Creating Transportation Zones

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create transportation zones

Transportation Zones

Transportation Zone

Definition

A transportation zone is a business object that aggregates multiple locations. This business object is used to group locations into transportation zones. The system can propagate certain properties assigned to a transportation zone to all locations within it, minimizing the volume of master data maintained.

Transportation zones can encompass individual locations, one-time locations, and subzones within other zones. For instance, all locations supplied by the same warehouse (whether individual locations or transportation zones) can be aggregated into a single transportation zone.

As transportation zones are not physical entities, they do not possess addresses. Nevertheless, geographical coordinates can be assigned to them. SAP TM provides two options for calculating these coordinates. The system can either estimate the center point of the zone based on the coordinates of all included locations after defining the locations, regions, or postal codes, or the geographical coordinates can be manually entered into SAP TM.

Map of North America showing transportation zones with arrows indicating movement of goods. The map is divided into two transportation zones. Within each zone, there are several icons representing different locations. Arrows labeled Outbound point from a factory to the upper transportation zone. Arrows labeled Inbound point from the lower transportation zone to a second factory. A Replenishment arrow points from the second to the first factory. The zones are outlined with orange lines, and the icons are connected with dotted and solid lines to show the flow of goods. A truck is always assigned to represent the mode of transport.

Each transportation zone is uniquely identified by a specific name. The combination of the name and type distinctly defines and specifies every transportation zone. In Transportation Management (TM), the types of transportation zones include:

  • Direct zone: Locations are assigned to the transportation zone directly by entering the name of each location.
  • Postal code zone: Locations are assigned to the transportation zone by specifying a valid postal code range for a particular country or region.
  • Region zone: Locations are assigned to the transportation zone by specifying a country/region and a specific region. If only a country/region is entered, the system automatically includes all regions within that country/region.
  • Mixed zone: A mixed zone combines any other zone types.

Transportation Zone Hierarchy

The image consists of two diagrams. The left diagram is a hierarchical tree structure showing the geographical breakdown of the USA. At the top is USA, branching into Midwest and Southeast. Midwest further branches into Illinois and Minnesota, with Illinois branching into 60523. The right diagram is a Venn diagram with three nested circles. The largest circle is labeled USA, containing two smaller circles labeled Midwest and Southeast. Each smaller circle contains several location markers.

A hierarchy that can be defined for organizing transportation zones. This object structures transportation zones hierarchically by allowing the assignment of one transportation zone to another. Therefore, all locations in a subordinate zone automatically become part of the superordinate zone. Transportation zones within a hierarchy inherit properties from their superior zone. The following conditions apply when defining a transportation zone hierarchy:

  • A transportation zone cannot be assigned to itself.
  • A transportation zone cannot be assigned to another zone if it already contains that zone.

The zone hierarchy can be leveraged in the following scenarios:

  • The VSR optimizer considers the transportation zone hierarchy during the optimization run.
  • The lane determination function considers the transportation zone hierarchy when identifying a specific transportation lane.
  • The transshipment location determination function uses the transportation zone hierarchy to identify all valid transshipment locations for a given location.

Transshipment Location

Transshipment Location

Definition

A transshipment location is used for unloading goods from one vehicle resource and loading them onto another during transportation.

Diagram illustrating a supply chain process. The process starts at Plant A, followed by transportation via ship to a transportation zone containing a transshipment location. At the transshipment location goods are moved to another type of transportation. The example shows goods transported by truck to customers, represented by three icons of people at desks. Alternatively, goods in this example are transported by train from the transshipment location to Plant B.

Transshipment locations are applicable when different means of transport or carriers are required in the transportation process. These locations are also used to consolidate or deconsolidate goods for transport.

A transshipment location is defined by assigning it to another location or a transportation zone. When assigned to a transportation zone, it can serve as a transshipment location for all locations within that zone.

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