Jul 87 min read

Handling Unit Configuration Settings in EWM

Handling Unit Management Configuration in EWM

In this blog, we will discuss handling unit management configuration settings in SAP S/4HANA Extended Warehouse Management.

After configuring handling unit management in SAP S/4HANA following basic settings we need to perform in Extended Warehouse Management System.

Basic Settings in SAP S/4HANA EWM

1. Define Packaging Material Types for Warehousing

In this Customizing activity, you define the packaging material types that you need for packing. The packaging material type groups packaging materials and contains the main control characteristics that are valid for the relevant packaging material.

Activities

Create the required packaging material types and use the following indicators or fields to define how this packaging material is to be used:

Packaging material category The packaging material category specifies the type of packaging material that this packaging material type is.

Variable tare weight Indicates that the tare weight of a packaging material of this packaging material type is variable. This means that the tare weight is adjusted when the total weight of a handling unit changes.

Number assignment The type of number assignment entered here controls the generation or checking of a handling unit identification when a handling unit is created with a packaging material of this type.

Closed Indicates whether the packaging material is a closed packaging.

Status profile Assign the user status profile maintained here to the handling units that you generate with the packaging material of this packaging material type.

Delete Indicates how the system is to manage empty handling units. Example When a handling unit is picked until it is empty, this indicator controls whether

a) the bin also becomes empty For example, this is recommended for pallets and boxes that in principle no longer occupy the bin when they are empty.

b) the bin is still occupied by the empty handling unit and must first be emptied by a warehouse task that removes this handling unit from stock. This is of note in particular for handling units that also occupy a bin when they are empty, for example, boxes that are stored in the same storage type, regardless of whether they are full or empty.

Step 1: Click on New Entries Enter 4 digits and the description

Step 2: Select Packaging Material Category

Step 3: Enter Number Assignment

2. Define Packing Material Group

Define material groups with which materials that are to be packed into similar packaging materials are grouped.

Use

The material group for packaging materials is entered in the material master record of the shipping material.

Example

A material group for packaging materials can, for example, include all materials that are to be packed in bottles.

Activities

1. To create a new material grouping for packaging materials, enter an alphanumeric key with a maximum of 4 characters together with a textual description.

2. In the Define Allowed Packaging Materials IMG activity, assign the packaging material types to the material groups for packaging materials.

Need to Use the Same Material Group for Packaging material as in S/4HANA

3. Maintain Allowed Packaging Material

In this IMG activity, you define the allowed packaging material for the individual packing groups.

When packing materials or handling units, the system checks whether the packaging material type of the packaging material is permitted as packaging for the packing group of the material.

Activities

For each packing group required create an entry with a required unit and a packaging material type.

You can maintain the allowed packaging material types for each packing group depending on the unit of measure of the material to be packed. Make sure that you maintain entries that are independent of the unit of measure with an initial value.

To pack handling units, you must maintain an initial entry for the packing group of the packaging material (and thereby) the handling unit, since handling units do not have units of measure.

Step 1: Enter New Entries

Step 2: Enter Packaging Material Group and Packaging Material Type and Save

4. Define HU Type

In this Customizing activity, you define handling unit types (HU types) for the additionally defined material master attribute. You need HU types in Extended Warehouse Management to classify packaging materials and HUs with the same physical properties.

If you transfer the material to the decentralized SCM system, the HU types are automatically transferred too. You have to transfer the relevant check tables separately.

5. Define HU Type Group

In this Customizing activity, you can define handling unit type groups (HU type groups). You can use HU-type groups to group similar HU types.

Slotting

HU-type groups are used as an optional parameter in slotting.

Put-away

In put-away, you can activate an HU type check at a storage-type level in Customizing activity Define Storage Type. You can define either valid HU types or valid HU type groups.

Determining a Deconsolidation Station

All HU types used must be assigned to the HU type group.

Resource Management

HU-type groups are mandatory.

At a later point, you assign an HU type group to every HU type in the Customizing activity Define HU Types for Each Warehouse Number and Assign an HU-Type Group.

Step 1: Click on New Entries

Step 2: Enter the Warehouse Number and four digits and the description and save

5. Define HU Type to Each Warehouse Number and Assign HU type Group

In this Customizing activity, you specify which of the generally available handling unit types (HU types) you want to use or permit in your warehouse.

You can also assign the following:

Unit-of-measure load category for workload evaluations

You can assign a unit-of-measure load category for workload evaluations to each HU type.

HU type group

You can assign each HU type to a HU type group that you defined in Customizing activity Define HU Type Groups.

An HU type can only belong to one HU type group.

Prerequisites

You have defined HU types (where necessary in an enterprise management system, for example, SAP S/4HANA or SAP ERP).

Activities

Assign the HU types that you want to use or permit in your warehouse number to this warehouse number.

Step 1: Click on New Entries

Step 2: Enter Warehouse Number, HU Type and HU Type Groups and Save

7. Define HU Type for Each Storage Type

In this Customizing activity, you can define for each storage type the permitted handling unit types (HU types) that are used in a warehouse activity such as put-away. Alternatively, you can also specify for each storage type a valid HU type group.

Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) can manage storage bins of different sizes within a storage type. The storage bins are determined using storage bin type determination, for example.

It consists of:

HU type check

Storage bin type check

Note: The HU type check and the storage bin type check are only performed if you have activated the attribute HU Type Check for the storage type in Customizing activity Define Storage Types.

The checks consist of the following steps:

1. During put-away, it is usually known with which HU type the product is to be put away. You either enter this information manually or it is defined in the product master. Alternatively, the information is determined in the put-away process.

2. The system checks whether the HU type to be put away is allowed to be put away in the storage type that storage type determination has found.

You have defined for each storage type which HU types are allowed to be used within this storage type. You can assign a maximum of 30 HU types for each storage type.

3. The system then searches for a suitable destination storage bin using the storage behavior/put-away rules. It only finds storage bins that are allowed for the storage type that has been determined.

For this, you have assigned a storage bin type to each storage bin in the master data.

For each HU type, the permitted storage bin types are used to check whether a storage bin is allowed.

The system restricts its search for a destination storage bin to these permitted storage bin types, whereby it goes through the storage bin types sequentially in the order of the entries in this table (in the standard system).

4. If you enter the storage bin manually during put-away, the system checks whether the HU type can be used at the relevant storage bin.

Activities

To use storage bin type determination, you must make the following settings in the order specified:

1. Divide your storage bins into groups (storage bin types), for example, large bins or small bins.

2. Check your storage bin master data and add any missing storage bin types.

3. Classify your HUs according to HU types (for example, according to pallet types).

4. If you have not done so already, create palletization data as packing instructions for your products.

5. In this activity, assign HU types to storage types. By doing this, you define for each storage type which HU types are allowed to be put away within this storage type.

6. Assign HU types to storage bin types. By doing this, you define which HU types are allowed to be put away for each storage bin type.

7. Activate the HU type check for the required storage types.

Step 1: Click on New Entries

Step 2: Enter Warehouse Number, Storage Type, HU type Click on Save

8. Define Number Ranges

If you have packaging materials whose number comes from a simple number range object, you maintain the intervals for this number here.

Prerequisites

Note that if you exchange handling units (HUs) with other warehouses, the numbers in the individual warehouses must be disjoint to ensure that the number is also unique in the receiving warehouse.

Activities

Maintain the number range intervals for the HU identification and indicate whether the interval is an internal or an external number range.

Step 1: Click on Add New Line Enter the Number Range from One as Internal to and save

Step 3: Enter on Add New Line Enter the Number Range One as External from to and save

9. Assign Number Range Interval to Packaging Material Type

In this Customizing activity, you define the number range intervals from which a handling unit (HU) identification is obtained.

Activities

For each warehouse number, assign relevant intervals that you have previously defined to the packaging material types that are numbered by means of the number range interval.

Example

Number range interval for internal number assignment Here enter the number range interval if you use automatic HU generation or you want to let the system assign the HU identification in other processes