Use

You use putaway strategies in the Warehouse Management system (WMS), to optimize the storage of goods in the warehouse.

Putaway strategies in WMS

Prerequisites

For information on how to set up the WMS to use putaway strategies for your warehousing complex, see the corresponding sections under Strategies in the Implementation Guide (IMG) for Warehouse Management.

Features

The system gets the information for the source and destination storage bins for a putaway as illustrated below:

Information for the Putaway

When material is put away in the warehouse, it is generally transferred from the goods receipt interim storage area. The information about the source (interim storage type, interim storage section, and interim storage bin) is either stored in the transfer requirement or the system determines it from the WMS movement type.

Storage Type Search

The system must then determine in which storage type the material should be put away. You define this information in the storage type search table. For more information about how entries are defined in this table, see the section on defining the storage type search sequence under Strategies in the Implementation Guide for Warehouse Management.

In the storage type search table, you can define a search sequence with up to 30 storage types. (Make sure that you enter an E for putaway in the Activity) column. This means that the system uses the search sequence to search for a destination storage type. The storage type list is constructed hierarchically, which means that the system searches for empty storage bins in the first storage type first, then in the second storage type, and so on. The table entries, which the system uses for this search, depend on the movement type and/or the material to be put away.

You can also group materials together using the storage type indicator so that the system uses the same search sequence for these materials and stores materials of the same group in the same storage type or types. To implement this you define:

Reference to Movement Type

Entries in the Ref column of the storage type search table influence the storage type search according to movement type. To assign specific movement types to these references in the storage type search table, choose Defining movement type references under  Strategies Activate storage type search in the Warehouse Management IMG.

To assign a movement type to a certain storage type search sequence, enter a reference number in the Reference Type Search column of the table displayed. This number also appears in the Reference storage type search field when you select the corresponding movement type.

Access Optimization for the Storage Type Search

When storage type indicators are used and several materials with different stock categories (such as special stock) exist, the number of entries in the storage type search table can become very large. To decrease the number of these entries, you can define an access strategy for the storage type search table using the access strategy table.

To define access strategies for the storage type search table, choose Access Optimization for Storage Type Search from the list of objects under  Strategies Storage type search in theImplementation Guide (IMG) for Warehouse Management. For instructions on how to use this table, see the online help for any of the fields displayed.

Hazardous Materials

You can also influence the storage type search according to hazardous material storage classes and water pollution classes. For more information, see Stock Transfers and Replenishment.

Storage Bin Search

Once the storage type has been determined, the system searches within the storage type for an appropriate storage bin in which the material can be put away. To find a storage bin, the system uses a search strategy that has been defined for the storage type. You can define one putaway strategy for each storage type.

Regardless of the putaway strategy, there are two factors that affect how the system searches for empty storage bins:

Both of these factors are totally independent of the putaway strategy. They can be used with all putaway strategies with the exception of the fixed bin strategy, for which storage sections cannot be used.

Storage Section Search

You can divide a storage type into several storage sections (see Storage Section) in which various materials can be stored. You can use these storage sections, for example, to ensure that frequently used materials ("fast-moving" items) are stored in the front of the warehouse while seldom used materials ("slow-moving" items) are stored in the back of the warehouse. A storage type is divided into storage sections on the basis of storage bins. When you create a storage bin, you assign it to a storage section.

For information on how to set up the search strategy for storage sections, see the section on activating storage section searches under Strategies in the Implementation Guide (IMG) Warehouse Management.

If you activate the storage section check for a storage type, the system searches in that storage type only for those empty storage bins in storage sections that have been allowed for the material being put away. When you enter a storage bin manually during transfer order creation, the system checks whether the bin is in a storage section that is allowed for the material. You can also make an entry in Customizing that lets you to override the section check for manual entries.

Storage Bin Type Search

You can have storage bins of various sizes within one storage type. The system then searches for a suitable bin that will accommodate a specific storage unit type for putaway. When you create a storage bin, you assign it to a storage bin type.

For information on how to set up the strategy for storage bin types, see the section Activating Storage Bin Type Search under Strategies in the Implementation Guide (IMG) for Warehouse Management. In the table for assigning storage unit types to storage types, you can define up to 30 storage unit types for one storage type.

See also:

Optional Storage Unit Type Check When Creating a Transfer Order

Next you must assign the storage bin type to each storage unit type. In the storage bin type search table, you can define up to ten storage bin types for each storage unit type in a storage type.

Finally, you activate the storage unit type check for the storage type.

The link between a material and the storage unit type check is made in the material master record. (See Material Master Data). You can define up to three different palletization suggestions (storage unit type and number of units of a material per storage unit type) for a material.

If you activate the storage unit type check for the storage type, the system first determines if it is permitted to put away the storage unit type in the particular storage type. The system then searches for an empty storage bin in the first storage bin type suitable for the storage unit type. If it cannot find a storage bin, the system then searches in the second storage bin type, and so on. If you enter a storage bin manually during transfer order creation, the system checks whether the bin belongs to the permitted storage bin types.

User-Defined Strategies

To use user-defined strategies, you must select the User Exit Active field in the Putaway Control section of the appropriate storage type record. For instructions, see the section on Developing Function Extensions in the Implementation Guide for Warehouse Management.

Strategy Used for Storage Unit Management

Strategy Q is used for storage unit management. For information about the use of this strategy, see Identification Points.

See also:

Additional Factors that Affect Search Strategies