Exceptions: differences, damage and the unexpected

Real receipts are rarely perfect. Lakeside ships 1,080 kits instead of 1,200. A carton falls off the forklift. A pallet arrives with the wrong label. EWM handles these through exception codes: short codes a user enters, or the system raises, that record what went wrong and trigger a defined reaction. The reaction decides the stock and financial effect, so exceptions are where inbound tests earn their keep.

How exception codes are set up

Each exception code is assigned to a business context (the process, for example confirming a putaway task) and an execution step (the working environment, for example RF confirmation of the destination bin or desktop processing). That assignment limits which codes appear where, which matters on a small scanner screen. Codes then carry follow-on actions: an internal process code that tells the program what to do (such as adjusting the delivery quantity or finding a new bin), a workflow (for example to trigger a physical inventory document), a status change (such as blocking a bin or handling unit), or an alert.

Quantity differences

When the counted quantity differs from the expected quantity, the worker confirms the task with the actual quantity and an exception code. The code decides who carries the difference. SAP's training configuration illustrates two common reactions: a code that treats the difference as the supplier's (the inbound delivery quantity is reduced and goods receipt corrected; SAP's example code is DIFD) and a code that treats it as the warehouse's (the difference is posted to a difference account and cleared later through the difference analyzer; example code DIFW). Your project defines its own codes; the business decision behind them is what testers must verify.

Damaged goods and unclear stock

Damage found at the dock is a different case. The goods exist, but they are not usable. Contoso's design sends damaged cartons to the clarification zone 9030 with a posting change to blocked stock, and Marcus decides within two days whether to return them to Lakeside, scrap them or release them. A return to the supplier is processed as a return delivery from purchasing; scrapping is a separate goods movement. Each path has its own stock and financial effect, so each is its own test case.

Other inbound exceptions worth a test

• Proposed bin full or blocked: the driver enters an exception and EWM proposes another bin.
• Over-delivery: more arrives than ordered; tolerances on the purchase order decide whether receipt is allowed.
• Wrong product: received against the wrong item; the right fix is usually a correction before putaway, not a later stock adjustment.
• Partial receipt: 300 now, 200 next week; the delivery stays open and the PO history shows both.