Objectives
In a warehouse, many of the movements are complex and they often require several interim storage bins. (These are not just simple moves from one area to another). There are various possible reasons for this complexity, for example:
The following are some examples of additional process steps that may be required in warehouse movements:
Counting
Quality Inspection
Deconsolidation (unpacking into individual HUs)
Value-added services
Packing
SAP EWM can map these requirements through the use of process-oriented storage control. With process-oriented storage control, you define a complete process and describe the individual steps that must be executed. This means that the incoming or outgoing product is moved from the source storage bin to another storage bin where additional work is performed.
From there, the product is transferred to one of the following bins:
When moving a product within storage control, the product must be packed in a handling unit and the handling unit is moved using handling unit warehouse tasks.
Depending on the direction of the movement, the product warehouse task is either at the beginning or the end of the total physical movement. In a putaway process the final WT is a product warehouse task, in a picking process the first WT is a product warehouse task. All other WTs are handling unit warehouse task.
Note
Based on your Customizing settings, a warehouse task is created from one intermediate storage type to the next intermediate storage type, or to the final destination storage type.
You can customize the process so that, once a warehouse task is confirmed, the next warehouse task is automatically created. The final destination storage bin can be determined at the beginning of the putaway process or at a later point during the process. In situations where the destination storage bin is determined at the beginning, the bin is blocked so that it cannot be used by another process.
As a prerequisite, the complete storage process is defined in customizing.
SAP delivers predefined internal steps. These are not changeable and they define the storage process type. Examples of internal steps are: loading, unloading, counting, packing, deconsolidation, putaway, and staging. The sequence of internal steps is predefined for each incoming or outgoing process or internal movement.
You can define as many external steps as you want. External steps must be assigned to a corresponding internal step. The external step can optionally detail the destination storage bin.
For each warehouse process, you define the sequence in which the external steps are to be executed.
This is an example for the steps for a goods receipt process with process-oriented storage control:
The transportation unit arrives at the warehouse door (St. Type: 9030, Bin: Door1).
Step IB01: A task is created to move the handling unit (HU) from the door (Door 1) to the goods receipt staging area (St Type: 9010, Bin: GR-ZONE).
Step IB02: There are multiple products in the HU. As a result of this, the system:
Step IB03: The system activates the tasks to move the deconsolidated products to their final putaway bin.
For the items in the inbound delivery, SAP EWM determines the warehouse process type. For inbound processes, the warehouse process type also contains the storage process to be done.
Process-oriented storage control can be used for picking processes also.
In the figure, two products are stored in different storage bins which are assigned to different activity areas. These products are to be delivered to a customer. Each product is moved with a pick-HU to a packing work center. The pick-HUs are then consolidated into a single HU. Then, that consolidated HU is moved to the goods-issue zone and the truck can be loaded.
In outbound processes, the warehouse process is derived from the warehouse order creation rule.
Layout-oriented storage control is normally used when stock movements in the warehouse do not travel directly from a source storage bin to a destination bin. Instead, they travel through one or several intermediate storage bins. This might be because of the physical layout of the warehouse or because an automated storage-retrieval system (AS/RS) is in use. For example, layout-oriented storage control is used in the Material Flow System to define conveyor segments.
The layout-oriented storage control requires handling units.
Process-oriented storage control can be combined with layout-oriented storage control. In this case, SAP EWM always executes the process-oriented storage control first. The layout-oriented storage control then checks whether the sequence of putaway or picking process steps is possible, and if required, adjusts the flow of the putaway or stock removal.
For example, SAP EWM determined the following putaway process flow based on the process-oriented storage control:
Unloading at door
Counting at counting station
Putaway in the high-rack storage area
However, the layout-oriented storage control determines that a direct putaway in the high-rack storage area is not possible and that the putaway must use an identification point. Therefore, layout-oriented storage control could modify the tasks to be sequenced as follows:
Unloading at door
Counting at the counting station
Identification of goods at the ID point
Putaway in the high-rack storage area