Discover SAP EWM MFS

The MFS node in the Warehouse Monitor? (Part #1)

This blog is part of the series ‘SAP EWM meets Automation – Discover EWM MFS’. I will unwrap the MFS warehouse monitor node for you and explain

what kind of data you can access with each sub-node
what you can do with the methods given for each sub-node in EWM standard

As with all posts of this series, the content provided here has been created in cooperation with the SAP EWM team at Swisslog. Feel free to visit their website in case you want to learn more about the services offered by Swisslog or to browse open positions within their EWM team!

Before I start with my part I have to mention that some high-level information about the standard MFS nodes is provided here already by SAP:

However, I promise to dig deeper, provide lots of insights that are not given by SAP. Technical details as well as practical examples which will make it easier for you to understand everything.

Having said that, for some of the details that I explain I do expect a base knowledge about the objects used in EWM MFS. If you are a beginner in this area, it is helpful for sure in case you study the following blog posts before you consume this one here:

Within the first part of my blog post about the MFS node in the warehouse monitor I will cover the nodes ‘Communication Channel’ until ‘Handling Unit’. The 2nd part will cover the nodes ‘Handling Unit Move’ until the ‘Telegram Buffer’.

Communication Channel

This sub-node shows the current communication channel data (which is basically the content of table /SCWM/MFSCCH):

Four methods are given for further processing:

Start Channel: FM /SCWM/MFS_CCH_START_MON

Opens socket to the PLC via FM /SCWM/MFS_CL_CALL in order to enable communication (depending on the way of communication > RFC Converter vs. direct TCP/IP via APC)
Updates the status in channel table /SCWM/MFSCCH
Schedule background job running report /SCWM/R_MFS_PERIODCHK_PREP

Stop Channel: FM /SCWM/MFS_CCH_STOP_MON

Close socket to the PLC via FM /SCWM/MFS_CL_CALL in order to disable communication (depending on the way of communication > RFC Converter vs. direct TCP/IP via APC)
Updates the status in channel table /SCWM/MFSCCH (e.g. in order to prevent further communication via this channel)

Reset Send SeqNo: This method will reset the send sequence number in table /SCWM/MFSCCH via /SCWM/MFS_CCH_RESET_SQSND_MON which calls FM /SCWM/MFS_CCH_SEQNO_RESET for the reset

Reset Receive SeqNo: This method will reset the receive sequence number in table /SCWM/MFSCCH via FM /SCWM/MFS_CCH_RESET_SQRCV_MON which also calls FM /SCWM/MFS_CCH_SEQNO_RESET for the reset

Check this post (The communication from EWM to the PLC) in case you want to learn more about the usage and purpose of the channel sequence numbers.

Communication Point

This node basically combines the communication point customizing and application data (which is only the storage bin assignment). You can create or change this data here:

In addition to this, this sub-node offers the following features:

Set Exception: It allows the user to set an exception on the communication point (which basically locks the communication point in order to prevent MFS to send tasks from/to this CP).

Done via FM /SCWM/MFS_CP_SET_EXCC_MON

Send Status Request: This method allows the user to send a status request telegram to the PLC. IT calls FM /SCWM/MFS_CP_QRY_STAT_MON which prepares everything in order to send a telegram via FM /SCWM/MFS_SEND (check this blog post in order to learn what happe