Purpose

You can use Handling Unit Management (HUM) to reflect packing-based logistics structures in the SAP System. Using this method, you track the movements of entire handling units and the materials they contain rather than tracking each material individually.

When you base logistics processes on handling units, goods movements processing is made easier, which in turn optimizes all logistics operations. This simplified processing includes the existing packing function in shipping and warehouse processing in the Warehouse Management system, which is expanded here.

Features

In the system, the handling unit (HU) expands on the shipping unit. Handling units can be nested, which means that you can create new handling units from several handling units as often as you like. At the material item level, HUs contain the complete material identification, the quantity, and, in the case of serial numbers , the respective object list. Handling units have unique, scannable identification numbers that can be developed according to standards such as EAN 128 or SSCC.

Handling units contain all inventory management information of the materials they contain that are maintained in Inventory Management. There are also status messages that you can call up at any time that indicate whether a handling unit is only planned or if the ship-to party has been notified of the arrival of this handling unit, or whether it is in the warehouse or has already been posted to goods issue. The integrated history function also records each business process in the life cycle of each handling unit, meaning that you can track the handling unit’s path and development at any time.

In HU-managed storage locations, all goods movements are executed through the specification of the respective HUs, and Inventory Management is performed through the handling units. If you are not working with HU-managed storage locations, you can use handling units (without stock information) as before in the delivery and in the shipment.

In HU-managed storage locations, materials can be managed in HUs only. Mixed stock (stock made up of packed and non-packed materials within the same storage location) is not supported. HUs can also be managed in interim storage types. Unpacking a material from an HU means that the stock of the material is posted to a storage location that is not HU-managed.

Handling units are unique at client level in at least one system. Using an indicator at client level (see Unique Identification of Handling Units ), you can control whether you are going to work with the HU functions. Since the handling unit is a physical unit, the central logistics processes are controlled through the input of the handling unit identification. These processes include putaway, picking, and stock transfers, as well as goods receipts and goods issues.

A handling unit’s mobility can be limited if quality checks are active. Changes in the stock category caused by a quality inspection are made using a posting change in the handling unit.

There is also a report available that you can use to find and display handling units using different selection criteria such as material, packing instruction, or storage location.

Although the handling unit is basically a unit that remains constant in the system, you can change it by repacking the materials it contains. All the packing functions, such as packing, repacking, and unpacking, are completely supported by the handling unit function. In this way, handling units can be created in production, during goods receipt, or in the packing areas of the warehouse. If you have automatic packing, the handling unit is created from the packing proposals defined in the system (from the packing instructions, for example).