Stock Transport for Quality Stock (with Inspection Lot) and Blocked Stock

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Stock Transport for Quality Stock (with Inspection Lot): Our Solution for Managing Material Transfers between Storage Locations

In my experience working with Pharmaceutical Companies that have warehouses located far from production sites, one of the main challenges we faced was managing the transfer of stock under inspection between different storage locations. Anyone who has worked with SAP ECC or SAP HANA knows that the system does not allow the use of Stock Transport Orders (STO) between storage locations for materials under quality control, unless you have one of the more advanced versions of SAP EWM. This limitation creates operational difficulties and often requires complicated workarounds.

However, thanks to the experience gained in the field, we discovered that with some adjustments and by using a lesser-known feature, introduced by SAP a few years ago, it is possible to bypass this limitation without having to adopt more complex solutions like EWM.

The Challenge: Transferring Stock under Inspection

In a production context, transferring materials between warehouses, especially when they are still under inspection, presents a series of challenges. In our case, the company needed to move materials from the production warehouse to an external one while inspection lots were still active (it’s common practice for Pharmaceutical Product to wait the analysis closure). We found that without the proper adjustments, SAP would not allow the transfer to proceed, effectively blocking the logistical process and generating delays.

The Discovery: Using Spare Parts Management

After various research and testing in the field, we found a solution that initially seemed unrelated to our case: Spare Parts Management in SAP. This option can be found in SPRO > Logistics Execution > Service Parts Management, and while it is seemingly designed for spare parts, with some code, it turned out to be perfect for managing our standard products being transferred between warehouses.

This wasn’t an immediate realization, I must admit. At first glance, the Spare Parts Management menu didn’t seem applicable to our situation. However, I decided to experiment with this path, considering that the alternatives (such as adopting SAP EWM) were more complex and costly. In the end, it turned out to be a winning choice.

The Key Modifications

The modifications we made to make this solution work were relatively simple but crucial. We activated the function that allows source stock determination during the transfer process. This was done through the following path:

SPRO > Logistics Execution > Service Parts Management > Transfer and Inventory Management > Activate Source Stock Type Determination.

Another challenge I faced was the configuration of storage locations to which quarantine stock could be transferred. We had to modify table /SPE/V_POD_STL to configure the destinations correctly and resolve a key duplication error.

From that moment the stock status is visible at each position in the Stock Transfer Order (Delivery -> Source Stock Type) and the Delivery (tab Administration).

The ABAP Intervention: Customizing the Exit to Manage Quarantine Stock

This is where my experience proved crucial. By itself, SAP is not able to properly link the stock movement from the production warehouse to the goods receipt at the storage warehouse, especially when dealing with quarantine stock. We had to work on Exit ZQAAT001 to insert specific ABAP code that would allow the system to differentiate the types of incoming stock.

I worked closely with the development team to ensure that the Exit could read the stock status directly from the Stock Transport Order (STO), a critical operation to ensure the material flow worked correctly. This was one of the most challenging parts but also one of the most satisfying once successfully completed.

The Double Inspection: How We Managed Two Lots

Another difficulty we encountered was managing the two inspection lots generated for the same material being transferred (it’s necessary to set for the material two kinds of inspection lots: 04 and 08. In SAP, an inspection lot is triggered both when the material is produced (lot type 04) and when it is received at the destination warehouse (lot type 08). To avoid having to make the Usage Decision (UD) twice, we had to customize the process so that the UD of the first lot would be automatically copied to the second.

Here, the customization of follow-up actions in the standard program RQEVAI30 or via transaction QA10 came into play. We decided to automate the copy action of the UD and the stock transfer from "Q" (quarantine) to unrestricted or blocked stock, depending on operational needs.

This part of the configuration took time to optimize, but in the end, once implemented, it significantly reduced errors in the workflow and improved the efficiency of our quality management.

Anyway, to not have any misalignment which appears only later on during the process, the SAP note 48815 and the program ZQEVAC20 should be adapted and linked at each Usage Decision. So, taking the UD the system check and resolve possible differences between MM and QM.

Conclusions:

We are able to transfer unrestricted use, blocked and quarantine stock using STO and managing any kind of shipment documents.

Looking back, I can say that this implementation required a mix of experimentation, teamwork, and a bit of creativity in adapting a feature that was not originally designed for this purpose. However, the solution we adopted brought great operational benefits, enabling seamless transfer of stock under inspection between warehouses.

This experience taught me that even when a solution doesn't seem immediately available, it’s always worth exploring all the options offered by the system. Often, as in this case, a lesser-known feature can turn out to be the key to solving a complex problem.