Configuring Direct Putaway

To determine the destination bin, the system first determines the destination storage type. To do this, the system obtains information from the inbound delivery document (party entitled to dispose, stock type/usage), warehouse product master (putaway control indicator), hazardous substances master data, and packaging specifications. With this information, the system determines the storage type search sequence, which contains the list of storage types that can be searched for bins. This process is illustrated in the following figure.

To define the storage type search sequence and to assign the storage types, in Customizing for SCM Extended Warehouse Management, choose Extended Warehouse Management → Goods Receipt Process → Strategies → Storage Type Search → Define Storage Type Search Sequence for Putaway and Assign Storage Types to Storage Type Search Sequence.

The system can use several parameters to determine the storage type search sequence.

• Warehouse Number:

  This is the only mandatory parameter.

• Putaway Control Indicator:

  This indicator is assigned to the warehouse product.

• Warehouse Process Type:

  For the warehouse process types you can also define Groups. To define groups, in Customizing for SCM Extended Warehouse Management, choose Extended Warehouse Management → Goods Receipt Process → Strategies → Definition of Groups → Define Group for Process Type. A similar path exists in the customizing for the Goods Issue Process. You define the groups in either place and assign them directly in the warehouse process type.

• Quantity Classification:

  This comes from a packaging specification or from an alternative unit of measure.

• Stock Type:

  Stock types can also be consolidated into groups.

• Type:

  Here you can distinguish regular stock from Sales Order Stock or Project Stock.

• Stock Usage:

  Special stock usages are, for example, Consignment Stock or Stock with Subcontractor.

• Party Entitled to Dispose
• Hazard Rating - 1 and 2

When searching for the storage type search sequence, the systems attempts to read a completely qualified entry at first. In other words with all available information from the inbound delivery, the warehouse product, and the dangerous goods master. If no entry is found, the system uses the Access Strategy. This access strategy is defined by the customer to control which fields should be used at all for the search and in which sequence the search should be done.

For example: you have an entry using a putaway control indicator and another entry using the warehouse process type. In the first sequence, the system would try to find an entry with the following:

• The putaway control indicator (assuming there is one in the warehouse product you want to create the warehouse task for)
• The warehouse process type (which must be in the inbound delivery)
• At least with the stock type and the party entitled to dispose, because definitely this information is available. Any other search information listed above might not be relevant (for example it is no hazardous substance).

In the access strategy optimization, you have maintained an entry to search with the putaway control indicator first (which makes sense, as you want to find it product specific) and then with the warehouse process type (which would then be found for products without the putaway control indicator).

In storage section determination, the storage type, storage section indicator from the warehouse product master, and hazardous attributes could be used to determine the storage section sequence. This process is illustrated in the following figure:

The storage section determination is optional, even if there is more then one storage section, it is not necessary to setup the determination, then the storage section is simply not used during the bin determination. The storage section search sequence can also be a restriction, means that not all storage sections in a storage type have to be part of the storage section sequence.

For example, you want to use the section indicator is used to distinguish between fast and slow moving products. For the fast moving products you want to search in the Fast section first, then in the Slow section. For slow-moving products, you only want to search for a bin in the Slow section. You never want to find a bin in the Fast section for these products.

Another example would be to use the hazard ratings of products to make sure that different hazardous substances are not stored next to each other in the same storage type.

Additionally you have to activate the storage section determination (contrary to the storage type determination). You can also choose to check the storage section. This check is used if you restrict the products to specific sections and the user during putaway tries to change the destination bin. In case the bin is in a "wrong" section, the system would then react with an error message.

In the next step, the system can determine which bin type the destination bin should have. Bin types are used to find the right bin, depending on the size of the pallet on which the material comes. The details are covered in a subsequent lesson.

After the storage type, the storage section, and the storage bin type have been determined, the system searches for a putaway bin for the product quantity. This bin is determined based on the putaway rule (strategy), and capacity checking. The process is illustrated in the following figure:

Storage Bin Type and Storage Bin Determination based on the putaway rule (strategy), and capacity checking.

If, after checking all of the bins in the determined storage type/storage section/storage bin type, the system cannot locate a suitable bin, it continues the search with the next bin type/storage section/ storage type.

Instead of using Evaluation Points, it is also possible to change the Priorities in the determination of storage type, storage section, and bin type. The standard priorities are High for the storage type, Medium for the storage section, and Low for bin types, and this creates the standard sequence of the determination as explained in the beginning of this lesson. You could change for example the priority for bin types to High and for storage types to Low. Then the system would first search for a preferred bin type (in the storage types which are in the storage type search sequence). However, evaluation points give you a higher flexibility.