What is the Difference Between SAP EWM and SAP WM?

SAP introduced and launched its WM inventory management solution in the late 1970s. Since the early days of WM, SAP has continuously updated and improved the software. SAP WM has been accepted and used by many companies with its strong capabilities and applications that offer a warehouse management solution. SAP added SAP EWM as part of the supply chain management module in 2005. Although EWM and WM basically have the same functions, EWM has additional capabilities and is a more powerful SAP ERP solution.

With SAP announcing that its support for the WM module will end in 2025, businesses started to wonder about the difference between WM and EWM and started to think about the transition process from WM to EWM. In this process, we discussed the difference between the two solutions.

What is SAP WM (SAP Warehouse Management)?

SAP WM Module is basically a warehouse management system designed by SAP for the planning and execution of physical stock management and stock movements in warehouses with shelf management. It works integrated with SAP modules such as Quality Management, Production Planning, Sales, and Distribution. 

SAP WM module is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) module that deals with material flows through the ERP system. It manages the inventory and related costs and provides real-time information on stock levels, movements, and usage.

SAP WM module helps to manage inventory costs by tracking cost of goods sold across several locations of a company. It helps to consolidate costs and charges using location-specific costs or cost allocation rules.

SAP WM is used to:

• Plan and schedule material movements in the warehouse
• Monitor actual inventory levels against planned levels
• Check consignment lot numbers against delivery notes received from external suppliers
• Set up and support the repository structure
• Select the most suitable storage areas for stock management
• Manage stock replenishment processes

What is SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management)?

SAP EWM is the version created by enriching the SAP Warehouse Management (SAP WM) solution, one of the most used warehouse management applications in the world, with additional functions.

The SAP EWM solution has been designed to structure and manage the storage of goods in warehouses, distribution centers and logistical centers. Its main purpose is to improve efficiency and performance by automating processes like receiving and storing goods, replenishing stock levels, managing inventory and optimizing space allocation.

SAP EWM offers a broader range of features and functionalities for managing product life cycles and providing a single view of all supply chain processes.

Main Features of SAP Extended Warehouse Management

SAP EWM also offers a variety of features related to logistics management, such as:

• Picking orders and packaging orders for shipping;
• Checking incoming goods against purchase orders;
• Creating electronic bills of lading;
• Creating electronic shipping documents;
• Managing returns and exchanges.
• Yard management,
• Managing the vehicle and transport unit
• Managing workers,
• Dock appointment scheduling ,
• Performing cross-loadings,
• Planning of loading and unloading processes,
• Scale integration,
• Enabling analytics
• Display the current status of material handling equipment,
• Managing physical inventory processes
• Acceptance and optimization of receipt processes

Differences between SAP EWM and SAP WM

If you are looking for a solution to manage your warehouse operations and make them more efficient, then SAP EWM could be an option worth considering. However, before making any decision regarding this matter, it is important to consider some key aspects related to these two solutions.

While both products offer basic functions for managing warehouses and their operations, there are also some differences when it comes to their capabilities. In fact, while SAP EWM offers advanced functionality such as forecasting and replenishment planning, which allows users to develop strategies based on inventory levels and other factors such as lead time or demand rate; SAP WM only provides basic functionality like picking orders or goods receipt control.

5 Reasons to Migrate from SAP WM to SAP EWM

• Warehouse cockpit is a feature in SAP EWM that allows you to graphically view warehouse key figures and evaluate or track activities using specified chart types. 
• SAP EWM also covers the packaging, handling, and transportation of hazardous substances in compliance with SAP Environmental Health & Safety EHS regulations. 
• You can use slotting for items to evaluate storage concepts and automatically optimize the layout of a goods warehouse. 
• Before placing different items in different storage sections, you should deconsolidate handling units that contain different products. 

• You can also schedule labor times and resources more efficiently in SAP EWM, allowing you to make your Warehouse more competitive by effectively managing key resource management tasks. 

SAP EWM is similar to SAP WM in terms of features, but it offers more customization options, such as warehouse structure and picking/putaway processes. SAP EWM also incorporates new ideas such as activity zones, Work Centers, and Resources. 

EWM, according to SAP, is a more robust and versatile alternative to WM. EWM has the same basic core functionalities as WM, but adds features like labor management and internal routing. The WM module will no longer be produced, and its support period will end in 2025, according to the SAP roadmap. It's time to start planning your SAP EWM migration! 

MDP Group allows you to optimize your warehouse management processes from end to end with the SAP EWM consultancy it offers. You can contact us to get information about our SAP EWM consultancy.