Create Locations
Locations are the logistical/technical master data object that represents the address data for the pick-up and delivery location of any transport. Each freight unit must have a source location and a destination location. The source location is typically the shipping point from where the transport should start, whereas the destination location is typically the delivery address of the customer.
The following are some of the purposes of locations:
- Freight is moved between locations.
- A freight unit always has both a source location and a destination location.
- A freight unit can travel through a number of locations.
There are different ways for how locations are created or updated.
- Creating locations using a report
Use the Create Locations app to create locations through a background report. You can use this report to create new locations for plants, shipping and receiving points, and business partners.
- Updating locations using a report
The Update Location app allows you to update locations using a background report. You can use this report to update locations for plants and shipping and receiving points.
- Creation and update from an external system
You can use the MANAGELOCATION service to create, read, update, and delete locations from an external system. The integration with an external system allows you to manage locations in the external system
The communication scenario Location Integration (SAP_COM_0425) is available for this purpose.
- Manual creation using an app
You can use the Manage Locations app to manually create locations. For example, to represent ports, airports, or railway stations. Furthermore, you can display, edit, and delete locations using this app. Location descriptions can be maintained in multiple languages.
Geocoordinates can be entered manually into locations or calculated automatically. For automatic calculation Transportation Management must be integrated with SAP HANA spatial services (scope item 46P).
- Creating locations out of business documents
If you create or update a business document (such as a sales order or a purchase order) that is relevant for Transportation Management (TM), the system checks that all necessary locations needed to represent plants, shipping points, and business partners in TM are present in the system. If a location has not already been created, the system creates it. This automated process is primarily used to create locations.
Geocoding and Distance and Duration Determination
For transportation processes, the geographical coordinates (geocoordinates) of a location and the distance and duration between pairs of locations are important.
To determine geocoordinates for locations, and distances and durations for pairs of locations within Transportation Management, the consumption of SAP HANA spatial services as part of the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) is required. For this, an SAP BTP account is needed that is enabled for consumption-based commercial models, such as the Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement (CPEA). Scope item 46P delivers the necessary settings and information to activate the integration between SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP HANA spatial services running on SAP BTP.
You will find setup instructions for scope item 46P in the SAP Signavio Process Navigator: Determination of Geocoordinates, Distances and Durations (46P)
Distance and duration determination is especially important for road transportation, as it allows you to determine the road distance, which you may need to calculate distance-dependent freight charges and to determine the transport duration in order to schedule your freight orders properly. To have visibility about distances and duration enables better planning decisions in the transportation cockpit.