EWM Inbound: Inbound Delivery, Unloading, Goods Receipt and Putaway Task

Business scenario

Demo Supplier Ltd. ships 100 EA of RM-1000 against a purchase order. Warehouse EW01 receives the truck at door 01, posts the goods receipt, and a worker with a handheld scanner puts the pallets away into rack bin RACK-01-03.

All companies, numbers and documents are fictional demo data.

Step-by-step flow

1. 01

   The inbound delivery reaches the warehouse open in twin

   Inbound delivery 180000456 for 100 EA is created from the PO and distributed to warehouse EW01.

   EWM plans its work from deliveries, not from purchase orders. Without one, there is nothing to receive against.

2. 02

   Truck arrives at door 01 open in twin

   The supplier's truck travels to the warehouse and docks at door 01.

   Yard and door management can record the arrival, but nothing is posted to stock yet.

3. 03

   Unload to the goods-receipt zone open in twin

   The forklift unloads 100 EA onto the goods-receipt zone (bin GR-ZONE).

   EWM can record unloading as its own step, so supervisors see what is physically in the building before goods receipt.

4. 04

   Post goods receipt (101) open in twin

   GR posted in EWM: +100 EA in bin GR-ZONE, storage location ROD. Inventory and GR/IR are updated in finance.

   The goods are now owned and valuated — the supplier's invoice can be matched — even though they have not been put away.

5. 05

   Putaway task is created open in twin

   The putaway strategy picks bin RACK-01-03 and creates warehouse task 100000771 for 100 EA.

   EWM decides where stock goes using putaway strategies (fixed bin, next empty bin, addition to existing stock and others), so the worker does not have to.

6. 06

   Is the stock available yet? open in twin

   Goods receipt is posted. Sales asks whether these 100 EA can be promised to a customer today.

   Stock types and the storage locations they map to control availability.

7. 07

   Posted, but not yet sellable open in twin

   Stock in ROD (F1, in putaway) is typically excluded from sales availability until it reaches AFS.

   That prevents promising goods that might still fail a check or be mis-counted at the door. The exact setup is configuration dependent.

8. 08

   Confirm the putaway task open in twin

   The worker scans the pallets into RACK-01-03. Stock moves from ROD/GR-ZONE to AFS/RACK-01-03: 200 → 300 EA.

   The stock type change is reported to inventory management as a transfer from the putaway storage location to the available one, which is what makes the stock sellable.

9. 09

   Inbound complete open in twin

   PO → inbound delivery → unload → GR 101 → putaway task → confirmed. The 100 EA are in a bin and available to sell.

   Compare with the MM goods receipt 101: the financial posting is identical — what EWM adds is the physical process inside the warehouse.

SAP documents

Stock impact

Accounting impact

Movement type

• 101GR for purchase order (posted from EWM)Reversal: 102
• 311Transfer between storage locations (ROD → AFS, typical mapping)Reversal: 312

Receives goods into the warehouse in a controlled sequence — delivery, unloading, goods receipt, putaway — so that the system knows not just how much stock there is but exactly where it is.

Transactions & Fiori apps

Configuration

• Warehouse number assignment

  Configuration dependent

  Plant / storage location to warehouse mapping decides whether a receipt is processed in EWM.

• Availability groups and stock types (F1/F2)

  Configuration dependent

  Map EWM stock types to inventory-management storage locations such as ROD and AFS.

• Putaway strategy and storage type search sequence

  Configuration dependent

  Decide which bin the task proposes.

• Warehouse process type

  Configuration dependent

  Controls how the putaway task is created and confirmed.

Prerequisites

• Plant and storage locations mapped to an EWM warehouse number
• Product master extended to the warehouse (EWM views)
• Storage types, sections and bins; putaway strategies and search sequences
• Purchase order (or other reference) with an inbound delivery

Master data

Product (EWM views)

Putaway control indicator, storage type groups, packaging specification.

Storage bins

Where stock can be put; capacity and bin type.

Purchase order

The reference that the inbound delivery and goods receipt follow.

Organizational structure

• Warehouse EW01
• Plant 1000
• Storage locations ROD and AFS

Tables

Integration

• MMThe PO and inventory management: EWM posts the 101 and storage-location transfers.
• FIGoods receipt posts inventory against GR/IR clearing, as for any PO receipt.
• QMIf inspection is active, receipts can go to quality stock and inspection lots before putaway.

Common errors

• “No inbound delivery appears in EWM”

  Likely causes: Storage location not mapped to a warehouse number; Delivery distribution to EWM failed; Delivery not created (no confirmation control on the PO)

  Where to look: Warehouse assignment configuration · Queue monitor / distribution status · PO confirmation control

• “No putaway task can be created”

  Likely causes: No storage bin fits the putaway rules; Product not extended to the warehouse; Search sequence missing

  Where to look: Putaway strategy settings · Product warehouse data · Bin capacity

• “Stock received but not available for sales”

  Likely causes: Putaway not yet confirmed; Stock in a storage location excluded from availability

  Where to look: Open warehouse tasks · Availability group mapping

Troubleshooting

Something went wrong? Work through these checks in order. They are diagnostic questions, not configuration instructions — confirm changes with your system owner.

1. CHECK 1

   Delivery missing in EWM

   • Is the storage location assigned to the warehouse?
   • Did the delivery distribution fail?

2. CHECK 2

   Putaway fails

   • Does the product have warehouse data?
   • Is there a free bin matching the putaway rules?

3. CHECK 3

   Availability

   • Is the putaway task confirmed?
   • Which storage location is the stock in?

Interview questions

• What is the difference between goods receipt in MM and in EWM?

  In MM, MIGO posts the receipt directly into a storage location. With EWM, the receipt is posted on the inbound delivery in EWM, which then updates inventory management with the same movement type (101) and accounting. EWM adds the physical process: unloading, bin-level stock, putaway tasks and stock types.

• What are ROD and AFS in an EWM setup?

  Typical names for the two inventory-management storage locations mapped to an EWM warehouse: ROD ('received on dock') for stock in putaway (stock type F1) and AFS ('available for sale') for stock that has been put away (F2). Moving between them is how inventory management learns that stock is available. The names and mapping are configuration.

• What is a warehouse task?

  EWM's instruction to move a quantity of a product from a source bin to a destination bin — for putaway, picking, replenishment or internal moves. Tasks are grouped into warehouse orders for workers and confirmed, often on an RF device, which updates the bin stock (quants).

Quiz

Related processes

• 101101 Goods Receipt
• 601EWM Outbound
• 101 · 311 · 601Cross-Docking

References

• SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) (source)
• SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Inbound Processing (source)
• SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Putaway Strategies (source)
• SAP SE — SAP Help Portal: Stock Types in EWM (source)

Explanations are original. They summarize standard behaviour; always validate against your system's release and configuration.

Version history