Supply Chain Management Blogs by SAP
Expand your SAP SCM knowledge and stay informed about supply chain management technology and solutions with blog posts by SAP. Follow and stay connected.
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
andreas_rupp
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
3,409

Welcome to our blog post for the SAP EWM Podcast Episode 20 – Quality Management with SAP EWM.

You can also listen to the podcast episode in English and in German on Spotify, Amazon MusicApple Podcasts or Sway! Enjoy!

Quality management in logistics should have the highest priority. It ensures consistency in processes, it reduces errors and increases efficiency. This leads to more satisfied customers, to lower costs and at the and to better reputation. In short, controlling quality means actively supporting the company's pursuit of excellence, which directly contributes to the company's competitiveness and success.

In this blog post we will discuss the following aspects of Quality Management with SAP EWM: 

  1. Basic terms and facts
  2. Supported QM Processes
  3. Additional Functions

Let's start!

1. Basic terms and facts around Quality Management with SAP EWM

SAP EWM supports Quality Management processes in two ways:

  • Integrated QM processing - that means SAP EWM processes are integrated with the SAP ERP QM module.
  • Standalone QM processing in SAP EWM – that means without integration into the SAP ERP QM module.

SAP ERP QM integration is possible with both an embedded EWM and a decentralized EWM.

However standalone QM processes, which only run in EWM, are only possible in a decentralized EWM and they are enabled through the Quality Inspection Engine (QIE).

andreas_rupp_1-1715786183595.png

 

The reason for this is that within an embedded EWM the Quality Inspection Engine (QIE) is only working in background and therefore it does not offer any QM processes independent from ERP QM. An embedded EWM only works together with the QM functions of the SAP ERP.

In case of decentral EWM, the Quality Inspection Engine is used either for standalone QM processes or for the integration into the ERP QM module.

Let’s discuss some technical objects:

Inspection Object Type
Inspection Object Types define basic settings for the different quality management processes in the warehouse.  

andreas_rupp_0-1715784741125.png

Inspection document, Inspection Rule and Inspection Lot
The inspection document is created by the QIE in the decentralized EWM and is the foundation for a Quality inspection there. Whether an inspection document is created or not is determined by an inspection rule that is maintained in EWM.

The counterpart to an EWM inspection document on ERP side is the inspection lot in the ERP QM module. An embedded EWM works only together with the ERP QM. This means that an embedded EWM does not create an EWM inspection document but it creates directly a QM inspection lot.  

A decentralized EWM that is integrated with ERP QM, always creates an EWM inspection document first, which can than trigger the creation of an ERP QM inspection lot. That means that the QM integration between decentral EWM and SAP ERP is established via these two objects – the EWM inspection document and the corresponding QM inspection lot.

Usage decision & logistical follow up action
The final result of an inspection is then the so called usage decision. In the case of ERP QM integration, this is captured in the ERP system for the QM inspection lot using QM Apps. In the EWM standalone scenario, the usage decision is recorded for the EWM inspection document using EWM Apps.

And the usage decision is always followed by the so called logistical follow-up action which is configured and performed in EWM. The follow-up action can be for example a stock transfer posting from quality stock to unrestricted or blocked stock, it could be a movement to a certain area, the final put away, scrapping and so on.

QIE vs. ERP QM 
Basically, you can say that a decentralized EWM can perform lean QM processes independently of ERP QM - with the help of QIE. If more extensive inspections including inspection plans, characteristic recording and so on are required or if existing QM processes are to be integrated into logistics processes in EWM, the EWM-QM integration is recommended or even mandatory.

QIE Data ModelQIE Data Model

2. Supported QM Processes with SAP EWM

General process flow in SAP EWM for an inspection after goods receipt with ERP QM Integration
Let’s assume our company receives a product which is relevant for a quality inspection and we want to integrate the quality management process seamlessly into the logistics process.

How does this work with an embedded EWM?

1) Determine QM Relevance
SAP EWM needs to know that the product is relevant for quality inspection. With embedded EWM, this can be done in two different ways:

  • Use the QM settings in the Q-view of the ERP material master
  • Use the EWM inspection rules of the Quality Inspection Engine

Which option should be used can be easily configured in EWM as parameter of the inspection object type.

2) Post Goods Receipt
During the goods receipt posting EWM checks whether a quality inspection is required or not. This means that EWM either checks the material master or existing inspection rules – according to the configuration.

3) Create Inspection Lot
If EWM determines that a quality inspection is required it creates an inspection lot in ERP QM immediately. The goods receipt is posted in EWM, for example on the goods receipt zone, and all required information like packaging, batches or serial numbers are captured. Normally, the stock is posted as quality inspection stock, and it has a reference to the ERP QM inspection lot.

4) Put away
It is possible to do the put away of the stock into the warehouse immediately, If for example the inspection does not take place directly or if only a sample needs to be taken.

5) Usage Decision
The inspection results and the usage decision are recorded via ERP QM apps. And these Apps are also able to access stock information from the EWM like packaging information of the EWM stock.  If a QM auditor now checks the pallets and he detects that a partial quantity of the goods is not ok, he can repack the stock directly from his QM app and he can capture the usage decision at packaging level. This ensures that the warehouse colleagues, who further process the stock in the warehouse, know exactly which goods are ok and which are no ok – and best case the stock is already packed accordingly.

6) Logistical Follow Up Action
The usage decision from ERP QM triggers the logistical follow-up action in EWM.
If the inspection is successful, this can be a simple stock type posting from quality stock into unrestricted stock. In addition the subsequent warehouse tasks can also be created, such as final put away or movements into blocked stock area. There are many default logistical follow-up actions which can be defined and the EWM extension framework enables customers to define any action according to their needs which then runs automatically.

General process flowGeneral process flow

Differences of decentral EWM compared to the embedded EWM scenario for ERP QM Integration:
For the end user, there is no difference, but it looks a little different in the background because there is a system interface between SAP EWM und SAP ERP and that requires an asynchronous process.

Also in the decentralized scenario, SAP EWM checks initially the quality inspection relevance. And this is always done by the QIE inspection rules. These rules can be created manually in EWM. Alternatively, they are also created automatically when the Q-view of the material master is distributed from the ERP to EWM via IDoc to SAP EWM. The Quality View is distributed with the Idoc MATQM.

If the system determines that an inspection is required, EWM first creates an EWM inspection document, which is released with the goods receipt posting. The release triggers a message to the ERP, which creates an inspection lot in ERP QM.

This means that the integration between ERP QM and a decentralized EWM takes place by linking the EWM inspection document and the ERP QM inspection lot.

The inspection process can then take place in ERP QM again and the usage decision is transferred back to EWM, where the logistical follow-up action is then also carried out.

General process flow with decentral EWM, QIE and ERP QMGeneral process flow with decentral EWM, QIE and ERP QM

General process flow in decentral SAP EWM for an inspection after goods receipt without SAP QM integration:
In this scenario SAP EWM only creates a QIE inspection document with the Goods Receipt posting. The usage decision is then captured with apps in EWM. In this case, there is no integration with ERP QM. Everything runs purely in EWM.

Supported Processes: 

Inspection of externally procured Goods.

Goods Receipt Control
With the so-called "goods receipt control", the goods receipt from suppliers can be blocked for quality reasons. The blocking is controlled either by an EWM inspection rule or by a quality info record that can be created for a material delivered by a vendor in a specific plant.

Material master settings then define whether a warning or error message should be raised when a user tries to post the Goods Receipt.

Goods receipt control is possible with both embedded and decentralized EWM.

Acceptance Sampling
Acceptance sampling enables EWM customers to check products before the goods receipt posting. It is used, for example, for silo goods especially in the consumer goods industry. The idea is to prevent components of bad quality from entering the production system.

The EWM inspection document or the QM inspection lot is therefore created before the goods receipt with the creation of the inbound delivery item and a positive usage decision is the prerequisite for the goods receipt posting in EWM.

This form of inspection is also supported in both embedded and decentralized EWM.

Inspection after goods receipt
The most common inspection is probably the "inspection after goods receipt" - which was already described as general process flow above. The Goods Receipt posting is the trigger the inspection document or inspection lot creation. The existence of quality certificates sent by the supplier can also be checked during this process using the EWM-QM integration.

In addition to the 100% inspection of goods, a sample inspection is also possible. The sample size is determined in ERP QM and transferred back to EWM. The sample can then also be separated and repacked in EWM. BY that the sample and the remaining stock can be processed differently in the warehouse. This means that the remaining stock can for example be stored while the sample is moved to the QM office.

This type of inspection is of course also supported in both deployment options – that means in embedded and decentralized EWM.

Counting of externally procured Goods
The decentral EWM also offers an inspection for counting externally procured goods. This is an inspection that runs purely in the Quality Inspection Engine without integration into the ERP QM.

Inspection of in-house produced Goods

Presampling in Production
In this process the ERP QM inspection lot is already created when the ERP production order is released. The inspection and the usage decision can be made during production, even before the goods receipt posting in EWM.

The Goods Receipt in EWM is then posted according to the usage decision – for example directly into unrestricted or blocked stock.

The usage decision of the “presampling in production” can also be made after the goods receipt in EWM. In that case the corresponding logistical follow-up action is then carried out.

Presampling in production is supported with embedded and decentralized EWM.

Inspection of goods produced in-house after goods receipt
In this process EWM creates the inspection document or QM inspection lot with the Goods Receipt posting or with the early creation of put away tasks in embedded EWM. The general process flow was already described above. The inspection after goods receipt for in-house production is also possible for embedded and decentralized EWM.

Warehouse internal quality inspection processes

Stock Check
In this process the warehouse staff identifies stock that should be checked for any reason like damages and so on. Therefore an EMW inspection document or a ERP QM inspection lot is created manually for example with capabilities of the EWM warehouse monitor. A warehouse movement can also be triggered in parallel in order to move the goods to the inspection station.

In a decentralized EWM, this can also be a purely warehouse-internal process that means the goods are checked against the EWM inspection document. With embedded EWM a QM inspection lot is created directly.

The creation of the inspection document or the inspection lot is not necessarily a manual task. There is also a report that can be used to determine expired stock  for example and which then creates  automatically inspection documents or inspection lots for the affected stock.

Recurring inspection
A further type of warehouse internal checks is the so-called "recurring inspection".  

The recurring inspection can be used to periodically check batch managed materials. The batch is required since the "next inspection date" is stored in the system as a batch characteristic.

The next inspection date is calculated from an inspection interval that is maintained in the material master and a start date, which can initially be the production or batch creation date. After a successful recurring inspection, the new start date is the date of the usage decision. If the check is negative, the “next inspection date” is not updated but EWM triggers the defined follow up action for example the stock is removed from storage and scrapped.

The recurring inspection can also be triggered by a report which checks the next inspection date of all stocks in the warehouse against the current date.

The recurring inspection is supported  with embedded and decentral EWM.

 Inspections of customer returns
Embedded EWM and decentral EWM can be integrated with “Advanced Returns Management” in SAP ERP. In addition to the Advanced Returns Management integration of EWM, you can also implement and support inspection processes for customer returns in a decentralized EWM, which run purely in EWM using the Quality Inspection Engine – that allows lean warehouse inspections without ERP integration. Please find more information in our SAP EWM Podcast Episode 8.

with EWM we also support non-conformance processes in warehouse and production for example creation of so-called warehouse defects and Q-messages that relate to EWM-managed stock.

Warehouse Defects
This process begins in ERP QM with the creation of a warehouse defect. This defect can then be assigned to EWM stock and actions for the EWM stock can be triggered from the QM apps for example a stock posting of the stock type or a movement of the stock.

EWM also links the stock to the QM defect via a reference in the WM quant. This reference is kept until the defect is clarified. This gives you 100% transparency in the warehouse about stock for which warehouse defects or Quality notifications exist.

QM Warehouse Defects are supported in combination with embedded and decentralized EWM.

3. Additional Functions 

Partial Quantity Decision
This means that a QM inspector is able to make partial quantity decisions for stocks that are managed by EWM. This means that if, for example, 3 pieces from a pallet are bad, the QM inspector can record this partial quantity and EWM separates the stock accordingly.

Skip Lot
Quality checks can be skipped if the current quality situation allows this. We call this a skip lot. So, for example, only every 10th item from a material and supplier is currently to be inspected, then the 9 other inspection documents are created but automatically "skipped" and the goods are put away directly. Depending on the inspection result, dynamic modification can also be used to shorten the inspection intervals, in case of negative usage decisions.

Lot Summary
Another nice feature is the inspection lot summary. This means that you do not have to create an inspection lot for EWM inbound delivery item, but you can, for example, create 1 inspection lot for a purchase order item or a production order, even if the quantity is delivered with several EWM inbound deliveries or goods receipt postings. In addition to the purchase order or the production order, a summary based on material and batch can also be configured or customers can implement a BAdI and can merge inspection lots according to their own logic which can save inspection effort tremendously.

Samples
If you only want to check a sample it is maybe necessary to separate the sample from the remaining stock and to move the stock and the sample differently. SAP EWM also supports this process and EWM can even round the sample quantity to a whole case quantity for example to prevent repacking of single pieces. In addition, you can also define follow-up actions for the sample. If you think about an inventory-managed sample which cannot be used anymore after the inspection – a so called destructive inspection – EWM can scrap the sample or withdraw it to cost center automatically. This also saves manual effort in the warehouse.

First Article Inspection
EWM also supports a “first article inspection”. With that you can integrate the Production Part Approval Process for easier and more efficient communication between manufacturers and suppliers into your logistics processes in EWM. Customers can use for example a separate inspection plan in combination with a quality info record.

Synchronous Postings with embedded EWM
Another important point for embedded EWM from QM perspective, is the support of synchronous postings such as the goods receipt from production or for purchase orders without EWM inbound deliveries. These postings can be triggered directly in MIGO, for example, or in other dedicated Apps for discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing or repetitive manufacturing.

And it is possible to use QM processes in these synchronous postings also for EWM managed stock. This is a huge simplification of the goods receipt process, as no EWM inbound delivery is required.

Conclusion & Outlook

What should you consider if you want to use ERP QM integration in your SAP EWM implementation?
ERP QM inspection lots that arise from an EWM integration always have the inspection lot origin 17 - but this is usually not a big issue! More important are the different inspection types that arise with a decentralized EWM, such as inspection type 1701 for the inspection of an external procurement or inspection type 1704 for the inspection of produced goods. This means for already existing QM implementations, that configuration has to be adapted – most likely. In Embedded EWM, on the other hand, the familiar QM inspection types can also be used, such as 01 and 04 which makes life on ERP side easier. In summary it means that an EWM project that also introduces integrated QM processes, should always involve a certain amount of QM expertise.

The fact that QM is an important topic and will continue to be in the future can be seen on the EWM roadmap, which is constantly being updated with QM innovations to enable our customers to constantly improve their QM and logistics processes.

At this point we’d like to say a big thank to Patric Stade from our EWM Standard Development Team, who supported us with his outstanding QM expertise!

Helpful Links: 

SAP EWM Product Documentation - Quality Management

SAP EWM Quality Management Presentation from Product Management

How-to-Guide "QM Configuration for embedded EWM"

How-to-Guide "QM Configuration for Decentralized EWM"

How-to-Guide "Basic Integrated Quality Inspection Process Using SAP Extended Warehouse Management an...

 

 Please visit our SAP EWM Podcast Landing Page with all Episodes, Blog Posts and Podcast Notes!

 

1 Comment