Describing Product Purpose and Product Structure

SAP GTS is part of the Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC), and Cybersecurity solution. The overall objective of this solution is to reduce risks that may result from violations of statutory provisions and corporate rules in day-to-day business. In fact, there are quite a few such risks in international trade, with some serious consequences.

SAP GTS technically encapsulates international trade from the logistics and accounting system processes. When you implement SAP GTS, you store international trade in a specialized system. As the product name suggests, this specialized system assumes the role of a service provider. From this service provider’s perspective, SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA are feeder systems, that is, systems in which various business processes are controlled. An SAP EWM or an SAP TM system, or ERP systems from other software providers can also assume the role of feeder systems. An SAP GTS system can be the service provider of several feeder systems.

The feeder system is relieved of all international trade activities, but it has to provide SAP GTS with all the master data and process data required to carry out these activities. For example, for sanctioned party list screening, SAP GTS relies on the addresses of the business partners that it receives from the feeder system.

SAP GTS serves as a central gateway to the outside world in international trade. All the data required for international trade transactions are available in SAP GTS. Communication with authorities and customs agents is thus the sole responsibility of SAP GTS.

SAP GTS provides its feeder systems with a variety of functions for international trade. These functions are grouped into application areas from a content point of view. Before you implement SAP GTS, you have to decide which of the application areas outlined in this course are required in your company’s processes. SAP GTS is designed like a toolbox: You only take those instruments that are useful for your company. All other instruments remain in the toolbox, but can be used later if required.

From a structural perspective, SAP GTS consists of five elements:

The Products and Classification element provides functions for the management of nomenclatures specific to international trade, for example, customs tariffs and the assignment of their codes to products.

Compliance Management contains all the application areas relating to import and export control. Compliance Management allows you to monitor procedures that are subject to licensing requirements and to comply with legal regulations that restrict or even prohibit trade with individual states, political groups, and individuals.

Customs processing is supported by the application areas of Customs Management. The emphasis is on the connection to electronic customs procedures.

Preference Management comprises functions for determining the origin of goods based on free trade agreements, but also for managing the supplier’s declarations based on the Implementing Regulation of the Union Customs Code (UCC).

This element enables the regular submission of declarations for intra-European Union trade statistics (Intrastat).

Compliance Management consists of the following application areas:

• Embargo check

• Sanctioned party list screening

• Legal control (product-related check)

All check functions are available in import and export processing. You can activate each of the application areas independently of one another.

Customs Management contains two application areas:

• Customs processing and pre-declaration

• Transit/presentation and excise duty

Both application areas allow the placement of goods under various customs procedures when importing and exporting goods. In addition, the second application area enables both the issuing and receipt of electronic messages that are exchanged with customs authorities during the movement of excise goods under duty suspension within the EU. The movement of excise goods is not covered in this course.