Kitting in EWM

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe the different kitting scenarios.
Set up a kit-to-stock process.

Kits and Kitting

A kit is a list of products that are always delivered in complete and assembled form. Kits can consist of a group of materials used to repair a piece of machinery, add-on products for other products, or an assortment of products to sell in a retail store.

SAP EWM does not save the kits as master data; instead it receives the information about the structure of a kit in the form of items of an outbound delivery from the SAP ERP system. The structure containing the kit in the outbound delivery, in combination with a packaging specification, is used as a basis for assembling or producing a kit in SAP EWM.

Kit Header and Components

A kit can consist of the following levels:

A kit header represents the finished kit.
A kit component is a product in the kit.

The process of building or assembling kits is called kitting. SAP EWM supports the kit-to-order and the kit-to-stock kitting processes. In the kit-to-order process, each kit is assembled based on a customer order. SAP EWM also provides a kit-to-stock process in which kits are pre-assembled and placed into stock.

Kit-to-Order Process

With the kit-to-order process, you assemble kits in the system for a sales order.

The following rules apply to kits:

A kit is always delivered in full to a customer.
The kit header and kit components are always scheduled for the same date.
All components for the kit must come from the same warehouse (this can be achieved by means of an internal transfer between warehouses).
Kit prices are always calculated at the header level.
The kit header and kit components have a quantity ratio, defined by the kit structure, to each other. This quantity ratio is recalculated as soon as there are changes at kit header level or at kit component level.

With the kit-to-order process, you assemble kits in the system for a sales order

The kit-to-order process is possible with some variations.

Kitting at a Work Center with a VAS Order

You can use this process to create a kit with a value added service (VAS) order.

This provides you with the following VAS order options:

Working with a special kitting work center
Automatic determination of the kitting work center
Integrating VAS processing into the delivery

This process requires a packaging specification for the product of the kit header item as master data, so that you can create a VAS order. This packaging specification must have a level of the level type Kitting. If you are using process-oriented storage control, you must assign the corresponding warehouse process step (such as KIT) of the warehouse process used to the kitting level.

Use this process to create a kit with a value added service (VAS) order

Kitting at a Work Center without a VAS Order

You can use this process to create a kit without a VAS order at a work center. You can configure a work center where you also pack in such a way that you can confirm generated kits there.

This process is suitable for the following cases:

You do not require detailed documentation of the kitting procedure in EWM.
You are not performing kitting in one special kitting work center, but at a work center where you are also packing.

You can only find information about kitting in the information for the kit in the outbound delivery, and in the kitting instruction that may exist in the form of free text for the warehouse request item of the kit.

Outline of kitting at a work center, with goods being assembled and shipped.

Kitting During Picking without a VAS Order

You can use this process in SAP EWM to create a kit during picking. This process is suitable for the following cases:

You do not require detailed documentation of the kitting procedure in EWM.
You assemble the kits during picking, that is, you do not perform kitting at special work centers.

Without a VAS order, you can only find information about kitting in the information for the kit in the outbound delivery and in the kitting instruction that may exist in the form of free text for the warehouse request item of the kit header.

You can use an indicator for the item type of the kit header to make the system generate an item for the kit header in the pick HU.

Process in SAP EWM to create a kit during picking without a VAS Order

Kit-to-Stock

You can use this process to create kits and then transfer them to stock. This provides you with a streamlined kit creation process that is executed and documented in the warehouse. You can either trigger kit creation manually in the SAP ERP system, based on a production order, or in the SAP EWM system directly using a VAS order.

Start in the ERP System

You start the kit-to-stock process in the SAP ERP system by creating a production order manually, or by having one generated automatically from planning. The main prerequisite is the indicator Kit-to-Stock in EWM in the production scheduling profile.

A flowchart demonstrating how to initiate and proceed with the Kit-to-Stock ERP Process, beginning with material or production supervisor and finishing with the VAS order.

Based on the production order, the SAP ERP system generates an inbound delivery for the kit header, and an outbound delivery for the kit components. The system transfers both deliveries to the SAP EWM system. The SAP EWM system first generates the outbound delivery request and the outbound delivery order, it then generates the inbound delivery notification and the inbound delivery. A PPF action, which triggers automatic creation of the VAS order, is defined for the inbound delivery.

You can find the document number of the VAS order in the form of a document flow entry for all items of the inbound delivery and outbound delivery order.

During confirmation of goods issue of the kit components and of goods receipt of the kit in the SAP EWM system, goods receipt and goods issue are automatically confirmed to the SAP ERP system.

What controls that the production order triggers the inbound and outbound delivery, is the flag "Kit-to-Stock in EWM" in the Production Scheduling Profile. This profile is determined either by the material or the production scheduler (also called production supervisor) in the production order.

Start in the EWM System

When you are starting the process in the SAP EWM system, you create the VAS order manually with or without a bill of material. If you create a VAS order with a bill of material, the system attempts to find and explode a bill of material in the SAP ERP system for the kit product. If you create a VAS order without a bill of material, you must specify the kit components manually, as well as the kit product.

A flowchart starting the Kit-to-Stock EWM Process from a VAS order.

The system generates an inbound delivery for the kit header, and an outbound delivery for the kit components. Both deliveries are transferred to the SAP ERP system and deliveries are created there accordingly.

Kit-to-Stock Settings

Independent from where the process is started, it is necessary to define, in the SAP EWM customizing, an order type for the VAS order and to assign the document types and item types for the inbound and outbound documents.

Note

These settings are necessary for both process variations, independent if the process is started in SAP ERP or in SAP EWM.

Reverse Kitting

You can also perform reverse kitting, which you can use to split a kit back into its components. In connection with SAP EWM, this process can only be triggered from the EWM side.

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