SAP EWM Implementation: Key Takeaways

SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) is a sophisticated solution for optimizing warehouse processes in fast-paced logistics and supply chain management. However, SAP EWM implementation can be filled with integration difficulties, process design complexities, customization limits, and user adoption challenges. These issues can lead to delays, inflate costs, and diminish performance.

We want to share our knowledge to help avoid common mistakes and maximize the system’s potential, demonstrating how to secure a successful implementation that enhances warehouse processes and drives business value. At EPAM, our experience spans multiple projects, with dedicated teams specializing in SAP EWM implementation. By sharing insights and best practices developed through these projects, we aim to equip you with the strategies needed to successfully navigate the complexities of the implementation process.

Insights for SAP EWM Implementation Success

Implementing SAP EWM involves several crucial aspects for optimizing warehouse operations and enhancing overall system efficiency. Below are the key takeaways to guide you through the complexities of a successful EWM implementation. These considerations ensure you effectively manage the implementation process's technical, operational, and managerial facets.

Avoiding Over-Customization

Excessive customization can complicate and duplicate functionality. Wherever possible, it's advisable to utilize SAP's standard functionality, which is robust and well-developed from years of experience. Customization should be reserved for achieving a competitive edge or meeting specific needs not addressed by standard features. Constantly link changes to particular deliverables and assess their impact to ensure they are necessary and keep the process simple.

Following a Modular Architecture Approach

The new clean core and modular architecture approach introduced by SAP emphasizes maintaining a clean system and delegating complex customizations to specialized platforms like BTP, for example. This approach focuses on finding optimal solutions tailored to specific needs instead of constrained by a particular technology. But what's also important is to be technology agnostic and carefully design developments. For example, task creation logic might be better suited to remain in EWM for performance considerations rather than being relocated to a different system with potential connectivity or other restrictions.

Simplifying Processes Using Agile Methods

Simplifying processes in SAP EWM is essential, but adopting an agile approach might lead to endless projects with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that does not fully meet business needs. Instead, a hybrid approach combining agile with waterfall methods could ensure the MVP satisfies all stakeholders. For complex customizations like designing effective resource management approach with complex queue sequences, interleaving etc, starting with a basic setup and incrementally adding complexity based on feedback ensures both manageability and adaptability. Effective change management is critical to help end-users adapt to new workflows, preventing issues like undelivered goods and potential financial losses. A balanced simplification approach and careful change management are key to successful SAP EWM implementation.

Prioritizing Key Processes

Prioritizing business processes is crucial for operational optimization. Complex processes, such as the inbound handling of goods, including storage and damage management, arise from diverse conditions and necessitate tailored responses. While not always central, these processes offer enhancement, optimization, and potential automation opportunities through AI and machine learning technologies. Even if infrequent, these complexities can greatly influence project timelines, system design, performance, and user adoption.

Determining the Sequence of Implementation

Therefore, it is essential to prioritize processes, focusing on those that occur more frequently while simplifying or removing infrequent, complex processes from the system to conserve resources and effort.

Additionally, a phased approach can be helpful. Instead of initiating multiple changes in one go, implementing two or three phases can allow for better alignment with business expectations, facilitate discussions, and weigh options on how best to structure and build the system effectively.

Designing a SAP Landscape

It is important to consider future landscape growth while designing, especially in complex customizations related to core warehousing functionality. For example, scenarios where financial document generation could take a minute would not affect business, a similar delay in warehouse creation tasks could halt operations, significantly impacting productivity.

Deployment and customization for EWM require higher requirements than classical logistic systems. During configuration, the actual warehouse layout must be considered. The client should bring the team to the warehouse to help them understand the processes. Drawing the workflow on a board or using business modeling software can be highly effective.

Aligning EWM Configuration with Warehouse Layout

This exposure allows the team to grasp the physical setup, identify where scanning occurs, and anticipate potential issues. When undertaking such an implementation for the first time, the client may not fully grasp which elements need attention. For example, designing a cross-dock zone near the gates while managing the loading process could lead to mixing goods if the scanning process is not carefully planned. Mistakes made here could be challenging to rectify later on.

Assessing Risks with New Technologies

SAP's new technologies hold future potential, yet transitioning from classic to modern applications, such as those involving BTP automation capabilities, presents risks due to fewer available specialists and potential performance issues when real data is applied. These challenges might necessitate costly redesigns, affecting business continuity. Given the novelty of these technologies and the scarcity of experienced professionals, choosing a well-qualified SAP EWM implementation partner is vital for successful migration and system optimization.

Implementing EWM Object-Oriented Model

Performance is key in this system, and it's important to minimize complex coding by implementing the EWM object-oriented model during intricate customizations. This approach is primarily aimed at developers, though functional consultants also benefit from understanding the process's relevance, usage frequency, and performance implications.

EWM consultants should closely monitor development, grasp the underlying logic, and identify any generated objects. It's crucial to discuss with developers the rationale behind any direct database calls, particularly for uniquely designed tables, to assess their impact on overall warehouse performance.

Considering Configuration Pain Points

Risk mitigation requires addressing configuration pain points, which vary by organization. Common challenges include mishandling bulk bin capacities in EWM. If initial capacities are miscalculated, the system needs corrections, which involve emptying and recalculating bin capacities, and these operations might not function properly without first clearing the bins.

Further, inaccuracies in initial capacity measurements can cause incorrect stock data during uploads. Implementing online recalculation features can help mitigate these risks. Additionally, while the stock upload file feature is beneficial, SAP's error detection can be unclear to end-users. Regular updates to improve error-detection logic could help minimize issues during data migrations.

Testing with Real Data

One of the common issues encountered among SAP EWM implementation projects is the discrepancy between testing and real system implementation. Often, everything may function seamlessly during testing with a singular delivery item, yet some inconsistencies arise regarding different batches and deliveries. Custom cycles created in the testing phase fail to work properly, leading to problems that are significantly more costly to fix in practice than during the testing phase. This observation highlights the importance of comprehensive testing that accounts for the variances in real-world scenarios.

Utilizing real data for testing purposes can be advantageous compared to relying on non-existent XML files or other fabricated documents. Building a comprehensive testing infrastructure for all systems and utilizing this infrastructure for initial testing can enhance testing quality while making the process more efficient. Implementing such infrastructure can expedite testing simply through automated functionalities, eliminating the need for specialized personnel to create intricate XML files or documents. These documents may be large and complex with internal checks, requiring significant time and resources to generate.

Prioritizing UI/UX Design Considerations

User Interface (UI) is undeniably significant, particularly in the context of user experience and how users interact with systems. Generally, users interact using handheld RF devices, and adjusting the screens can be beneficial. SAP provides a robust framework that allows for customization, even though it's not always straightforward. It is a well-known technology that ensures proper system interaction when users scan items. Occasionally, errors can arise, such as scanning a product number instead of a handling unit number, which can lead to the creation of handling units with incorrect numbers and disrupt processes at later stages. Therefore, it is advantageous to anticipate such issues, keep actual processes in mind, and implement additional customization for risk management.

Streamlining System Integrations

Migration can be a great idea, but it often comes with challenges. It is important to assess the impact of previous connections after migration, as EWM integration flows may be overlooked or forgotten. The parties involved might not have been part of the project management. They could be unaware that specific data or products they send are no longer needed or must be integrated differently into the new system. Therefore, addressing technology integration issues is crucial to the migration process.

Integration is crucial for a broad audience, particularly in warehouse management systems, typically led by an ERP system. The ERP system is the most critical component as it facilitates deliveries and the transfer of master data to the warehouse management framework. The warehouse management system may also be connected to other systems, such as transportation and yard management.

Smoke testing is critical when transitioning from a prototype to a production infrastructure. This is essential to ensure that communication lines, such as sending requests to the warehouse management system, function correctly and receive appropriate responses. Conducting this testing before commencing actual activities is highly recommended to ensure smooth operations.

Implementing Day-in-the-Life Operational Testing

One significant aspect that should be included in the project is the day-in-life operation phase, where everything is tested in a real-life environment. This phase involves setting up a test landscape, connecting devices such as printers, Wi-Fi, and RF devices to the infrastructure, and trying warehouse processes.

This practical application can even be incorporated into demonstrations. It is essential to make this a part of the user acceptance test's concluding stages, where participants already have some familiarity with the system. This hands-on experience allows users to interact with the system, understand the necessary actions, and absorb information relayed by the system regarding tasks they must perform.

Moreover, this stage can facilitate training for the go-live process, initiating the collection of an issue log, which will serve as the foundation for the go-live issue logs. The importance of learning within a real environment cannot be understated, as formal training typically constitutes only about 15-20% of knowledge acquisition, with the remainder derived from practical experience.

Advancing with SAP EWM S/4HANA Transformation Factory

As organizations transition to SAP EWM on S/4HANA, the SAP EWM S/4HANA Transformation Factory offers a structured methodology to ensure alignment and optimization in the new system environment. This systematic approach facilitates the configuration of SAP S/4HANA advanced functionalities, meticulously tailoring them to meet specific logistical and operational requirements. Using these advanced methodologies enhances efficiency and ensures business operations' adaptability to new technological standards.

Conclusion

Selecting an experienced implementation partner is crucial for a successful SAP EWM project. Unlike typical SAP ERP implementations, EWM requires specific expertise, making experienced professionals invaluable. Preparation is also key for the Go-Live phase, marking the transition from development to operation. Best practices for Go-Live include comprehensive final checks, seamless system integration verification, and detailed user training. Monitoring system performance and establishing a robust support structure during this phase are essential to mitigate risks and ensure a successful shift to the new SAP EWM system. Additionally, using the SAP EWM S/4HANA Transformation Factory can further streamline the transition, providing specialized tools and methodologies designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the migration process.

In our next article, we will examine strategies for handling potential Go-Live challenges and optimizing the effectiveness and value of your SAP EWM implementation.