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Unplanned Vendor Returns in SAP EWM

Rahul_Gandi1
Participant
3 weeks ago
0 Kudos
1,117

During routine inbound operations, it is possible to receive products from a vendor that are damaged or not suitable for use. In cases where these returns were not planned or initiated through a purchase order, the scenario is classified as an unplanned vendor return.

Such exceptions require a structured process to ensure inventory accuracy and proper documentation. SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) provides robust capabilities to handle unplanned returns through configurable warehouse processes, return reasons, and integration with S/4HANA.

This blog outlines the complete process of managing unplanned vendor returns in SAP EWM. It includes essential configuration steps, such as defining warehouse process types and movement types, and presents a detailed test case demonstrating the return flow from receipt through goods issue and system updates.

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S/4 Configuration:

  1. Activate BC Sets

T.Code: SCPR20

  • BC SET : /SCWM/DLV_OUTBOUND_RETURN

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2. Set up Configuration Control Key

 Path: SPRO>IMG> Material Management>Purchasing> Confirmations> Set up Confirmation Control

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3. Set up Quantity Difference Profiles

 Path: SPRO>IMG>Material Management> Purchasing>Confirmations>Set up quantity difference Profiles (GR Automotive)

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4. Define Internal Confirmation Categories

 Path: SPRO> IMG> Material Management>Purchasing> Confirmations>Define Internal Confirmation Categories

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5. Shipping Point Determination

Path: SPRO> IMG> Logistic Execution>Shipping> Basic Shipping Function> Shipping Point and Goods Receipt Point Determination>Assign Shipping point

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6. Define Shipping data for plants

Path:SPRO>IMG> Material Management> Purchasing> Purchase order > Set up stock transfer order > Define Shipping data for plant

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7. Define Delivery Types

Path: SPRO> IMG> Logistic Execution> Shipping> Deliveries> Define Delivery Types

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8. Define Item Category determination in Deliveries

Path:SPRO> IMG> Logistic Execution> Shipping> Define Item Category determination in Deliveries

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EWM configuration:


1. Map Delivery type and item type in S4 and EWM

Path: SPRO>IMG> SCM EWM> EWM> Interfaces>ERP Integrations > Delivery Processing> Map Document types from ERP system to EWM

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2. Map Item types from ERP system to EWM

Path:  SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM> Interfaces>ERP Integrations > Delivery Processing> Map Item types from ERP system to EWM

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3. Warehouse Process Type for Planned Vendor Returns

  • Define Warehouse Process Type

Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM>Cross Processing Settings >Warehouse Task > Define Warehouse Process Type

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  • Define Control Indicators for Determining Warehouse Process Types
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM>Cross Processing Settings >Warehouse Task > Define Control Indicators for Determining Warehouse Process Types

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  • Determine Warehouse Process Types
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM>Cross Processing Settings >Warehouse Task > Determine Warehouse Process Types

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4. Define Separate Storage type for vendor return products

  • Define storage type
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM>Master Data >Define Storage Type

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Create Bins and Activit Area and Bin sorting in the storage type.

5. Stock Removal Strategies

  • Specify Stock Removal Strategies
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM> Good Issue Process > Strategies > Specify Storage type search sequence

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  • Define Stock Removal Control Indicator
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM> Good Issue Process > Strategies> Define Stock Removal Control Indicator

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  • Determine storage type search sequence for stock removal
Path: SPRO> IMG> SCM EWM> EWM> Good Issue Process > Strategies > Determine storage type search sequence for stock removal

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Prerequisites:

  1. Create the material master and extend it to the required warehouse storage locations.
  2. Extend Material Master to Product Master and assign PTDI and PACI to the product.
  3. Create a vendor, extend it to the customer role, and assign shipping condition “01” as configured earlier.
  4. Ensure the return quantity is maintained in the storage type created in the previous step.

Testing:

  1. Create Purchase Order -ME21N
  2. Create Inbound delivery & distribute to EWM- VL31N
  3. Maintain Inbound delivery in EWM- /N/SCWM/PRDI

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Once the Inbound Delivery is successfully distributed to EWM, proceed with executing the Unloading and Goods Receipt processes in the system.

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Ensure that the Goods Receipt (GR) is successfully posted and updated in the S/4HANA system. If the GR is not reflected in S/4, the system will restrict the creation of a Warehouse Task for returns processing.

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The Goods Receipt has been successfully performed and, as shown above, it has been correctly updated in the S/4HANA system.

4. Return to Vendors

/N/SCWM/PRDI> Inbound delivery (Menu)> Follow On Functions> Return to Vendor

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As soon as the return posted an outbound delivery will be created as shown in the image below.

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 5. Maintain Outbound Delivery Order

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As this is an unplanned vendor return, the system directly creates an Outbound Delivery Order to initiate the return process. From the Outbound Delivery, a picking task can then be created to proceed with the goods issue.

 6. Create a Picking warehouse task From GR staging

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A Warehouse Task has been created to move the product from storage type 9010 (Goods Receipt Staging) to 9020 (Goods Issue Staging), utilizing the Warehouse Process Type '4050' as configured in EWM Configuration: Step 3. Confirm the Warehouse Task to reflect the physical movement of the product by the warehouse associate from the Goods Receipt (GR) area to the Goods Issue (GI) staging area.

7. Goods Issue

Finally, the products that were received were found to be damaged and are therefore being returned to the vendor. Once the Goods Issue is posted, indicating the physical shipment of goods out of the warehouse, this information must be transmitted to the S/4HANA system to ensure accurate stock updates.

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The goods movement has been successfully updated in the S/4HANA system, and movement type '122' was triggered to reflect the unplanned vendor return.

This is how the Unplanned Vendor Returns process is executed in SAP EWM. Regardless of the reason for the return, be it damage, overdelivery, or quality issues, providing a return reason is mandatory and helps drive transparency and accountability in the return process. These reasons can be configured in alignment with specific business requirements to support various operational scenarios.

In this blog, we covered the key configuration steps along with a complete test case demonstrating how to process unplanned returns from initiation to goods movement posting. By setting up the process correctly, businesses can handle exceptions efficiently and ensure real-time inventory accuracy across the warehouse and S/4HANA system.

 

 

 

 

 

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