Managing Charge Calculation Master Data

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe the Charge Calculation Process and Master Data.

Charge Calculations

This image illustrates the integration of Charge Calculation and Settlement in the overall Transportation Process.

This course focuses on the following:

Master data for charge calculation
Charge calculation
Freight settlement processes

The focus of this course is on the buying side only. Charge calculation and settlement related to forwarding orders (the selling side) are not covered.

Transportation Charge Management Solution Overview

This image shows an overview of the Transportation Charge Management Solution.

Examples of Possible Scenarios

A shipper sends a request to a carrier for a quotation to send a product from a distribution center to a customer.
An LSP receives a booking request to transport a container from one port to another.
A shipper sends a request to a carrier to move a product from the manufacturing plant to a distribution center.
A shipper sends a service request to a service provider to execute transport-related service tasks (value-added services), such as container cleaning and customs handling.

The charge is determined based on conditions in the business rules framework, charge calculation master data, and configuration items.

The calculated charge is sent back to the requesting document.

Charge calculation also provides information on the charge type, charge category, or subcategory so that the receiving accounting processes can determine the organizational unit, cost, or revenue receivers and the general ledger account.

The transportation charge calculation process determines the freight charge for a given transportation scenario.

Note

Scenarios related to LSPs are not detailed in this course.

Charge Requests

The calculated charge request can come from the following SAP TM documents:

Freight order
Freight booking
Service order
Dispute
Freight agreement RFQ
Forwarding quotation
Forwarding order
Forwarding settlement document
Freight settlement document

Master Data Structure

Charge Management Master Data

This image shows the Structure of the Master Data.

The system calculates transportation charges based on the following master data in Charge Management:

Scale template: A scale template can be used to create the scale easily.
Scale: A scale is a dimension of a rate table.
Rate table: A rate is a price for a certain transportation service that is only valid for the period as defined by its validity. A rate is listed in a rate table. This is where the freight rates are maintained based on the scale specifications.
Charge types: The charge type describes a specific charge. For example, Haul (Haulage), BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) or FSC (Fuel Surcharge).
Calculation sheet: The charge calculation sheet is a hierarchical table used to calculate transportation charges. It combines the charge types permitted for a document and the sequence in which the system takes these charge types into account during the calculation.
Freight agreement: A freight agreement describes the contractual relationship between the freight service provider (or customer) and the requesting organizational unit. It contains payment terms, limits, validity period, and valid calculation sheets. Information such as organizational unit, contracting parties, or conditions can be specified.

Business Example: Road-Sea-Road

This image shows the Road-Sea-Road Business Example.

In this scenario, a full container load is being sent via road-sea freight. In SAP SD, a sales order for the entire move is created. On save of the sales order the system automatically builds a freight unit for this move. The freight unit is then shown in the respective SAP TM planning area. The planner decides the routing for the container move, hence creating stages in the freight unit. Each stage of the freight unit is then planned separately:

Road-Sea Freight Example: Freight Unit Stages

Stage	Description
Precarriage	Truck move from shipper origin (Denver) to port (Newark)
Main carriage	Vessel move from POL (port of loading) (Newark) to POD (Port of Destination) (Rotterdam)
On-carriage	Truck move from port (Rotterdam) to customer unloading location (Cologne)

Two freight orders are created: one for the precarriage stage (Chicago to Newark) and one for the on-carriage stage (Rotterdam to Cologne). The amount calculated for these stages is used to pay the carrier.

A freight booking is also created for the main carriage stage (Newark to Rotterdam). The amount calculated for this stage is used to pay the ocean carrier.

Example Calculation for the Freight Booking

This image illustrates the Calculation for the Freight Booking Example.

This example demonstrates how the system calculates the charge for the transport of the container from Newark to Rotterdam via ocean freight based on the master data.

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