Performing Replenishment Processes in the Warehouse

Using this process, you can plan and automate the creation of replenishment warehouse tasks to maintain optimal inventory levels in picking areas. The replenishment process ensures adequate stock for picking by filling bins from one or more reserve storage types.

The Process Solution 4A2 - Replenishment in Warehousing covers the internal warehouse process, ensuring stock levels in the picking area remain above a minimum threshold and trigger warehouse tasks to move products from reserve storage to storage bins in the picking area as needed. The full diagram shows where this task fits in a larger cycle of receiving inbound goods, putting those goods in warehouse storage locations, picking orders, and shipping outbound goods.

This scope item supports planned replenishment and automatic replenishment of fixed storage bins and on storage type level.

Diagram of stock levels in fixed bin storage; replenishment tasks may be triggered manually or as part of a batch. As this is not automated for instant task creation, this may extend the time that stock levels in the fixed bin location are below a minimum quantity threshold.

The planned replenishment can be started interactively or as a regular application background job.

Diagram of stock levels in fixed bin storage; replenishment tasks may be triggered automatically once a warehouse picking task is confirmed and the fixed bin storage level falls below a minimum threshold.

In contrast, automatic replenishment is triggered when a warehouse task is confirmed.

The system creates replenishment tasks if the current stock falls below the defined threshold for the product’s fixed bin. The replenishment quantity is calculated as the difference between the maximum and current bin quantity and is triggered when stock is below the minimum quantity. If such a quantity is maintained, the system rounds down the replenishment quantity to a multiple of the minimum replenishment quantity.

At the end of the process, the warehouse operative confirms the tasks and ensures that stock is moved from the reserve to the picking area.

Diagram shows fixed bin stock levels in a direct replenishment scenario. Where a picking order would drop fixed bin stock below a minimum quantity, the picking task in the picker's queue would include the replenishment task from a recognized storage location if reserve stock is available.

Direct replenishment starts during a bin denial when an exception code refers to the internal process code Replenishment. It is only possible in fixed storage bin scenarios, where the system calculates replenishment based on maximum and minimum quantities, assuming the bin quantity is zero. The system rounds the replenishment quantity to a multiple of the minimum replenishment quantity if such a quantity is maintained.

Direct replenishment can be performed by the warehouse picker (picker-directed replenishment). In this case, a replenishment task appears as the next item in the picker’s warehouse order. This requires the system to have found stock in the permitted storage types. Picker-directed replenishment is only possible in radio frequency scenarios.

Running replenishment processes in your warehouse offers the following business benefits:

Run planned replenishment for fixed storage bins
Schedule background jobs for planned replenishment
Set up automatic replenishment, if necessary
Maintain a proper stock rotation
Minimize the manual creation of warehouse tasks for internal movements
Improve warehouse picking efficiency

For a graphical overview of the business process of the scope item Replenishment in Warehousing (4A2), refer to the SAP Signavio Process Navigator as described in the lesson The Impact of Warehouse Management.

The process consists of the following steps:

Variant 1: Manual replenishment run
Variant 2: Job-based replenishment run
System: Create replenishment warehouse tasks
Check replenishment warehouse tasks (optional)
Confirm replenishment warehouse tasks

Run a Simulation to Check the System Behavior

Use this simulation to guide you through the main process steps for running the replenishment in the warehousing process.

ExerciseStart Exercise