Source Type 2: Inventory Transfer Kanbans

When a Source type 2 (inventory) kanban container is emptied of all items, the consuming location checks it out to return it to a raw materials inventory location, which could be a storeroom or a materials staging area from which production inventory requirements enter into the system. This staging area, or supermarket location, is used to manage raw in-process inventory (RIP). For example, when the empty container is replenished, a stock person checks it in. The check-in indicates that the kanban has been filled and an inventory transfer transaction is triggered to denote movement of the inventory from the raw material location to the shop floor. In practice, the material moves to its physical consuming location at the work center.

The transactions that occur are inventory transfers, which are noted by an IT document type in the F4111 table. When inventory is transferred from one location to another, the item ledger records it as a debit to the from location and a credit to the to location. Subtraction and addition records appear for all inventory transfers so that inventory records remain balanced.

You can set up a source type 1 kanban as a two-phase kanban, but no additional transactions occur during a Complete transaction for a kanban of this type.