Mapping Quality Inspection Processes

When you receive goods into your warehouse, examine the products to confirm that the vendor has sent the correct quantity and quality.

Depending on the inspection result, you may putaway the products, return them to the vendor, scrap them, or initiate a follow up inspection. Quality Inspection in decentral EWM is enabled by the Quality Inspection Engine (QIE). The QIE provides services to trigger the following tasks:

• Inspection
• Creation of samples and calculation of sample size
• Printing of work papers
• Recording inspection results
• Decision about quality and quality-control levels

QIE Architecture

In the QIE architecture, a QIE consumer refers to an application that uses QIE functionality. The QIE consumer is generally an independent system that is linked to QIE through a qRFC and/or XI interface. Alternatively, it can be a part of the consumer system, such as SAP EWM.

QIE is independent of the ERP system. It can be connected to an external ERP system for a complete quality management (QM) process, as shown in the preceding figure.

The development platform for QIE is the Web Application Server (WAS). QIE is an engine that is technically designed as an Add-On. SAP EWM is the first consumer system and it uses QIE as a required Add-On.

Note

SAP S/4HANA embedded EWM does not use the QIE for quality inspections, but uses QM directly. Therefore, not all inspection objects types described in this section are available in SAP S/4HANA embedded EWM.

Quality checks can be performed at different stages, for example:

• When the transportation unit is unloaded: check the pallet and move it to a work place for unpacking.
• When the pallet is routed to an inspection area: check the quality of the product and then putaway to the final storage bin or return it to the vendor (depending on the quality).
• In set intervals for products in the warehouse.

The inspections that are done are controlled by the inspection object type. The inspection object type defines in which software component, in which process, and for which object the inspection documents can be created in the QIE. The inspection object types for SAP EWM exist by default. In customizing, they are activated for each warehouse number. When they are activated, inspections are possible.

• Preliminary Inspection Inbound Delivery (1)

• Preliminary Inspection Handling Unit (2)

• Counting Inbound Delivery (2)

• Q-Inspection Returns Delivery

• Q-Inspection Product/Batch Inbound Delivery

• Q-Inspection Product/Batch Warehouse-Internal

• Defect Processing

(1) this inspection object type is only available in SCM based EWM up to SAP EWM 9.5.

(2) these inspection object types are only available in a decentral EWM, but not in embedded EWM.

Another requirement for inspections is an inspection rule. An inspection rule describes an inspection in further detail, for example:

• What shall be inspected, for example, a material, a delivery type, or deliveries from a specific vendor?
• How shall the inspection be performed, for example, on a sample or with 100% inspection?

In embedded EWM, it is not necessary anymore to use inspection rules.

If you require a more complex quality management process, the QIE can be connected to an external QM system, such as SAP ERP QM. Here, you can cover detailed analytical inspections with characteristics.

Within the activation of an inspection document in SAP EWM, the QIE triggers the creation of an inspection lot in ERP QM. The inspection process is executed in the external system, which is the ERP QM system. ERP QM sends back the usage decision to the QIE after the inspection is done.