The goal of slotting is to help in the determination of the best storage bin for a material during putaway. The best bin for a material depends on factors such as whether that material is fast-moving, slow-moving, and so on. A well laid-out warehouse makes the picking process easier.
Slotting determines the ideal putaway parameters such as storage types, storage sections, and bin type for a product in a particular warehouse. This information is stored in the warehouse product.
Examples of data that the slotting process uses to determine putaway, includes:
Product data
Storage requirement data
Packaging data
Demand forecasts or historical data from SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (SAP APO)
During slotting, the system determines the following storage parameters:
Putaway control indicator (and, optionally, stock removal control indicator)
Maximum quantity in storage type
Storage section indicator
Storage bin types
The system always performs step 1. Steps 2 to 4 are optional. Steps 1, 3, and 4 are performed using the condition technique. Step 4 can also be performed using storage bin type determination rules..
During slotting, the system determines the storage parameters and stores them in the warehouse product. They are stored either as planned values (for the future) or you can update the warehouse product immediately.
Product Related Data
The following is an example of product-related data that can be used as input for slotting.
Product Related Data Used for Slotting
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Storage condition | 3 (not outside) |
| Theft-prone | N |
| Handling code | 200 (metal) |
| Demand quantity | 700 (per month) |
| Number of order lines | 50 |
| Recommended storage quantity | 2100 |
| Storage class | 13 (Non-inflammable solids) |
| Water pollution classification | 1 (Minimal water pollution danger) |
| Nesting factors | 0.5 |
| Package type | Default packaging material (Wooden pallets) |
| Material length | 0.05m |
| Material width | 0.01m |
| Material height | 0.01m |
| Material weight | 10g |
| Packaging length | 0.80m |
| Packaging width | 1.0m |
| Packaging height | 1.0m |
| Packaging weight | 75kg |
Calculate Parameters
To calculate parameters, such as the maximum quantity in the storage type, slotting needs product-requirement data or the forecasted demand for the relevant product.
Demand data is useful when slotting is used to relocate products based on whether they are fast-moving or slow-moving.
This requirement or demand data can come from SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO), you can enter the data manually, or you can enter the data by mass maintenance. SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) stores this information locally in the warehouse product (on the Slotting tab in the Requirement/Demand Data area).
When using SAP APO planning data, it is important to realize that SAP APO and SAP EWM manage requirements data at different organizational levels. SAP APO performs planning processes for locations of the type Plant. SAP EWM stores requirement data at the warehouse number level. Slotting assumes that a one-to-one relationship exists between the SAP APO location and the SAP EWM warehouse number. If the relationship is not one-to-one, you can use Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) for the conversion.
