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Distribution Location Definitions

A distribution location is a physical or organizational point that receives a numbered controlled copy of a document — a production line noticeboard, a laboratory, a supplier office, a site archive.

Distribution locations only matter if you track controlled physical copies. If your organization is fully paperless, this list can stay empty.

Purpose​

  • Recall. When a document is revised, the system must be able to say exactly where the outdated paper is.
  • Accountability. Each location has named responsibles who print, place and acknowledge the copy.
  • Structure. Locations are hierarchical, so a plant can contain buildings which contain departments.

Fields​

  • Code
    Unique identifier for the location.

  • Name
    A descriptive title. Example: Line 2 Noticeboard, Quality Laboratory, Site Archive.

  • Description
    Optional additional detail about the location.

  • Parent location
    Optional. Makes this location a child of another, building the hierarchy.

  • Responsibles
    The identities accountable at this location. These are the people who receive the controlled-copy task when a document publishes. Users, roles, user groups, positions and organization units are all accepted.

  • Active
    Inactive locations are no longer offered when building a controlled-copy matrix.

Using distribution locations​

A location becomes meaningful when it is added as a row in a folder's or document's controlled copy matrix, together with a copy number. See Distribution and Controlled Copies.

Each matrix row produces its own task on publication, so the number of locations on a document directly determines how many people have work to do every time it is revised.

Authorization and Access Control​

Creating and editing distribution locations is restricted by role-based permissions. Typically only quality administrators maintain this list, while document owners consume it when configuring a controlled-copy matrix.

tip

Name locations after where the paper physically hangs, not after the department that owns it. "Line 2 Noticeboard" is findable during a recall; "Production" is not.