uncertain, start with Regional - you can change it later without affecting historical data.

Can I change warehouse tier after transactions exist?

Yes. The tier field can be changed at any time. Historical transactions (donations, requests, dispatches) are not affected. The tier only influences:

• How the warehouse appears in reports and organizational charts

• Default routing suggestions for new requests

• Dashboard grouping and metrics

Changing tier does not move or modify existing inventory.

Should I create one warehouse per incident or share warehouses?

It depends on your operating model:

Separate warehouses per incident when:

• Funding sources require strict separation

• Different agencies lead different incidents (consortium model)

• Security/access control demands physical or logical isolation

Share warehouses across incidents when:

• You have limited physical infrastructure

• Operational efficiency benefits from consolidated inventory

• You trust DRIMS to track incident-specific stock within shared facilities

DRIMS tracks inventory per incident regardless of your choice. The difference is organizational and security-related, not technical.

Next Steps

• Configuring Vocabularies - Configure donor types and item conditions

• Configuring Alerts and Thresholds - Set up stock monitoring and alerts

• Receive a Donation - Receive donations into warehouses