Maintaining Master Data for SAP EWM

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Transfer master data from ERP to SAP EWM.
Maintain warehouse product master data.
Display a packaging specification.

Data Transfer Between SAP ERP and SAP EWM

All transaction data, in ERP as well as in SAP EWM, uses master data. Master data, like customer, vendor, material, is data which should only be maintained once and, as much as possible, in one central place.

In general, master data is maintained in the ERP system. In case of an embedded EWM, SAP EWM re-uses this master data and it might only be necessary to enhance the master data with warehouse specific information. In case of a decentral EWM, the master data needs to be distributed from the ERP system to SAP EWM.

The image illustrates how ERP master data like plant, shipping point, customer, vendor, and material master map to EWM master data such as location, SCU, business partner, and product.

Plant, shipping point, customer master, and vendor master data are used by the ERP system and by SAP EWM. However, master data in the SAP EWM system is not identical to master data in the ERP system. During transfer, the relevant ERP master data is copied to the corresponding SAP EWM locations and business partners. Supply Chain Units are a subset of information of locations and are required for SAP EWM purposes.

Material master data from an ERP system is transferred to the Product master data in an SAP EWM system. The data transferred consists mainly of the following types of information:

Material descriptions
Units of measure
Material product coding fields, for example:
- Material group
- Weight specifications
- Volume specifications

Master Data Transfer Between ERP and Decentral SAP EWM 9.5

Up to SAP EWM 9.5, the distribution of master data from the ERP system was done by using the Core Interface (CIF). CIF has always been used to distribute data to SCM based system and was re-used only for master data for SAP EWM purposes.

Master data replication from SAP ERP to SAP EWM using CIF (Core Interface), highlighting the mapping of locations, materials, batches, and business partners.

The ERP system in the preceding picture can be an SAP Business Suite ERP or an SAP S/4HANA system. Supply Chain Units (SCUs) are objects coming from the SCM basis and are used in SAP EWM for structural settings (a warehouse number always has to be connected to a SCU). Locations are used for the route determination.

Master Data in SAP S/4HANA with Embedded EWM

In embedded EWM, it is not necessary to distribute master data. SAP EWM simply uses the shared master data from ERP. The SCM product is automatically created in the background, but SCUs have to be created manually.

The image illustrates how master data like plants, materials, and business partners in S/4HANA integrate with embedded EWM objects, emphasizing master data synchronization.

Locations do not exist automatically in embedded EWM, but they can be created if required.

Master Data Transfer Between ERP and SAP S/4HANA Decentral EWM

If the decentral EWM system is based on SAP S/4HANA, it is not possible to use the Core Interface for master data transfer from ERP. The reason for that is that the EWM part again uses the master data in the ERP part of the decentral system, just like an embedded EWM. And the CIF can not create this master data, it can only create SCM based master data.

Because of this, the master data is transferred by an ALE distribution model using IDOCs or with the Data Replication Framework (DRF) using services.

The image shows integration between SAP ERP and decentralized EWM on S/4HANA, highlighting master data replication and conversion processes using ALE/IDoc and CVI.

For the initial release of decentral EWM with SAP S/4HANA the distribution was only possible with an ALE distribution model. This technology is replaced step-by-step with the DRF.

The plant and the supply chain units for the warehouse and shipping points have to be created manually in the decentral EWM. Also in a decentral EWM based on SAP S/4HANA, locations do not exist automatically, but they can be created if required.

Note

The SAP note 3376455 - Release information and restrictions of Decentralized EWM on S/4HANA 2023 includes a guide for the ERP / EWM integration which explains the steps for setting up the master data distribution using the DRF for Business Partners and an ALE distribution model for the other objects. Similar notes and guides are available for earlier and later releases as well.

Product Master Data and Warehouse Product Master Data

A flowchart showing a material connecting to a product connecting to a warehouse product

Through the transfer of the material master data from ERP to SAP EWM, the product master data is created in the SAP EWM system. Use the Maintain Product transaction to access basic product master data. That transaction is available at:

Extended Warehouse Management → Master Data → Product → Maintain Data.

Data in the product master view is global data. It is applicable to all warehouses in which that product is stored.

Product data contains the following information:

Properties
Units of measure
Classification/Item category group/Serial number profile
Packaging data (in cases where the product is a packaging material)

It is not mandatory, but to add specific warehouse information, you can create a warehouse product. This is an extension of the product with information relevant to a specific warehouse and party entitled to dispose. You create and maintain a warehouse product when you want to control processes like putaway or picking product dependent. For certain processes it might be necessary, for example in order to maintain replenishment quantities, to create a warehouse product. There are different possibilities to create, change, or display a warehouse product:

The transaction /SCWM/MAT1
- Extended Warehouse Management → Master Data → Product → Maintain Warehouse Product.
Note
Entry of this information is mandatory:
Warehouse number
Party entitled to dispose
In the Warehouse Management Monitor
With the Manage Product Master Data app
Using the Slotting function
The SAP Note "3081583 - Automatic Creation of Warehouse Product when creating Products" describes a customer specific solution using BTE (business transaction events) to automatically create warehouse products.

Warehouse Product Properties

The warehouse product includes all the properties of a product that relate to its storage in a certain warehouse within the framework of SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), for example, the putaway and removal control indicators.

There are three tabs for warehouse specific entries:

Tab	Used to
Warehouse Data	Maintain general data or data that can influence putaway or stock removal.
Slotting	Maintain the parameters that are used in the slotting and rearrangement processes. This information can be determined by the slotting process, but can also be maintained manually.
Storage Type Data	Maintain data that is specific to a particular storage type where a product is stored. This generally consists of indicators used in replenishment and storage bin management.

Packaging Specifications

A packaging specification is another important piece of master data in SAP Extended Warehouse Management. This is used to specify how to pack a product for putaway or for transportation.

A simple example for the use of a packaging specification in the warehouse is for palletization data. Palletization data for a product specifies how that product is packed and putaway.

For example, in your warehouse, you place 50 pieces of Product A on a pallet for putaway. In that case, you:

Create a packing specification for Product A with:
- Main packaging material of Pallet
- Contents of Product A
Specify a target quantity of 50

If 100 pieces are delivered, the system uses the packing specification to create two warehouse tasks for 50 pieces each, that is 2 pallets of Product A.

Packing Specification

The packing specification defines the necessary packing levels for a product and the related packaging materials. The packing specification includes the steps that must be performed during the packing process.

A packaging specification has a predefined structure as outlined in the following table:

Structure	Contains
Header	The name of the packaging specification, the user who created it, and its status.
Contents	The name of the product to be packed or the number of another packaging specification.
Level	The level associated with the packaging specification. (A packaging specification can have one or more levels).
Element Group	The element group associated with the packaging specification. (A packaging specification can have one or more element groups. An element group can have one or more elements. Element groups can be re-used.)
Element	A packaging material and/or a work step.

A packaging material is a product that is used to pack products upon, or to pack products in. Packaging materials must be defined as products, using fields that define the characteristics of the packaging such as:

Maximum packing weight
Maximum volume

A work step is defined separately and is assigned to a packaging specification element. It is an instruction for a warehouse worker on how to apply a specific step of a packaging specification.

Packaging Specification Determination and the Condition Technique

Packaging specifications are stored using the Integrated Product and Process Engineering (iPPE) database engine. To determine if a packaging specification is to be applied, the condition technique is used.

Packaging specification determination is used in following processes:

During automatic packing in goods receipt processing (inbound delivery)
Determining packaging material in warehouse order creation
Determining packaging material in delivery processing (goods issue)
Determining packaging material during consolidation
Slotting
During other internal warehouse processes, for example, palletization, determining unit of measure, and so on.

Unified Package Builder

As several applications in Transportation Management (TM), Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) and Logistics (LO) use differing packing engines that are based on different packing rules, it is possible to use the unified package builder (UPB) in SAP S/4HANA to reduce master data maintenance.

The image shows how SAP's Unified Package Building integrates packaging approaches and master data from EWM, TM, and Logistics General for streamlined logistics processes.

Technically UPB is not restricted to embedded EWM. However, for the UPB all the required master data (either packing instructions, packaging specifications, or packing instructions) are required to be in the same system - which is usually not the case in a decentralized EWM.

Handling Units

In certain product movement processes, a handling unit is required. A handling unit has a unique identification number that provides the details of that handling unit.

Note

The unique number for a handling unit number can be created from an internal number range or according to the industry standard EAN128, Serial Shipping Container Coding (SSCC-18).

All information that is relevant to a packed product (for example, batch numbers) are available in the handling unit.

A decorative image of a trolley and an explanation of a handling unit as consisting of packaging materials and products.

Handling Unit Management

In SAP EWM, whether products need to be processed in handling units or not, depends on a number of factors.

If the use of handling units is an enterprise-standard, then products are normally received, warehouse managed, and issued in handling units.

In warehouses where products are not generally managed in handling unit form, certain SAP EWM processes require that products (received or issued) are packed into handling units. This may be only temporarily, for example, to facilitate the internal SAP EWM processes. In those cases, the putaway process in SAP EWM requires that the item is packed in an handling unit (HU). Once the physical storage of that item is complete, the HU number can be removed from the item (on the system).

Handling units can only be stored in storage bins within a storage type that has been configured to allow handling units. In SAP EWM customizing of Storage Types, you indicate whether putaway with HUs is mandatory in the storage type or if HUs are allowed or forbidden.

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