A quarantine bay full of pallets nobody mentions
The quarantine bay started as an area for stock waiting on a quality decision. Now it holds pallets from a temperature query in the summer, a damaged delivery awaiting the supplier's decision, a customer's stock held pending a dispute and a few pallets nobody is quite sure about.
Each one took space and charges, and each is waiting on someone else: the stock owner's quality team, the supplier, an insurer. Nobody is chasing, because the hold was put on by a shift leader who has since moved on.
Why holds drift
Putting stock on hold is quick and sensible. Getting it off hold requires a decision from someone outside your business, and nothing in the process makes sure that decision is asked for, chased and recorded.
- Holds are set in the WMS with a short note, or by moving pallets to a bay.
- The person or organisation who must decide is not recorded.
- No deadline is set for a decision.
- Nobody chases, because nobody owns the hold.
- Outcomes are carried out but not recorded against the hold.
What drifting holds cost
Space in a cold store is expensive, and held stock takes it. Charges for held stock may be disputed if the reason for the hold is not documented. Stock held too long may pass its date, turning a decision into a disposal. And the risk that held stock is accidentally released is real where holds are only a physical bay.
How we manage holds to a decision
- Placing a hold blocks the pallets in the WMS so they cannot be picked, and records the reason, the evidence and who placed it.
- The hold records who must decide: the stock owner's quality contact, a supplier, an insurer or your own quality team.
- The decision-maker receives a request with the evidence and a link to record their decision.
- Deadlines are set by type of hold, and reminders escalate if no decision arrives.
- The decision, such as release, rework, return or disposal, is recorded, and the pallets are released or moved accordingly in the WMS.
- A hold register shows every open hold, its age, who it waits on and the storage charges accruing.
| Hold reason | Typical decision-maker |
|---|---|
| Temperature query | Stock owner's quality team |
| Damage on arrival | Stock owner or their supplier |
| Recall check | Stock owner |
| Dispute over charges | Your account manager and the customer |
The decision itself is always the stock owner's or the relevant party's. We make sure it is asked for, chased and recorded.
What the quarantine bay looks like after
Every held pallet has a reason, a decision-maker and a deadline. The register shows what is waiting on whom. Decisions arrive faster because they are asked for clearly, and outcomes are recorded for anyone who asks later. Held stock cannot be picked by accident.
Month end gets simpler too. Storage on held stock can be billed with the hold record attached, showing the reason and how long the decision took, which makes a disputed charge much easier to discuss with the stock owner.
Is your quarantine bay filling up?
- Held stock sits for weeks without a decision.
- Nobody knows who each hold is waiting on.
- Held pallets are only separated physically, not blocked in the system.
- Held stock has passed its date while waiting.
- Decisions and outcomes are not recorded.