Transport units

A transport unit is a common term for movable units that can contain something. Typical examples include book carts and transport boxes.

A transport unit is movable and is at all times placed at a unique location. When the transport unit is moved to a different location, the contents are implicitly moved with it. A transport unit maintains its location until it is registered at another location. Since the shipment is not registered, transport units that are en route between, e.g., a Branch A and Branch B will be listed in the system as located at Branch A until they are actually registered as received at Branch B. In other words, the system model does not take into account the fact that the transport unit is not actually at any branch during this period of time.

A transport unit always has a current status (e.g., “Ready for shelving”) and is always either placed at a location or within another transport unit. (See more under nesting). A transport unit can also be used for storage. For example, it may be desirable to store Christmas books in boxes in the basement until they need to go on the shelves again. In this situation, you can register the entire transport unit on to the shelf. A transport unit can and should be given a meaningful name, e.g., “Book cart 117”.

A transport unit can be associated with an identification through a label, which is required in order to be able to scan the transport unit with the mobile client.