The most recent release of SAP’s supply chain management (SCM) module has many logistics and distribution managers confused. Few SAP customers understand what SAP’s warehouse management system (WM) options are and what the future development strategy is. To clarify, SAP’s traditional WM product comes as a part of the Logistics Execution System (LES) within its well-known ERP system. It does not require any additional modules to operate, and SAP says this WM product will live on with all future versions of ERP.

With the advent of SAP’s latest SCM module, 5.0, there is now a new WM system available called EWM for SCM (Extended WM). This is an entirely new WM system built as part of a joint development project between SAP and customers Caterpillar and Ford. EWM has advanced built-in features that extend the warehouse capabilities beyond that which is available in the LES WM of ERP. The requirements of a system to operate a warehouse serving the service parts industry exceeded far those available in the WM for ERP, which is why SAP wrote a whole new WMS system for the Ford and Caterpillar projects, finding its functionality that applies to warehouse needs of many other industries too.

For those with more complex warehouse and logistics needs, SAP will need to get into those environments and work very closely with a few early customers (in each industry process model that it wants to serve) to add flexibility options, enhance and streamline the user interface, enhance the directed-work and automated task management capability, and tweak and tune for high volume throughput before it can satisfactorily serve the masses. But for most companies, with less complex needs, the current version of WM does satisfy the needs of a high percentage of companies, companies that don’t need or aren’t ready to use the advanced features that the specialist vendors or EWM offer. Compared to most integrated warehouse management systems from ERP vendors, it is actually quite good and not enough SAP customers take advantage of it, many don’t seem to know it’s there.

Source: AMR Research

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