Describing the Integration into Logistics Processes in SAP ERP

From a technical perspective, SAP GTS is an ABAP add-on product. The software component name of the current product version is GTSCORE. SAP GTS, edition for SAP HANA 2023, can be installed as an independent instance on SAP S/4HANA Foundation 2022. It is based on the SAP HANA database. A so-called codeployment with SAP S/4HANA 2022 or a more recent SAP S/4HANA product version is possible. SAP GTS is available on-premise or as Private Cloud Edition (PCE).

In addition to the software component GTSCORE, the software component UIGRCGTS (SAP Fiori for SAP GTS, edition for SAP HANA) is required for the deployment of SAP GTS.

The software component GTSCORE comprises all functions for international trade. To set up an integration scenario, an SAP ECC feeder system requires the software component SLL_PI, a plug-in that enables the exchange of data with SAP GTS. No plug-in is required in SAP S/4HANA feeder systems because all technical objects required for communication with SAP GTS are contained in the software component S4CORE. For more information about setting up a system landscape with SAP GTS, see the Administration Guide and the Integration Guide published in the SAP Help Portal.

The data exchange between the feeder system and the SAP GTS system is based on Remote Function Calls (RFC), an SAP-specific technology for communication between SAP systems, but also between SAP and non-SAP systems. The required settings are described in detail in the Configuration Guide that you can find in the SAP Help Portal. After completion of these technical preparations, which are usually the responsibility of system administration, you can set up process integration.

The integration of SAP GTS in the feeder system processes requires that a basic stock of master data is available and up-to-date in both systems. Before you can transfer feeder system documents, you first have to provide the SAP GTS system with business partner and material master data through replication.

The customers and vendors in an SAP ECC feeder system become SAP business partners in SAP GTS. SAP S/4HANA already manages customers and vendors as SAP business partners, hereinafter referred to as business partners. This means that SAP GTS creates new business partners from the business partner data replicated from an SAP S/4HANA feeder system.

To ensure data are transferred regularly, the program RBDMIDOC should be scheduled as a batch job to run at sufficient intervals.

In an SAP S/4HANA feeder system, you can use apps to schedule jobs for the initial or regular distribution of master data to the SAP GTS system. These apps are assigned to the business role "Administrator - International Trade" (SAP_BR_ADMINISTRATOR_SLL).

Following the data transfer, the products, business partners, and where applicable, BOMs, are available in the SAP GTS system. These master data are processed to some extent in SAP GTS. You can assign commodity codes for customs processing to the products, for example. Business partners may undergo sanctioned party list screening.

All goods to be imported and exported are modeled as products in SAP GTS. SAP GTS automatically creates products for the materials transferred from the feeder system. Goods descriptions, units of measure, and weights are all copied from the feeder system. You add the product information required for import and export control as well as for customs and preference processing directly in SAP GTS.

The technical prerequisite for transferring customers, vendors, and materials from the feeder system (in addition to an RFC connection) is the assignment of the feeder system to a group of logical systems defined in SAP GTS. The group of logical systems is primarily used to group feeder systems with homogeneous master data that are to be processed by the same SAP GTS system. You only have to transfer customers, vendors, and materials from one of the feeder systems in the group to SAP GTS. The replicas are always created at the level of the system group. It is therefore irrelevant for SAP GTS as to which of the group members has transferred a master record.

If you connect several feeder systems to an SAP GTS system, you have to check the master data landscape of these feeder systems carefully, and if in doubt, create a separate group of logical systems for each feeder system.

SAP GTS is to check the countries of departure and destination of cross-border trade, the business partners involved, and, if necessary, the goods to be delivered to ensure that all prohibitions and restrictions under foreign trade law are adhered to. To do this, Compliance Management requires the data of all documents that are used to process relevant purchasing and sales processes in the feeder system.

The transfer of document data, also known as replication, is a core part of the integration of SAP GTS into the processes of the feeder system. While customs processing in SAP GTS can also be used for some customs procedures without feeder system integration, the feeder system and SAP GTS must work together for trade compliance checks and preference processing.

The replication of feeder system documents requires some Customizing settings in SAP GTS. These settings enable the mapping of feeder system document data. During document replication, SAP GTS uses the mapping settings to replace data from feeder system documents with data from its own data model.

You can transfer three categories of feeder system documents to SAP GTS for the purposes of checks in Compliance Management:

• Purchasing documents

• Sales documents

• Deliveries

The replicas of purchasing documents and inbound deliveries are called import documents in SAP GTS. Sales documents and outbound deliveries are replicated as export documents. Each feeder system document corresponds to exactly one document in SAP GTS.

For Customs Management, you can transfer four categories of feeder system documents to SAP GTS:

• Purchasing documents

• Inbound deliveries

• Material documents

• Billing documents

The replicas of purchasing documents and material documents are referred to as customs declarations in SAP GTS. Inbound deliveries and billing documents can be transferred as both customs declarations and customs shipments.