Introducing the SAP EWM Integration - Warehouse Stock Handling (‏2YL‏)

This scope item covers core warehouse management processes, including scrapping, physical inventory, initial stock upload, and their integration into SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The system communicates goods movements, such as physical inventory differences, initial stock upload, and ad hoc posting changes to SAP S/4HANA, by means of goods movement messages.

• Support your high-volume warehouse operations with an integration between SAP S/4HANA Cloud and on-premise SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM).
• Manage stock on a storage bin level.

SAP Best Practices Explorer (https://rapid.sap.com/bp/SAP S/4HANA → Cloud → SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA Cloud → Select country localization from Version dropdown list → Accelerators section → SAP Best Practices content library → Use filters to locate scope items and associated Process Flows and Test Scripts.

In this process, you create Physical Inventory (PI) documents for a chosen number of storage bins or products on a regular basis, to distribute the workload for physical inventory over the year.

By posting the PI documents, you adjust the book inventory in the storage bins to align it with the physical inventory counts. At different points in the process, tolerance checks control the count results and final postings that adjust the stock situation. Along with this process, you monitor the progress of your physical inventory within the warehouse monitor.

Besides these test steps, there are several processes which are not described in this document. For example:

• Recounting of PI documents
• Product specific counting
• Printing of PI documents
• RF-counting
• Creating PI areas
• Adjust tolerances
• Scheduling background jobs

In the below section, you find a lean process description, with the focus of an integration perspective.

You have to carry out several activities beforehand. Tolerance groups have to be assigned to your user to be able to post material differences in SAP EWM and SAP S/4HANA Cloud (via Difference Analyzer). To be able to determine a tolerance group, based on product value, you have to replicate the prices from the SAP S/4HANA Cloud system to the SAP EWM system.

1. Create physical inventory documents in the SAP EWM system:
   • As a part of the periodic physical inventory procedure, you can check the ongoing progress of PI per the storage bins or products through the warehouse management monitor.
   • During the periodic physical inventory procedure, you can check the progress of PI in the warehouse management monitor and create new PI documents with Physical Inventory Procedure AL Annual Physical Inventory (Storage-Bin-Specific).
2. Enter count results in SAP EWM System:
   • In case of paper driven PI, the warehouse clerk enters the count results into the system with the help of the PI count documents.
   • Also, in cases of complicated count results, for example, an unexpected finding of many items or complete HUs, the desktop transaction is the better choice. This may also apply to an unplanned (ad hoc) inventory count (checking a doubtful bin or product, which probably generates big differences).
3. Analyze and post physical inventory differences into SAP S/4HANA Cloud in the SAP EWM system:
   • With the help of a background job, most of the differences were automatically posted to SAP S/4HANA in the previous step. If the value of some differences violates the tolerances assigned to the background user, the warehouse clerk or the supervisor has to review these differences in the Difference Analyzer. For example, they analyze the movements of the product and may decide that a new PI is necessary. After the review, they manually post these differences to SAP S/4HANA.
4. Check material documents:
   • Along with populating the warehouse with stock and HUs, there is also a financial posting in the SAP S/4HANA system. The movement type used for this is 561, which is the standard movement type for initial stock upload during a cutover, before going live with an SAP S/4HANA materials management.
   • The check step is to show you the material document along with its financial posting in the SAP S/4HANA system.

In this process, you can decide to scrap goods that are currently stored in any of the storage types in the warehouse. The scrapping process can be initiated based on the expired shelf life of a stock item, or it can be triggered by discovering damaged goods in the warehouse in daily work.

For the first approach, you can search for expired stock items in the warehouse monitor. You then initiate the scrapping, by creating the needed warehouse orders and tasks. The system supports scrapping for all storage types. Depending on the physical layout of the warehouse, the system automatically creates the warehouse orders and tasks and assigns them to the corresponding RF queues. The actual scrapping, including the financially relevant postings, are then either done manually or by means of a periodically scheduled program.

1. Select stock to be scrapped in SAP EWM:
   • You check the stock situation in the SAP EWM system and decide to scrap part of the stock - the stock that is not in good condition.
2. Create ad hoc warehouse tasks for scrapping damaged stock in SAP EWM:
   • The warehouse worker creates ad hoc warehouse tasks to scrap damaged stock and physically move the stock to the scrapping zone.
3. Confirm warehouse orders in SAP EWM:
   • The warehouse worker confirms the warehouse order and the warehouse tasks for scrapping.
4. Empty scrapping zone and post goods issue in SAP EWM:
   • The warehouse clerk empties the scrap zone by posting an unplanned goods issue. You could schedule a periodic background job for this step.
5. Check material documents:
   • Along with populating the warehouse with stock and HUs, there is also a financial posting in the SAP S/4HANA system. The movement type used for this is 561, which is the standard movement type for initial stock upload during a cutover, before going live with an SAP S/4HANA materials management.
   • The check step is to show you the material document, along with its financial posting in the SAP S/4HANA system.

The following SAP S/4HANA Cloud business roles are used for this scenario:

• Inventory Manager (Material Document Processing)
• Administrator Data Replication (Transfer between SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP EWM)