Introduction

BlueWorx provides the functionality to Issue and Reserve Materials and also Requisition both non-stock materials and non-materials. On a mobile device, BlueWorx can function from selected material records synced from SAP when offline. Optionally when online on a mobile device, or exclusively on browsers, users can search for SAP materials directly. 

Access

Access to Material and Requisition functionality is provided from multiple places in the application:

  • My Assets and Measures > Materials
  • My Work > Order > Components | Purchase and Material buttons 
  • My Work > Order > Operation > Components | Purchase and Material buttons
  • My Work > Order > Objects | BOM button > Material list items
  • My Work > Components > Order
  • My Assets > Equipment or FL > BOM List | Material list items

Business and SAP Context

One or more Material Profiles, allocated to a user through their User Profile/s, control what materials are synced to their mobile device. Prior to release SP11 users accessing BlueWorx via a browser also synced material records but, with the addition of online capability in that release, this additional sync step and local browser data is redundant and has been removed.

The material records that can be searched online are controlled by Material Types set by the BlueWorx Administrators and apply to the whole system.  At a user-level settings for the online Plants that can be searched are maintained in Material Profiles. Material profiles to assigned User Profiles which are assigned to users. Non-stock materials, which by their nature do not have a Plant view maintained in SAP, are controlled solely by the Material Types.

Important Information

The offline material functionality is not intended to replicate large numbers of stock records - i.e. beyond 10k records in total. The online search functionality delivered in SP11 addresses the business need for extensive searching, where online access is available. If there is a need for extensive offline material functionality then that should be met from a separate offline Inventory application better suited to that use case.

Contents

The search is initiated from the Search side panel. On phones this will be the first screen, on a larger screen the search and search results will initially share the same screen:

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
SearchSearch for partial hits on: Material Number; Description; Manufacturers Part Number

Notes:
  • The drop down values are populated with favorited Materials
  • The use of * is only supported for online searching as this is a SAP function. When searching the BlueWorx data, as is the case elsewhere in the application, there is no use of *
GroupOptionally restrict the search to one or more Material Groups.
Online SearchingOn: Search SAP directly - this is the only option for browsers.
Off: In a mobile application search the application data for the material.
PlantEnter Plant to search, only applied to materials with a Plant view maintained.
Storage LocationOptionally select Storage Location for the selected Plant.
Navigate to Favorites and History.
Initiate the search. Implemented in Support Pack 12, prior to this release the Search and apply button functionality was combined.
Swap between the Search Screen and the List Screen. Implemented in Support Pack 12.

Search Results

In response to a search, the results are displayed on the following screen:

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
 Type to Filter ListFurther refine the search results.
Filter the list for entries where the balance is not zero.
MaterialThe SAP Material Number followed by its Description.
Manufacturers Part NumberIn the example above 123-XSFA as the first response.
Material TypeIn the example above Spare Parts as the first response.
Material GroupIn the example above General Mechanical Spares as the first response.
Unrestricted BalanceIn the example above 168m as the first response.
Row selectShow balances or, for non-stock items, proceed to Requisition.
Navigate to Favorites and History.
Return to the Material Search screen.

Material Detail

Balances Tab

This screen tab shows the balances for the material selected from the material list screen. Users may be navigated directly to this screen when coming from a specified material in a Work Order. The header of the screen is self-explanatory and follows the material information explained on the previous search results screen. 

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
PlantIn the example above this is Plant 1000 - BlueWorx 1.
Storage LocationIn the example above this is 0001 - Main Store as the first response.
BinThe Material Master Bin for the Storage Location. In the example above this is 10-22-08 as the second response.
SAP BatchThe SAP Batch reference (where batched).
Vendors BatchThe Batch reference allocated by the Vendor/ Manufacturer (where batched).
SLED/BBDThe Shelf Life Expiry Date / Best Before Date from the Batch record (where batched). 
SAP Serial NumberThe SAP Serial Number for the asset (where serialized). In some cases, this may be an Equipment Number.
Manufactures Serial NumberThe Manufacturers Serial Number from the Equipment/ FL record. This is often the prime ID for serialized assets as it's marked on the assets' permanent data plate.
Initiate Reservation, Issue or Exchange.
Toggle this material to add/ remove it from your favorites. The favorites appear in the drop-down list for the Material Search column and in the Favorites and History area.
Available for browsers only this button opens another tab and displays the SAP Stock Balance using an SAP Web Transaction (where enabled in SAP and by the BlueWorx administrator).

Issues Tab

When searching online, this screen shows the recent history of issues made for this material. A chart shows the quantities issued by date, below it are the details for the transactions. 

Selecting a chart entry will highlight the related entries below. But apart from that, all fields are considered self-explanatory.

Material Issue

This Action option is offered when the material is stocked and stock is available:

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
Note that in this screen example the Issue is being made with reference to a Reservation made against the Order.Header
ActionIssue
This indicates the transactional action to occur in SAP on processing. You can switch from an Issue to a Reservation and from an Issue to an Exchange for Serialised Material. See more below for further details. 
OrderThe SAP Order reference used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
ReservationWhere you have navigated from an Order Component Reservation, then the Reservation and Item will be shown and used in the Issue posting.
Header TextThe Header Text used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Item
MaterialThe Material being issued.
Toggle this material to add/ remove it from your favorites. The favorites appear in the drop-down list for the Material Search column and in the Favorites and History area.
PlantThe Plant used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Storage LocationThe SLOC used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Available BalanceThe balance and quantity of unrestricted stock in the selected Plant and SLOC for the material.
Quantity | UoMThe Quantity to issue. Can use the plus and minus buttons to selectively increase. The Quantity issued can not exceed to quantity available.
Issue DateSelf-explanatory.
Item already receivedUsed when processing in SAP to not print Issue pick slip as the material.
RecipientSelf-explanatory - defaults to current users SAP ID.
Item TextSelf-explanatory.
Close the dialog without Issuing.
Add Material Issue to BlueWorx Outbox for processing on next Sync with SAP.

Material Reservation

This Action option is offered when the material is stocked:

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
Header
ActionReservation
This indicates the transactional action to occur in SAP on processing. You can switch from a Reservation to an Issue and from an Issue to an Exchange for Serialised Material. See more below for further details. 
OrderThe SAP Order reference used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
OperationSelect the Operation for the Order.
Header TextThe Header Text used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Item
MaterialThe Material being issued.
Toggle this material to add/ remove it from your favorites. The favorites appear in the drop-down list for the Material Search column and in the Favorites and History area.
Manufacturers Part NumberSelf-explanatory.
PlantThe Plant used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Storage LocationThe SLOC used in the resulting SAP Material Document. For Reservations, you can optionally remove the SLOC entry.
Available BalanceThe balance and quantity of unrestricted stock in the selected Plant and SLOC for the material.
Quantity | UoMThe Quantity to Reserve. The plus and minus buttons can be used to selectively increase and decrease. 
Required DateThe date on which the Reservation is required to be Issued.
RecipientSelf-explanatory - defaults to current users SAP ID.
Unloading PointSelf-explanatory.
Item TextSelf-explanatory.
Close the dialog without Reserving.
Add Material Reservation to BlueWorx Outbox for processing on next Sync with SAP.

Exchange

This action is offered for stocked serialized materials (Equipment). The exchange action performs an issue and receipt in SAP Inventory Management and an Uninstall/ Install in SAP Plant Maintenance when processing in SAP.

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use
Header
ActionIssue
This indicates the transactional action to occur in SAP on processing. 
OrderThe SAP Order reference used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Header TextThe Header Text used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Item
MaterialThe Material being issued.
Toggle this material to add/ remove it from your favorites. The favorites appear in the drop-down list for the Material Search column and in the Favorites and History area.
Manufacturers Part NumberSelf-explanatory.
PlantThe Plant used in the resulting SAP Material Document. 
Storage LocationThe SLOC used in the resulting SAP Material Document. 
Available BalanceThe balance and quantity of unrestricted stock in the selected Plant and SLOC for the material.
Quantity | UoMThe Quantity to issue. Can use the plus and minus buttons to selectively increase. The Quantity issued can not exceed to quantity available.
Exchanged date/ timeSelf-explanatory.
Add to Object ListAdd the Equipment being Issued (that is installed) to the Orders Object List.
RecipientSelf-explanatory - defaults to current users SAP ID.
Item TextSelf-explanatory.
Item to be replaced
Replaced EquipmentEquipment being replaced. Must exist on the selected Orders object List (can be added to Order where so required from the Order screen).
Move Sub EquipmentOn de-installation, do you want to move the installed sub-Equipment across to the new record?
Receiving PlantSelf-explanatory.
Receiving Storage LocationSelf-explanatory.
Close the dialog without Issuing.
Add Material Issue to BlueWorx Outbox for processing on next Sync with SAP.

Requisition

This Action option is offered when the material is non-stocked or for free form Requisitions.

ScreenField/ ControlExplanation/ Use

Header
ActionRequisition
This indicates the transactional action to occur in SAP on processing. 
OrderThe SAP Order reference used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
OperationSelect the Operation for the Order.
Header TextThe Header Text used in the resulting SAP Material Document.
Item
MaterialThe Material being issued.
Toggle this material to add/ remove it from your favorites. The favorites appear in the drop-down list for the Material Search column and in the Favorites and History area.
PlantThe Plant used in the resulting SAP Material Document. 
DescriptionThe description for the item being Requisitioned.
Quantity | UoMThe Quantity to Reserve. Can use the plus and minus buttons to selectively increase. 
PriceEnter price, price unit and currency.

Note that as of SP12 the standard price for Non Stock Materials will be displayed where maintained.
Required DateThe date on which the Reservation is required to be Issued.
RequisitionerSelf-explanatory - defaults to current users SAP ID.
Goods RecipientSelf-explanatory - defaults to current users SAP ID.
Unloading PointSelf-explanatory.
Tracking NumberSelf-explanatory.
Close the dialog without Requisitioning.
Add Material Reservation to BlueWorx Outbox for processing on next Sync with SAP.