SAP SD Consignment Process — Fill-Up, Issue, Return & Pickup
Four processes · 631 to 634 · ownership · billing rules · worked example · Last updated September 2026
Three questions answer everything in consignment: where is the stock, who owns it, and should we bill? Each of the four consignment processes answers them differently — and that is the whole reason there are four.
This guide covers fill-up, issue, return and pickup with their document types, item categories and movement types, follows one example through all four with the stock balances after each step, and gives the return-versus-pickup distinction the space it deserves, because that is where projects and interviews both go wrong. Written for SAP S/4HANA on-premise and Private Edition; the logic is unchanged from ECC.
On this page
What consignment is
In consignment you place stock at the customer’s premises but keep ownership of it. The customer sells or consumes from that stock and only then owes you money. It is common in pharmacy chains, spare parts, FMCG and anywhere a customer wants availability without carrying the inventory risk.
The accounting point: consignment stock stays on your balance sheet until the issue. The goods have moved; the sale has not happened. That single fact explains why fill-up posts no revenue, why issue posts both revenue and COGS, and why finance cares about the consignment stock report at period end.
The four processes compared
| Process | Documents | Item cat. | Mvt | Stock moves | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KB Consignment fill-up | KB → delivery LF | KBN | 631 | Your unrestricted stock → consignment stock at the customer | None — you still own the goods |
| KE Consignment issue | KE → delivery LF | KEN | 633 | Consignment stock at the customer → consumed | Invoice (F2) — ownership transfers, revenue and COGS post |
| KR Consignment return | KR → returns delivery LR | KRN | 634 | Back into consignment stock at the customer | Credit memo (RE) — reverses an issue that was billed |
| KA Consignment pickup | KA → returns delivery LR | KAN | 632 | Consignment stock at the customer → back to your plant | None — the goods were never sold |
Two of the four bill, two do not. Fill-up and pickup only move stock between two places you own; issue and return change who owns it, so money moves with them.
Stock and ownership
Scroll the diagram sideways to see all of it →
Both locations are your inventory. Only the consignment issue takes stock out of your books.
Worked example: 100, 30, 5, 20
A distributor places stock in a retail chain’s store. Follow one material through all four processes and watch the balances.
| Event | Documents | At customer | In plant | Accounting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | — | 0 | 1,000 | All stock in your plant, on your balance sheet |
| Fill-up 100 | KB order → LF delivery → GI 631 | 100 | 900 | No revenue, no COGS. The 100 units are still your inventory, held as special stock W at the customer |
| Issue 30 | KE order → LF delivery → GI 633 → F2 invoice | 70 | 900 | Revenue and receivable for 30 units, COGS posted, inventory reduced |
| Return 5 | KR order → LR returns delivery → GR 634 → RE credit memo | 75 | 900 | Credit memo for 5 units, COGS reversed, the 5 units are yours again — physically still at the customer |
| Pickup 20 | KA order → LR returns delivery → GR 632 | 55 | 920 | No billing. Stock moves from the customer’s consignment stock back into your plant |
After all four events the customer holds 55 units of your stock, you hold 920 in the plant, and you have invoiced 30 and credited 5 — a net 25 units sold. The 5 returned units are back in consignment and can be issued again to someone else, or picked up later.
Configuration for each process
Sales document types
VOV8
KB (fill-up) and KE (issue) propose delivery type LF; KR (return) and KA (pickup) propose returns delivery LR, because in both the goods come back to you — legally, physically or both.
Item categories
VOV7 / VOV4
KBN (fill-up), KEN (issue), KRN (return), KAN (pickup). Only KEN and KRN are relevant for billing and pricing. KBN and KAN are not billed, because nothing is sold or credited — but they are delivery-relevant, since stock moves.
Schedule line categories
VOV6 / VOV5
Each item category determines its own schedule line, which carries the movement type: 631 for fill-up, 633 for issue, 634 for return, 632 for pickup. Fill-up uses E0 or E1 (E1 with availability check and transfer of requirements) and pickup the matching F0 or F1 — pair them consistently.
Copy control
VTLA and VTFL
Order to delivery for all four (KB/KE → LF, KR/KA → LR), and delivery to billing for the two that bill: KE → F2 and KR → RE. Missing copy control is the usual reason an issue delivery never reaches the billing due list.
Special stock and reporting
MMBE, MB58
Consignment stock at the customer is special stock indicator W. MB58 lists it per customer and material; MMBE shows it in the stock overview. Finance needs this because the stock is still yours.
Pricing and account determination
V/08, VKOA
Issue and return are priced like any sale; fill-up and pickup are not priced at all. Revenue account determination handles the issue invoice and the return credit memo exactly as it does for a normal order.
None of this is exotic: it is ordinary item category and schedule line category determination pointed at four sets of categories, plus copy control for each document pair. What makes consignment feel different is the special stock, not the configuration technique.
Consignment return vs pickup
These two are confused more than anything else in consignment. Both bring goods back — but from different places, for different reasons, with different money attached.
Return — reverses an issue
The customer already consumed the goods and was invoiced. They give them back, so the stock returns to their consignment stock — still physically at their site, owned by you again — and a credit memo reverses the invoice.
Think: “the sale is being undone.”
Pickup — reverses a fill-up
The goods were never sold. You collect unsold consignment stock and bring it back into your plant. Nothing is billed and nothing is credited, because no revenue was ever posted for these units.
Think: “the stock is coming home.”
One test that always works: was this quantity ever invoiced? If yes, it is a return. If no, it is a pickup. Using the wrong one leaves the consignment stock wrong and the customer either over- or under-credited — and both errors surface weeks later at reconciliation.
Troubleshooting
The issue order cannot confirm — no consignment stock available
- ·No fill-up was posted, or its goods issue is still missing
- ·The issue is being created for a different ship-to party than the fill-up
- ·The material or plant on the issue does not match the fill-up
Fix: Check MB58 for that customer and material. Consignment stock is held per customer, per material, per plant — an issue can only draw from the exact same combination.
The fill-up created an invoice
- ·Item category KBN was given a billing relevance, or the order used a billed item category
Fix: Fill-up must not bill: you have not sold anything yet. Check the billing relevance on KBN and the item category the order actually determined.
The return did not produce a credit memo
- ·The billing block on the returns order was never released
- ·Copy control from KR to billing type RE is missing
- ·The goods receipt for movement 634 has not been posted
Fix: Returns orders usually carry a billing block for approval by design. Release it, confirm the goods receipt, then bill.
The customer’s consignment stock is wrong
- ·A pickup was used where a return was needed, or the other way round
- ·A fill-up delivery was created but goods issue was never posted
- ·Returns were posted against the wrong customer
Fix: Reconcile MB58 against the document flow of the fill-ups and issues. The most common cause is the return-versus-pickup confusion covered in the section above — they move stock in opposite directions.
Interview questions
Explain the four consignment processes.
Fill-up (KB) moves your stock to the customer’s premises without selling it — movement 631, no billing. Issue (KE) records that the customer consumed or sold some of it — movement 633, invoiced. Return (KR) takes back goods the customer already consumed and was billed for — movement 634, credit memo. Pickup (KA) collects unsold consignment stock back into your plant — movement 632, no billing.
Who owns consignment stock, and where does it sit in the accounts?
You do, until the issue. Fill-up moves the goods physically to the customer but they remain your inventory, held as special stock W against that customer. Ownership, revenue and COGS all transfer at the consignment issue, which is why fill-up posts nothing to the P&L.
What is the difference between a consignment return and a consignment pickup?
A return reverses an issue: the customer gives back goods they were already billed for, so the stock goes back into their consignment stock and a credit memo is created. A pickup reverses a fill-up: unsold stock you still own is collected back into your plant, and nothing is billed because nothing was sold.
Which movement types are used, and what does each do?
631 transfers stock from your unrestricted stock to the customer’s consignment stock; 633 issues it from consignment when the customer consumes it; 634 puts previously issued goods back into consignment stock; 632 brings consignment stock back into your plant.
How do you check how much consignment stock a customer holds?
MB58 shows consignment stock per customer and material; MMBE shows it in the stock overview under special stock W. It is worth knowing both, because finance reconciles balance sheet inventory against exactly these reports.
Where this sits in the SD landscape
Consignment is the Order-to-Cash process run four times with different endings. Like third-party sales, it is standard determination pointed at special categories — the difference is that here the stock really moves, and revenue account determination only gets involved on two of the four processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the consignment process in SAP SD?
Consignment is a model where you place stock at the customer’s premises but keep ownership until they consume it. SAP handles it with four processes: fill-up, issue, return and pickup, each with its own sales document type, item category, movement type and billing behaviour.
Which document types are used for consignment?
KB for fill-up, KE for issue, KR for return and KA for pickup. Fill-up and issue create a standard delivery (LF); return and pickup create a returns delivery (LR).
Which movement types are used in consignment?
631 for fill-up (into the customer’s consignment stock), 633 for issue (consumption), 634 for return (back into consignment stock) and 632 for pickup (back into your plant).
Does consignment fill-up create an invoice?
No. Nothing has been sold: the goods are at the customer’s site but still belong to you. Billing happens at the consignment issue, when the customer consumes the stock.
What is the difference between consignment return and consignment pickup?
A return brings back goods the customer already consumed and was billed for — the stock returns to consignment and a credit memo is issued. A pickup brings unsold consignment stock back to your plant, with no billing.
Where is consignment stock visible in SAP?
Under special stock indicator W. MB58 lists consignment stock per customer and material; MMBE shows it in the stock overview alongside your own unrestricted stock.
Whose balance sheet holds consignment stock?
Yours, until the consignment issue. That is the accounting point of consignment: the customer holds the goods physically, but the inventory value and the risk stay with you until they are consumed.
Which item categories are used in consignment?
KBN for fill-up, KEN for issue, KRN for return and KAN for pickup. Only KEN and KRN are relevant for pricing and billing.
Written by
Rahul Narain Saxena
SAP SD Solution Architect with 17+ years of hands-on implementation experience across SAP ECC and S/4HANA. Every guide on The SD Vault is written from live project experience, not summarised from documentation.
“Return or pickup? And what does each post?”
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