When you process the picking strategy, you can round off the requested quantity in the transfer order item. In Customizing, you can switch this on in the storage type record in the Stock removal control section. You define the rounding quantity itself in the material data for the storage type.

Quantity rounding is advantageous in combination with picking strategy "M". For example, if pallet quantities, carton quantities or individual quantities are to be picked from a chain of three storage types, this can be attained by defining the rounding quantity and control quantity in the material master record as follows:

For the first storage type in the storage type search sequence (removal of a single piece) you enter the number of pieces in a carton minus one as the control quantity. You do not need to maintain the rounding quantity since this does not have to be rounded. For requested quantities that are greater or equal to a carton, the system will then skip over this storage type.

For the second storage type in the search sequence (removal of complete cartons) you enter the pallet quantity minus one as the control quantity in the material record. The rounding quantity is the carton quantity. For requested quantities that are greater than or equal to one pallet, the system skips this storage type. The system only generates transfer order items for complete cartons. For the remaining quantity (individual pieces) the system reenters the storage type search sequence and picks these from the first storage type.

You do not need to enter a control quantity in the material master for the third storage type in the search sequence (removal of complete pallets). The rounding quantity is the pallet quantity. The system only generates transfer order items for full pallets. For the remaining quantity, the system returns to the storage type sequence and picks from the first or second storage type.

For this logic, you should be aware of the two following points:

• The system does not round to zero. This means that if there are not enough individual pieces in the first storage type, a carton in the second storage type will be broken open.
• If the requested quantity is larger than the available quantity in a storage bin, it is not rounded. In other words, if a carton plus a few individual pieces are located in a bin in the second storage type and the requested quantity is larger, the bin will be emptied.