Storage automation in the Cloud
Today we have prepared another example of digitalization of business processes using cloud tools. Every larger company needs to address the issue of storing materials, products or trade goods. If it is a manufacturing or logistics company, the recording and automation of material flows becomes a key need for the efficient functioning of the company’s processes.
The solution we want to present to you is based on the basics of material registration using the controlled warehouse of the standard module of the SAP Warehouse Management (WM) system, where it is possible to carry out primarily the registration of materials by warehouse locations. For SAP S/4 HANA customers, the WM module has already been replaced by a new name – Stock Room Management. These tools of the SAP ERP system serve as an excellent basis for accurate material recording and offer a wide range of possibilities for further improvements and automation.
Automation in the warehouse can be carried out using various tools and enhancements. The basis is the correct labelling of material for internal or external use. For this, different types of printers are used, ranging from conventional ones to specialised ones that can print self-adhesive labels with a 1D or 2D barcode, or can encode the information into an RFID chip. Material labelling should always be the place to start, as it is a prerequisite for further efficient automation.
The next phase of automation is typically a mobile solution that enables the registration of material movements by reading 1D/2D codes or RFID. For this purpose, it is best to use modern mobile applications, which should mainly cover the most frequently performed physical operations in material handling. The cloud version of such a solution will allow workers in the warehouse or in production to record material movements directly in IS SAP not only via the internal WIFI network, but also via a secure connection via the Internet with a regular GSM data connection. In this respect, the cloud and the resolution of secure access to enterprise applications brings the possibility to push mobile applications beyond the enterprise gates, such as the confirmation of material handover to the customer or the release of material for assembly. After years of experience with our customers, we have standardized the most widely used operations and are now able to deliver them to customers in the form of a cloud-based mWm product in SAP BTP version that can be deployed quickly and with minimal risk.
Warehouse automation can of course go further. For our customers, we solve a variety of specific tasks that speed up, refine or simplify logistics processes. Thus, we can also prepare tailor-made solutions for them, such as automatic label printing on the production line, issuing a command to call a robot for pallet removal, a customer portal for material dispatch management, automated stacking, automated dispensing gates, and so on. Today, we primarily provide such solutions in the cloud environment of SAP BTP, mainly due to fast implementation, minimal operational requirements, high availability, the possibility of innovation, and all while maintaining the requirement for high security.
Logistics is a really complex topic that can be given a lot of attention. If a company is built on logistics services, digitising and simplifying them is therefore a logical step that no company that wants to be successful can avoid sooner or later. It is therefore essential to start with solutions that create a stable foundation and that can be easily and continuously developed and improved.
