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Empowering the Warehouse Worker:Handheld Equipment Increase Warehouse Performance
SBN, October 2015
Thomas Klyvø
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Content
• Get an overview of tools and techniques proven to improve warehouse productivity by empowering the warehouse
worker
• Attend this session for lessons to:
– Understand the potential of empowering your warehouse workers
– Learn how to extend SAP ERP warehouse management barcode transactions to equip warehouse staff with more
capabilities
– Empower warehouse workers to conduct ad hoc task handling by leveraging the radio frequency (RF) framework
in SAP EWM
– Establish an effective warehouse management performance framework that tracks critical KPIs
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What We’ll Cover
Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the RF framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
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Why the Need for Empowerment?
?• In todays economy, top managers are demanding lowered
operating costs and improved performance
• At the same time, the western world is experiencing increased
international competition from countries with low labor cost
• This leads to demands for cost effective operations
– Higher degree of process automation
– Better utilization of FTE resources
– Working smarter – Rather than harder
• Through RF empowerment, you allow your warehouse workers to
supply your warehouse operations with intelligence and execution
power
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Mobile Equipment Is the Key
Wifi Antenna
Barcode Scanner
Keyboard
Display
• Todays “mobile revolution” is not just for telephones
• Small handheld devices – Preferably with a barcode or RFID scanner – Put
great power of execution into the hand of the warehouse worker
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SAP Mobile
• The SAP ERP Warehouse Management
and SAP EWM solutions offer a wide
range of warehouse transactions which
can be executed by warehouse workersusing a mobile device
• Using these mobile transactions, you
perform warehouse movements by
scanning bin labels, pallet barcodes, and
material numbers
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“Static” WM Is Simply Too Inflexible
The transfer order (moving goods in the warehouse) is a static object when executed without RF equipment
Start Picking,
Create TO
Pick with TO as
pick list Pack Load Goods Issue
Deviations?
Go to terminal to
correct.
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The Advantages of Using Mobile Warehouse Equipment
• Paper-free warehouse – Fast and accessible
• Quick and error free data entry through scanning
• Make online process registrations and perform
deviation handling as the processes are actually taking
place
• Effective handling of unique Load Carriers (HU) and,
therefore, effective warehouse traceability
• Failsafe processes due to inline data-check
(a must-have within the pharma, food, and beverage
industries)
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What We’ll Cover
Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the radio frequency framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
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The Technical Enablers …
• ITS mobile – A Web-based solution for porting
SAP transactions to mobile devices
• Runs on any device capable of running a
Web browser with JavaScript support
• “Translates” normal SAP GUI to Web-based
graphical screens (HTML and JavaScript)
• With the ITS mobile solution, you are executingonline SAP transactions from the warehouse floor
– and need WIFI access whenever a transaction
is executed
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All Warehouse Movements Can Be Carried
Out with RF
• Put-away of P.O.
• Staging to Production
• Put-away from Production
• Replenishment of pick-bin
• Picking of Delivery
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Using the Mobile Menu, Performing Tasks
• Warehouse workers access customizable menus on RF
• Jobs (TOs) presented to user automatically or by manual selection
• TOs confirmed by scanning bin-number, pallet number, etc.
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RF Empowerment in SAP ECC
• Most standard RF transactions are TO confirmation
– Picking of outbound delivery
– Put away of purchased goods
– Performing replenishment (internal movement)
– Staging to production
• Standard RF also provides:
– Online entry of differences during confirmations
– Physical counting of existing inventory documents
– Pallet loading
– Lookup of material or pallet data
• RF empowerment in standard SAP is about::
– Allowing the warehouse worker to influence task execution
– Performing entire processes from the warehouse floor
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Empower Your Warehouse Workers by
Letting Them Influence the Work Execution from the RF Terminal
In standard SAP ECC WM, the worker can influence
the TO confirmation process by difference handling
• Register that not all products needed for picking
were available
– Have the SAP system automatically move thewrong stock quantity to a “Lost & Found” bin
• Register that you are simply picking more, or less,
than the Transfer Order asks for
– E.g., to actually move a full container, even though
less is needed
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Registering Differences in TO Execution
• When confirming a movement in the standard RF
transactions, clicking the “Diff” button will allow the
user to pick a different quantity
Note: Correcting larger stock level errors can take several iterations this way!
• The user enters a one letter difference indicator,
which controls one of two behaviors:
– The entered difference is adjusted from stock (to“lost & found”)
– Picked Quantity is simply changed (no stock
adjustment)
E Y W h W k b
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Empower Your Warehouse Workers by
Letting Them Perform Complete Processes from RF Terminals
Utilizing Inbound Deliveries is a sometimes overlooked functionality that
highly extends the functionality of inbound Logistics!
• Most warehouse movements start or end by an IM movement
• Besides the actual picking and put-away tasks, Goods Issue and
Goods Receipt posting is also possible with RF – With some limitations
– GR/GI is only available in connection with deliveries
– Goods issue to production, only if staging through outbound deliveries
– Goods receipt of purchase orders, only if using Inbound Deliveries
GI/GR WM GR/GI
C l t G d R i t f th W h
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Complete Goods Receipt from the Warehouse
Floor Using Inbound Deliveries
• Goods receipt of a purchase order directly is not covered by standard RF transactions
• Using inbound deliveries in the inbound process allows you to complete the entire GR process using RF equipment
GR
GRTo
To
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Performing Goods Receipt Using RF Equipment
Purchase Order Created
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Performing Goods Receipt Using RF Equipment (cont.)
Inbound Delivery created by ASN, by background job, or manually
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The Delivery Is Completely Processed on RF Terminal
The Warehouse Worker initiates the Goods receipt
process by creating TOs for the Inbound Delivery
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The Delivery Is Completely Processed on RF Terminal (cont.)
TOs are created and the Warehouse worker picks up the
goods, identified by pallet number or product label
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Registering Differences During Actual Put Away
Differences discovered during the put away are entered by
pressing “Diff” (Changing put-away quantity from 50 to 45 Ea)
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Goods Receipt Posted on the RF Device (After Put Away)
And the
received
quantity can
be automati-
cally updated
back into
the del.
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Advantages of RF with Inbound Deliveries
• All processes related to the Goods Receipt are carried out on the RF device
(no need to access an office terminal)
• Any differences discovered during put away are registered in real-time
• Actual GR posting does not take place until after put away
• GR done on the actually received quantities
Inbound deliveries can be created by electronically receiving an Advanced Shipping
Notification from the vendor with detailed information of the products that have been
shipped:
• Actual quantities sent
• Vendor batch number
• Packaging data (SSCC takeover, etc.)
Note: SSCC = Serial Shipping Container Code
Further Standard Empowerment – Allow Users to Perform Ad Hoc
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Further Standard Empowerment Allow Users to Perform Ad Hoc
Physical Counting
• “Dynamic Cycle Counting” is available in
SAP ERP 6.0, EHP 7
• Allows user to:
– Create and post counting results on the fly
– Flag bins with open TOs for counting (and
automatically have the bin blocked for
counting when the last TO is confirmed)
• Users can correct stock-count errors as soon
as they are discovered
• Users can utilize any spare time for
spreading out the physical Inventory effort
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A Great Use of RF Execution in Standard SAP ERP
• Utilize the RF availability during picking to spread out your Inventory count effort with “Zero Stock Check”
G GIGR
• During Picking, the system quantity goes to Zero. User
is prompted to perform a “Zero Stock Check.”
• User enters any remaining quantity (or confirms zero)and the bin is marked as counted in SAP
• Dramatically increased stock accuracy
• Lower year-end counting cost
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What We’ll Cover
Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the radio frequency framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
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Extend Standard SAP with Missing RF Transactions
• Why SAP standard is not enough for most
warehouses
– Ad hoc warehouse movements
– Blocking/unblocking of bin, products, or
pallet
– Maintenance of master data by RF
– GI to production/Cost Center/Project, etc.
– GR of purchase orders (without Inbound
delivery)
– ID and re-print pallet labels
– Adding additional process checks
• Missing transactions are programmed in
ABAP, added to the RF menu, and
translated into HTML
Don’t be afraid of
extending standard SAPwith your own RF
transactions
1. Inbound Proc. >
2. Outbound Proc. >
3. Ad Hoc Move >
4. Inquiries >
5. Master Data >
6. Int. Whs. Proc. >
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The movement is started by scanning the bin number,
material number, or pallet number (Storage Unit)
By making a data lookup, the quants that can be moved
are shown. User selects the product and bin from the list.
The available quantity is displayed. Movement of
more than is available is not possible. In the
background, the material is moved to a transit bin.
Example of a Developed Transaction – Ad Hoc Movement
The destination bin label is scanned
and the movement is completed
Other Examples of RF Transactions Created
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in Previous Projects
• Reprint pallet labels
– ID the pallet by scanning the bin and selecting from a list or by scanning the non-missing labels
• Change picking strategy, put-away strategy, or palletization data of a material from terminal – ID product by scanning product EAN label, SAP product number, or by scanning pallet or bin number
• Let the user overview picking queues (and number of open TOs)
– Select queue and TO to execute from list instead of “system guided”
• Post Goods Issue to production
– Scanning: Product number, Batch number, or the Storage Unit
• Various checks: Batch to delivery, Product to HU and more.
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What We’ll Cover
Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the radio frequency framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
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EWM – Built for RF Execution
• ERP WM – Built for one step (static) movements
• EWM – Built for multiple step (dynamic) movements
Transfer Orders
• One source.
• One Destination.
• One movement.
GGR
ERP WM
• Warehouse Tasks
Unload QI/DC Put-away
• Movement evolves as it goes along
GGR
EWM
QI
DC
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Comparing RF Functionality – EWM vs. ERP WM
Mobile Warehouse Functionality ERP EWM
Loading and Unloading + +
Deconsolidation - +
Pack and GR of inbound delivery + +
Confirmation Correction - +
Put away + +
Picking + +
Block storage bin - +
Pack and Goods Issue of outbound delivery + ++
Execution of planned Physical Inventory + +
Interleaving execution + ++
Stock, HU, and order query + ++
Ad Hoc packaging + ++
Ad Hoc movement - +
Ad Hoc Physical Inventory + -/+
Handling of differences in the picking process + ++
Other exception handling - ++
S
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Standard RF Framework in EWM
• RF framework looks similar to the ERP framework
– Conceptual addition of “Resources”
– Possibility added to perform flexible screen design – New standard functionality for data lookup during execution
• New standard Ad Hoc transactions added
– Move HU or material
• New concept for handling deviations introduced
– Confirmation correction
– Deviation handling through exception codes
EWM Ad H T ti
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EWM Ad Hoc Transaction
• Ad hoc movements
have been added tothe standard RF
portfolio in SAP EWM
• Move both HUs or
products
• In addition, tasks and
stock queries of HUs,
products, and bins
are available during
most RF movements
Get in Control of Process Deviations in EWM
ith E ti C d
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with Exception Codes
• With EWM, “Process Exceptions” enter the RF environment through 4 letter exception codes
• Exception Codes are configured in the system and are a way for the warehouse worker to register process
deviations
• Based on the exception codes, the system can perform a number of follow-up tasks
– Create/change the warehouse task(s)
– Change status for the bin or the Handling Unit
– Change the quantities of the referencing delivery document (e.g., reduce delivered quantity)
– Start additional processes through SAP Workflow (replenishment, mail notification, etc.)
– Notify warehouse supervisors by raising warehouse alerts
Exception Codes Are Entered During RF
E ti t R i t D i ti
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Execution to Register Deviations
Enter “LIST” in the Exception Code field to get a list of all relevant Exception
Codes for the current process step
A process deviation process is started by entering a 4 letter Exception Code
Entry of Exception Code
Example – Splitting Pick-Task to Multiple
Pallets
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Pallets
For a delivery, we need to pick 5 EA of product T-EWM300
Pick HU “Pallet” created As the quantity is to be confirmed, picker
realizes that pick HU will only hold 3 EA
Example – Splitting Pick-Task to Multiple
Pallets (cont )
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Pallets (cont.)
If warehouse worker cannot remember the process code to use, he can get
them displayed in a selection list
Picker brings up list of exception codes
(LIST)
“Warehouse Task Split” is selected
Example – Splitting Pick-Task to Multiple
Pallets (cont )
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Pallets (cont.)
The warehouse task is split into two
Split Quantity is entered … and confirmed
Example – Splitting Pick-Task to Multiple
Pallets (cont )
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Pallets (cont.)
The remaining quantity has automatically been moved to another task that is
automatically processed
User wants to create a new pick HU, enters
Exception code CHHU
User enters packaging material “PALLET”
and has a new HU created
Example – Splitting Pick-Task to Multiple
Pallets (cont )
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Pallets (cont.)
A new HU is created as part of the picking process and the task is confirmed
User confirms the remaining pick to the new
HU
All process deviations were carried out
without leaving the picking process
Confirmation Correction with RF
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Confirmation Correction with RF
With “Confirmation Correction,” you can even change processes that have already been confirmed from the
mobile equipment!
GR
Inbound Del11 PC
11 PC11 PC
10 PC 10 PC
10 PC
1. Inbound delivery of 11 PC is received and put-away task is initiated
2. From GR Zone, the pallet is taken into Storage
and placement is confirmed
3. After stock placement, it is discovered that pallet
only contains 10 pc
4. User enters Confirmation Correction, IDs the task,
and corrects the quantity to 10 pc
5. EWM executes the confirmation Correction back
to the Inbound Delivery and the Goods Received
quantity is corrected
What Is Achieved with Exception Codes and Confirmation Correction?
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What Is Achieved with Exception Codes and Confirmation Correction?
Warehouse workers are given the option to solve
everyday deviations and errors as they are
discovered
• No flow interruption
• Errors corrected as they occur(and while we still know what went wrong)
• Higher stock accuracy
• Small errors are solved by small effort
(not the other way around)
Other Advanced Utilization of RF Execution in EWM
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Other Advanced Utilization of RF Execution in EWM
• In SAP EWM, the continuous inventory method
“Zero stock check” has been replaced by a “Low
stock check” to ensure earlier error correction
• Additionally, a number of functionalities have been
added that are utilizing the RF execution framework
– Opportunistic RF Cross-Docking
– Pick/Put-away Interleaving
– Resource Execution Constraints
Utilize RF – Cross-Docking, Making Put-Away
Process More Effective
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The standard put-away and picking process
GR GI
Put-away process with opportunistic cross-docking
GR GI
Only possible through RF, as the picking source is updated dynamically
1. GR posted, stock enters
warehouse
3. A new picking task can pick
from the stock
2. Stock put-away, available for
picking
1. Picking task exists
3. Existing Pick Task deleted,
Put-away directly to shipping
2. GR posted of prod.
Utilize RF – Interleaving Pick and Put Away
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g y
Reduce deadheading by defining a “Queue Execution Sequence” for Task Interleaving
GR
GI
Through system-guided execution,warehouse workers are assigned to
work tasks from changing queues
Utilize RF – Resource Execution Constraints
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Avoid waiting time by limiting the resource access to warehouse zones
• By knowing the position of each
RF device, SAP EWM can be
set up to avoid overloading
areas in the warehouse
• Utilizing the “real-time”environment of online RF
Alternatives to Normal RF Execution Are
“Hands Free”
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Hands free picking. Tasks
communicated through
headphones. Voice used for
confirmation.
Voice
picking
Hands free picking. Visual
indication of picking location and
quantity. Confirmation by
physical touch.
Pick by
light
What the Future Might Have in Store
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• Google Glass (and similar devices) is on its way to the warehouse
• Provides a heads up display in glasses – A wearable data screen
• SAP & Vuzix bring you augmented reality solutions
Source: http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444 June 2013
What the Future Might Have in Store (cont.)
http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/94444
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What the Future Might Have in Store (cont.)
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What We’ll Cover
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Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the radio frequency framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
What We’ll Cover
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Why the need for Warehouse Empowerment?
Utilize SAP Standard in SAP ERP WM RF transactions
Extend SAP ERP RF transactions to gain more online capabilities
Leverage the radio frequency framework in SAP EWM
Wrap-up
Where to Find More Information
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• http://help.sap.com/SCENARIOS_BUS2012/helpdata/EN/71/5f4296318f4493a815eebce7c0e7a6/frameset.htm
– Description and examples of Exception Handling
• http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444
– Video of Augmented Reality Solutions for the Enterprise by SAP & Vuzix
• www.supplychain247.com
– Survey on U.S. Warehouse Operations, October 2013
• http://help.sap.com/saphelp_scm70/helpdata/EN/f8/09302b46504a15980f2f5d713b3fd8/content.htm
– Information about SAP NetWeaver BI in SAP EWM
Your Turn!
http://help.sap.com/SCENARIOS_BUS2012/helpdata/EN/71/5f4296318f4493a815eebce7c0e7a6/frameset.htmhttp://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://www.supplychain247.com/http://help.sap.com/saphelp_scm70/helpdata/EN/f8/09302b46504a15980f2f5d713b3fd8/content.htmhttp://help.sap.com/saphelp_scm70/helpdata/EN/f8/09302b46504a15980f2f5d713b3fd8/content.htmhttp://www.supplychain247.com/http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://en.sap.info/sap-goes-wearable/9444http://help.sap.com/SCENARIOS_BUS2012/helpdata/EN/71/5f4296318f4493a815eebce7c0e7a6/frameset.htm
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How to contact me:
Thomas Klyvø
Disclaimer
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SAP, R/3, mySAP, mySAP.com, SAP NetWeaver®, Duet®, PartnerEdge, and other SAP products and services
mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany
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their respective companies. Wellesley Information Services is neither owned nor controlled by SAP.