Stock Room Management: The WM Solution in S/4HANA

Stock Room Management: Alternative to EWM in S/4HANA

Stock Room Management facilitates the seamless transition of WM warehouse processes to SAP S/4HANA without conducting an extensive migration to EWM. Customers who want to continue using their WM warehouse processes in SAP S/4HANA can avail of Stock Room Management for continued access to the core features and configuration of the "old" WM system.

For Which Warehouse Management Scenarios Does The Use of Stock Room Management (SRM) Make Sense?

Stock Room Management is a transitional solution that facilitates an easier transition to SAP S/4HANA without any major costs or implementation risks. It is primarily available to companies currently using SAP WM in ERP. The target group is mainly existing customers with simple, manual warehouses or a low level of automation. SAP Stock Room Management can be used for a wide variety of warehouse types currently controlled by basic WM processes (for example, production and distribution warehouses). Implementing the SAP S/4HANA EWM component would not be the best alternative for these companies since they have very little need for the extended features of EWM. According to SAP, new customers also have the alternative to Stock Room Management as part of their SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management license.

What Warehouse Management Features Does SAP SRM Offer?

SAP Stock Room Management largely supports all basic SAP WM processes. It primarily includes features for managing and controlling warehouse processes such as inventory management, storage bin management, storage unit management, active capacity checks, the use of radio frequency (RF), cycle counting or physical inventory.

Stock Room Management can still be used to create business documents such as transfer requirements and transfer orders for warehouse movements.
Stock Room Management can also be used to fully map WM master data such as material master data, storage types, storage areas, storage bins, and their properties. End users do not need a new configuration since the customer-specific configuration from WM (for example, the organizational structure, putaway strategies, and stock removal strategies) can be transferred to Stock Room Management.

However, the following features are not available in SRM:

Task and Resource Management (WM-TRM)
Warehouse Control Unit Interface (WM-LSR)
Value-Added Service (WM-VAS)
Yard Management (WM-YM)
Cross-Docking (WM-CD)
Decentral WM (WM-DWM)

What Are the Main Differences Between SAP Stock Room Management and SAP Extended Warehouse Management?

When SAP ceases support for SAP ECC in 2027, it will also no longer provide support for the Warehouse Management (WM) component. However, support can be extended to 2030 for a fee.

SAP Stock Room Management is a specific solution in SAP S/4HANA that enables companies using SAP WM to use the features of the warehouse management (WM) system after SAP ceases support for the component.

Stock Room Management is available as of SAP S/4HANA Release 1909.

Stock Room Management and Warehouse Management are based on the same data model and offer the same scope of solutions apart from a few functional limitations. Further developments by SAP are not planned for Stock Room Management. Functional innovations are only offered for SAP EWM components.

SAP EWM is a comprehensive solution for complex, automated warehouse systems. The EWM component provides users with a range of new features for optimizing their warehouse processes.

In addition to its extended scope, SAP EWM is a future-proof, scalable SAP solution compared to WM.

Stock Room Management: The WM Solution in S/4HANA

Comparison between WM, SAP EWM and SAP S/4HANA Stock Room Management

How Does the Complexity of Implementation Differ Between SAP SRM and SAP EWM?

SAP users migrating to SAP S/4HANA can switch to either Stock Room Management or Extended Warehouse Management (EWM). SAP Extended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM) remains SAP's strategic product. SAP recommends implementing SAP EWM for all new warehouse implementations, either as an embedded (eEWM) system within SAP S/4HANA or as a separate (decentralized) system. Further information about SAP EWM, its benefits and how to migrate to SAP EWM is available here. Depending on the complexity of the individual warehouses, a dual strategy can be considered for both SAP S/4HANA Stock Room Management and EWM.

Alternative Solutions for Warehouse Management in S/4HANA

Would You Like to Learn More About Which Solution is Best for Your Company?

Based on the complexity of your warehouse processes, our XEPTUM consultants can help you choose the right SAP product for you. Let XEPTUM support your project from analysis all the way through to technical implementation and support.

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