Setting Up MFS for Case Conveyor Systems
You can use this procedure to set up the material flow system (MFS) for case conveyor systems.
Define PLC interface types. PLC interface types facilitate the settings for controls of a similar nature (for example, several stacker cranes with an identical interface).
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define a PLC in EWM for each real PLC with which EWM is to communicate.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define one or more communication channels for each PLC.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define communication point types. Consider whether you need a special processing for different communication points when telegrams of a certain type arrive.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define communication points. Each point in the system that is not a final storage bin and which EWM is to take into account as an interim step must be a communication point.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define communication point groups for aisle decision points. Each communication point assigned to a communication point group is synchronized during rough destination bin determination.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Assign an MFS-relevant storage type role to the storage types that represent the warehouse regulated by the controls. The following MFS-relevant storage type roles are available:
Prestorage area: H – Automatic Storage Retrieval (Material Flow Control)
High-rack storage area: J – Automatic Warehouse (Controlled by MFS)
Define whether the storage type is multi-depth or not.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define suitable activity areas. You use activity areas to control the assignment of warehouse tasks to queues. The controls defined in each case process the queues.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define an MFS queue for each PLC with the appropriate operation environment.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define a resource category for each resource type used. For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define aisles and levels accessible by communication point. Accessible aisles and levels are used in rough destination bin determination (see Putaway Strategy). You define the aisles and levels that are accessible by a communication point and the next destination communication point the HU is routed to.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define the required bin depth for HU types. Each HU type used in a multi-depth storage type must have a required bin depth.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under.
Define the maximum bin depth for storage bin types. Each storage bin must have a maximum bin depth. This information is either taken from the storage bin type, which you can maintain here, or it must be entered manually at storage bin level.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define abbreviations for MFS actions. Define function modules that the system is to invoke in the case of these actions. For more information about the function modules that are available for case conveyor systems, see MFS Actions for Case Conveyor Systems.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Clarify the telegram structures (record structure, telegram types) with the person responsible for the PLC and create the corresponding record structures in the ABAP dictionary. You can use the Object Navigator of the ABAP Workbench for this purpose, for example.
Define which telegram IDs the PLC expects or uses for the intended message types and which record structures it uses in each case.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define which action modules are to be invoked for which PLC telegrams.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define the required exceptions.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Assign PLC errors to the relevant telegram errors.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define the logical destinations for EWM.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define the logical destination for the PLC.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Define the routing of the case conveyor system.
For more information, see Customizing for Extended Warehouse Management
under .
Create storage bins for the communication points and assign these to the communication points. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Define sorting rules for the new storage bins. The system assigns warehouse tasks to warehouse orders. In MFS, this is always a 1:1 assignment. Nevertheless, an activity-related sort sequence is necessary for data-technical reasons. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Create a resource for each stacker crane and assign a queue to the resource. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Define which aisles and levels are handled by the resource. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Create a new RFC destination (TCP/IP connection). Define a program ID. You must set this in the external communication layer. The communication layer registers itself in the SAP system under this name. You can then invoke the communication layer from EWM.
On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Specify for each PLC whether you want to use the SAP communication layer SAP Plant Connectivity
or a different communication layer. Specify the name of the RFC destination and, where appropriate, the functions to be invoked in the external communication layer.
On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Set the IP address and port of the communication channels. The EWM system passes on these parameters to the external communication layer when the channel is opened. The communication layer is then in this respect maintenance-free. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
Start the communication channels. On the SAP Easy Access
screen, choose .
You can define MFS server groups at warehouse number level to have MFS processes in your EWM system run on defined application servers only. All processes started by MFS then run on the assigned servers.
To define the server groups, on the SAP Easy Access
screen choose .
Note
Make sure that dialog users do not log on to the system using this MFS server group. Processes that are started on another server group and trigger MFS actions can run on a server group other than the MFS server group.