Warehouse Structure
Before implementation of Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), you must define the physical structure of your warehouse or warehouse complex and map this in system.
The Individual Warehouse
o Goods Receipt Area
o Goods Issue Area
o Area with High Rack Storage
o Bulk Storage Area
o Open Storage Area
o Activity areas category with Picking with fixed bin
o Storage space outdoors for special materials
The Storage facilities available within warehouse are termed as storage type in EWM.
Mapping the Physical Warehouse in EWM
Warehouse Number
In EWM entire physical warehouse is combine under one warehouse number which is use to manage several storage facilities which form a complete warehouse.
o Warehouse Number is represented by 4 digit alphanumeric key.
o The organizational and physical attributes of warehouse complex are collected together under the warehouse number. For example: weight unit, volume unit, and time unit are defined at warehouse number Level.
Storage Type
A storage type is a storage area, storage facilities which you define for a warehouse number in EWM. The storage type is a physical or logical subdivision of a warehouse complex, which is characterized by its warehouse technologies, space required, organizational form, or function, A storage type consists of one or more storage bins.
Common storage types in EWM
o Bulk Storage Area
o General Storage Area
o High Rack Storage Area
o Fixed Bin Storage Area
o Rack Storage Area
o Pallet Storage Area
The storage types form the warehouse complex and can be located in one or more buildings. All storage types manage under one warehouse number.
At Storage type level, you must specify the control indicators that control the material flow (put-away and picking) in each storage type. These includes the control indicators for
o Put-away
o Stock Removal (Picking)
Example
Several Storage type can be define for each warehouse number.
Activity Area
Logical section of the warehouse that groups storage bins based on defined warehouse activities
Example;
o Put-away
o Picking
o Physical Inventory
The activity areas provide logical subdivisions in the warehouse. In these activity areas, different warehouse workers execute certain warehouse activities like, put-away, picking or counting.
You create activity dependent bin sorting within an activity area. EWM uses these bin sorting to optimize the execution of warehouse tasks.
Structure of Activity Area
An activity area consists of one or more assigned storage bins. You can define the assigned storage bins using following attributes
o Aisle
o Stack
o Level
o Bin Subdivision
o Depth
o Information about storage type
o Any assigned deconsolidation groups
When EWM generates warehouse tasks, it considers the activity area and copies attributes from this activity area such as deconsolidation group.
Storage Section
In EWM a storage section is an organizational subdivision of a storage type, which groups together storage bins with similar attributes for the purpose of put-away.
For example
o Heavy Parts
o Bulky Parts
o Fast Moving Items
o Slow Moving Items
Storage section use as an organizational unit for putting away goods in warehouse.
You need to define the organizational aims if using storage types and storage sections.
The use of storage sections becomes mandatory you use storage section control on storage section search in the storage type
Example;
High rack storage areas frequently consist of numerous storage bins of varying size, In many high racks storage areas, low level bins are larger because they are reserved for particularly heavy parts. The bins located at higher level are smaller.
Storage Bins
A storage type consists of a selection of storage space which called storage bins in EWM. The storage bin is the smallest spatial unit in a warehouse. The storage bin represents the exact position of the in warehouse where we can store the products.
The storage bi address is frequently derived from a coordinate system, a storage bin is offen referred to as a coordinate.
For Example; the coordinate 01-02-03
Storage bin in
Aisle- 01
Stack- 02
Level- 03
The each storage bin which you have assign to warehouse number need also assign a storage type and storage section.
Storage bin have additional attributes
Maximum weight
Total capacity
Fire containment section
Storage bin type (for example, for large or Small parts)
In some Put-away strategies, the storage bin type plays an important role during optimization of the automatic search of storage bin in reference with the pallet type.
Example; You can define the put-away strategy that put-away large pallets into special large bins and small pallets in to small pallets bins.
Quant
Stock of a specific product with the same characteristics in one storage bin, resource, transportation unit (TU) or handling unit (HU), The system manages different batches of a product as different quant.
When you put a product away into an empty storage bin in EWM the system creates a quant in this storage bin. You can increase the quantity of quant by adding to the existing stock. When the system manage stock data per quant. Stock data includes
Stock key, such as product number, batch number, and party entitled to dispose
Stock quantities, such as physical quantity and available quantity
Stock attributes, such as weight, volume, goods receipt date, and shelf life expiration date.
Serial number
You can display stock information in the warehouse management monitor
Door
Location in the warehouse where the goods arrive at or leave the warehouse, the door is an organizational unit that you assign to warehouse number.
Vehicle and their Transportation unit (TU) drive up to the door of warehouse to load and unload goods. The doors are in close proximity to the relevant staging areas.
You can assign door for various functions
o Inbound
o Outbound
o Inbound and outbound both
In delivery processing the system uses determination rules to determine the following for each delivery item
o Staging area groups
o Staging Areas
o Staging bays
The determination rules influenced by the possible assignments that you have defined in customizing between doors and staging areas as well as between doors and staging area/door determination groups. The system updates the delivery at item level with the value that it finds.
Staging Area
Organizational unit that is assigned to the warehouse number and that is used to organize the flow of goods in the warehouse.
Staging areas are used for the interim storage for goods in the warehouse. They are located in close proximity to the doors assigned to them. You can define staging areas for different purposes and even simultaneously for multiple purposes.
o Goods receipt: Interim storage of unloaded goods until they are put-away
o Goods Issue: Interim storage of picked goods until they are loaded
Work Center
The work center is a physical unit in the warehouse, in which you can perform warehouse activities such as packing, distribution, or weighing.
You can use work center
o Packing
o Deconsolidation
o Counting
o Quality Inspection
Rajesh Sharma
SAP MM/WM/EWM Functional Consultant
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