> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dash-prep.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Prep stations

> What a prep station is and how orders route to the right one automatically.

A **prep station** is a spot on your floor that makes a certain kind of thing — the cold bench, the oven, the packing table. Prep stations let you split one big board into focused lists, so each station sees only the items it owns and nothing else.

## Why stations help

Without stations, everyone looks at every order and figures out what's theirs. With stations, the work is already sorted: the person at the oven sees oven items, the packer sees packing. Less scanning, fewer "is this mine?" moments, faster floor.

## How routing works

You tell Dashprep how to send each product to a station using **rules**. A line item lands at a station based on:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Product overrides (highest priority)">
    Pin a specific product to a specific station. Overrides always win, no matter what the other rules say.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type or collection rules">
    Group your catalog **either** by Shopify product type **or** by collection, then assign each group to a station. This is the default way most items get routed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

So Dashprep checks for a product override first; if there isn't one, it uses your type-or-collection mapping.

<Note>
  Prep stations are available on the **Advanced** and **Professional** plans. See [Plans & pricing](/billing/plans).
</Note>

<Card title="Set up your stations" icon="arrow-right" href="/config/prep-stations">
  Step-by-step: create stations, choose a grouping, and add overrides.
</Card>