Effective inventory management in Blackpurl depends on a well-structured location system. This article covers industry best practices for naming and organising your physical inventory locations so your team can find parts quickly, maintain accurate stocktakes, and avoid profit leaks caused by inventory that's hard to track.
For instructions on adding product locations in Blackpurl, see Product Locations / Report on Locations / Report on Parts without Locations (no longer available).
Why Inventory Locations Matter
Every dealership handles inventory locations differently, and that's expected — no single approach fits every operation. However, dealers who lose control of their inventory almost always share the same root cause: weak foundations in how locations are structured and maintained. When location discipline breaks down, stocktakes go wrong and profit leaks follow.
Effective inventory management requires an orderly, logical approach and — above all — consistent discipline. The following best practices give your location system a strong foundation that can grow with your dealership.
Best Practices for Inventory Locations
Single point of control — Designate one person responsible for setting up and editing locations. Uncontrolled changes to location names cause mismatches between the system and physical labels.
Logical labelling protocol — Use names that help staff immediately understand where in the dealership a location is. A new employee should be able to navigate to a location from its name alone.
Avoid vendor or product names in location labels — Vendor relationships and product lines change over time. Location names tied to a specific brand become misleading or meaningless when stock changes.
Account for mobile displays — Showroom floor displays move around. Your naming system must give them a stable logical identity regardless of where they're physically positioned on the day.
No references to Customer Order (CO) status — Once a part is picked against a CO, it's no longer an inventory management concern. Avoid labels like CUSTOMER PICKUP, STOCK UNITS, or FOR WORKSHOP as location names. These are operational holding areas, not inventory locations.
Publish a dealership map — Make a floor plan accessible to all staff that clearly identifies where each location is. This is especially important for new staff and during stocktakes.
Cap locations at approximately 20 line items — Locations with too many line items become difficult to manage and count accurately.
Allow room to grow — Each physical location should have space for line-item volumes to fluctuate and for new items to be added without creating clutter.
Match physical labels exactly to Blackpurl — The label attached to a physical location must match the location name in Blackpurl exactly. This is especially critical for mobile showroom displays that get rearranged frequently.
Keep names short — Use the shortest name that still fits your system. This reduces keystrokes and the chance of entry errors.
Map and Floor Plan
A dealership floor plan helps you design your location labelling system before you enter anything into Blackpurl. Use a floor plan to map out all physical locations first, then apply a consistent naming protocol to each area. Once complete, this map becomes the reference document your staff use to navigate the store.
Once you have a clear picture of your store layout, the next step is choosing a naming system. Whatever you start with must be systematic and able to expand as your dealership grows — whether that means adding new storerooms, showrooms, or vendor lines.
Suggested Naming System
The examples below apply the same core logic across different location types: use a prefix that describes the physical area, then add numbers and letters to pinpoint the exact spot. Choose the format that suits your dealership, then apply it consistently.
Wall Displays
For parts displayed on wall panels in the showroom, use a WALL prefix (or W if you prefer shorter names). Number each panel as you move around the room: WALL1, WALL2, WALL3, and so on.
If your dealership has multiple adjoining showrooms, prefix with the showroom number: S1WALL1, S1WALL2, S2WALL1, S2WALL2, etc. There's no limit to how far this can expand as long as it stays systematic.
Floor Displays
For stands placed on the showroom floor, use FD (floor display) or the full words FLOOR DISPLAY: FD1, FD2, or FLOOR DISPLAY1, FLOOR DISPLAY2, etc.
For multiple showrooms, apply the same showroom prefix: S1FD1, S2FD1, etc.
Parts Storeroom
Storeroom shelving typically consists of rows of bays, each bay containing multiple shelves. A three-part code works well here:
First digit — row number
Letter — bay within the row
Last digit — shelf number within the bay, counted top to bottom
For example, 1A3 means row 1, bay A, shelf 3 from the top. You can optionally prefix with S for storeroom (S1A3) or spell it out (ROW1A3) — the choice is yours, but stay consistent.
For multiple storerooms, use a storeroom prefix before the row code. Using the word ROW helps create a clear break between the store identifier and the row number: S1ROW1A3 or STORE1ROW1A3. Whatever format you choose, apply it everywhere.
Counters
Impulse and counter items are straightforward — label them by counter name. Keep counter locations to a maximum of 20 line items to maintain a tidy, workable counter surface.
Examples: COUNTER, PARTSCOUNTER, MERCHCOUNTER, SERVICECOUNTER, or COUNTER1, COUNTER2, COUNTER3.
Bulk Storage
Avoid vague labels like WORKSHOP, BULK, or LEFTOVER — these don't tell staff where to look. Apply the same location logic used elsewhere: describe the physical structure and where it is.
Examples:
WPR1 — Workshop Pallet Racking, bay 1
EBOPR1 — East Building Outside Pallet Racking, bay 1
C1ROW1A1 — Container 1, row 1, bay A, shelf 1
Use your imagination, but keep the logic consistent with the rest of your system.
Next Steps
With a solid location naming system in place, you can quickly navigate to any location in the store, print count sheets for specific locations during a stocktake, and identify at a glance if something looks out of place. The goal is to design a system that your whole team can follow without needing to ask for guidance.
When you're ready to enter your locations into Blackpurl, see Product Locations / Report on Locations / Report on Parts without Locations (no longer available).