Step by step in a relocation project in Palats

What is a relocation project?

A relocation project means inventorying an office or building ahead of a relocation or renovation. In this article, we go through a common setup for a typical relocation project. In short, it usually includes the following steps:

Step 1 – Create a project, add one or more locations, and invite project participants
Step 2 – Inventory
Step 3 – Plan which items should be kept, moved, sold, refurbished, etc.
Step 4 – Plan the relocation of items to a new building
Step 5 – Carry out the physical move
Step 6 – Perform the digital move in Palats and complete the project
Step 7 – View statistics on how much was reused in the project

Step 1 – Set up a project and add location/locations

A location is a digital representation of a physical building where the inventory will take place. The people you invite to a project will only have access to the locations included in that specific project. You need administrator access to create a project.

💙 Tip!
Always add rooms if you are inventorying on a floor plan, or use the folder structure when creating your location. This makes it easier to see exactly which floor and room the items are located in when it is time to create a relocation list.

Click Projects in the left-hand menu and select Create project
Name the project and add a start and end date if needed
Create and add the location(s) that should be included in the project
Click Start project and open the project
Under the Locations section you can either choose an existing location or create a new one
Invite members by entering their email address

Step 2 – Inventory

Once your locations have been created, you are ready to begin inventorying. You can create items in the web app, but it is easiest to inventory using the Palats mobile app, available for download in the App Store and Google Play.

💙 Tip! Inventory using QR codes
Inventorying is often completed long before the physical move takes place, and it is usually done in stages. Furniture may be moved around during this time, making it difficult to keep track of what has already been inventoried. By labeling furniture with QR codes, it becomes easier to track what has been inventoried and update information such as condition later in the process.

Step 3 – Plan what should happen to the inventoried items

Once the inventory is completed, it is time to decide which items should be kept, sold, refurbished, or discarded. This planning is done in the table view, where you can filter product categories, tag items, and create filtered lists.

💙 Tip!
Try to keep your tags limited and structured to make filtering easier and more manageable. If you need to add more detailed information related to a tag, it is usually best to do so in the additional comments field.

Open the project and go to the Relocate Articles tab
Open the table view and select the predefined view Next step under Customize
Use one of the predefined tags in the Next step column or create your own
Examples of useful tags:
- Keep – items that should be moved to the new location
- Refurbish – items that should be repainted, reupholstered, or repaired
- Sell through Palats – items that should be sold
- Recycle – items that should be discarded
- Temporary storage – items that should be moved but stored temporarily before relocation

Step 4 – Plan the relocation of the items

Once your items have been tagged and the project has progressed, it is time to plan where the items should be moved. Sometimes the relocation happens within the same building, and sometimes items are moved to a completely new building (location).

Open the project and add the new building with floors and rooms
Go to the Relocate Articles tab
Open the table view and select the predefined view Move under Customize
Filter items tagged with Keep in the Next step column
In the New location column, specify the item’s new destination

Step 5 – Carry out the physical relocation

Once the items have been assigned a new location, someone will often label the items with large stickers or notes to make the move easier for relocation staff. You can download an Excel export showing both the current and future location of each item.

Filter the items that should be moved and click Download Excel export
In the export, go to the Items worksheet at the bottom left to view all relevant columns such as current location and new location

Step 6 – Move the items digitally in Palats and complete the project

Once the physical move has been completed, it is time to update the items digitally in Palats to keep your inventory accurate and up to date.

Mark items as moved by opening the table view, clicking Customize, and enabling the Moved column
Check off the items that were moved according to plan and adjust information for any deviations, such as missing or damaged items
Inside the project, under the Relocate Articles tab, you can see a summary of how many items have been marked as moved
Click Move items in Palats to update the items’ positions to the locations specified in the New location column during the planning phase
Open the project and click Complete project to finalize and close the project

Step 7 – View statistics on how much was reused in the project

Once the project is completed, you can use the Analyze section to filter based on your tags and view statistics on what was kept, sold, or recycled during the relocation project.

In the Quick Start section, you can watch the video “Analyze” to learn more.