Beam uses a hierarchical location structure to mirror the physical layout of your warehouse, store, or storage facility.
Understanding how locations work helps you keep items organized and easy to find.
Location structure
Locations in Beam follow a three-level hierarchy, from the broadest area down to the most specific:
- Maps: The top level. An entire physical space (e.g. a warehouse building, retail store, or storage yard).
- Zones: Areas within a map (e.g. aisles, rooms, departments, or sections of a warehouse floor).
- Spots: Specific physical locations within a zone (e.g. a rack, shelf unit, bin, or individual position where items are stored).
Locations screens
The Locations area uses several screens to view and navigate Maps, Zones, and Spots. Editing and deleting are described in the next section.
Map view (3D)
Map view (3D) is the main entry point. When you open a map, you see an isometric 3D view of its zones. Use the map dropdown to switch between maps or + Create New Map. The toolbar offers back, search, view options, and settings. Tap a zone to open its detail panel or drill into its spots.
Moving around the map is intuitive and works like a digital map:
- Zoom in and out: Pinch with two fingers to zoom in for detail or zoom out for the full picture.
- Pan: Drag with one finger to move around the map.
- Search: Use the search bar to find a specific location. The map will automatically center on the matching zone or spot.
Zone detail
Tap a zone in the 3D view to open its detail panel. You see the zone name, type (e.g. Shelf/Rack), dimensions, number of spots, and current stock. If the zone is empty, "No stock / This location is empty" is shown. Use View shelf to open the grid of spots inside that zone.
Spot grid and spot detail
After View shelf, you see the zone’s spots in a grid (e.g. 5×5). The header shows "Shelf - Front view" and total items and pieces. Each cell is a spot (A1, A2, …). Tap a cell to open the spot detail panel: it shows the spot ID (e.g. A1), status (Empty or stock info), and a message like "This compartment is empty" when there is no stock.
Location Hierarchy
To open Location Hierarchy, tap the three dots (⋮) and then Location Hierarchy. The screen lists all Maps (e.g. "Vestiging Zwolle", "Winkel Amsterdam"), each showing how many zones and spots it contains (e.g. "2 zones, 50 spots"). Tap a map to see its Zones; tap a zone to see its Spots.
In the Spots list, each row (e.g. 1#1, 1#2, 2#1) is expandable. Expand a spot to see its Location ID, coordinates, capacity, Parent Zone, and Items at this location (or "No items"). Use Copy data to copy the spot details. A breadcrumb at the top (e.g. All Locations → Map name → Zone name) shows where you are. Statistics show total counts for Maps, Zones, and Spots. Use Refresh locations to sync with the backend; Toggle orphaned zones or Toggle statistics for more options.
Editing and deleting locations
You edit maps and zones from the 3D map view. Deleting a zone removes it and all spots inside it.
Edit Map
From the 3D map view, open the edit panel by tapping the gear icon. Set Name, Description, Boundary mode (Rectangular or Freeform), and Dimensions (width × height in meters). Quick presets (e.g. Small Shop 10×8 m, Warehouse 50×40 m) help you set common sizes. Tap Save Changes to apply.
Add new zone
To add a new zone to the map, enter edit mode (tap the three dots (⋮) and Edit). Tap + Add in the bottom-left corner. The Add Shape sidebar opens: choose a shape to place on the floorplan.
- Square: Square zone.
- Round: Round zone.
- L-Shape: L-shaped corner.
- Shelf: Shelving unit.
- Column: Storage column.
- Table: Table.
Tap on the canvas where you want the zone to appear. A prompt asks you to Tap to place shape; tap again to place it. Use Reshape to resize the zone by dragging its corner handles. Tap Done when you have finished adding zones.
Edit Zone (Shelf)
To edit a zone, first enter edit mode by tapping the three dots (⋮) and then Edit. Tap a zone, then tap Edit in the bottom-left corner. The panel lets you set Name, Barcode/QR, Dimensions (height, width, depth), and Compartments (rows × columns). A Front view preview shows the spot grid (e.g. A1–E5).
Edit Spot Barcodes opens a screen where you can assign a barcode to each compartment: tap a compartment, enter or scan its barcode, then tap Save Spot Barcodes or Done. At the bottom of the panel, Save Changes saves your edits and Delete Shelf removes the zone. To leave edit mode, tap the three dots and Close edit, or use the back button.
Deleting a zone
To delete a zone, open it in edit mode as above and tap Delete Shelf at the bottom of the Edit Shelf panel. This removes the zone and all spots inside it.
Assigning items to locations
You can assign items to locations in several ways, including:
- Move button on the item page: Open an item and use the Move button or tab to move stock to a location. See Managing Items for details.
- Item detail screen: Open an item and set or change its location in the item properties.
- Location screen: Go to a location and add items to it directly.
- Scanning: Scan an item while viewing a location to assign it there automatically.
- Stock adjustments: When adjusting stock levels, specify the location the adjustment applies to.
Location capacity
Each location can have a maximum capacity (how many items it can hold). When set, Beam shows a visual fullness indicator so you can see how full the location is.
This makes it easy to spot locations with free space and to avoid overstocking.