A warehouse setup checklist should tell you what must be ready before operations begin, who owns it and what evidence is still missing. Buying equipment and installing software are milestones. The launch decision also needs evidence that people, records and handoffs work together.
Use this new warehouse setup checklist for a physical warehouse preparing to open. Project managers can coordinate prerequisites; logistics and supply-chain directors can see unresolved constraints and decisions. To assess an operating warehouse, use the audit checklist instead.
Warehouse setup checklist: six readiness areas
Start with the intended goods, workload, handling needs and service commitments. The Logistics Cluster’s warehouse planning guidance connects these requirements to space, access, utilities and equipment. Its humanitarian context differs from many commercial sites; confirm the requirements for your operation.
For each prompt, record the person completing the work and the person accepting the evidence. One person may hold several roles.
1. Operation and responsibilities
- Define goods, expected volumes, workload peaks and service commitments.
- Agree launch scope, resources, dependencies and unresolved assumptions.
- Name acceptance, launch-decision and operating-handover owners.
Owner and evidence: sponsor and operations lead; agreed requirements, assumptions and a named responsibility list.
2. Site and applicable requirements
- Confirm the site suits the intended activities and storage conditions.
- Establish access, utilities and supporting facilities.
- Identify applicable legal, product and customer requirements, including prerequisite approvals.
Owner and evidence: facilities and relevant domain leads; assessments, service availability and approval records. Review warehouse safety arrangements with the appropriate owners.
3. Layout and equipment
- Plan receiving, storage, staging and dispatch flow for the intended workload.
- Provide suitable storage and handling equipment.
- Establish installation acceptance, maintenance and defect-response responsibilities.
Owner and evidence: operations, facilities and equipment leads; reviewed layouts, acceptance records and operating restrictions.
4. Inventory and records
- Establish item identifiers, locations and units of measure.
- Prepare and verify opening stock records where applicable.
- Demonstrate transaction recording, permissions and exception handling.
Owner and evidence: inventory and IT/process leads; verified setup data and transaction records. Paper, spreadsheets or a WMS can support the intended operation.
5. People and operating ownership
- Assign roles, coverage and escalation authority.
- Prepare people for their work and relevant exceptions.
- Make instructions, contacts and shift handovers usable.
Owner and evidence: operations and training leads; coverage plans, practical demonstrations and accessible instructions. Record who can resolve an exception.
6. Receiving through dispatch
- Coordinate expected arrivals, receipt and discrepancy decisions.
- Establish putaway, replenishment and order-preparation handoffs.
- Confirm release authority, dispatch records and carrier/customer handover.
Owner and evidence: receiving, inventory and dispatch leads; demonstrated handoffs and traceable records. Define the receiving and exception-handling workflow before testing it.
Rehearse the handoffs
Follow a representative arrival through receipt, storage, order preparation and dispatch, including a relevant exception. Agree the acceptance criteria with the responsible owners first. The Logistics Cluster’s goods-flow guidance connects advance arrival information, receipt records, stock updates and authorised dispatch. Use your own processes and applicable requirements to define the rehearsal.
Prelaunch rehearsal
One receipt. Two trails.
Walk a sample receipt from unloading to its stock entry.
Physical goods
Received → placed in storageStock record
Planned: receipt → stock entry Finding: received; stock entry missingPlanned handoff: the goods and their record travel together. A rehearsal must verify each step.
Rehearsal finding: the pallet reached storage, but no stock entry followed. Receiving and inventory owners must trace the handoff; involve IT if the interface is implicated.
Before launch, who confirms the record reaches its next stage?
Hypothetical example: goods reach storage, but the expected stock entry is missing. The inventory lead traces the receipt and putaway records with the receiving team, involving IT if an interface is implicated. Record the affected launch dependency, the next evidence needed and who will review it. The director can then see what resource or launch decision remains outstanding.
Keep the issue visible until the relevant evidence has been reviewed.
Copy a launch-decision record
Copy these fields into your existing document or spreadsheet. Repeat the issue block for each unresolved prerequisite.
Launch: site and scope; intended start date; goods and activities; expected operating conditions; acceptance criteria and authority.
Issue: prerequisite; evidence available/missing; dependency and launch consequence; next action; action owner; target date; resources or decision needed; decision owner.
Decision and handover: decision and rationale; remaining constraints and prerequisite approvals; authorised scope; operating-handover owner; follow-up arrangements.
For the launch review, distinguish work completed, readiness demonstrated and decisions outstanding. A count of checked boxes can conceal an unresolved prerequisite. Recording a decision does not waive an applicable requirement or operating restriction.
Once operations begin, hand over the records and open actions to their ongoing owners. The warehouse audit checklist supports later assessment of how the operation and its controls perform over time.
