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Integration of External Warehouse

Management System
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 Added by Deborah Gabriel, last edited by Guest on Jul 13, 2010  (view change)
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The Integration of External Warehouse Management System ES bundle addresses the exchange of logistics data
between SAP ERP and a third-party warehouse management system that resides within the company's system landscape.
This ES bundle enables the exchange of logistics-relevant
information like inbound and outbound deliveries and data
related to the movement of goods within a tracking system
and also offers replication of product, customer, and
supplier master data from SAP ERP to the external
warehouse management system.
The Integration of External Warehouse Management System
ES bundle leverages enterprise SOA by deploying key
enterprise service operations to allow SAP ERP to
communicate with an external warehouse management
system.

Audience
Managers, clerks and system administrators in enterprises
with warehouse operations will find this ES bundle of value
for direct interaction with installed external warehouse
management systems.
For details on Service Operations,
Business Objects and Process
Components, please check the ES
Workplace. Integration of External Warehouse Management System(click to
enlarge)

How To Use This ES Bundle

The Integration of External Warehouse Management System ES bundle provides straightforward communications between
SAP ERP and an external warehouse management system using standards-based enterprise services. Besides
 choreographing the flow of delivery-based messages, users may also incorporate this bundle to exchange information
affecting master data and planning data, as well as communicate critical error-handling data.

In the past, organizations have integrated SAP ERP with their external warehouse management systems using older
integration methods such as iDocs. Using enterprise service provides an easier and more straightforward method of
integration than was previously available. Furthermore, upgrades to SAP ERP or the external warehouse management
system will not disturb the integration, something that cannot be said of earlier integration methods.
The following series of use cases for the Integration of
External Warehouse Management System ES bundle show
how different outcomes can be achieved by using the
enterprise services in different combinations. While these
examples illustrate a few of the ways that this ES bundle
could be used, the intention is to show the flexibility and
reusability of these business objects and enterprise service
operations so that you will have a clearer understanding of
how to best deploy them in your own environment. This
wiki is also a space for you to share knowledge and
collaborate with others who are implementing the
Integration of External Warehouse Management System ES
bundle.

Use Case 1: Master Data Replication

Keeping master data up to date is vital in any enterprise.
This use case involves replicating data from SAP ERP to the
external warehouse management system. A warehouse
manager (or other central responsible person for master data
management) wants to replicate warehouse-specific product
master data, such as product, or general master data, such as
customer, or supplier master data, from SAP ERP to an
external warehouse management system for further logistics
Master Data Replication (click to enlarge)
purposes like inbound or outbound processes.

When the person in charge of changing the product master data (warehouse-specific view) in SAP ERP finishes making the
changes, in the background, SAP ERP invokes the Request Material Warehouse Management View
Replication enterprise service operation, which uses the Material business object. If the changes relate to a classified
packing material (such as a palette), the service operation Request Logistic Unit Basic Data Replication can be invoked
instead.
When anyone makes a change to customer master data in
SAP ERP, the system automatically invokes the Request
Customer Replication enterprise service. Similarly, when
supplier master data is added or changed, the system
invokes Request Supplier Replication. The data transfer is
executed automatically, and the receiver gets an XML file to
import into their external warehouse management system.

Step Enterprise Service

Invoked

Step 1: The user replicate Request Material

product master data from the Warehouse
SAP system to an external Management View
system Replication

Step 2: If the changes relate Request Logistic

to a classified packing Unit Basic Data
material, the user replicate Replication
logistic unit basic data from
the SAP system to an
external system

Step 3: The user replicate Request Customer

customer master data from Replication
the SAP system to an
external system

Step 4: The user replicate Request Supplier

supplier master data from the Replication
SAP system to an external
system

Use Case 2: Inbound Delivery

Processing
An Inbound Delivery is created when all pre-processes are
done (in terms of purchasing activities in your enterprise)
and the supplier has sent out an Advanced Shipping
Notification (ASN) to SAP ERP. SAP ERP replicates
the Inbound Delivery business object to an external WMS
by invoking Request Inbound Delivery so that the
responsible warehouse clerk can compare the physical
goods that arrive at the unloading station to a purchase
Inbound Delivery Processing (click to enlarge)
request or other appropriate data.

The external warehousing system can send out a confirmation message to confirm the status of handling the received
inbound deliveries by using the Change Inbound Delivery based on Inbound Delivery Confirmation Cancel
Request enterprise service operation.
If the supplier communicates any changes about inbound deliveries to SAP ERP, this information can be forwarded to the
 warehouse system by invoking Request Inbound Delivery Change orRequest Inbound Delivery Cancellation depending on
whether a change or cancellation has been sent. 

For more information about additional capabilities related to this use case, please see the connectivity kit for this ES bundle.
Use Case 3: Outbound Delivery
Processing
In SAP CRM, once a sales order has been created, SAP
CRM tells SAP ERP to create an outbound delivery. This
outbound delivery is then communicated to another system
for further processing. In general , this system would be
SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management). But in this use
case, the system to which SAP ERP will pass the outbound
delivery is the external warehouse management system,
which will then initiate warehouse processes that will result
in the delivery of the goods the customer ordered. To pass
the Outbound Delivery business object to the external
warehouse management system, SAP ERP invokes Request
Outbound Delivery, triggering the creation of the outbound
delivery in the external WMS for further warehouse-specific
tasks like physical picking, packing, and loading. The WMS
receives the proper messages and can process them as
designed in its system. The external warehouse management
system then invokes the Confirm Outbound Delivery
based on Outbound Delivery Confirmation Create
Request enterprise service operation to send back
confirmation that it created and executed the outbound
Outbound Delivery Processing (click to enlarge)
delivery as requested by SAP ERP.

For more information about additional capabilities related to this use case, please see the connectivity kit for this ES bundle.

Use Case 4: Goods Movement

Processing for Stock Category
Transfers
An enterprise needs to perform a stock transfer from one
stock category to another, for example, moving some stock
to safety stock. A warehouse clerk triggers this action in the
WMS system, which creates a goods movement and posts it.
When the goods movement is posted, the WMS system
invokes Create Goods Movement to send the information
about the stock category transfer to SAP ERP. The event
can be cancelled by using the cancellation message Cancel
Goods Movement Processing (click to enlarge)
Goods Movement instead.
Use Case 5: Preview of Expected
Warehouse Volume
Warehouse personnel can better plan their schedule if they
have a view into what's coming down the pipeline. What
orders will be processed to go out of the warehouse in the
near future? What orders will be coming in to the
warehouse? The specific details about the orders are less
important than the overall volume of incoming and outgoing
orders, which is helpful for warehouse personnel to know
Preview of Expected Warehouse Volume(click to enlarge)
about to plan their schedules.

In SAP ERP, the enterprise service Notify of Purchase Order Logistics Planning View can be invoked to send
information to the external warehouse management system about orders that will be coming into the warehouse. Similarly,
the Notify of Sales Order Logistics Planning View sends data about orders that warehouse personnel must fulfill.