Outlining the Goods Issue Process in SAP EWM

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to outline the goods issue process in EWM

Goods Issue in SAP EWM

The goods issue process is centered around the use of outbound delivery documents. The figure shows the document flow of the process:

Illustrates the Outbound Delivery Process and the flow and use of outbound delivery documents

The process begins in the SAP ERP system when the outbound delivery document is created. When the warehouse number, from where the picking is supposed to happen, is a EWM controlled warehouse number, the outbound delivery is replicated to the EWM system. In the EWM system an outbound delivery request (ODR) is created. This is a simple copy of the ERP outbound delivery, using the same document number.

Based on configuration settings in the post processing framework (PPF), the system then creates the outbound delivery order document (ODO). This document contains additional EWM-relevant data that is determined based on the service profiles associated with the outbound delivery document type and delivery category. This is the warehouse request document for the EWM goods issue process.

Note

In an SAP S/4HANA embedded EWM, no outbound delivery request exists. In a decentralized EWM system, the use of the outbound delivery request is optional since SAP EWM 9.5. In these cases, the outbound delivery order is directly created.

From the outbound delivery order, the warehouse tasks are created to control the picking and other associated processes such as packing, staging, and loading.

Warehouse Process Type in Goods Issue

When the outbound delivery order is created, the system determines a warehouse process type for each line item.

The warehouse process type is determined for each outbound delivery order item during activation of the outbound delivery request. The warehouse process type is then used in the picking warehouse task.

The following settings are required by the goods issue process:

Warehouse Process Type2 (stock removal)
Activity: PICK (or any activity you have defined for process category 2)

Optional settings include the following:

SI Controls: C (new stock identification)
Automatic Wave Determination: Yes (if working with picking waves)
Rough Picking Determination: Yes (if picking waves are defined by storage type or for the order-related replenishment)
Destination Storage Type/Bin: normally used to specify the final destination location from where the goods are staged or loaded

Note

In the outbound delivery order incompleteness service profile, you can set up an incompleteness check so that an outbound delivery order without a warehouse process type is blocked.

Stock Removal Strategy

For the stock removal strategy, the system determines the following:

The storage types, from where the stock shall be picked
The stock removal rule, which sorts the quants according the given sort criteria

The determination is based on parameters from the outbound delivery order (ODO), the warehouse product master, and the hazardous material master data. The following figure illustrates the determination process:

A flowchart illustrating parameters and the process of Stock Removal Strategy Determination.

Stock Removal Strategy Input Parameters

The following list includes the input parameters that are used to determine the stock removal strategy, and explains how they are derived by the system:

Warehouse number:
This is the only mandatory parameter. The warehouse request has the warehouse on the header level.
2 Step Picking flag:
This is used for the allocation step in the 2 step picking process.
Stock Removal Control Indicator:
This indicator is taken from the warehouse product master. This indicator is normally used when a product has special picking, packing, processing, and/or staging requirements.
Warehouse Process Type (Group):
This is taken from the ODO.
Quantity Classification:
This is taken from a packaging specification or an alternative unit of measure.
Stock Type (group):
This is taken from the ODO.
Type - Sales Order Stock or Project Stock:
This is taken from the ODO.
Stock Usage:
This is taken from the ODO.
Hazard Rating - 1 and 2 :
This is taken from the hazardous ratings for the product in the ODO.

Access Strategy

Note that the number of these indicators/parameters used in the actual EWM application can have a performance effect on the search. For example, if you use the stock removal control indicator from the product master, and there are products with different stock types, or products that are managed in special stocks (such as sales order stock), the number of required entries in the storage type search sequence table could be large.

To reduce the number of entries, define an access strategy for the storage type search sequence determination table. The system uses this strategy to search using the following logic:

The system checks whether there is a group assignment for the following entries:
- Warehouse process type
- Stock type
If the group assignment for these entries exists, the system uses the group to read the storage type search sequence determination table.
The system attempts to read a completely qualified entry, in other words, all relevant parameters from the outbound delivery order, all indicators from the warehouse product and, where available, from the dangerous goods master in the storage type search table.
If the system cannot find any entry in the storage type search table, it attempts to re-read this table using the access strategy.

Note

If a field is not set in the access strategy, the system sets the corresponding value for the determination table to blank.

Storage Type Determination

When creating warehouse picking tasks for goods issue, the system determines the source bins of the quantities of the product to be picked. The system must first, however, determine the storage types which are to be considered for stock removal.

The storage type search sequence contains a list of storage types in which the system should search for removable stock. Instead of a list, it can also contain a storage type group. This group also contains a list of storage types. The difference is as following:

When the storage types are assigned to the storage type search sequence, they have a sequence number. This means that the system searches in the storage types one by one, uses the sort criteria from the stock removal rule, and stops when enough stock has been found. So not all storage types might be considered.
In a storage type group the system first assembles the information of all the relevant quants in the included storage types and then applies the stock removal rule.

An additional parameter in the storage type search sequence controls whether stock in transportation units (TUs) is to be considered.

To specify the storage type search sequence, in Customizing for SCM Extended Warehouse Management, choose Extended Warehouse Management → Goods Issue Process → Strategies → Specify Storage Type Search Sequence.

To specify the storage type group and assign storage types to a group, in Customizing for SCM Extended Warehouse Management, choose Extended Warehouse Management → Master Data → Define Storage Type Groups and Assign Storage Types to Storage Type Groups.

Note

When you check the definition of storage type search sequences for putaway, you will see that you can also assign storage type groups there (Path: SCM Extended Warehouse Management → Extended Warehouse Management → Goods Receipt Process → Strategies → Storage Type Search → Assign Storage Types to Storage Type Search Sequence. In this assignment table, you will find a column Storage Type Group).

This does not have the same effect as using such a group during picking. For putaway, the system will still search in the first storage type for a bin and consider the next storage type when no bin is found. The sequence of storage types inside such a group is then controlled by the field Putaway Sequence from the warehouse product (Storage Type Data).

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