RF in SAP Warehouse Management

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RF in SAP WarehouseManagementSignificance of RF in Warehouse Management:

Mobile data entry in the warehouse involves the use of wireless radio frequency (RF) terminals or devices carried bythe warehouse staff to record data. The use of bar codes and RF devices has made warehouse operations moreefficient. Data entry errors are fewer and the time needed to perform operations in the warehouse has been reducedbecause the date can be collected by a RF device without requiring manual collection and manual entry of data. Theuse of RF devices for data collection and transaction processing in warehouse management has been increasingover a number of !" releases. The modern efficient warehouse uses RF technology and constantly reviewsprocedures to further adopt the technology to improve operations.Technical and Functional Landscape of RF environment#fficient warehouse management processes requires faster data entry and processing for inbound$ outbound andinternal warehouse operations. !" transactions can be e%ecuted on RF devices that are handheld (terminals$

barcode scanners) or for&lift mounted. 'o middleware software is required to connect the devices to !".!"s functionality enables real time handling of material flow through RF scanning devices. There are two standardRF devices that can be used with !" which are

1. . *+, Devices- uses windows based operating system and this graphical user interface RF device can usea small &eypad$ touch screen or some other procedure$ but the data is always displayed to the user in a graphicalmanner. The device is connected to the !" system as any other standalone computer.

2. . /haracter based devices- The character based device is not connected directly to !" but communicatesvia an interface called !" /onsole. Thecommunication between !" console and the RF device can be achievedusing a Telnet server. Two industry standard screen si0es are supported by !"

A. RF Devices for For&lift- 1 2 34 (1 lines by 34 characters)B. "ortable RF Devices- 524 (5 lines by 4 characters)

RF screen for 12 34 loo&s li&e

!" /onsole enables RF devices to be run within !" applications. !" /onsole is used as a framewor& forautomatic data collection in a warehouse environment. !" console translates *+, screens to character basedscreens that are used on a variety of data collection devices. The !" console does not contain business logic$database or e%ternal functionality. ,ts sole function is to translate !" *+, screens in the !" environment to thecharacter based equivalent. The !" console consists of four components$ which are-

1. RF terminal- The RF terminal which is the Telnet /lient receives data directly from the !"ystem and transmits the results bac& to the system. 6e can scan the information that needs tobe recorded$ such as storage unit numbers$ using a bar code (for e%ample$ based on+//7#!'1 standards)$ and also use the bar code scan to verify the storage bins.

2. RF !ccess "oint which allows for wireless #thernet3. Telnet erver7!" /onsole !dministrator$ which allows each RF terminal to convert to the window machine incharacter$ based mode and supports 8T4 terminal emulation.

4. !" R79 system that receives the data from mobile terminals

1. RF in distribution environment

Radio Frequency is primarily used in 6arehouse Management process in distribution environment as it efficientlyhandles the huge volumes of transactional data processing requirements and minimi0es human interventions. Thehigh volume of warehouse transaction processing requirements in industries li&e Retail$ chemicals$ pharmaceuticals$


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!uto /omponents can be handled using the RF integration with warehouse Management. The following processescan utili0e radio frequency devices-

1. *oods Receipt "rocesses with shipping notifications2. *oods ,ssue "rocesses for outbound Deliveries3. ,nternal 6arehouse "rocesses4. toc& Transfer "rocesses within the Distribution 'etwor&5. "hysical ,nventory "rocesses for the warehouses within the Distribution 'etwor&

2. RF Supported Warehouse Processes: The foo!ing

Warehouse Management Processes are supported b" RF

A. #oods Receipt Processes !ith RF:

RF supports *oods Receipt "rocesses with ,nbound Delivery. The goods receipt for the inbound delivery can beperformed based on the ,nbound Delivery number$ :andling +nit 'umber$ taging !rea$ hipment 'umber etc.warehouse wor&ers can perform the following goods receipt;related functions-

/hec& all delivery items and report differences

8iew and change shipment information "rint shipping unit labels +nload deliveries "ac&7unpac& delivery items *enerate and confirm T


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'. Associated SAP (on)guration for RF

a. Configuration for Bar codes: Verification profile is a set of fields that can be verified by the user.Path: $M#*+ogistics ,-ecution*Mobie &ata ,ntr"* eri)cation contro* &e)ne Pro)es

b. Verification profile can be assigned to movement types used in warehouses that will be subject to bar code

scanning.

Path: $M#*+ogistics ,-ecution*Mobie &ata ,ntr"* eri)cation contro* Assign eri)cationPro)es to #oods Movements.

c. Define bar codes for warehousePath: $M#*+ogistics ,-ecution*Mobie &ata ,ntr"*/ar (ode* Assign /ar (ode T"pes toWarehouses.

d. Maintaining Bar code specificationsPath: $M#*+ogistics ,-ecution*Mobie &ata ,ntr"*/ar (ode* Maintain /ar (odeSpeci)cation.

e. Defining the Radio Frequency Queue: To assign a range of activities to certain users, functionality called the RF

Queue Management must be definedPath: $M#*+ogistics ,-ecution*Mobie &ata ,ntr"*Rf 0ueue Management * RF 0ueue&e)nition

Path: IMG>Logistics Execution>Mobile Data Entry>RF Queue Management > RF Queue > Assign

areas and activities to queuePath: IMG>Logistics Execution>Mobile Data Entry>RF Queue Management > RF Queue > Assign

processors to queue

. Reasoning for &eveoping (ustom RF transactionsThe following developments ta&e place in warehouse management with RF

1. Ma&ing /hanges in tandard !" Transaction using user e%its2. Ma&ing /ustom Development

,n the first case li&e other !" modules$ changes can be made in the standard !" transactions to meet the specificbusiness requirements using the suitable user e%its. ,n general the custom RF transactions are developed to mergeseveral RF transactions into one RF transaction in order to optimi0e and reduce the process steps to be carried out.For e%ample for a goods receipt of an inbound delivery with handling units the *R transfer order should be created$ itshould be confirmed and put away transfer order should be created for the same. Thereforethe *R process includese%ecution of three standard !" RF transactionsbut the same processes can be e%ecuted using single customdeveloped RF transaction.The custom RF Transaction development includes the following steps-

1. /reation of the e%ecutable program2. /reation of the screen3. /reation of the function module to access the screen4. creen "rogramming5. ubroutines to call the screen and chec& the data coming from the screen6. !ssigning transaction code to the program7. !ssigning transaction code to the RF menu

The custom development should be made considering the wor&load and the e%tent to which the automation isrequired in the warehouse. The average transaction volume$ warehouse efficiency and the cost7benefit analysis

should be made before deciding on the custom development requirement.

. &a" in the +ife 3o! using RF Technoog"6arehouse Management transaction =RF is used to monitor the queues of warehouse person. 6arehousesupervisors can drag and drop the transfer orders from one queue to other as per the load situation$ user absence.The transfer order priorities can also be changed as per the requirement. The monitoring of the queue can beconfigured per warehouse based on the business requirements by following the given steps-; Define >ueue


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; !ssign areas and activities to the queue; !ssign processors (users) to the queue

The limitation imposed by the transaction =RF restricts more than one user to access the transaction perwarehouse. The transaction =RF can also be used in con?unction with the !" Delivery Monitor transaction 8=45for warehouse wor&load estimating.

4. (hange Management Reated topics for WM and RFThe following change management related topics should be considered before implementing 6M and RF

1. election of appropriate RF Device based on the e%isting business processes2. Transaction 8olume analysis and assessment of custom developments3. ,dentifying users and setting up appropriate users profile and assigning users to the RF monitoring queue4. +sers training and "rocess Documentation


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SAP Mobile Data Entry in Wareho!e Mana"e#entPo!ted by She$har %anein!he$har.rane3on &an 16' 2(11 1)(6)5( AM

inShare

$ntroduction

Co#*anie! that ha+e de*loyed SAP Wareho!e #ana"e#ent ,WM- !ot/are ha+e co#e to rely on it!0eibility and ca*abilitie! in #ana"in" increa!in"ly co#*le and ti#e!en!iti+e !hi**in"' recei+in" and/areho!in" ta!$!. Etendin" the ca*abilitie! o SAP WM !ot/are to #obile /or$er! increa!e! theability to "ather data and direct o*eration! in a !ea#le!! and ecient #anner. nder!tandin" thereire#ent! and ca*abilitie! o #obile ter#inal! in an SAP en+iron#ent can hel* #a$e the ri"htdeci!ion! at the ri"ht ti#e.SAP &ata (oection Soutions 5 SAP(onsoe6 WebSAP(onsoe and $TSMobieSAP oer! #lti*le o*tion! or connectin" %lin$ed #obile ter#inal! to the SAP #ainra#e) SAP(onsoe'WebSAP(onsoe' and $TS Mobieare the #o!t co##on #ethod! in !e today. Each othe!e !oltion! i! de!i"ned and a!!#e! an al/ay!on % lin$ bac$ to SAP %83. SAP Con!oletran!late! SAP9: *a"e! into tetonly *a"e! or characterba!ed ter#inal!. WebSAPCon!ole and :;SMobile *ro+ide a !i#ilar interace bt #aintain the SAP9: loo$ or #obile ter#inal! rnnin" Windo/!CE or other "ra*hic!ca*able o*eratin" !y!te#!.

SAP(onsoeinclde! an ad#ini!trati+e nction ,SAPCon!ole Ad#ini!trator- to create and #ana"econnection *ro


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;o be able to +eriy other


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RF in SAP Warehouse Management