> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.spherecast.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Locations & warehouses

> Model each storage, production, and fulfillment location, and set the warehouse type that drives replenishment direction.

## What this page is for

A **warehouse** is any place you store, produce, or fulfill stock — a distribution center (DC), a plant, or a co-manufacturer's site holding your goods. You model each one here so the planning engine knows where stock lives and how it is allowed to move.

The single most important choice for a warehouse is its **type**. The type tells the engine which direction stock flows: from a supplier, into your network, and out to customers.

## The three warehouse types

There are exactly three types. Choose the one that matches how the location behaves.

| Type          | How it behaves                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Central**   | Receives stock from a supplier or a Buffer warehouse, sends stock out to Satellite warehouses, and can also fulfill end customers. Think regional DC or main hub.                        |
| **Satellite** | Replenished by receiving stock from a Central (or Buffer) warehouse; rarely restocked directly from a supplier. Fulfills end customers. Think forward stocking location close to demand. |
| **Buffer**    | Holds buffer stock and sends it to Central warehouses (rarely to Satellites). Does **not** fulfill end customers. Think overflow or staging pool.                                        |

This is the replenishment chain the types create:

> supplier → Central → Satellite → customer  (with Buffer feeding Central when used)

## Key attributes

| Attribute                                | Plain meaning                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Active**                               | Whether this warehouse is in use. Inactive warehouses drop out of planning.                                                                                                                         |
| **Type**                                 | Central, Satellite, or Buffer — see above.                                                                                                                                                          |
| **Desired coverage / replenish cadence** | Target days of stock to keep on hand. Surfaced for Satellites, so they get topped up to a healthy buffer.                                                                                           |
| **Can hold inventory**                   | Whether stock can be carried here between periods. True for Central and Satellite; set to false for some co-man or co-packer sites that only pass stock through. Editable only for the Buffer type. |
| **Handling lead time (days)**            | Time for received stock to become sellable — put-away, or post-production testing.                                                                                                                  |
| **Aggregated to**                        | Roll this warehouse's stock, inbound, and forecast onto another warehouse for planning, so the two plan as one.                                                                                     |
| **Region**                               | The region this warehouse belongs to, for regional planning and reporting.                                                                                                                          |
| **Facility for / production site**       | Links the warehouse to the supplier(s) that produce or hold stock there.                                                                                                                            |
| **Address**                              | The physical location.                                                                                                                                                                              |

## The "sellable" idea

Not every warehouse has a direct sales forecast, and that is fine. A Central or Satellite warehouse whose stock gets **consumed by production** — for example, a component pulled into an assembly step — counts as **sellable**. Spherecast treats that stock as real demand to be replenished, not as dead stock to be ignored. So a warehouse that only feeds production is still planned and kept in supply.

## How it affects planning

The type drives replenishment direction. When the engine sees a Satellite running low, it looks upstream to a Central to transfer stock in; when the Central runs low, it looks to a supplier (or Buffer) to bring stock in. Get the type wrong — for example, marking a forward DC as Central when it should be Satellite — and the engine will try to source it directly from suppliers instead of from your hub.

**Handling lead time** and **Desired coverage** shape the timing: the engine orders early enough to cover put-away time and to keep the target days of stock on hand.

## Step by step: add a warehouse

1. Open **Settings → Supply chain network → Locations & warehouses** and add a warehouse.
2. Set **Type** (Central, Satellite, or Buffer) to match how the location behaves.
3. Enter the **address** and assign a **Region**.
4. Set **Handling lead time** and, for a Satellite, its **Desired coverage**.
5. If a supplier produces or holds stock here, set **Facility for / production site** to link them. See [Suppliers & co-manufacturers](/guide/network/suppliers-co-manufacturers).
6. Choose which products stock here on [Stocking](/stocking).

## Example

Your Ohio hub is a **Central** warehouse. It receives finished goods from a supplier in Mexico and sends stock to your Texas and Georgia DCs, which you model as **Satellite** warehouses with a 21-day desired coverage. An overflow site near the port is a **Buffer** that only feeds Ohio. When Texas dips below its coverage target, Spherecast recommends a transfer from Ohio rather than a purchase order — because that is the direction the types allow.

> **Tip:** Transfers only run along lanes you have opened between warehouses. After setting types, confirm the transfer lanes exist so stock can actually move. See [Transfer orders](/guide/supply-planning/transfer-orders).