Transportation Management Capability in SAP
Transportation management has the following functional areas:
- Requirements and Order Management
- Transportation Planning
- Transportation Execution
- Freight Costing and Settlement
- Analytics and Collaboration
The transportation process starts with order management. Order management supports the order entry process for a transportation service by creating a transportation requirement. In case of a shipper, the transportation requirements originate from sales orders, purchase orders, and deliveries. In case of a Logistics Service Provider (LSP), the transportation requirement originates from forwarding orders. The orders can be entered manually or electronically.
Next, the transportation requirements are planned using manual planning functions, optimizer planning, and semi-automated processes (transportation proposal creation). Different aspects of planning supported by transportation management in SAP are means-of-transport selection (for example, rail versus road), carrier selection based on real carrier rates, and load optimization (3D-planning of container/truck utilization).
Once the planning process is finished, transportation management also supports the execution of transports. Execution includes delivery creation, document creation (print or electronic, such as waybills), event management integration (track and trace), as well as warehouse integration (EWM integration).
If you do not operate your own fleet, you need to make sure that the external carrier is paid for their services. Transportation management allows you to maintain freight agreements, calculation sheets, and rate tables to accurately define real carrier costs, which can be used for charge calculation (already in the planning phase, carrier selection), but also for settlement processes after the transport has been executed.
Analytics and reporting functionality complete the available functions of transportation management.
The following video shares insights about the foundational structure of a typical process flow within transportation management.
The following table provides a list of transportation objects and their corresponding definitions:
| Transportation Object | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Order-Based Transportation Requirement | OTR | An object/document representing the demand from sales, purchasing, and stock transport. |
| Sales Order, Purchase Order, Stock Transfer Order | SO, PO, STO | An object/document representing sales, procurement, or transfer of goods demand. |
| Delivery-Based Transportation Requirement | DTR | An object/document representing the transportation demand from an inbound or outbound delivery. |
| Inbound Delivery/Outbound Delivery | IDL/ODL | An object/document representing the transportation demand from an inbound or outbound delivery. |
| Forwarding Question | FWQ | An object/document representing an offer from a carrier or LSP. |
| Forwarding Order | FWO | An object/document representing an order from an ordering party to a carrier or LSP. |
| Freight Unit | FU | An object/document that represents a set of good that are transported together across the entire supply chain. |
| Freight Order | FO | An object/document whose execution is planned by a carrier or a shipper. |
| Forwarding Agreement | FWA | An object/document that represents a contract with the customer. |
| Freight Agreement | FA | An object/document that represents a contract with the carrier. |
| Forwarding Settlement Document | FWSD | An object/document that is used to create invoice for the customer. |
| Freight Settlement Document | FSD | An object/document that is used to verify carrier invoice. |
Best Practice Scenarios
Customers can access detailed instructions and guidance for running SAP best practices for SAP S/4HANA Supply Chain for transportation management. By following the notes provided below, you will be able to successfully implement these best practices:
- 2563537 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Outbound Transportation (Basic Shipping Scenario) 1709
- 2563425 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Stock Transport Orders (Basic Shipping Scenario) 1709
- 2606349 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Inbound Transportation (Basic Shipping Scenario) 1709
- 2632695 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Combination of Inbound and Outbound Transportation (Integrated Transportation Management) 1709
- 2849562 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Outbound Transportation (Basic Shipping Scenario) 1809
- 2849539 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Inbound Transportation (Basic Shipping Scenario) 1809
- 2849584 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Combination of Inbound and Outbound Transportation (Integrated Transportation Management) 1809
- 2970146 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Inbound Transportation (Basic Scenario) 1909
- 2969153 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Outbound Transportation Scenario 1909
- 2970191 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Combination of Inbound and Outbound Transportation (Advanced Transportation Management) 1909
- 2970165 - SAP Best Practices for S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management – Stock Transport Orders (Basic Scenario) 1909