If you are not using the Warehouse Management System, the storage location is the lowest level of inventory management in the system. In the Inventory Management (IM) component, the storage location is defined as the location of physical stock in a plant.
When you implement the Warehouse Management System (WMS) in a plant, you define the Individual warehouses as storage types within a warehouse complex and group them together under a warehouse number. As a rule, it is not necessary to define several storage locations for a plant since you assign the WMS warehouse number to a storage location from Inventory Management (IM).
You can also manage stock for several plants in the same warehouse at the same time. In this case, the same warehouse number is assigned to the storage locations for these plants.
The warehouse structure in Warehouse Management
| Inclined to build a profession as SAP MM Developer? Then here is the blog post on, explore "SAP MM Training" |
The warehouse number uniquely identifies the warehouse in a plant
Storage Type A storage type is a storage area, warehouse facility, or warehouse zone that you define in Warehouse Management (WM) for a warehouse number. This is a physical or logical subdivision of a warehouse complex.
Bulk storage --> Open Storage --> High rack storage --> Picking area --> Shelf Storage
You can also define storage types in WM that is shared by both the Inventory Management (IM) and Warehouse Management (WM) application components. These are called interim storage areas Storage Section A storage section is an organizational subdivision of a storage type that groups together storage bins with similar features for the purpose of putting away stock. The criteria for grouping bins can be defined on a user-
individual basis, for example, heavy parts, bulky materials, fast-moving items, and slow-moving items.
Picking Area: A picking area is a section within a storage type in which all picking activities are carried out in the same way. The picking area group’s storage bins together from the viewpoint of picking strategies and is a counterpart to the storage section, which group bins from the viewpoint of putting away strategies. Storage Bin A storage type generally contains several storage spaces or slots. These are called storage bins in Warehouse Management (WM). The storage bin is the smallest available unit of space in a warehouse. The storage bin, therefore, describes the position in the warehouse where the goods are or can be stored. Since the address of a storage bin is frequently derived from a coordinate system, a storage bin is often referred to as a coordinate. The coordinate 01-02-03 for example can refer to a storage bin in row 1, stack 2, and level 3. Creating Storage Bins
You can create one storage bin manually or you can group a range of storage bins with similar characteristics and define them simultaneously.
To create a group of storage bins with similar characteristics, you define a template with the coordinate structure as follows:
1. To display a list of all previously defined templates, from the SAP menu choose Logistics--> Logistics Execution --> Master Data --> Warehouse --> Storage Bin --> Create -->Automatically.
2. To create a new template, choose New Entries.
3. Enter the warehouse number, storage type, and current number in the first section of the screen. For the current number, enter any number that has not been used previously.
4. In the “Bin definition” section of the screen, enter values to define the template and coordinates of the storage bins that you want to create. For more information on how to enter data for defining the storage bin coordinate structure, see the example.
5. You define the characteristics of all storage bins in the “Additional data” section of the screen. As a minimum, you must enter a storage section, storage bin type, and maximum weight. Save the characteristics of data.
6. To generate the coordinates, choose Environment --> Create bins. The system displays a screen with the storage bin characteristics and the coordinates of all the bins that will be generated based on your entries.
7. If the data is incorrect, return to the data entry screen, make the necessary corrections, and save the data again. If the data is correct, choose to Create online to create the storage bins or Create by batch input to create the bins later in batch mode.
Example: Creating Several Storage Bins
If you chose to create the storage bins in batch mode, the system returns to the data entry screen with a message stating that a batch session was created. Make a note of the batch session name for subsequent processing.
Example: Creating Several Storage Bins
To create the following series of storage bins (coordinates)
02-1-020 02-2-020 03-1-020 03-2-020 02-1-040 02-2-040 03-1-040 03-2-040
You complete the Bin Definition section of the automatic bin creation screen in the following manner:
Template: The template field is used to specify the numeric and non-numeric characters from which bin coordinates are built.
N represents a variable numeric value. --> C represents a constant. --> A represents ascending alphabetic values.
Note: Two alphabetic variables (2 A’s) cannot be entered next to each other.
Structure: The structure field is used to group together the numeric characters (N-values of the template) into individual variable sections. These sections are counted by the system. You must enter the numeric characters in exactly the same positions as the alphabetic characters in the template.
Start value: This data field specifies the storage bin to be created first in a range of storage bins.
End value: This data field specifies the storage bin to be created last in a range of storage bins.
Increment: In this data field, you define the increment for the individual variables (N or A) in the template.
Quant: This is the stock of any material with the same features in one storage bin. The system manages different batches of material in different quantities. The quantity of a quant can be increased by an addition to existing stock. Quants can be created or deleted solely through goods movements.
The quants serve to manage stocks at the storage bin level. When you store goods in an empty storage bin in WM, the system automatically creates a quant in this bin.
The system automatically assigns a quant number.
The quant is automatically deleted by the system when the material quantity is picked.
Related Articles of SAP MM
You liked the article?
Like: 0
Vote for difficulty
Current difficulty (Avg): Medium
TekSlate is the best online training provider in delivering world-class IT skills to individuals and corporates from all parts of the globe. We are proven experts in accumulating every need of an IT skills upgrade aspirant and have delivered excellent services. We aim to bring you all the essentials to learn and master new technologies in the market with our articles, blogs, and videos. Build your career success with us, enhancing most in-demand skills in the market.
