Project Description
Advanced Returns Management (ARM)
in SAP
Simple administration and handling of customer returns with SAP ARM
The SERKEM solution in detail
The SAP Advanced Returns Management is used for the administration of customer returns and provides a variety of advanced functions for the returns management.
Beside a continuous process of the returns management, a permanent monitoring and interferences in the processes are possible with the help of the returns overview. An optimized and accelerated returns management is the result of the SAP ARM.
At a glance
- Registration of inspection results for the material directly in the returns order: for returns order-based deliveries or for supplies-based on returns stock transport orders
- Registration of inspection results for deliveries with reference to returns purchase orders
Advantages:
- Easier planning of logistical follow-up activities
- Higher transparency at the determination of returns refunds
- Better traceability of decisions in the returns process
- Analysis and evaluation of returns processes for reducing the returns volume
- Examples: assume immediately in free available stock, delivery to suppliers, acquisition in commission
- Determination of final place of destination of a returned material
- Registration of necessary details of the material in the returns order for follow-up activities
- Usage of control transaction for data collection
Advantages:
- Reduced effort for planning and execution of logistical follow-up activities
- Analysis and evaluation of returns processes for future reduction of returns volume
Examples:
Returns stock transport order, returns purchase order, inbound and outbound delivery as well as goods movements
The consequence:
Faster processing and higher productivity- User have to interfere rarer in the processes.
More precise and transparent determination of returns refund through:
- Information of the returns refund to customer: if and in which form
- Determination of returns refund amount over returns refund code
- Determination of returns refunds
- Tracking of returns processes
- Overview over all process steps, created follow-up documents and status information (settlement and returns refund)
- Better customer service through easier information possibilities
Administration of customer returns and mapping of all returns scenarios in the SAP system like e.g. direct returns in the shop, returns which include a delivery in the storage with subsequent reverse handling in logistics and direct returns from customer to the suppliers. The returns refund takes place with credit memos or replacement material.
Supplier returns are connected with the return of products from one company location to the following, possible recipients: supplier returns for external suppliers and branch returns for other companies in the further process of the logistics chain.
All connected steps with the returns management are integrated:
- Creation of returns orders
- Entering of inspection results
- Decision over logistical follow-up avtivities
- Returns refund for customer returns through credit memos
- Free subsequent delivery of replacement materials
- Process monitoring
- Connection of single steps with different user roles and authorizations
- Automatically creation and tracking of all receipts for processing in logistics and finance
Especially for redirection processes (branch- and supplier returns) with the possibility of scrapping
- Booking of goods receipt for customer returns in unvaluated stock: logistical follow-up activities are based on the unevaluated returns stock
- Automatically goods movement for booking of returned material in the unevaluated stock at change of ownership from customer to company
- Fulfillment of legal requirements and internal demands for the evaluation of returns stock
- Automatically booking of goods movement for evaluation accelerates the processing of customer returns
Replacement material instead of credit memos for customer makes the fast delivery of replacement material to the customer possible:
- Initiate the automatically generation of relevant free subsequent deliveries before receiving the reclamation: releasable in the returns order, in the material inspection in the storage or in the returns refund for customer returns
- Booking of the relevant goods issue
- Automatically creation of relevant documents
Processing of replacement material deliveries from the supplier for returned material accelerates the appropriation and settlement of replacement material deliveries from the supplier:
- Definition of received material
- Automatically creation of purchase order and delivery for replacement material
- Document creation with regard to the supplier returns process
- Booking of good reception for delivery: system creates documents in the invoice control, which displays a credit memo with the value zero for returned material and an invoice with the value zero for replacement materials
- Further logistical destinations for replacement materials can be specified
Function for simplification and acceleration of the transfer from return to repair process:
- Definition of a repair or workshop repair as logistical follow-up activity for returned material in the customer return process
- Automatically creation of relevant repair order in the system
- Possibility of automatically bookings of goods movements from return order stock in repair order stock
- Possibility of automatically creation of a repair position in the repair order
- Function simplifies and accelerates the transfer of return process to repair process: the system creates automatically the relevant follow-up documents
- In the return order: hold data of customer inspection, specify the next logistical follow-up activity, note that the returns refund was determined interim for the customer, determination of indication of returns refund key in customizing
- In the material inspection: release of credit memo request or free subsequent delivery, take over the logistical follow-up action in indicated stock, indicate a target plant and target material beside target storage location and target stock type
- Supplier return as logistical follow-up activity: extraction of supplier address from master data of customer
- Hiding of not used areas: Accelerated registration of return order and material inspection
In more and more industries an efficient returns management is required over the warehouse management system. As an important part of the processes in the supply chain, an efficient returns management can increase the customer satisfaction as well as the loyalty of the customers.
SAP EWM helps to fulfill the requirements for a good return management:
- Full control over costs and returns
- Quickness at processing of returns
- Administrate the complexity of returns efficiently
- Integrated Tracking
- Central returns document flow
The following functions were added with the release EWM 7.02 for the advanced returns management (ARM):
- Initiation of return process in SAP ERP over ARM-specific returns order or returns stock transfer
- Finding of new specific document types for inbound and outbound delivery of return processes in SAP EWM with new initiator codes
- Usage of ERP functions for credit memos for the transfer from unevaluated customer stock in evaluated in own holdings
- Implementation of a material inspection before goods receipt in the storage
- Skipping the EWM inspection or implementation after goods receipt
- Setting of follow-up activities in SAP EWM for processing in SAP ERP
- Execution of follow-up activities warehousing and scrapping directly in SAP EWM
Additionally, for the trouble-free handling of customer returns in EWM in combination with SAP ERP, an approval process was implemented. Therefore, a return material authorization (RMA) is created in SAP ERP. This is based on a return requirement of the customer.
Characteristics RMA:
- Marking of each return position with separate RMA number
- Tracking possibility of return positions over all storage processes by means of the RMA number
- Activation of RMA based quality control in SAP EWM
- Initiation of follow-up activities in SAP EWM, e.g. goods scrapping or return shipment to the customer
- Optimization of the whole returns management
- Continuous support for the whole returns process
- Standardized and clearly return processes
- Support of customer returns (from known customers to a company location or an external supplier)
- Support of supplier returns (returns from one company location to an external supplier in the further supply chain
- Automatically creation of follow-up documents for all functions
- Better usability accelerates the creation of return orders
- Higher customer service and increased customer satisfaction
- All at a glance through monitoring functionality (returns overview)
- Administrate business processes more efficiently and more transparent to returns
- Increase of efficiency and transparency
- Improve customer service
- Individual adaption and control of the return process
- Mapping of different scenarios
- Standard archiving objects for process tracking data supports an easy traceability of the processes
- Supply through updates, patches and extension of functionality through SAP is permanently guaranteed
- Additions for the returns process
Because the customer return is a sales business process the returns order will be usually created with regard to the preceding customer order.
Customer-individual adaption and controlling of the returns process
Within the Advanced Returns Management in SAP ERP there is a series of possibilities for the customer-individual adaption and controlling of the returns process.
The customizing is clear and has a lot of possibilities for the customer-specific design of the returns process, whether through catalogue entries for material inspection, definition of returns reasons, determination of goods movements for follow-up activities, determination of proposal values and so on.
Possible Scenarios
The fundamental returns process with usage of SAP ARM can be individually controlled and influenced in his course. The process can take many characteristics and properties. The following scenarios are thinkable and practicable:
- Goods receipt in storage through return delivery or personal delivery of the article
- Returns refund control, e.g. credit memo or shipment of free replacement material
- Returns management of drop shipments (direct delivery supplier – customer)
- Logistical follow-up activities for definition of goods movements (further proceeding), for example:
- Goods should merge in freely available stock
- Goods should merge in reject
- Goods should be delivered back to supplier
- In the same step a credit memo request can be released
- Follow-up activities can be already indicated in return order
Extract from our References
Groupe SEB:
- Consumer Goods
- Turnover: 3,2 Mrd. € (2009)
- Employees: 18.900 (2009)
SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG
- Automation
- Turnover: 2,7 Mrd. € (2015/16)
- Employees: 16000 worldwide (2016)
Frankonia Handels GmbH & Co. KG
- Fashion, hunting and sporting weapons
- Turnover: part of the Otto Group with € 12 billion (2014)
- Employees: 600 (2014)
