With this picking strategy the FIFO principle is overridden in order to optimize the management of stock in the warehouse. The number of storage units with partial quantities in the storage type is reduced to as few as possible. This strategy is appropriate only when
- standard storage unit types are used for stock placement (the same quantity of a material for a specific storage unit type)
- partial storage unit quantities are less than the standard storage unit quantities
Within a storage type there are two different types of quants:
- quant in an amount that is normally contained on the standard storage unit, according to the storage unit type defined in the material master record
- quant in an amount that is smaller than the standard storage unit. This is known as a partial storage unit quantity. A quant that is larger than a standard storage unit should not occur.
When the system searches for a quant, it follows these steps:
- If the required quantity in the transfer order is the same or greater than the quantity of a standard storage unit, the system attempts to remove a standard storage unit from stock.
- If no standard storage units are available, partial storage unit quantities are used.
- If the required quantity in the transfer order is less than the quantity of the standard storage unit, the system first tries to remove partial storage unit quantities from the stock.
- If no partial storage unit quantities are available, full storage units are broken.
The search for full storage units is carried out according to the FIFO principle.