Can I create a warehouse task without "blocking" the stock in SAP S/4HANA Cloud WM?

[former_member132325]

Hello Community,

I've got the following scenario from a customer today and I'd like to share here:

When transfering stock between storage bins, we need to create a warehouse task (WT) and susequently confirm it to move the stock. From when the warehouse task is created until it is confirmed, a long period of time can elapse.

The question is: is there a way that the stock included in a WT does not get "blocked" when creating the task, i.e. other tasks can be created until the task is finally confirmed and the stock is permanently moved?

Example:

We have 1 unit of material A in storage bin X. We create a warehouse task to move this unit of material A from storage bin X to storage bin Y, but we do not confirm it. Later, and before confirming the previous task, we would like to be able to create another task for this unit of material A from storage bin X to storage bin Z.

Currently, this cannot be done, since, when creating the first task of warehouse, the system renders this unit unusable, even if the task has not been confirmed. Is there a way to configure this, so that by default the stock of a storage bin is not “locked” when a task is created but not confirmed?

We understand that, at the time of confirming the task, this stock must definitely be moved.

[former_member132325 · Accepted solution]

It's not possible to create a warehouse task (WT) for the exactly same unit of stock (or quant). The behavior is designed to avoid the same warehouse request to create a WT for the same quant that is already reserved.

You may achieve your requirement by allowing Negative Stocks in your Storage Type.

First, we need to understand the difference between physical stock and available stock.

Physical Stock:
The system checks and updates the physical quantity of a quant during the confirmation of a warehouse task or during goods movements. It is the stock physically sitting in the warehouse.
Available Stock:
The available quantity of a stock is checked by the system during the creation of warehouse tasks. When a warehouse task is created to pick a quantity from a storage bin, the available quantity of the stock is reduced and that stock is reserved for that specific WT.
This is to prevent e.g. 2 pickers trying to pick the same stock for different deliveries.

Negative Stock however is allowed in Storage Type specific settings:
Indicates whether you want to allow negative stock or negative available quantities of stock in a storage bin.

"Use
You can make this setting for each storage type and you can choose between the following options:

1. Don’t allow the quantity of physical stock to be negative

2. Allow the quantity of available stock to be negative:
This option allows you to create warehouse tasks for planning purposes, even if there is no available stock. However, you can only confirm the warehouse tasks when it doesn’t cause the quantity of the physical stock to become negative.

3. Allow the quantity of physical stock to be negative:
This option can be useful when, for example, you know there is physical stock in the storage bin but the system is not up-to-date. You can create and confirm warehouse tasks in the usual way."

Be aware that storage type settings are not recommended to be changed after customized and allowing negative physical stocks may lead to inconsistencies in your stock balance if your process is not very well designed.