DBD: Hidden Warehouse Feature

The Hidden Warehouse feature allows you to store overstock inventory in a separate, isolated warehouse location that is completely hidden from customer-facing reports. This is particularly useful when a supplier offers bulk pricing discounts to order more inventory than your client requested, and you know the customer will reorder the item in the future.

Primary Function: Isolates overstock inventory from customer visibility while keeping it fully trackable on internal operational reports.

Step 1: Enabling the System Parameter

Before you can designate a specific warehouse as hidden, you must turn on the global system parameter.

Navigate to: Order Processing > Setup > System > System Setup > Parameters
Open Tab 4.
Locate the setting "Enable Hidden Warehouse Feature?" and set it to Y.

Step 2: Configuring the Hidden Warehouse Location

Once the global system parameter is active, a new configuration option is unlocked in your warehouse profile settings.

Navigate to: Inventory Control > Setup > System > System Setup > Warehouse Location
Enter the specific Warehouse Location code you wish to designate.
Locate the new question: "Is this a HIDDEN warehouse?" and select Yes.

💡 Best Practice Recommendation: We strongly recommend setting up a brand-new, dedicated warehouse location for this purpose (typically using the 7000 series) rather than repurposing an active warehouse code currently being used for standard operations.

Step 3: Understanding Order History Impact

When an inventory location is flagged as hidden, the system automatically modifies how it records order histories and transactions to protect client confidentiality:

Purchase Orders: "Bill as shipped" Purchase Orders in Order Entry and Stock POs in Stock Entry are automatically recorded in Order History as "Z" type orders.
Warehouse Releases: Any releases generated out of a Hidden Warehouse are recorded as "B" type (custom form) orders.
Invoicing: The system invoice update dynamically adjusts to post to the correct order history bucket based on the specific type being invoiced.

Step 4: Reporting and Inventory Allocation

Report Visibility

Customer-Facing Reports: Your Print Management Reports will completely ignore and exclude any inventory units stored in a warehouse coded as Hidden.
Internal Reports: The inventory remains fully visible on your standard Inventory Control Reports so your internal operations team can track asset values and quantities.

Pulling Stock From a Hidden Warehouse

When you are ready to fulfill an order using your hidden overstock, you can retrieve the inventory in one of two ways:

Manual Allocation: Manually select the hidden warehouse location code directly during line-item Order Entry.
Inventory Transfer: Execute an Inventory Control Transaction Adjustment to physically and systematically transfer the stock from the hidden warehouse into your standard shipping warehouse.