Production / WM backflush and pick parts

[Former Member]

We are setting up PP to run with WM. A production order will have both pick parts (from WM) and backflush components.

The pick parts will be picked in WM storage location, delivered to production supply storage type, and goods issued using mvmt type 261 in reference to the production order. There will be a control cycle set up to direct components to the proper supply area and subsequent storage type and bin.

Backflush components are stored at the production work centers. What are the controls for determining exactly where to backflush from? If we want to have these backflush bins in the same storage location (WM) as the pick parts, will we need an individual control cycle at the material level to approppriately backflush from the correct WM bin? If the backflush storage location is non-wm managed, we wont have this problem - but I am trying to explore making the backflush storage location the same as the pick part storage location, and therefore it would be WM. What are the necessary ingredients to making backflush successful from a WM storage location?

Thanks in advance.

[Former Member]

Regardless of whether you backflush or issue manually, the pick part WM staging will remain same. At the end, both backflush and manually issue materials will be staged in PSA's. When you backflush, the backflush materials will be automatically consumed from these PSAs, and when you manually issue via 261 (via MIGO_GI for example) the same will happen.

If the backflush materials are to be truly warehouse management then probably you may put these in the warehouse; otherwise, you may leave them as non-WM managed, and this is primarily because of the heavy master data maintenance that is required to enable WM-PP staging.

[Former Member]

Csaba / Kalyan - Thanks so much for the responses.

To clarify, I was referring (as you correctly stated) to crate parts. So we will have 2 types of components, pick parts and crate parts (which are stored and are replenished independent of production orders).

The pick parts will be goods issued using a 261 manually, and the crate parts will be backflushed automatically.

I think I know the answer to this, but just to verify:

1. The pick parts will be going to a dynamic bin, and will be goods issued from that dynamic bin manually using 261. I only need 1 control cycle for all parts for a given supply area.

2. The crate parts will have a physical bin location (not dynamic) in WM storage location. I was trying to avoid setting up a control cycle for every material / supply area combination - but I think I have to. Is that correct? I have materials that are used in every supply area, and that would mean having a control cycle for every material / supply area combination. I have 50 supply areas, and hundreds of crate part materials used at every one of those supply areas. I just want to make sure I am not making this more complicated than it needs to be for the crate parts.

THANKS IN ADVANCE, your previous posts were very helpful.

[Former Member]

You understanding on Crate parts is accurate. Unlike Pick parts, Crate parts requires control cycles by each material. I associate Crate parts with Kanbans and therefore, it makes sense to have control cycles by each material since the qty's vary.

[csaba_szommer]

Yes, you need separate control cycle for crate parts (for pick parts you can create cross-material control cycle).

...The pick parts will be going to a dynamic bin...

Please note that it is not mandatory to move pick parts to dynamic bins, you can also use one production bin for all orders. So, how pick parts behave it depends on your master data & settings.

[Former Member]

Thanks for the follow ups.....

Where in the production order is the designation for whether a component is a pick part or a crate part? What is the source of this (I assume material master fields)?

This is the last piece, because somewhere on the production order it would have to designate if it is a crate part or a pick part, in order to kick off one of the two correlating process paths, and for the material to be backflushed or goods issued from the correct bin (designated in the approppriate control cycle).

Thanks again.

[Former Member]

Its rather driven from the control cycle whether the material staged is via Pick or Crate parts. Now, from a production order perspective, you can verify the type of staging (pick or crate) by the indicator that defaults in 'all parts' tab of the WM staging screen.

Again, technically whether backflush or manual GI is independent of the type of WM staging (pick or crate). And, there is no reference in the control cycle whether to backflush or manual GI.

[Former Member]

Understand the backflush / goods issue difference in that it is not controlled by the control cycle, but in the production order and outside of WM.

I was inquiring around the origin of the designation of whether a component was a pick part or a crate part in the production order. There has to be some designation so that when the production order is released, either the parts are picked (pick parts) or they are ignored because they are already at the supply area independent of the production order (crate parts). I was just wondering where the production order pulls this designation from (I assume material master).

Thanks again.

[Former Member]

I re-read what you wrote, and think I understand something different now.

Are you saying that the control cycle alone determines if a material is a crate part or a pick part, and there is no designation on the production order itself?

The reason I ask is because this would almost certainly require a control cycle for every single material. If you take the example of having crate parts (which you would manually replenish using LT01 bin to bin TO's and not LP11), and you had pick parts - and only planned on making one control cycle for each pick parts and crate parts that included all materials (not material specific) - if there was no designation on the production order the correct control cycle could never be determined and the system could never know if something was a pick part or a crate part.

Am I understanding you correctly?

Thanks

[Former Member]

OK - I think I need to correct myself.....

Here is an example:

1. We will have stock at the production WM bins that are things like screws, bolts etc that are always stocked there independent of production orders - and not by using LP11 but using bin to bin TO's (LT01) whenever needed manually.

2. We will have additional components that need to be picked for production orders as needed.

Solution:

1. Create a pick parts control cycle that is not material specific.

This way, when a produciton order is released, as long as we have inventory on hand in the WM bins of screws and bolts, it will not create transfer requirements for them. All of the non-stocked items that are needed to be picked will be seen as pick parts because of the control cycle and the fact that there is no inventory in the production WM bin.

If, in the future we decide that we want to replenish the screws and bolts with a kanban type of replenishment, we can make a control cycle by material for crate parts and run LP11 to make the transfers, eliminating the bin to bin TO's (LT01) that we will start with.

Does that sound about right?

Thanks again - this is really helpful.

[csaba_szommer]

Jeffrey, I think it's better if you go through SAP online help where these things are described properly. In this case you don't have to ask for validation for forum members related to basics of WM/PP interface.

1. Create a pick parts control cycle that is not material specific.
This way, when a produciton order is released, as long as we have inventory on hand in the WM bins of screws and bolts, it will not create transfer requirements for them. All of the non-stocked items that are needed to be picked will be seen as pick parts because of the control cycle and the fact that there is no inventory in the production WM bin.

WM material staging has nothing to do with non stock items. From non stock items you have no stock in the system and that's why there's no point in speaking about how to move their stock from warehouse to production.

If, in the future we decide that we want to replenish the screws and bolts with a kanban type of replenishment, we can make a control cycle by material for crate parts and run LP11 to make the transfers, eliminating the bin to bin TO's (LT01) that we will start with.

LT01 transer is no part of WM/PP interface.

KANBAN type of replenishment and crate/pick parts are not same even if they are similar.

Edited by: Csaba Szommer on May 2, 2011 8:26 AM

[Former Member]

I think there was miscommunication with terminology in the previous post - but I consider this answered.

Thanks.

[csaba_szommer]

Based on your description it's not clear (at least for me) what you mean by "backflush components"? Pick parts are also backflushed.

If you are speaking about materials which are moved from the warehouse to work centers independently from production orders or for several production orders at once, you should check CRATE parts and RELEASE ORDER parts. In their control cycles in LPK1/LPK2 you can define from which storage type / bin they are consumed when you book consumption against your PrdOrd.

If you are speaking about components which are moved to the production area via backflushing (via im-mvt 261), then this scenario has nothing to do with "WM/PP interface".

At the time of backflushing (in standard system) the components will go to 914+dynamic bin (or fixed bin, based on your settings). Normally TR creation is set on WM/IM interface and processing the TR you can move the components from WM to interim storage type 914.

Please understand the difference between the two scenarios - in first case the consumption doesn't take place at the time of material staging. In second case "material staging" is triggered by consumption.