Packaging Materials 

Definition

Packaging materials are used to enclose or hold together the packaged goods. You can pack the packaged goods into or onto the packaging material. The packaging material can be a load carrier. The most important packaging materials are, for example, crates, boxes, containers, wire baskets, and pallets.

Use

For each packaging material that you want to use, you must maintain product master data.

The gross weight and the volume that you enter in the product master are particularly important for packing. If you create a handling unit, the master data for the packaging material is automatically adopted, and the gross weight and volume become the tare weight and/or tare volume of the handling unit.

The tare weight and tare volume refer to the gross weight and volume of the packaging material. In the case of a container, for example, this is the tare weight of the unloaded container (the total weight of the container minus any goods and packaging materials packed into it).

Structure

If you choose the Global Data view in the product master record, you can maintain the following data in the Packing Data screen section (you access product maintenance from the SAP menu. To do this, choose Extended Warehouse Management ® Master Data ® Product ® Maintain Product):

Section Basic Data: Packing:

·        Packing group

·        Reference product for similarly packable products

·        Standard HU type

Section Basic Data: Packaging Material:

·        Packaging material type

·        Handling unit type

Section Capacities

·        Maximum allowed weight

·        Excess weight tolerance for the handling unit

·        Tare weight variable

·        Maximum allowed volume

·        Excess volume tolerance for the handling unit

·        Packaging material is closed packaging

·        Maximum level (by volume)

·        Maximum allowed capacity for the packaging material

·        Excess capacity tolerance for the handling unit

·        Maximum packing length of a packaging material

·        Maximum allowed packing width for the packaging material

·        Maximum packing height of a packaging material

You can find exact details about the function of the individual fields in the field help.

Integration

Packaging materials are a special type of product that can be used for packing or transporting goods. During packing, you must always enter a packaging material so that the system can create a handling unit .