In SAP Extended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM for short), there are indeed concepts of "higher level warehouse order" (higher level warehouse order) and "lower level warehouse order" (lower level warehouse order). These concepts are used to manage the hierarchy of warehouse operations, helping organizations optimize warehouse processes and resource allocation. Let us understand these concepts with a detailed example.
Scenario setting :
Consider a large electronics distribution company whose warehouse management system uses SAP EWM to handle warehouse operations. The company needs to process a high volume of orders, including receiving, storing, picking and shipping.
High-level warehouse orders :
A high-level warehouse order is a combined warehouse order that aggregates multiple low-level warehouse orders to achieve higher-level warehouse operations. High-level warehouse orders are usually used to handle some large-scale warehouse tasks, such as overall picking or stock movement. Here is an example:
Xiao Ming's e-commerce company has a large order that contains 100 different items. In order to process this order efficiently, the warehouse clerk creates a high-level warehouse order in SAP EWM. This high-level warehouse order corresponds to the entire order, but does not directly deal with the actual item. Instead, it breaks down into multiple low-level warehouse orders.
Low level warehouse order :
A low-level warehouse order is the unit that actually performs warehouse operations. It contains information about specific items, locations and quantities to guide actual warehouse tasks. A low-level warehouse order can cover different types of operations, such as receiving, storing, picking, loading, and shipping. Here is an example:
For the high-level warehouse order of Xiaoming e-commerce company, the warehouse system automatically decomposes it into multiple low-level warehouse orders. Each lower warehouse order corresponds to a specific item and quantity. For example, one low-level warehouse order might be "Pick 10 iPhone 12s," while another low-level warehouse order might be "Store 20 MacBook Pros."
The relationship between high-level warehouse orders and low-level warehouse orders :
There is a parent-child relationship between high-level warehouse orders and low-level warehouse orders. A high-level warehouse order is a parent order, and multiple lower-level warehouse orders are child orders. This hierarchy allows flexible organization and scheduling of warehouse operations.
Example operation flow :
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High-level warehouse order creation : When Xiaoming e-commerce company receives a large order, the warehouse administrator creates a corresponding high-level warehouse order in SAP EWM.
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Decomposition of high-level warehouse orders : the system automatically decomposes high-level warehouse orders into multiple low-level warehouse orders. Each low-level warehouse order represents a specific operational task, such as picking, storing, or shipping.
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Low-level warehouse order execution : Warehouse staff perform actual warehouse operations based on low-level warehouse orders generated by the system. For example, they might perform a picking operation to remove items from inventory as directed in an order at a lower level warehouse.
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Warehouse task monitoring and management : Warehouse administrators can monitor and manage all high-level warehouse orders and low-level warehouse orders through SAP EWM. They can view the progress of warehouse tasks, adjust resource allocations, and troubleshoot any possible issues.
Strengths and Management Strategies :
Through the concept of high-level warehouse orders and low-level warehouse orders, organizations can better manage warehouse operations and achieve greater efficiency and accuracy. Here are some advantages and management strategies:
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Centralized Scheduling : High-level warehouse orders allow multiple warehouse tasks to be combined for more efficient scheduling and resource allocation.
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Reduce logistics costs : By consolidating warehouse tasks, logistics costs and waste of resources can be reduced and operational efficiency improved.
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Reduce error rate : Through the low-level warehouse orders generated by the system, operators can accurately perform tasks, reducing error rates and omissions.
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Optimize inventory : Through the integration of high-level warehouse orders, inventory and goods storage locations can be better planned, and inventory waste can be reduced.
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Real-time monitoring : Warehouse administrators can monitor the status and progress of warehouse tasks at any time, and solve potential problems in time.
Summary :
In SAP EWM, high-level warehouse order and low-level warehouse order are key concepts used to optimize warehouse operations. High-level warehouse orders provide a compositional perspective to help manage and schedule multiple low-level warehouse orders. With this hierarchy, organizations can better manage warehouse processes, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and provide more accurate execution of operations.
Replenish
In SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), Warehouse Order is a key concept that represents a set of tasks to be processed in a warehouse. However, the direct concepts of "higher level warehouse order" and "lower level warehouse order" are not clearly defined or explained in the official documents of SAP EWM or the recommended best practices. In actual business implementation, these two concepts may be different due to different business requirements and process design.
Generally speaking, Warehouse Order is usually regarded as a collection, which contains one or more groups of Warehouse Tasks, which can be picking tasks, putting tasks and so on. The creation and allocation of Warehouse Orders is usually based on many factors, such as: the priority of the order, the type of goods, the target distribution area, and so on. The management and execution of Warehouse Order is critical to improving the operational efficiency of warehouses.
In some scenarios, there may be a more complex Warehouse Order structure, and concepts similar to "higher level" and "lower level" may appear at this time. For example, a "higher level warehouse order" may represent a large business requirement or process, such as a large outbound order, and this "higher level warehouse order" may be decomposed into multiple "lower level warehouse orders", each A "lower level warehouse order" represents a part of the outbound order, which can be processed in parallel to improve efficiency. Each "lower level warehouse order" will contain multiple Warehouse Tasks. These tasks can be executed in parallel or sequentially, depending on the specific business needs and logistics strategies of the warehouse.
For example, a large supermarket chain might have a "higher level warehouse order" that includes replenishment needs for multiple stores. This "higher level warehouse order" may be decomposed into multiple "lower level warehouse orders", and each "lower level warehouse order" corresponds to the replenishment demand of a store. Each "lower level warehouse order" will be decomposed into multiple Warehouse Tasks, and each task may correspond to a specific shelf replenishment task.
In the process of implementing SAP EWM, how to design and manage the Warehouse Order structure will directly affect the operational efficiency and accuracy of the warehouse. When designing the Warehouse Order structure, many factors need to be considered, such as: the size and complexity of the order, the logistics strategy of the warehouse, the availability of manpower and equipment, and so on. In the process of managing Warehouse Order, an effective monitoring and scheduling mechanism is required to ensure timely and accurate execution of Warehouse Order.
In general, although the concepts of "higher level warehouse order" and "lower level warehouse order" are not directly defined in SAP EWM, in actual business implementation, we can understand and use these two terms according to business requirements and process design concept. Through effective Warehouse Order management, we can improve the operational efficiency of the warehouse and reduce the error rate