auto batch fefo wm

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Automatic Batch Determination based onFEFO in Lean Warehouse Management.

Summary :This document explains how a batch is automatically determined while creating a outbound deliverybased on the FEFO (First Expiry First Out) shelf life of the material in the batch. This concept of batchdetermination is mostly useful in Pharmaceutical,Chemical and Food industries, where you want abatch closer to its expiration date to be delivered first. Besides you may also want to deliver onlythose products which have a remaining shelf life of a certain number of days after it is being delivered.This Document may also be useful if business is working on Lower SAP Pack Level & do not want toupgrade.

INTRODUCTION :Batch Determination is used in inventory management, production, sales and distribution, warehousemanagement. It is used to select batches and allocate the same in a manufacturing order or in anoutbound delivery or in a goods issue/goods transfer in inventory management.In Production, Sales & Distribution, in inventory management or in warehouse management, batchdetermination is used to search and allocate batches for the components in production order/processorder or to search and allocate the delivery batches in a customer based outbound delivery or tosearch for batches and allocate batches in goods issues.The tools that batch determination uses is the determination condition techniques based on thecondition tables, access sequence and strategy types. These condition types are enough to chooseand allocate batches. Though additionally batch determination uses selection classes and itscharacteristics values to choose batches and/or uses sorting rules to choose sort batches whileselection based on characteristics and its values.

Business Scenario :There are various materials that may no longer be used or sold after a certain time period. Theseproducts are normally assigned a shelf life expiration date (SLED). Now, if the product is to bedelivered in batches, the system should automatically determine the batches appropriately duringthe delivery. This concept of batch determination is primarily used in industries involved in themanufacture of big Pharmaceutical Industries where Organization structure is more than 60 SAP plants& more than 15 Warehouse.Example :Consider a Pharmaceutical Company which manufactures a product named as J&J.The businessRequirement is that the batches should be determined based on the following conditions.

1. The batch delivered must be more than Minimum Remaining Shelf life mentioned in Shelf lifedata in Material Master Plant data / storage.1

Automatic Batch Determination based on FEFO in Lean Warehouse Management.


2. The batch which has an expiration date that is nearer should be delivered first and the batchwhich has already crossed its expiration date should not be picked up.

3. If the quantity required by the customer exceeds the quantity of a batch, then the next batchshould also be picked up in the similar manner, that is, it should have its expiration date nearerthan the remaining batches.

4. Business is running on SAP support pack- SAPKH 609 or Lower.You can follow the steps as below to create Batch Search Procedure Techniques:

1st Step Create Batch Determination Condition tablesBatch determination condition tables once created become the key combination fields for searchingbatches. Eventually the condition records or search strategies are created as master data based onthese key combinations.

Path : IMG---->Logistics-General------>Batch Management ----->Batch Determination & Batch Check------>Condition tables ------>Define Sales & Distribution condition tables.

2nd Step Create Batch Determination Access sequenceBatch determination access sequences have multiple condition tables (key combinations) assigned ina sequence of priority. This facility allows you to create data for many key combinations so that even ifthe search of batches fails on the first key combination condition the rest in the priority would help insearch.

Path : IMG--->Logistics-General---->Batch Management ---->Batch Determination & Batch Check------>Access Sequence----->Define Sales & Distribution Access Sequence.



3rd Step Creation of Selection Class

The Selection Class used to help the system choose a certain batch based on the characteristics andtheir fixed values.Therefore when you create a selection in SAP using transaction code BMC1 (BMC2/BMC3).You would then assign the selection class to the strategy and use the same in the condition recordmaster data. In the condition records you need to enter the required fixed values against any classcharacteristics that you would want to use to search the batches.

(a) LOBM-VFDAT: The expiration date of the batch which is automatically updated by SAP as statedabove.(b) LOBM-LFDAT: The delivery date which is automatically updated by SAP from delivery during batchdetermination.(c) LOBM_RLZ: Remaining Shelf Life for Batch. You use this characteristic to enter the requiredremaining shelf life in days that a batch must be usable after delivery to your customer.



4th Step - Create Sort Rules (T-code- CU70)

Sort Rules are used to help the system sort the batches for the given class characteristics. When youcreate the sort rules in Batch determination, you would select the characteristics on which you wouldwant to sort the batches for selection and assignment to an object. The characteristics on which thesort rules are based upon (LOBM_VFDAT) is shown in the screen-shot below. Select the AscendingCheck box to sort in ascending order

5th Step - Create Batch Strategy Type



Batch Search Strategy holds multiple access sequences, though not assigned in any sequentialpriority. The assignment of the strategy types is separately for IM, Production, WM and Sales.The strategy types or condition types are assigned in priority in the next step calledBatch Search Procedure Definition.

The strategy types configuration holds the selection criteria and the sort rules usedin batch determination techniques.

Strategy types are used ultimately to create the batch search master data or batch search conditionrecord so that the system would know the exact level at which search for batches is to be carried outalong with the selection/sort rules of these batches.

It is obvious that batch search strategy is used to search batches on certain rules, because you want toautomate the process and do not want it to do it manually for each and every batch. Thus you have toaid the system in putting in a decision such as - search all the batches of a given plant or search all thebatches of a given set of material at a plant or search batches for a given component or etc.

Path -->Logistics -General-->Batch Management -->Batch Determination & Batch Check --> BatchSearch Procedure defination ---> Define Sales & distribution strategy type



6th Step - Create a Batch Search procedure

In this step, you define search procedures for batch determination in Sales and Distribution.Each search procedure comprises all strategy types that can be used for a particular combination ofsales area and sales document type.

RequirementsTo be able to define search procedures, you must have defined the necessary strategy types.Standard settingsThe standard SAP R/3 System contains search procedure SD0001.ActivitiesTo create a search procedure, proceed as follows:1. Select New entries, and enter a six digit key beginning with "Z" as well as a name for the searchprocedure.2. Select Control and then New entries and enter the strategy types in the desired sequence.



Path -->Logistics -General-->Batch Management -->Batch Determination & Batch Check --> BatchSearch Procedure defination ---> Define Sales & distribution search Procedure

7th Step - Allocate SD Batch Search Procedure

In this work step, you assign batch search procedures to the individual combinations of salesorganization, distribution channel, division, and sales document type for which batch determination isto occur, and activate the batch check.

Activities1. Assign a search procedure to each combination.2. Set the batch check indicator if you want the system to check all batches entered manually.

NoteBatch determination in deliveryIf a deliver is used without reference to a sales order, you must have done the following in order toexecute batch determination:

Defined the default order type for the delivery type (Logistics Execution -> Shipping ->Deliveries -> Define Delivery Types)

Assigned the default order type to a batch search procedure

Path -->Logistics -General-->Batch Management -->Batch Determination & Batch Check --> BatchSearch Procedure Allocation and check Activation ---> Allocate SD search Procedure/Activite Check



8th Step - Activate Automatic batch determination in SD

In this step, you activate automatic batch determination for order and delivery item categories. Whenentering an order item or a delivery item, batch determination is triggered automatically.

ActivitiesSet indicator Auto batch determin for those order and delivery item categories for which you wantbatch determination to be triggered automatically.

Path -->Logistics -General-->Batch Management -->Batch Determination & Batch Check --> ActivateAutomatic batch determination in SD ---> Activate Automatic Batch Determination for Delivery ItemCategories.

9th Step - Creation of Batch Search Condition Records or Batch Search Strategy



Batches can be assigned to the quantity based contracts or in quotations early in the process so thatthey can be reserved for the customer. Though assigning to these objects can lock your inventory,thus disallowing it to be used for any other customer delivery.

Similarly in the sales order, you can assign the batches through automatic determination basedon condition techniques supported by selection classes and/or sort rules. You could have thedetermination done manually as well in the sales order.

Assignment of the batches to the Sales orders is required if the customer requests batches of a certainspecification set or if you want to choose batches in the sales order based on certain sort rules orbased on certain characteristics values maintained by you to classify the inventory.

Since there is no Batch Split in Sales order Batch determination allowing the system to assign multiplepartial batches, the system finds itself incompetent to assign multiple partial batches to satisfy thesales order line item demand. Even though with such as shortfall in functionality, if you still want toallocate batches to the sales order line item through Batch determination you can do so and call thebatch selection screen through manual batch determination and have the batches chosen manually tosatisfy the quantities.

Whereas In Outbound Deliveries, you can use Batch determination and have the system allocatebatches or pick the batches. The Good News is that outbound delivery has the functionality of Batchsplit and allocation of multiple batches to satisfy the sales order line item quantity. Having Batchdetermination late in the sales business process would make sure that the inventory is not locked upfor a very long time.

Batch determination in the outbound deliveries can be triggered manually or can be automated as perconfiguration shown above. You can also change the determined batches and overwrite the same tillthey are issued to the customer.

Batch Determination in outbound deliveries can be made using the condition techniques, the selectionclasses and the sort rules. Follow the example below to know more about batch determination inoutbound deliveries.

For the batch search procedure to work as per your conditions records, selection rules and sort rules,you should configure batch determination in Sales and Distribution and set up the required masterdata:

When the entire configuration for batch search condition techniques is done, you would create theBatch search condition records using following transaction code:For Sales and Distribution -VCH1 Create,VCH2 Change,



VCH3 - Display

Example:

If you want to carry out batch determination for all the materials that are sold out ofthe plant through an outbound delivery, then you can create a condition techniquewith or without the selection classes and sort rules. Though in outbound deliverybatch determination, most of the customers would mandatorily base their batchallocation on selection classes, values of the characteristics in these classes and sortrules.

The selection classes and the sort rules can be illustrated as below:

Select Batches which has a selection class (Batch Class) called as = CLASS_SEARCH

The Values of the following characteristics are entered while creating the selection class. The othercharacteristics which exist in the class are not used for selection purpose.

LOBM_RLZ = < 10 Days (Remaining Shelf Life for Batch) LOBM_ZUSTD = Released (Standard Characteristics for Batch Status)

Though please note that use of selection class is optional; this example uses selection class since thebusiness process demands.

Selection of the finished product batches should also be based on a FEFO Sortrule (First Expiry First Out) so that the batches lying in stock do not age out.To do this you would create the sort rule with a Characteristics LOBM_VFDAT(Date on which batch was produced) placed in ascending order

SORT_EXPIRATION Sort by Date of Expiration

Characteristics Ascending/descendingLOBM_VFDAT Ascending

T-code : VCH1



Create Delivery with respect to Sales Order (T-code VL01N)

auto batch fefo wm

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