Packaging / packing slip limitation

[Former Member]

Hi Experts,

Nowdays we manage packing list / slip outside SBO (due to the limitations I'm about to write), but it would be a goal to handle this inside the system.

I found a few similar discussions from the past, but found no real answers, that's why I'm curious about new ideas in the theme.

Note: Some problems may be uniqe or not so common, but I think most of them are very ordinary, and could occur in the methods of any company.

1. The "time" of packaging

Under "time" I mean, you can only make a Packing slip form the Delivery, but in many cases this does not fit the requirements.

As a manufacturing company,at us packaging does not happen, when the goods are being delivered, but at the end of the production. It's very often, that different items form different production orders get packed in one box. This cannot happen at the time of delivery.

I mean, we need to know way before the delivery how the packaging will happen, so a "Pre-packaging" functionality would be usefull.

Note: We plan packaging and do know in advance the Package numbers, the package content, we print and stick labels also. The most rankling thing is, that all this data is / could be in SBO, but presently it can only be formed at a wrong time.

According to method of SBO: A truck comes, it is waiting to be loaded, and we just start packaging and printing labels, thats not efficient.

By the way, from where does a colleague from the sales / logistics (they can make packing slip) know, how (ie.:in what kind of box) the production packed the goods?

2. Packaging by serial numbers

The packaging method of SBO does not support this, but we (example: for tracking purposes) need to know which package holds which serial number.

(There is an older discussion on this, but not answered)

Note: we do know (due to planning) in advance the relation between serial number and package number, so presently, when a serial managed item ends it's production, it gets packed, and gets the label of the serial number and the package number in one step. Then the item can be held in the warehouse for a few days until delivery, bt on the date of delivery, there are no additional things do (no packaging, label printing, sticking,), so delivery happens smoothly.

3. Customer reference data on packing slip

Many of our customers request for the references (NumAtCard field ORDR table) of the orders they sent to us on the packing slip. The problem with this, is when you're delivering multiple orders (they can have a few same items) in one delivery and setting up packages, SBO allocates items by Itemcode, so you don't know which item comes from which order, but on the Packing slip the reference must be visualized in every row of every package (by the needs of the customers).

There can be a few questions mentioned relating to packaging, but I would grateful for some ideas, solutions for the above written problems.

I think we are not the only ones facing problems like these, how do you handle them?

Thanks,

Ferenc Csépány

[frank_wang6]

For q1, I am not exactly sure what's the problem, can not comment.

For q2, I believe u can make reservation on Orders for serialized/batch product. So at least u hold the inventory qty for delivery.

For q3, I believe this can be achieved by changing the CR layout. I dont think it is too hard to achieve.

Frank

[Former Member]

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your reply and the ideas (q2, q3)

Let me explain a little more detailed, what the main problems are, and I will reply to your suggestions also.

According to SBO:

In SBO you can make packages when you are adding a Delivery. Out of the packaging data you can print a Packing list / slip (NOTE: Pacing list is a very important document in international transportation). You can send this Packing slip to your customer, and you can use this packaging data to print package labels also.

The problem with this, is we need to set up and know - if possible - all the packaging data in advance for operating smoothly, NOT at the time of the delivery.

Q1:

- According to the method of SBO, every (sell) item is on stock "unpacked" (beacuse it gets packed when delivered, the packaging instructions can only be set up then in SBO).

This is FALSE - every finished good is "on the shelf" packed.

To achive this we need to have another "system" (for example an Excel file) beside SBO (since there is no opportunity or table in SAP to do this), in which we can plan and record the packaging.

- Since in SBO you can make packages only when you deliver, this means that physical packaging (someone has to do the packaging physically) can start only then also.

This is FALSE - if we would only start packaging at the time of delivery, there would be a huge delay in loading and some shipments couldn't be started on the day they should be.

To avoid this - same as above - we need to have a "system" outside SBO.

- To make any delivery we need to order truck(s) or couriers like TNT, DHL...This has a fee (shipment cost), which our cutomers pay, that's why we send out our order confirmations already with shipment cost. The amount of the shipment cost depends from the size and weight of the packages we will send, so we need to know them in advance.

NOTE: some orders are split to 2-3 shipments, and some shipments consist of the goods of multiply orders.

- Packaging is related to delivery, this assumes that the person who creates the delivery needs to determine how the packaging will be done.

In my opinion, it is not a statutory thing that someone in the Sales department (the department which refers for deliveries) should be the "Master" of packaging also. We always seek the opportunity of optimal packaging, which means, in many cases we have to make many packages in different sizes, containing different qty of different - serial managed - goods.

At our company - this "Optimal packaging" is the achivement of the communication of the colleague who refers for the Delivery (creates all delivery documents used in international transport, orders trucks, communicates with partners, etc.) and the colleague who - works on a daily basis with these goods (the leader of Assembly) - refers for the Physical packaging.

These two colleagues plan - in the external system - the whole packaging (with serial numbers, exact content, and exact package numbers) in advance, so at the end of the production of the ordered items every packaging data has been set up, every document has been made and every label has been printed. That's the way we can operate without delays.

Revise me if I'm wrong, but you can't do this with the current Packaging functionality of SBO, since it is related to the Delivery and can' handle serial numbers when packaging.

Q2:

If under reservation you mean, that on the order (after right clicking on the qty of the serial managed item) you can choose from serial numbers, you're right, BUT:

- This is only available if there is a stock of the serialized item, and at us serial managed items are made to order, so they don't have any stock, and

- The reservation does not resolve the problem of creating packages (and packing slip) with references to serial numbers.

(In Q3 below, you can a find a sample of a packing list with serial numbers)

Q3:

Ofcourse you can change CR layout, you can easily show ODLN.NumAtCArd field on the Packing slip, but thats not what I'm talking about.For each package's content I need to show the reference number of the customer's order for each item.

Here is an example for better understanding:

Let's say we have items M0001 (serial managed), M0002 (serial managed), SP001 (not serial managed). With a few days difference one of our customer places two orders, we confirm them the following:

- Confirm No.: 1001

- Customer: XY

- NumAtCard (customer reference): 1234

- Items:

  - M0001 - 1 pc

  - SP001 - 3 pcs

- Confirm No.: 1002

- Customer: XY

- NumAtCard (customer reference): 5678

- Items:

  - M0001 - 1 pc

  - M0002 - 1 pc

The 2 orders will be delivered together. Production and packaging finished, this how the packages and the Packing list / slip should look like:

Package Num	Package Type	Itemcode	Serial	Cust. Ord. No.	Qty
1	Palette	M0001	M000120150001	1234	1
		SP001	-	1234	1
2	Palette	M0001	M000120150002	5678	1
		SP001	-	1234	1
3	Palette	M0002	M000220150001	5678	1
		SP001	-	1234	1

So, please guide me, how do you link DLN7 and DLN8 tables to get this outcome, since DLN7 and DLN8 don't have any BaseEntry or Baseline fields.

(Note: when making packages SAP allocates the qty by itemcode, so in this case you see M0001 with 2 pcs. You can split this into 2 packages, but you don't have the opportunity to see what was the basedoc of them.)

Q4 - a few other mentionable things:

- Packaging at delivery has no effect on the stock of the packaging material you use, so you have to reduce their stock by production or manually with goods issue.

- Setting up packages is slow, imagine, customer would have ordered (instead of 1) 56 pcs of M0002. Since each item is one package you have to repeat 56 times the creation of one package.

- Packaging doesn't count with the weight of packaging material. I set up "Palette" in OPKG table, add a weight to it, but when using it in packaging, I only see weight of the good(s), so packaging couldn't handle gross weight.

If something wasn't clear, please respond.

Waiting for your reply.

Ferenc