Lesson 2 of 5
Inspection at goods receipt from production
10 min
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The last line of defense before a product reaches customers is the inspection at goods receipt from production, inspection type 04. When the finished alternators are received from the production order, the system creates an inspection lot and posts the receipt into quality inspection stock, where sales cannot deliver it and production cannot consume it.
- Goods receipt (101)195 pc CMC-ALT-100 from the production order
- Lot createdInspection type 04: production order, material document, material and quantity on the lot
- Stock195 pc in quality inspection stock, plant 1710
- InspectFinal audit sample: labeling, packaging, functional spot check
- Usage decisionAccept → 321 to unrestricted; reject → 350 to blocked, or split
- AvailableAccepted stock can be delivered to Great Lakes Fleet Services
SAP Learning notes that this process works the same way as goods receipt inspection for purchased materials. The difference is the reference: the lot points to the production order instead of a purchase order item, and the follow-up for rejected stock is rework or scrap inside Contoso rather than a return to a supplier.
Too late? The early inspection lot
A lot created at goods receipt is often too late to capture results from earlier steps, such as checks before packaging. SAP Learning describes an option to create the goods receipt inspection lot early, when the production order is released. Results can be recorded during production; when the goods receipt is posted, the lot becomes stock-relevant and controls the stock.
| Standard 04 lot at goods receipt | Early 04 lot at release | |
|---|---|---|
| Created | When finished goods are received | When the production order is released |
| Results during production | Not possible on this lot | Possible |
| Inspection plan | Its own inspection plan | An independent inspection plan |
| Lots per order | One per goods receipt (depending on settings) | Only one per order |
| Visibility | Lot linked to the receipt | Early lot number is not shown in the production order |
In-process and goods receipt together
Plants often use both. The 03 lot documents quality during operations and posts no stock; the 04 lot controls whether finished goods can be used. Each lot must be closed with its own usage decision. Older SAP documentation for process industries describes exactly this double check: inspection during production, then an incoming inspection at goods receipt with its own plan, whose usage decision moves the stock.
| Question | In-process (03) | GR from production (04) |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers the lot? | Order release | Goods receipt (or release, for the early lot) |
| Where are characteristics? | Routing operations | Inspection plan or material specification |
| Does the UD move stock? | No | Yes, out of quality inspection stock |
| Main purpose | Catch defects during production | Control release of finished goods |
Two lot types on one production order.
Rejected finished goods still need a decision after the usage decision has blocked them: rework, scrap or, where the business allows it, use under a documented deviation. Whatever the route, the trail should start from blocked stock and show every following material document, so that nobody can later ask how a rejected alternator reached a customer. That trail is exactly what an auditor or a customer quality engineer will ask for.
What would you do?
The Detroit quality engineer rejects 5 of 195 alternators at the 04 inspection; the rest are fine. How should the usage decision be posted?
Walkthrough: the 04 lot for order 1001200
- The supervisor posts the goods receipt of 495 alternators from order 1001200 (movement 101,
MIGOor the confirmation with automatic goods receipt) into storage location 171B. - Because inspection type 04 is active, the 495 pieces arrive in quality inspection stock and lot 04 is created with the order and material document as references.
- The quality engineer records the final audit results and makes the usage decision with a stock posting: 490 to unrestricted (321), 5 to blocked (350).
- Check stock by type in
MMBE(or the Stock - Single Material app): 490 unrestricted, 5 blocked, 0 in inspection. - Only now can the 490 move on to putaway in the warehouse and be delivered.
- Inspection type 04 creates a lot at goods receipt from production and holds stock in quality inspection.
- The usage decision moves stock: 321 unrestricted, 350 blocked, or a split.
- An early 04 lot can be created at release to record results during production.
- 03 and 04 lots often coexist; each needs its own usage decision.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Where does a goods receipt from production go when inspection type 04 is active?
2. What is a drawback of the early goods receipt lot named by SAP Learning?
3. Which lot type moves stock with its usage decision?
4. After the production receipt in a test, the alternators show as unrestricted stock and no lot exists. What is the most likely cause?