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
Area	Dropdown	Recommended	Geographic location from the area hierarchy
Storage Capacity (m³)	Number	Optional	Maximum storage volume
Active Incidents	Multi-select	Optional	Hazard incidents this warehouse is responding to

Field Details

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

Warehouse–incident linkage is configured from the warehouse form. There is no equivalent flow on the incident form.

1. Open the warehouse in DRIMS → Inventory → Warehouses

2. Open the DRIMS Configuration tab

3. Under Active Response, set one or more incidents in the Active Incidents field

4. Save the warehouse

Note

The DRIMS Configuration tab is only visible when the user belongs to Storage Locations (stock.group_adv_location) or Multi-Warehouses (stock.group_stock_multi_warehouses). Enable one in Settings → Inventory (or assign the group to the user) if the tab is missing.

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

Common Deployment Patterns

Pattern 1: Single Warehouse (Small-Scale)

For pilot programs or single-district responses — one warehouse handles all donations and distribution.

Pattern 2: Hub and Spoke (Provincial)

For province-wide disasters — a central hub in the provincial capital supplies field locations in affected districts.

Pattern 3: Multi-Incident Shared Infrastructure

For regions with concurrent disasters — one warehouse serves multiple active incidents, tracking inventory per incident.

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. Area permissions: Verify the warehouse's area is accessible to your user account.

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