Efficiently managing printed apparel items before packaging is essential—especially when orders include multiple garments in different sizes or print methods. Shelf Allocation in GelatoConnect provides a structured way to store and organize these items between production and packaging, helping reduce errors, speed up fulfillment, and improve team coordination.
How Shelf Allocation Works in Apparel Production
Shelf Allocation enables you to define storage units that hold completed garments before they are packaged. These units consist of shelves divided into boxes, allowing your team to place and retrieve items in an organized and traceable way.
Each shelf setup includes:
A custom name for easy identification
A configurable number of rows and columns
Option to activate or deactivate shelves as needed (e.g. peak season scaling)
Each individual compartment—called a box—is labeled using coordinates like A1, B4, etc. Boxes are typically used to store garments from a single order or grouped orders for efficient retrieval.
Learn more about [Organizing Production - GCW] Shelf Allocation.
Assigning Garments to Shelves
There are multiple ways to allocate printed apparel to shelf boxes, each supporting different steps in your production workflow:
From the Quality Control Station
When items are scanned here, they are automatically routed to their assigned shelf and box.
Via the Shelf Allocation Page
Team members can manually allocate items using a scanner or by clicking the desired location.
At the Packaging Station
If an order contains multiple items, scanning one garment will trigger automatic allocation unless the full order is ready for packaging.
This method ensures that multi-garment apparel orders are kept together and clearly marked as Ready for Packaging once complete.
Example Apparel Workflow Using Shelf Allocation
Consider a scenario where a single order includes both DTG and DTF printed items:
After printing, each garment is scanned either at the QC station or via the Shelf Allocation Page
Both items are assigned to Box C2 on a selected shelf
Once all components of the order are present, Box C2 is marked as ready
The packaging team retrieves all items from that box for final shipment preparation
This structured approach improves accuracy and reduces time spent locating garments.
Managing and Resetting Storage Locations
GelatoConnect makes it easy to monitor and update your shelf setup:
Click any box card to see its contents and item status
Clear individual items, specific boxes, or full shelves if needed (e.g. for reallocation or error recovery)
Automate box clearing once the order has been shipped
For full instructions, visit [Organizing Production - GCW] Shelf Allocation.
Integrated Visibility Across Teams
Shelf Allocation is tightly integrated with other areas of GelatoConnect, giving your teams the insights they need at each stage:
Explorer Cards display the shelf status of each print job
Dispatch Overview Page shows whether a box is fully allocated and ready for pickup
This visibility enables seamless collaboration between production, packaging, and dispatch stations.
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