WM or HUM Implementation

[Former Member]

Dear colleagues

My company is planning to use barcode labels on packages/pallets and all packages/pallets will have a unique ID in the system. A pallet can have more than one package in it but a package can only belong to a pallet. When a package is to be dispatch it must first be palletized after that following steps should be carried out. Finally handheld terminals will be used for necessary transactions, e.g. gathering packages in respect to sales order, STO etc.

We donu2019t have PP, WM, Batch Management (BM) or Handling Unit Management (HUM) implemented in our SAP yet.

In a short term PP and BM are not to be implemented. There are 2 offers; one is to implement HUM another one is to implement WM but we were not sure which one must decide.

If we choose HUM implementation after a while, letu2019s say in a year, we decide to implement WM than all development done for HUM will be of no use or what?

I would like to hear your valuable thought about this issue.

Regards, Melih

[csaba_szommer · Accepted solution]

Purpose of WM is to have a more detailed information about your stock in your warehouse(es) - more detailed picture which is given by inventory management:http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/c6/f85c504afa11d182b90000e829fbfe/frameset.htm

...WMS allows you to map your entire warehouse complex in detail to storage bin level. Not only do you gain an overview of the entire quantity of a material in the warehouse; you can also always determine exactly where a certain material currently is in your warehouse complex. With the WMS you can optimize the use of all of your storage bins and warehouse movements, and store material stocks from several plants together in warehouses with random storage.
...

Purpose of handling unit management is to map and track ypur packages in the system:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp60_sp/helpdata/en/1f/7f6d36f74c7505e10000009b38f839/frameset.htm

You can use Handling Unit Management (HUM) to reflect packing-based logistics structures in the SAP System. Using this method, you track the movements of entire handling units and the materials they contain rather than tracking each material individually.

As you can see these are not two options for the same solution, so you should decide what you want and based on that you can choose which solution(s) suits your requirement.

Of course in WM you can use SUM (storage unit management) w/o HUM to map your packages but it has limits.

You can combine WMS and HUM (you can use them parallely).

In your description it is said your packages have structure. If it is true (your input is correct) then HUM could be a solution for that.

f we choose HUM implementation after a while, letu2019s say in a year, we decide to implement WM than all development done for HUM will be of no use or what? 

It depends which kind of development you are speaking about and how you create them. But very probably you are right and WMS implementation would need new developments or correcton / deletion of old ones...

[Former Member]

I think HUM is the best solution for your requirement.

thanks