Capacity Check (SAP Library - Warehouse Management System (WMS))

Capacity Check

Use

For some putaway strategies, it is advantageous to run a capacity check for a storage bin when searching for a suitable bin. If you activate the capacity check, it means that during creation of a transfer order, the system checks whether the selected storage bin has the capacity to store the quantity that is to be put away.

Prerequisites

You can activate the capacity check on the basis of a storage type when you define the putaway strategy or the storage type in the Customizing for Warehouse Management. For more information about activating the capacity check, refer to the Implementation Guide (IMG) for Warehouse Management under Master Data ® Define Storage Type. To activate the capacity check, enter a number for the checking method in the Capacity check method field for the putaway strategy in the storage type record.

In order to control the capacity check according to capacity key figures, the following basic prerequisites must be met:

You have defined a capacity that is independent of dimension or unit (simply a number) for each storage bin.

You have defined a certain capacity usage per unit of measure in the material master.

You have defined a certain usage consumption per storage unit for each storage unit type (SUT) in the Customizing for Warehouse Management under Strategies ® Activate Storage Bin Type Search ® Definitions Storage unit type.

Features

The Warehouse Management system (WMS) can check the capacity of a storage bin on the basis of the following factors:

Weight

The weight of the material that is to be putaway is checked on the basis of the remaining weight capacity of the storage bin.

Storage unit type

You can stipulate that the storage bin can contain only one standard storage unit type. This is taken from the first SUT field under Palletization data in the material master record.

Maximum quantity for a storage bin in the storage type

You can define the maximum quantity of material that can be put away for each storage type. This procedure is often used for the fixed bin strategy.

Capacity key figure (see below)

- Capacity usage check according to material
- Capacity usage check according to storage unit type (SUT)
- Capacity usage check according to the sum of material and SUT

Recommendation

We recommend that you implement a capacity check for the "fixed bin storage" and "addition to existing stock" putaway strategies. For bulk storage, capacity checking is carried out in the block definition.

Capacity Check According to Capacity Indicator

You can also use a capacity indicator to control the putaway of material in a storage bin. Depending on the capacity check you select, the system calculates the capacity usage differently.

The capacity usage for the material is calculated on the basis of the quant (the quantity of a material with the same characteristics), as in example 1.

For SUT checks, the system calculates the capacity usage based on the storage unit type (example 2).

For mixed storage situations, we recommend using the capacity check that is based on the sum of the material and the storage unit type. In SU-managed storage types, each storage unit counts as a separate SUT; in non-SU-managed storage types, each quant counts as a separate SUT.

This graphic is explained in the accompanying text

Since the capacity usage of a material depends on the quantity of the material, it is characterized as a variable in the system and is updated in the quant. The capacity usage of an SUT is characterized as constant capacity usage and is updated in the storage unit in SU-managed storage types and in the quant in non-SU-managed storage types.

Data from quants and storage units are updated for each storage bin as remaining capacity. This remaining capacity is recorded in the empty bin index. This means you can find an occupied storage bin with a certain remaining capacity quickly and simply (for example, with a customer exit).

Caution

Before the first putaway, you need to define the type of capacity check and the capacity usage of material and storage unit types. Changes that are made to these parameters afterwards cause automatic changes to storage bins, storage units and quants.

If you make these kinds of changes in the operational system, you must then run report RLS10200 to adjust the occupied capacities for bins, storage units and quants. For more information on this topic, see the report documentation.

For a full explanation of the three Customizing options using a neutral indicator, see Capacity Check According to Capacity Indicator.