SAP Extended Warehouse Management
Today’s complex supply chain realities continue to make it more important than ever for executives and managers to feel confident in their decisions regarding IT investments. Understanding the many options for selecting and optimizing a Warehouse Management System (WMS) is critical for meeting both present and future business requirements.
For companies that utilize SAP S/4HANA or ECC 6.0 with Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), BCC Distribution has robust, mobile RF barcode scanning, enterprise label printing, and RFID Automation for SAP EWM data collection solutions for Basic or Advanced EWM. TranASAP also offers features for Barcode Scanning for SAP BTP. These solutions meet the demands of nearly any business application that needs real-time inventory control, accuracy, and exceptional traceability.
RFID Automation for SAP EWM
BCC Distribution has designed, automated, and optimized mobile SAP Extended Warehouse Management software transactions and movement types via our TranASAP solution. TranASAP is purpose-built for software UI simplicity and for the latest rugged Radio Frequency (RF) scanning devices using enterprise-grade Android operating systems. BCC Distribution’s optimized and native SAP RF transactions work in conjunction with existing EWM software functionality. TranASAP’s optimized software transactions utilize SAP and inventory best practice standards to create intuitive screens for the material handlers, with the backend logic to automate time-consuming functions and tasks. With our solutions for RFID Automation for SAP EWM, your team can focus on the tasks on hand rather than stressing over manual scanning.
BCC Distribution’s TranASAP software and RFID Automation for SAP EWM transactions have been designed for agnostic device utilization through web-browser connectivity. Our mobile SAP barcoding solutions are certified for use with industry-leading brands such as Zebra and Honeywell RF scanners. Thoughtful solution design minimizes on-screen words, fields, and use of a virtual or physical keypad on the device to make the system extremely easy to use for the material handler. BCC Distribution’s methodology is to utilize the concept of real-time data validation. Within every RF scanning transaction, TranASAP validates every scan against SAP data, in real-time, to validate that the correct item, quantity, and location is being used. Inherit SAP EWM warehouse complexity is minimized for the material handler, identifying errors immediately to ensure good data in and synchronized accurately within the SAP ERP software system.
SAP EWM Supply Chain Automation Considerations
Utilization of Extended Warehouse Management, compared to standard SAP Warehouse Management, necessitates a thorough analysis of your operational as-is and future business considerations. Through BCC Distribution’s experience, and SAP recommendations, highlighted below are just a couple of examples of business process attributes that must be measured and understood. Automation and advanced RFID Automation for SAP EWM technology require the ability to manage RF equipment, autonomous RFID automation, barcode printing equipment, and other advanced material-handling technologies in real-time and as modern warehouse resources.
When it comes to enabling speech-driven applications and voice communications in warehouses, manufacturing plants, and outdoor yards, you need a voice solution that is specially designed for the job. Bluetooth and corded headsets are loaded with features that offer everything you need in an industrial headset. Combined with BCC Distribution’s voice-enabled barcoding solutions, you can boost worker productivity with fewer errors than typical barcode scanning alone. Pairing Zebra’s wearable computer with a barcode ring scanner, headset, and our SAP-integrated voice data collection software gives your workers the hands-free mobility they need to boost productivity to a new level.
For manufacturing and warehouse environments, real-time inventory visibility and material movements matter. BCC Distribution’s advanced RFID data collection solutions give your business the visibility and real-time data you need to keep track of assets and inventory with minimized user interaction. The benefit of RFID Automation for SAP EWM is that You get greater visibility and true interoperability, all in a hybrid barcoding and RFID system that scales alongside your business and SAP environment. With a comprehensive, end-to-end RFID solution that delivers real-time insights, our solutions increase productivity from the plant floor to the finished product for:
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- Materials Management
- Item-Level Inventory Visibility
- Work In Process (WIP)
- Vehicle and Yard Management
- Asset Utilization, Tracking, and Basic Metrics
- Shipment Validation
- Supply Chain Tracking / Management
- DSD or Field Service
- Fulfillment and Replenishment
- Tools and Toolkit Tracking
Labor Complexity and Material Volumes
Smaller warehouse facilities can be operated by a few skilled and knowledgeable employees. Larger operations can require the efforts of dozens or hundreds of individuals, potentially with high turnover or seasonal worker fluctuation. With higher numbers of workers, it’s even more important to minimize training and have an easy-to-use barcoding system to maximize the operator’s ability to perform warehouse tasks. In order to maximize employee productivity, real-time execution of RFID Automation for SAP EWM transactions must be performed using a mobile RF scanner directly at the point of execution, to validate accuracy and dynamically adjust the flow of the operation according to warehousing or production conditions.
The number of receipts, putaways, picks, transfers, and counts being performed within a warehouse must be measured in terms of order lines per day or units per day. Seasonality and other conditions cause volumes of orders and personnel to increase and decrease supply chain operations throughout the year. Additionally, the number of stock-keeping units (SKUs) is also a relevant indicator of volume and must be accurate to ensure inventory levels are optimized for both internal cost control and customer fulfillment.
Facilities, Scalability, and Warehouse Complexity
The emphasis on pick-and-pack activity is typically much higher at distribution center facilities than at manufacturing sites, for example, while manufacturing sites require support for the staging of materials to production areas and in the finished goods warehouse. The supply chain network may also include one or more third-party logistics providers (3PLs). The number and type of facilities will give you a sense of the overall complexity of your supply chain and provide a starting point for implementing a barcode scanning solution that (1) optimizes EWM as it is today, (2) is scalable to meet future changes and deployments, (3) is built on an architecture that supports EWM for one location and IM or WM for another, and (4) minimizes total cost of ownership (TCO) regarding necessary resources, maintenance, investment, and SAP long-term support.
