SD Delivery Processing Part 4: Packing and Handling Units in Outbound Deliveries

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ A handling unit (HU) is a physical unit (carton, pallet) with packaging material and contents; tables VEKP (header) and VEPO (items).
✅ Allowed packaging materials depend on the packaging material type and the material group for packaging materials in the product.
✅ Packing instructions and packing instruction determination enable automatic packing proposals.
✅ Delivery item category controls packing relevance; HUs carry weights and volumes to shipments and output (labels, packing lists).
⚠️ Mixing HU-managed and non-HU storage locations without design causes PGI errors and inventory mismatches.

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▶ WHERE WE ARE
Part 3 created deliveries at scale. Now packing them.

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▶ 1. HANDLING UNITS

• HU = packaging material + contents (materials or other HUs).
• Unique HU number, SSCC for external labels.
• HU management can be active per storage location (HU-managed stock).

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▶ 2. PACKAGING MATERIALS

• Material type VERP; packaging material type (carton, pallet).
• Material group for packaging materials in the product → allowed packaging materials.
• Max weight/volume/tolerances.

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▶ 3. PACKING PROCESS

• VL02N > Pack: create HUs, assign items, nest HUs.
• Packing station (HUPAST) for scanning.
• Packing instructions (POP1) and determination (POF1) for automatic packing.

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▶ 4. CONTROL IN DELIVERY

• Delivery item category: packing control (must be packed / can be packed / not packed).
• Delivery type: packing-related settings and output (label, packing list).

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▶ 5. INTEGRATION

• Shipment/TM uses HU weights and volumes.
• EWM performs packing in warehouse processes; SD delivery reflects HUs.
• HUs are goods-issued with the delivery.

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▶ STEP BY STEP

1. Create packaging materials and allowed packaging assignments.
2. Maintain packing relevance in 0VLP.
3. Pack a delivery manually into two cartons on a pallet.
4. Create a packing instruction and test automatic packing.

✅ CHECKPOINT: the delivery shows nested HUs with correct weights and the label output is triggered.

A consumer goods company introduced HU management only in its main storage location, while overflow stock lived in a non-HU location. Deliveries mixing both locations failed at PGI, and inventory showed HU/non-HU mismatches. The team aligned storage location design (both HU-managed), created packing instructions for top SKUs to automate packing, and printed SSCC labels from the delivery. Packing time dropped and PGI errors disappeared.

• Mixing HU-managed and non-HU storage locations in one delivery flow.
• Missing material group for packaging materials, so no allowed packaging.
• Manual packing for high-volume SKUs without instructions.
• Forgetting label/packing list output.
• Unrealistic weight/volume data.

• Decide HU management per storage location deliberately.
• Maintain packaging master data and allowed packaging.
• Automate packing for repetitive patterns.
• Keep weights/volumes accurate for shipments.
• Align with EWM packing processes.

Questions: "What is a handling unit?", "How are allowed packaging materials determined?", "How do you automate packing?"
Strong answer: HU with packaging material and contents (VEKP/VEPO), SSCC; material group for packaging materials and packaging material types; packing in VL02N/HUPAST; packing instructions and determination for automatic packing; packing control in 0VLP; integration with shipment and EWM.