Packaging Material Management

Efficient Planning of Packaging Materials Directly in SAP ERP

A way of planning packaging materials that is so efficient, transparent and flexible that the right packaging is always available at the right time and in the right quantities — this is an important building block on the way to achieving smooth logistic processes.

Time-Consuming and Laborious Packaging Material Management

The planning of packaging materials is often especially challenging for subcontractors and system suppliers who work with SAP ERP. During this process, it is important to distinguish between standard and special load carriers.

Standard containers, which may originate from suppliers, freight forwarders, customers, charge carrier pooling service providers, and also from your own locations, and which must be procured at short notice, are constantly being intermixed. The critical point when planning the use of standard load carriers is knowing which customer requires which containers, when and in which quantities, and also how many packaging materials must be made available for each supplier at a given time.

The situation is different for special containers, which are mostly purchased exclusively for a project and, as a rule, cannot be used elsewhere and are only produced in limited quantities. The required special load carriers are calculated before the start of the project and produced in corresponding quantities. In contrast to standard load carriers, special load carriers are usually used in a fixed cycle, e.g. in a “push” process which does not require special planning. For projects lasting several years, however, the original calculation basis may change, causing the packaging cycle to grind to a halt. The calculation and the actual requirements must therefore be regularly checked so that additional special load carriers can be assigned in good time.

Since the corresponding processes are not included in the SAP standard functions for packaging material planning, this scheduling must be carried out manually in Microsoft Excel or on paper — a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

Consultation

Do you want to optimize the efficiency of your packaging material management and perform the related tasks entirely in SAP ERP? We look forward to advising you. Please feel free to call or e-mail us.

SAP-Integrated Planning: The Key Benefits

It is vastly more efficient to carry out all packaging material planning directly in SAP ERP via IT-supported and largely automated processes. This provides a major commercial advantage:

All packaging materials are thus scheduled at the right time and in the right quantity — excess material or bottlenecks resulting in high costs simply do not occur.
For each container type, the user gets a clear view of the current stock and the requirements for each customer or vendor; potential bottlenecks can thus be identified at an early stage and quickly counteracted.
The user also benefits from noticeably tighter processes and gains extra time to focus on core tasks, i.e. monitoring packaging materials, flagging overdue loaned packaging accounts and identifying so-called “shelf warmers” (slow-selling items).

Make the Most of These Advantages With SPEEDI

To help you take advantage of these benefits, WSW Software offers two powerful, easy-to-use SPEEDI solutions, which extend the SAP standard without modification and in a practical way:

The SPEEDI Packaging Material Information Cockpit (PMIC) determines the packaging materials required by customers or vendors in SAP ERP and supports forward planning. The SPEEDI PMIC, which has proven its worth in practice, is constantly being improved and further developed on the basis of specific requirements.
The SPEEDI Monitor for the Packaging Material Cycle determines whether the special load carriers that are currently available are sufficient to meet the specific requirements. At the same time, it highlights any imminent bottlenecks that will arise unless new load carriers are procured.

With the SPEEDI PMIC and the SPEEDI Monitor for the Packaging Material Cycle, you can reduce the manual processes during packaging planning to a minimum and make them leaner, more effective, more transparent, and also safer.