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“When the system says the item is there, I still send someone to check first.” By then at the latest, storage bins are missing in the system.
S/4HANA Core Logistics · MM and SD
S/4HANA Core Logistics: purchasing, sales and stock in the SAP standard
Many sites do not need a warehouse system of their own. Purchase orders, goods receipt, deliveries and stock at storage location level run in the S/4HANA standard. We set up logistics so that it holds, and recognise early when a warehouse system is due.
01
In short: what is S/4HANA Core Logistics?
By Core Logistics we mean the logistics functions that every S/4HANA comes with. They include purchasing and inventory management, called materials management (MM) at SAP, as well as sales and distribution (SD).
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Purchasing orders, goods receipt posts the delivery, and the stock is in the system, per plant and storage location. On the sales side, the customer order becomes a delivery and the delivery a goods issue. Picking is done directly from the delivery.
What the standard does not know are storage bins. S/4HANA knows that 200 cartons are in the storage location “Shipping”. In which rack, it does not know. For many sites that is not a problem, because the staff know their warehouse. As the site grows, this overview is lost.
Core Logistics is also the basis on which every further system builds. EWM and LGM, too, work with the purchase orders, sales orders and deliveries from S/4HANA.
02
When the standard is enough
A warehouse system of its own only pays off when the warehouse needs more control than the staff can carry in their heads. Until then, the standard is often the leaner solution, with less customising and less maintenance.
The standard is often enough for
- manageable warehouses where everyone knows where everything is
- few items or large packaging units
- picking directly from the delivery
- sites without equipment and without scanner-guided processes
Time for the next step with
- storage bins, putaway and removal strategies or scanner processesEWM Basic
- external warehouses and smaller sites that want to introduce storage bins with manageable effort, or where warehouse and shipping belong togetherSAP Logistics Management
- conveyor systems, shuttles or many different processesSAP EWM
03
What the S/4HANA standard can do in logistics
Can S/4HANA handle purchase orders and goods receipts?
Yes. From the purchase order and the order confirmation to the goods receipt with a check against the purchase order. The stock is in the system immediately.
How precisely does S/4HANA know the stock?
At the level of plant and storage location, with batches and serial numbers if required. On which place in the rack something is, S/4HANA does not know without a warehouse system. Storage bins are only managed by a warehouse system, SAP Logistics Management for smaller sites, EWM for complex warehouses.
Can S/4HANA pick without a warehouse system?
Yes, via the delivery. Staff pick according to the delivery note, the picked quantity is confirmed and the goods issue posted.
Do stock transfers between sites work?
Yes. Transfers between storage locations and plants run in the standard, also with a delivery and transport time between the sites.
Is there physical inventory in the standard?
Yes, as annual, continuous or sampling inventory at storage location level.
Are there modern user interfaces for it?
Yes. For purchasing, inventory management and shipping, S/4HANA comes with Fiori apps, also for tablets. Where the standard does not fit the workplace, we develop our own apps. More on the SAP Fiori page.
04
How you can tell that the standard is no longer enough
The transition rarely comes with a bang. Usually it shows in everyday work, long before anyone turns it into a project.
Bins are kept in Excel.
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Where everything is sits in a list next to SAP and is never quite up to date.
Pick lists are sorted by hand.
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Only those who walk the warehouse every day know the sequence.
New staff need weeks.
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The knowledge about the warehouse is in people's heads.
The wish for scanners comes up.
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Without storage bins in the system there is little a scanner could check.
The next step does not have to be a big project. EWM Basic is part of S/4HANA without an additional licence and runs in the same system. For external warehouses and smaller sites, SAP Logistics Management brings storage bins as a cloud application. In both cases the ERP stays as it is.
05
What we see again and again in the S/4HANA standard
Master data carries everything.
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Without a warehouse system of its own, even more depends on the material master, storage location and purchasing info record. Before we talk about new functions, we tidy up there.
The standard can do more than is used.
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Many companies work in S/4HANA as they used to in the old ERP, with the same transactions and the same lists. Fiori apps and new standard functions lie idle, although they have long been licensed.
The step to a warehouse system is planned too late.
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Whether a warehouse system is due is often decided when a new hall is built or at the first automation. Then time is short. That is why we raise the question early, while there is still time for a clean decision.
06
How we support in the S/4HANA standard
We set up logistics in the standard so that it fits warehouse and shipping, and keep the way to a warehouse system open.
Consulting & analysis
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System selection: standard, EWM Basic or LGM, fit-to-standard workshops for purchasing, inventory management and shipping
SAP implementation
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MM and SD in S/4HANA, master data cleansing, data migration, training
Extension & development
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Fiori apps for goods receipt, stock transfers and shipping, where the standard does not fit the workplace
Hypercare & further development
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Support after go-live, spot consulting, further development of the logistics processes in the standard
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FAQs
Frequently asked questions about logistics in the S/4HANA standard
Is S/4HANA enough for us, or do we need a warehouse system of our own?
If stock is only kept at storage location level and there are few processes in the warehouse, the S/4HANA standard is often enough. If the system should know on which place something is, or if picking strategies and conveyor systems are to be controlled, you need a warehouse system. Where the line is, we clarify in a conversation.
What is the difference between a storage location and a storage bin?
The storage location is an area, such as “Raw material” or “Shipping”. The storage bin is the single compartment in the rack. S/4HANA knows the storage location, only a warehouse system knows the storage bin.
Can we switch to EWM later without re-implementing S/4HANA?
Yes. EWM Basic runs in the same S/4HANA system. The switch concerns the warehouse, the ERP stays as it is.
Does Flowprime also do pure purchasing or sales projects?
Our focus is on warehouse and production logistics. We take on purchasing and order processing above all where they supply warehouse and production, but then completely.
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