LOGISTICS

What Happens During Inbound Processing in SAP

Embedded EWM?
In SAP Warehouse Management, embedded version (EWM), you can perform goods receipt for external
procurement, production receipt, internal stock transfer, and customer returns. In this blog, we’ll discuss
goods receipt from external procurement and production receipt.
 
External Procurement
If you’re receiving goods from an external vendor, the goods receipt process may vary depending on
whether you’re using an advanced shipping notice. Whether you require an advanced shipping notice
from the vendor is controlled by setting the confirmation control key at the purchase order item level. If
the confirmation control key is set, then you need to create an inbound delivery to complete goods
receipts in embedded EWM.
 
Based on the MRP run, you decide to go ahead with the creation of a planned order or purchase
requisition. You can create the purchase order manually or convert the purchase requisition to form a
purchase order. The purchase order is sent to the supplier, and the supplier can either physically send the
goods or send an advanced shipping notice to confirm when the goods will arrive in the warehouse. The
receipt of an advanced shipping notice creates the inbound delivery in SAP S/4HANA.
 
If you’re working with advanced shipping notices, the inbound process in embedded EWM begins with
the receipt of an advanced shipping notice sent from the vendor and the creation of an inbound delivery
in SAP. The SAP S/4HANA system is the leading system for creation of purchase orders and inbound
deliveries. The complete process of goods receipt and putaway is then carried out in embedded EWM.
You can post the goods receipt when the goods physically arrive in the warehouse.
 
When an advanced shipping notice is created, the system checks for the plant and storage location in the
advanced shipping notice and validates if the corresponding warehouse for that plant and storage
location is embedded EWM-managed. If it is, then the system distributes the inbound delivery to
embedded EWM and creates the inbound delivery. This is done by calling a qRFC-enabled function
module. This document becomes the warehouse request in embedded EWM for goods receipt
management and putaway.
 
The following figure summarizes how the inbound delivery document is created in embedded EWM
using an advanced shipping notice in SAP S/4HANA.
 
 
Users with prior experience working with decentralized SAP EWM will notice that an inbound delivery
notification is no longer created in SAP S/4HANA. This is one of the simplification strategies in
embedded EWM.
 
Goods Arrival
Once the inbound delivery is created, you can progress to the next steps in the inbound process, which
may include the following:

 Arrival of vehicle or TU in the yard

  Unloading of TU for delivery
 Posting of goods receipt
 Putaway of products/HUs

Creation of an expected goods receipt document for goods receipt isn’t required in embedded EWM in
SAP S/4HANA. The inbound delivery gets information directly from the purchase/manufacturing order
in SAP S/4HANA.
 
The inbound process in embedded EWM also can be used to receive finished goods in the warehouse.
Depending on settings in SAP S/4HANA, you can trigger goods receipt posting directly from SAP
S/4HANA or from embedded EWM.
 
You can trigger goods receipt posting directly from SAP S/4HANA by using the inbound delivery
created in SAP S/4HANA as soon as you’ve executed the last step in the production or process order.
The inbound delivery is created in embedded EWM only if the receiving plant and storage location are
embedded EWM-managed.
 
The finished products are moved into the warehouse from the assembly line and goods receipt is posted
in embedded EWM. The same is also updated in the inbound delivery in SAP S/4HANA. You then
create warehouse tasks for putaway and complete the putaway in embedded EWM.
 
Storage control is used in a complex putaway process, in which a product must move through various
process steps based on warehouse processes or the physical layout of the warehouse before it’s moved to
the destination storage bin.
 
There are two types of storage control in embedded EWM:

1. Process-oriented storage control

2. Layout-oriented storage control

Process-oriented storage control is used for executing process steps based on warehouse processes.
Some of the warehouse processes include quality inspection, VAS, deconsolidation, kitting. Layout-
oriented storage control is used to execute warehouse processes based on warehouse layout.
 
For example, a product might need to be moved to the first floor in the warehouse to reach the final
putaway bin via an elevator. In this case, the putaway storage process will have two process steps. The
first step will move the product from the staging area to the elevator, and the second process will move
the product from the elevator to the door.
 
The purpose of this storage control is to have stock visibility at all times in the warehouse. If a product
must undergo both process-oriented and layout-oriented storage control, embedded EWM gives
preference to process-oriented storage control.
 
The figure below shows complex movement in the inbound process using only process-oriented storage
control.
 

 
The primary steps involved in complex putaway are as follows, but note that they can include further
steps (counting, quality inspection, etc.):

 Unloading: After the truck docks at the warehouse door, it’s unloaded using an HU warehouse
task.
 Deconsolidation: The pallets are taken to a deconsolidation work center, where they’re broken
down to move individual products to their destination.
 Value additions: Based on relevance for VAS, embedded EWM creates an HU warehouse task to
move the product to a VAS work center. VAS activities performed at the VAS work center
include activities like painting, oiling, packaging, and so on.
 Putaway: A final putaway HU warehouse task is now created or activated to move product from
the VAS work center to destination storage bins. You can confirm the warehouse task from SAP
GUI or using an RF device.

Storage Type diagram:

Storage Type:

A storage type is a storage space, storage facility, or storage zone, which you define for a warehouse number in Extended
Warehouse Management (EWM). The storage type is a physical or logical subdivision of a warehouse complex, which is
characterized by its warehouse technologies, space required, organizational form, or function. A storage type consists of one or
more storage bins.

You can define the following commonly-used physical storage types in EWM:

● Bulk storage area

● General storage area

● High rack storage area

● Fixed bin storage area

● Rack storage area

https://help.sap.com/doc/saphelp_scm50/5.0/en-US/97/d94541c47a6e24e10000000a155106/content.htm?no_cache=true

Storage Section:

In Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), a storage section is an organizational subdivision of a storage type,
which groups together storage bins with similar attributes for the purpose of putaway. The criteria for grouping bins
together are freely definable: for example, heavy parts, bulky parts, fast-moving items, and slow-moving items.
Picking Area

A picking area is a section within a storage type in which all picking activities are carried out in the same way. The
picking area group’s storage bins together from the viewpoint of picking strategies and is a counterpart to the storage
section, which group’s bins from the viewpoint of put away strategies.

Storage Bin

A storage type generally contains several storage spaces or slots. These are called storage bins in Warehouse
Management (WM).

The storage bin is the smallest available unit of space in a warehouse. The storage bin therefore describes the position
in the warehouse where the goods are or can be stored. Since the address of a storage bin is frequently derived from a
coordinate system, a storage bin is often referred to as a coordinate. The coordinate 01-02-03 for example, can refer
to a storage bin in row 1, stack 2, and level 3.

Creating Storage Bins

You can create one storage bin manually or you can group a range of storage bins with similar characteristics and define them
simultaneously.

Creating a single storage bin

1. From the SAP Menu, choose Logistics --> Logistics Execution --> Master Data -->Warehouse --> Storage Bin --> Create -->-
> Manually
2. Enter data as required. As a minimum, you must enter the storage section for the storage bin.

3. Save your entries.

Creating several storage bins simultaneously

To create a group of storage bins with similar characteristics, you define a template with the coordinate structure as follows:

1. To display a list of all previously defined templates, from the SAP menu choose Logistics--> Logistics Execution --> Master
Data --> Warehouse --> Storage Bin --> Create -->Automatically.

2. To create a new template, choose New entries.

3. Enter the warehouse number, storage type and current number in the first section of the screen. For the current number, enter
any number that has not been used previously.

4. In the “Bin definition” section of the screen, enter values to define the template and coordinates of the storage bins that you
want to create. For more information on how to enter data for defining the storage bin coordinate structure,

5. You define the characteristics for all storage bins in the “Additional data” section of the screen. As a minimum, you must
enter a storage section, storage bin type and maximum weight. Save the characteristics data.

6. To generate the coordinates, choose Environment --> Create bins. The system displays a screen with the storage bin
characteristics and the coordinates of all the bins that will be generated based on your entries.

7. If the data is incorrect, return to the data entry screen, make the necessary corrections, and save the data again. If the data is
correct, choose Create online to create the storage bins or Create by batch input to create the bins later in batch mode.

Example: Creating Several Storage Bins

If you chose to create the storage bins in batch mode, the system returns to the data entry screen with a message stating that a
batch session was created. Make a note of the batch session name for subsequent processing.

Example: Creating Several Storage Bins

To create the following series of storage bins (coordinates)

02-1-020 02-2-020 03-1-020 03-2-020

02-1-040 02-2-040 03-1-040 03-2-040

You complete the Bin Definition section of the automatic bin creation screen in the following manner:

Template

The template field is used to specify the numeric and non-numeric characters from which bin coordinates are built.

> N represents a variable numeric value.

> C represents a constant.

> A represents ascending alphabetic values.

Note: Two alphabetic variables (2 A’s) cannot be entered next to each other.
Structure

The structure field is used to group together the numeric characters (N-values of the template) into individual variable sections.
These sections are counted by the system. You must enter the numeric characters in exactly the same positions as the alphabetic
characters in the template.

Start value

This data field specifies the storage bin to be created first in a range of storage bins.

End value

This data field specifies the storage bin to be created last in a range of storage bins.

Increment

In this data field, you define the increment for the individual variables (N or A) in the template.

Quant

This is the stock of any material with the same features in one storage bin. The system manages different batches of a material
as different quants. The quantity of a quant can be increased by an addition to existing stock. Quants can be created or deleted
solely through goods movements. The quants serve to manage stocks at storage bin level. When you store goods in an empty
storage bin in WM, the system automatically creates a quant in this bin.

- The system automatically assigns a quant number.

- The quant is automatically deleted by the system when the material quantity is picked.