SAP Material Staging

SAP material staging is the process of issuing raw materials or semi-finished goods from the production or the goods receipt storage location to the assembly or manufacturing storage location. This applies to all manufacturing methodologies. Material staging in SAP is one of the key concepts under production and planning. It is used in Repetitive Manufacturing (REM), which is one of the main production methodologies in SAP that focuses on manufacturing goods in large volumes and within a predefined period.

Material staging is predominantly a location-to-location material transfer that can be planned and managed. Material staging ensures continuous material availability for production. The movement type used for location-to-location stock transfer is 311 in SAP.

When material staging is properly executed, stocks at the replenishment storage location will reduce and the stocks at the issuing storage location will increase via stock transfer. Material staging in repetitive manufacturing (REM) can be handled in several methods. We will discuss each of these methods in detail throughout the later sections.

1. Pull list.
2. Kanban.
3. Storage location MRP.

“Pull list” is an alternative term used for material staging. From the pull list, we can get a list of materials that are in shortage to carry out the production and the pull list can be used to trigger the stock transfer. We can use Kanban and storage location MRP as the pull list to get the material shortage details.

REM or Repetitive Manufacturing is a time-conscious process. Because of this, material staging in REM is carried out based on a time interval. For example, this time interval can be the end of a shift, the end of the day, or by the end of the week. The make-to-order REM is done based on plan orders and in this scenario, we can execute material staging based on the plan order.

SAP Material Staging Process

Material Staging Pull List

The first step of SAP material staging using pull lists is the evaluation of the current stock situation. To check this, execute the transaction code MF63 or follow the below SAP menu path:

Logistics -> Production -> Repetitive Manufacturing -> Material Staging -> Pull List – Current Situation

Once the transaction is entered, there are lots of selection options available. The most important selection options are the plant and the selection horizon for the requirements. The selection horizon determines the period under evaluation, and it will limit the shortage quantities for that period. To minimize the execution time of the program, it is better to enter more selection criteria such as the production line or the plan order. Once the program is executed, it will show the shortage quantities for the selected period.

Trigger Replenishment

This is the second step of the material staging based on pull lists. Follow the below SAP menu path to execute the program or use the transaction code MF60:

Logistics -> Production -> Repetitive Manufacturing -> Material Staging -> Pull List – Trigger Replenishment

By executing this program, we can do the stock transfer from the replenishment storage location to the issuing storage location. The selection screen in MF60 is similar to the current stock evaluation program MF63. Once the selection is given, we can view the details below.

• Material – Based on the time horizon, materials that have a staging requirement will be picked.
• Issue storage location – This is the production storage location that is entered in the BOM. It is the location where the stock will be transferred from the replenishment location. To enter the production storage location in the BOM, execute transaction code CS01/CS02, select the material code and click the “item” button. Then click on the status/long text tab and maintain the values.
• Net Requirement Quantity – Based on the time horizon given, the required quantity of the materials will be populated in this field. If we execute the program by giving a plan order, the required quantity will be picked based on the component assignment in the plan order.
• Available stock – This is the currently available stock in the production storage location.
• Quantity staged – Net requirement quantity minus the available stock will give the quantity that needs to be staged. This quantity needs to be transferred from the replenishment location to the production location.
• Replenishment storage location – This is a location in your warehouse where the material stocks are stored. The system can detect the replenishment location automatically if we have activated it in the global settings.

To perform the material staging, select a line and click on the “stage” button. The system will display a message and the staging traffic light will become green.

During material staging, the location-to-location material transfer will happen. Due to this goods movement, a material document will be created in the system. We can view the material document generated from MB03 or MB51 transaction codes.

There will be two entries in the material document with the plus and minus signs along with the 311 movement. The plus and minus signs represent the material receipt and material issues from the storage locations. Once done, production storage location stock will increase based on the staged quantity, and replenishment location stock will decrease. The stock overview of the storage locations can be viewed from MMBE or MB52 reports in SAP.

Kanban in Material Staging

As mentioned earlier, we use pull lists to identify the materials that have shortages and then trigger the stock transfers. We can use Kanban or storage location MRP as the pull list.

Kanban is a pull system-based production type that can be used to evaluate the stocks and trigger replenishment. Kanban is a demand-driven process but unlike other production methods, demand is generated only when it is required. This eliminates the time-consuming material requirement planning. During the Kanban process, demand will trigger the replenishment as well as the supply process. Kanban can be used for in-house produced materials as well as externally procured materials. We can use Kanban to trigger material staging during REM. When the stock at a production location is getting low, we can set up a Kanban strategy to pull stocks from a replenishment location.

Storage Location MRP 

Storage location MRP can also be used as a pull list to generate replenishment stocks when the production location stocks are reduced. Generally, MRP is carried out at the plant level, in which all storage locations belonging to the plant are considered during requirement planning. In storage location planning, we have the option to select which locations need to be considered during the MRP run. This gives more control over the stocks in the storage location and requirement proposal generation. Storage location MRP indicator is maintained in the MRP 4 screen of the material master. There are three input options, namely:

1. Blank – Storage location stocks planned at plant level.
2. 1 – Storage location stock is excluded from MRP.
3. 2- Storage location stock planned separately.

In addition to these options, we can use a special procurement type such as 40 which is for stock transfer, combined with the storage location MRP indicator 2. The special procurement type can be maintained in the MRP 4 screen of the material master. Using these options enables us to set a reorder point and then execute a stock transfer from a storage location (e.g., replenishment location) when the stock quantity falls below the reorder point in another storage location (e.g., production issue location).

By executing the above processes, we can use storage location MRP as a pull list during material staging to replenish stocks.

SAP Material Staging or “Pull List” is one of the key concepts in optimizing production and planning. This concludes the SAP Material Staging tutorial.

—

Did you like this tutorial? Have any questions or comments? We would love to hear your feedback in the comments section below. It’d be a big help for us, and hopefully, it’s something we can address for you in the improvement of our free SAP PP tutorials.