The figure shows the basic set-up of a Retail organization with the headquarters (US Retailer Inc.), and their distribution centers and stores. Additionally, there are the (external) business partners: suppliers for merchandise procurement, and customers (wholesale, re-sellers,..), and consumers on the sales side.
The parties involved in this process are the distribution center and the store. The basis for procurement of merchandise for a store from a distribution center is a stock transport order (STO). It is a variation of the purchase order for internal procurement.
A worklist item is created based on the articles, dates, and logistical parameters. An automatic process analyzes the delivery-due list and creates the relevant outbound deliveries for processing. These outbound deliveries form the basis for the logistical processes, such as picking and optional packing. On completion, the goods issue is posted with reference to the outbound delivery. Inventory is adjusted and the financial accounts are posted. A delivery note can be printed before or after posting the goods issue. For legal requirements, you may need to attach shipping documents for goods identification for physical transport. The intention is to regularly fill up the stocks in the stores with merchandise ordered from the DC, or from the external supplier. Replenishment planning is used to automatically determine the relevant order quantities for the stores.
The solution processes shown in the figure above, Process Overview: Outbound Logistics for Distribution Centers, represent the overall retail store replenishment process with the intent of regularly filling up the stocks in a store via shipments from the distribution center (DC). The process starts with the Store Connectivity - Inbound (3HV) solution process, where transactions (e.g. sales data etc.) are regularly transferred to the central SAP Retail system. Usually the sales transaction took place in a point-of-sales (POS) system or via a solution where all transactions are collected, audited, and aggregated (e.g. in SAP Omnichannel Sales Transfer and Audit).
The next process step is the Store Connectivity - Outbound (3I2) solution process, which covers the download of e.g. master data and prices back to the point-of-sale (POS) system of the store. With the updated inventory figures in the central SAP Retail system, the store replenishment function is able to calculate the actual demand, which leads to the creation of purchase requisitions. This is covered in the Replenishment Planning for Stores (3I7) solution process. This overall process focuses on the logistics from the DC as the supplying site. Which means, the next processes, which will added at a later stage, are the Outbound Logistics for Distribution Centers (5FV) solution processes and the Store Ordering from Distribution Center (5FX).
The process step Outbound Logistics for Distribution Centers (5FV)focuses on the output control and the processing of Handling Units for Outbound Deliveries.
Note: Purchase requisitions with an external source of supply (see dotted line in the figure above), are further processed as described in solution processes Procurement for Retail (5FM), Inbound Logistics for Distribution Centers (5FU), and Invoice Verification for Retail (5FN). These were already covered in a previous unit, Performing Requirements Planning.
Goods Issue Processing
The outbound delivery document is the central document in shipping. It forms the basis for further shipping activities such as picking, packing, and goods issue posting.
After creating outbound delivery documents (normally for stock transport orders or sales orders), you can group them together in wave picks (work packages for the goods issue processes that have to be processed during a specified time interval), if necessary. This can be done for example to map the shift plan of the warehouse. The outbound deliveries have to be picked, and can also be packed. Finally, they are ready for goods issue posting.
The standard version means that the picking storage location is not connected to an embedded warehouse management system. Therefore, the picked quantities are directly maintained in the delivery, and after (optional) packing, the goods issue can be posted. In contrast, if the merchandise is picked from a WM storage location, then a separate picking document is generated, the pick warehouse task. The system determines the relevant picking storage bins based on the assigned picking strategy. The picking activities have to be confirmed. However, if desired, automatic confirmation can be set in customizing. It is possible to connect radio frequency devices, for example for voice picking to support the picking processes. With confirmation of the pick warehouse task, the picked quantities are updated in the outbound delivery, which is then ready for goods issue posting.
The shipping point is the organizational unit in the SAP system that is responsible for the execution of goods issue processes (and, as receiving point, for inbound processes). Consequently, it can be found in the header of the delivery documents. It is determined for a combination of the recipient’s shipping condition (for example, express), the article’s loading group (for example, forklift) and the supplying site.
Before you can provide your customer a delivery date for a particular article, the system needs to know all the necessary lead times for the different steps in the goods issue and transportation processes.
You can define time periods for preparation and loading merchandise for the shipping point.
The shipping point is normally determined automatically for each item in the sales document. The value proposed by the system can be changed manually at a later date if you have defined alternative shipping points for your DC.
When deliveries are generated for purchase orders and/or sales orders (referred to as PO/SO in the previous figure, Shipping Point), a delivery split might apply. This occurs when (based on the shipping point determination criteria) a different shipping point is determined for the items in a preceding document. For example, this could happen when different loading groups are assigned to the articles.
Outbound delivery documents consist of a header and any number of items.
The header contains data that is valid for the entire document. For example, this includes the recipient, the shipping point, and possibly the route.
The items contain all relevant information about the articles that are going to be delivered.
The information in the outbound delivery document is displayed in different screen areas:
The overview screen contains much of the header and item data, which are organized thematically in tab pages. This allows the user to find a lot of important data on the same screen.
An additional screen each is available for displaying detailed information at header level and item level. This data is also grouped in tab pages.
For example, at header level you can access data on processing, picking, loading, shipment, international trade, financial processing, administration, texts, partners, conditions, dates, parcel tracking and SAP event mgt.
The item detail screen displays tab pages containing item-related information, such as processing information, picking details, loading, shipment and goods movement data, status overview.
When an outbound delivery is created, several background activities can be performed by the system, depending on customizing settings. For example, these are (re-)scheduling, (actual) route- and route schedule determination, door/picking zone determination, a (new) ATP check, and picking location determination.
Manage Outbound Deliveries
The app Manage Outbound Deliveries displays outbound deliveries that are still to be processed, or which are already completed.
Numerous criteria exist for selecting the desired documents. You are going to receive a list of the selected deliveries and you can start the subsequent functions for further processing from the list. This also includes processing messages that have to be created during the goods issue processes (for example, generating delivery notes). In addition, information from the delivery document can also be called, such as the document flow. You can create user-specific variants for selecting and for displaying the documents (Get Variant or Display Variants).
You can also use the app to execute important subsequent functions in collective processing in the background (for example, create warehouse tasks for picking, or posting goods issue).
For displaying inbound deliveries choose Get Variantand SAP&INB_DELMON; this monitor provides you with the corresponding functionality for monitoring and performing inbound delivery activities.
The goods issue process is complete when the goods issue for a delivery is posted. Goods issue can only be posted if all the compulsory activities in the goods issue processes have been performed. For example, if you work with picking relevance and confirmation requirement, these steps must be completed.
Goods issue posting can be performed by changing an individual outbound delivery. Alternatively, you can use the collective processing via the app Manage Outbound Deliveries VL06O to select all the deliveries that are ready for goods issue and then actually post goods issue. You can also schedule a selection variant of that app for background processing.
In addition, you can post goods issue by confirming the pick warehouse task.
Situations where errors arise are logged - for example, if data are incomplete, or if items have only been partially picked. In such cases, the goods issue is not posted.
A goods issue enables the following:
It reduces the warehouse stock
It posts the value change to the stock accounts in article accounting
It reduces the delivery requirements
It updates the status information in the delivery
It is recorded in the document flow
It generates the worklist for billing (if billing is relevant)
It posts a goods receipt in the receiving store at the same time, if the one-step stock transfer procedure is defined for the issuing and receiving site
It posts the stock to stock in transit, if the two-step stock transfer procedure is defined for the issuing and receiving site
When the goods issue is posted, the editing options of the outbound delivery are limited. Quantities, in particular, can not be changed. The outbound delivery must exactly represent reality, that is quantities, dates, and so on, must be correct.
If you want to be able to execute billing also prior to goods issue using the Create Billing Documentapp, you can make the relevant setting in copy control for the billing document in Customizing.
Delivery notes can be printed for an outbound delivery before or after goods issue posting. A delivery note normally contains the delivery note number, the delivery date, the recipient and the individual delivery items. Delivery notes can also be sent using EDI.
The layout of the delivery note can be created flexibly using suitable forms. The retail price for each item can also be included in the delivery note, thereby making price labeling easier in the store.
Summary
The key process flows covered in the tutorials for this process are to:
- Create or generate a stock transport order
- Generate an outbound delivery as the central document for the shipping process steps
- Execute picking and packaging
- Post the goods issue
- Check the document flow in the outbound delivery
