Enhancing Warehouse Efficiency Through SAP EWM in S/4HANA
Rajendra Kattunga, Madhusudana Kamballi, Prakash Subramani, Shivendra Kumar Singh, Ravindra Kumar Saini
Abstract
One of the big areas of concern by the supply chain strategies today is digitisation of the operations of the warehouse. Incorporated into the S/4HANA environment as the SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), this software works to the benefit of the industry by assisting in real-time tracking of the supply, automating the supply workflow, and integrating it across the enterprise without a problem. The field of SAP EWM integration in architecture S/4HANA is discussed in this review, and its key functions, implementation styles, and benefits of its application in practice are outlined. The focus is on the measurable outcomes to incorporate a higher inventory accuracy, improved order cycle, and improved throughput rate. It addresses not only the experimental concepts but also the case-based analysis, and shows the impact of such EWM functionalities as task interleaving, labour management, and warehouse automation on the performance-related parameters. The other severe challenges such as complications of systems integration, assuring data and system scalability during high transactions are also tackled. It provides a conceptual model, showing the relationship of tiers in a system, inputs of activities and warehouse output. Moreover, the study identifies the research aspects in the future, including the application of artificial intelligence, tracing with the help of the IoT, blockchain-powered traceability, and digital twins to perform a simulation. The application of such technologies may be viewed as valuable additions to EWM capabilities and operating smartness. Overall, the review contributes more to the strategic purpose of SAP EWM in the digitalization of a supply chain and is the foundation of further academic and practical research.