Picking Strategies 

The strategies that are used in WM to remove goods from storage are listed in the following table.

WM Picking Strategies

Strategy

The system searches...

F

for the oldest quant using FIFO

(Blank)

using stringent FIFO for all storage types

L

for the most recent quant using LIFO

A

for partial quantities first, then standard quantities

M

according to quantity

H

for materials with the shortest remaining time before the shelf life expiration date

P

for a fixed bin

(User exit)

customer-defined strategy

 

To access the objects (tables or views of tables) for the stock removal search strategies, see the corresponding section under Strategies in the WM Implementation Guide.

Transfers Out of the Warehouse

The system gets the information for the source and destination storage bins when goods are picked and transferred out of the warehouse as illustrated below.

Information for Stock Removal

When stock is removed from the warehouse, it generally is transferred to the interim goods issue storage area. This information about the destination (interim storage type, interim storage section, and interim storage bin) is recorded in the transfer requirement or the system determines it from the WM movement type.

Storage Type Search

The system must now determine from which storage type the material should be picked. You define this information in the storage type search table. To make entries in this table, see the section on defining the storage type search sequence under Strategies in the Warehouse Management IMG documentation.

In the storage type search table, you can define a search sequence with up to ten storage types. (Be sure to enter an A for stock removal in the Act. column.) The list of storage types is hierarchical, that is, the system searches for the material in the first storage type, then in the second storage type, and so on. An entry of *** for the storage type means that the system searches throughout the entire warehouse for the oldest stock. The table entry that the system uses for this search depends on the material being removed from storage.

You can group materials together by a storage type indicator so that the system uses the same search sequence and removes materials from the same storage type or types. To implement this you define a:

Storage Bin Search

Once the storage type has been determined, the system then searches within the storage type to find an appropriate storage bin from which the material can be removed. To find a storage bin, the system uses a search strategy that has been defined for the storage type. For each storage type you can define one picking strategy.

Customer-defined Strategy

To use customer-defined strategies, you must select the User exit active field in the Stock Removal Control section of the appropriate storage type record. For instructions, see the section on Developing function extensions in the Warehouse Management IMG documentation.