Purpose
A goods receipt is the physical inbound movement of goods or materials into the warehouse. It is a goods movement that is used to post goods received from external vendors or from in-plant production. All goods receipts result in an increase of stock in the warehouse.
The following kinds of goods receipts are considered in the SAP System:
The Goods Receipt Process
When goods are received in the warehouse, the processes that take place in the Warehouse Management (WM) system are generally automatic and transparent to the user. From the time a dock worker scans a bar code on the container slip until the goods are placed into a storage slot within the warehouse, WM keeps a record of all the transactions that take place that are associated with each piece of stock. Each of the steps that are concerned – from posting the receipt of the goods in the Inventory Management (IM) component to confirming that the movement has taken place – can be carried out automatically by the system. Since they can also be carried out manually if desired, the following description explains each of these steps in detail.
(For more information about interim storage areas, see
Any discrepancies between the quantity requested and the quantity transferred into the warehouse are recorded in WM. These differences must be cleared later in the IM component.
At this point, the goods receipt process is completed.
What happens in WM when goods are received in the warehouse?
The following figure shows a possible scenario for an inbound movement (goods receipt) in connection with a transfer order (TO). This example shows what happens in the warehouse and in WM when goods are received.
Creating a Transfer Order without an IM Posting
You can also post goods receipts first in WM by creating a transfer order manually. (No transfer requirement is needed.) IM initially has no information about this goods receipt. Subsequently you record this goods receipt in the IM component.