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Lesson 2 of 5

Picking and packing

10 min

Once a delivery exists, the warehouse has to pick the goods, often pack them, and confirm what was actually picked. How this is done in SAP depends heavily on which warehouse solution a plant uses. As a key user or tester you need to know which one applies before you write a single test step.

Picking

Picking means taking the goods from their storage location and staging them for shipment. In SAP the delivery item carries a picking quantity and a picking status. The delivery is not ready for goods issue until the relevant items are fully picked, unless the item category is set as not relevant for picking (as for some service or text items).

The picking location, that is the storage location goods are taken from, is determined when the delivery is created, typically from the plant, the shipping point and a storage condition on the product. For Contoso, CMC-ALT-100 is picked from storage location 171A in Detroit.

Inventory Management onlyStock is managed by storage location. Picking is confirmed by entering the picked quantity in the delivery (VL02N picking tab) or in the Pick Outbound Delivery app.
Stock Room ManagementA simple bin-level option in SAP S/4HANA for small warehouses, based on the classic warehouse functions.
Embedded or decentralized EWMExtended Warehouse Management takes over picking and packing with warehouse requests and warehouse tasks; goods issue is posted from EWM and updates the delivery.
Who confirms picking depends on the warehouse solution in the plant.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-204

Classic Warehouse Management (LE-WM), which many ECC customers used with transfer orders, is part of SAP's compatibility scope in SAP S/4HANA and is not the target architecture. Contoso's program must decide whether Detroit moves to Stock Room Management or EWM. Check the current compatibility scope note for your release before planning on LE-WM.

Picking without a warehouse system

  1. Open the delivery in VL02N (or the Pick Outbound Delivery app).
  2. Go to the Picking tab and enter the picked quantity for each item, here 50 pieces of CMC-ALT-100 from 171A.
  3. Save. The picking status becomes fully picked, and the delivery is ready for goods issue.

If only 30 pieces can be found, the picker records 30. The delivery quantity can then be adjusted to the picked quantity, and the order keeps 20 pieces open for a later delivery, subject to the customer's partial delivery agreement.

Picking with EWM

In a plant managed by EWM, the outbound delivery in the sales system is mirrored by a warehouse request in EWM. Warehouse tasks move stock from bins to a staging area, often using mobile devices. When picking and packing are complete, goods issue is posted in EWM and the result flows back to the delivery. For testing this means two things: the delivery's picking status is updated by EWM, not by a user in the delivery, and part of the evidence lives in EWM documents.

  1. Delivery createdOrder 1000457 → delivery 80001234; a warehouse request is created in EWM
  2. Wave or task creationEWM creates warehouse tasks to pick 50 pieces from storage bins
  3. Pick confirmationPickers confirm tasks on mobile devices; stock moves to the staging area
  4. PackGoods are packed into handling units at a packing station
  5. Goods issue in EWMEWM posts goods issue; the delivery status and inventory in SAP S/4HANA are updated
Outbound processing when EWM manages the warehouse.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-sd-204

Packing and handling units

Packing assigns delivery items to handling units (HUs): a physical unit made of packaging material, such as a pallet or a carton, plus its contents. Each HU has its own identification number, which can be printed on a label and scanned later. In the delivery, the Pack function lets you create HUs and assign quantities to them; EWM does the same at the packing station.

Contoso packing resultDetail
HU 1: pallet24 pieces CMC-ALT-100, weight from product master data plus pallet weight
HU 2: pallet24 pieces CMC-ALT-100
HU 3: carton2 pieces CMC-ALT-100
Delivery total50 pieces in 3 HUs; gross weight and volume updated in the delivery header

Packing 50 alternators into handling units. Quantities are illustrative.

Packing is optional in SAP unless configuration makes it mandatory for the delivery item category. If Contoso's customers require HU labels on every pallet, the business must decide whether packing is enforced, and testers must check that an unpacked delivery cannot be goods-issued when it should not be.

What would you do?

Contoso's Detroit plant will go live on embedded EWM. A tester's shipping script says: "VL02N → Picking tab → enter 50 → save." What is the problem?

Key points
  • A delivery must normally be fully picked before goods issue.
  • Without a warehouse system, picking is confirmed in the delivery (VL02N or Pick Outbound Delivery).
  • With EWM, warehouse tasks drive picking and packing, and EWM updates the delivery.
  • Classic WM is compatibility scope in SAP S/4HANA; check your release before relying on it.
  • Packing creates handling units with their own numbers and labels.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. What must normally be complete before goods issue can be posted?

  2. 2. In an EWM-managed plant, where is picking confirmed?

  3. 3. What is a handling unit?

  4. 4. What is the status of classic Warehouse Management (LE-WM) in SAP S/4HANA?