With the release of SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) 9.0, transportation management was integrated extensively with SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) for shipper scenarios. This facilitated the integration of transportation planning (in SAP TM) with the SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) delivery and shipment process cycle and warehouse planning and execution (within EWM). I highlight all the details (including configuration and master data) required to set up the integration between SAP TM, ECC, and EWM.

SAP TM is widely used in various shipper scenarios for transportation planning, monitoring, execution, and settlement across multiple modes of transport. The transportation planner, based on various transportation requirements, executes transportation planning and execution in SAP TM in the transportation cockpit. The transportation cockpit is the central planning tool for the transportation planner to plan the shipment. It allows for optimization of transportation handling cost and effort. Those requirements include order requirements and sales orders for outbound processes, purchase orders, and stock transfer orders (STOs) for inbound processes, and delivery integration for outbound and inbound deliveries. From the perspective of cargo or product handling from one location to another, SAP TM has a direct impact on warehouse management in terms of logistics and operations.

To summarize the process, SAP TM sends delivery proposals to ECC based on various order requirement documents. Outbound or inbound deliveries are created in ECC, and they create a delivery-based transportation requirement (DTR) in SAP TM. Deliveries are created in ECC based on dates and quantities according to transportation planning results. SAP TM considers transportation execution constraints such as resource availability and capacity and transportation duration. After the transportation planner creates a freight order in SAP TM, a shipment document is created in ECC and a transportation unit is created in EWM. In the warehouse goods are picked in waves and then placed in handling units (HUs) — for example, pallets. Then the HUs are loaded onto a truck before a goods issue is posted. After the post goods issue (PGI) is updated, deliveries are also updated in ECC for billing updates. In parallel, a freight order in SAP TM is updated, which impacts the freight cost settlement process.

In the above process flow, the integration between SAP TM-EWM is triggered based on the outbound delivery. Whether it is necessary to distribute this document to a decentralized EWM system depends on the warehouse number that is allocated under a picking tab in the delivery document at an item level. Thus, if the system validates that an outbound delivery is relevant to processing in EWM, an outbound delivery request is created in the SAP system.

For SAP ECC, the outbound delivery process begins with goods picking from the warehouse and shipment of the goods to the ship-to party. When this document is replicated to EWM, the outbound delivery request document created in EWM has the identical information and structure as the outbound delivery in ECC. The system ultimately creates an outbound delivery order in EWM. The delivery order created has all the information and data required for the execution and monitoring of outbound delivery process. The HU concept is especially used in warehouses. This HU object constitutes a packaging material and the product it contains. Thus, before goods are picked up and loaded onto trucks, they need to be packed and handled on pallets that are represented by HUs. The components (i.e., the product plus packaging material) have an identification number. In EWM, some of the important packaging materials are crates, boxes, and containers.

After materials are packed and loaded on transportation units, the goods issue process is initiated from the warehouse. Using various master data setups, the system can also determine the staging area and door for the goods issue in advance. Based on the goods issue (GI) quantity, EWM sends a message to inventory management modules about the decrease in stock quantities.

Figure 1 shows the process flow for the integration of EWM transportation execution to SAP TM.

Figure 1

Process flow between ECC, SAP TM, and EWM

Because SAP TM is integrated with EWM via ECC in SAP TM 9.0, there is no direct data exchange between SAP TM and EWM. In SAP TM 9.0, the ECC shipment process is an intermediate step. However, beginning with the SAP TM 9.1 release, direct integration between SAP TM and EWM is supported.

During one of the projects in which I was working on setting up SAP TM and EWM integration, there was a component of the loading process that required interfaces to be set up followed by a corresponding status transfer from EWM to SAP TM. The scenario was that when the truck entered the yard (consider yard as an extension of warehouse management) the trucker had to appoint a schedule with the shipping clerk so that the truck could approach the correct door in the warehouse in order for the loading process to begin.

Managing the loading process was critical. The loading process is always an integral part of warehouse operations. Unless a product from a warehouse is loaded or staged, the actual execution part of any transportation process in a trailer or truck cannot start. Therefore, when a product is picked to be shipped from a warehouse, the loading process is the first activity that is executed. Inside the warehouse, the warehousing clerk may use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to scan the product before it is loaded on any transportation equipment such as railcars, trailers, ships, or barges.

Part of the warehouse task was based on the loading activity, and the status in SAP TM needed to be updated. Because of the direct interface set up between SAP TM and EWM, any warehousing activity or tasks carried by the warehousing clerk should update the execution of the transportation process as well. Therefore, in order to synchronize the activities between SAP TM and EWM, the status updates are required. The loading process was also integrated with SAP Event Management since this was a milestone my client wanted to track and trace.

Once the truck arrives at the yard location and drives to the door, the appropriate pallet along with corresponding quantities can be loaded, based on the loading task. A loading task may refer to loading the product or pallet from a specific storage type to the truck. Radio frequency (RF) devices were used so that scanning the correct pallet was possible. After the loading process was completed, the actual quantities from EWM were automatically transferred to SAP TM. However, once the truck completed the loading activity, the business requirement here was to measure the net weight of the pallet. I needed to input the carrier number and the truck vehicle number to the weighbridge. This solution brought in an interface to be built for the weighbridge, which I discuss later in the article after I complete the integration scenario. Following are some of the salient features of the weighbridge interface I developed:

1. Load consolidation of multiple freight orders for multiple customers has to be mapped in one truck
2. Location, door number, and vehicle number are populated automatically based on the computer terminal ID, preventing gate entry from any computer other than computers at the gate.
3. Weight is captured online from weighbridge machine.
4. The weighbridge could record multiple gross weights against one truck if the weight is a required item. Because this interface is used to load multiple freight orders and one freight order has one or multiple items, for multiple freight orders with different items, multiple gross weights are measured specific to items in the freight order.

EWM requires tight integration with ECC since the Core Interface (CIF) method has to be deployed to transfer master and transactional data across these two systems. Based on SAP SCM 2007, EWM could be operated within SAP ERP as an add-on. Technically robust integration between ECC and EWM is achieved via interfaces. From a process perspective there is a merger of organization data that facilitates effective integration between these two systems. The major scenarios supported across ECC, SAP TM, and EWM are as follows:

• Outbound process with order-based transportation planning in SAP TM
• Outbound process with delivery-based transportation planning in SAP TM
• Outbound process with transportation planning in EWM

The scope of this article is to discuss the first two integration scenarios so that from a process perspective users are clear about the integration aspects.

Outbound Process with Order-Based Transportation Planning in SAP TM

In this particular scenario cargo items/products are sent via a service provider to a customer (i.e., the ship-to party) from a warehouse managed within EWM. Here the entire transportation planning occurs in SAP TM while warehouse execution and monitoring happens in EWM. Because this process is triggered from a sales order and outbound deliveries from ERP, the process is called an outbound process with order-based transportation planning. Figure 2 shows the entire process flow.

Figure 2

Outbound process flow with order-based transportation planning in SAP TM

As per the process flow, the following steps occur in sequence:

1. A sales order is created in ECC, assuming it’s an outbound scenario you are working on. The output of the sales order is an order-based transportation requirement (OTR) in SAP TM.
2. SAP TM proposes and creates deliveries based on dates and quantities according to transportation planning via an optimizer. Transportation planning in SAP TM is executed using a planning tool called the planning optimizer. This tool is available within SAP TM and is connected via a Remote Function Call (RFC) connection. Transportation planning implies transportation of cargo items using available resources with available capacities keeping in mind cost and planned delivery time to customers. The transport planner has to ensure that the cargo product should reach the consumer within the stipulated delivery date and with minimum cost. All these features are considered in transportation planning. This process is called a delivery proposal and the system sends it to ERP.
3. Based on delivery proposals from SAP TM, outbound deliveries are created in ECC, which in turn creates a DTR in SAP TM. The delivery proposals are either executed automatically as a background job or executed manually in the transportation cockpit by the planner.
4. The outbound deliveries created in ECC are processed further in SAP TM (to create a DTR as part of transport planning) and EWM (to create an outbound delivery request for warehouse planning and execution). The deliveries created in ECC have the proposed delivery dates, which are sent via delivery proposals from SAP TM.
5. Additionally as part of transportation planning, a freight order is created in SAP TM, which triggers creation of a shipment document in ERP and a transportation unit in EWM. Here the freight order created is assigned to a carrier based on the carrier selection and tendering process.
6. From step 4, in EWM once an outbound delivery request is created, it immediately creates an outbound delivery order that acts as a warehouse request and initiates the goods issue process in EWM.
7. The outbound delivery order created in the previous step is completed when the products from the warehouse have been picked and trucker has loaded them in the truck. Note that the outbound delivery order is in blocked status and is released only when transportation planning is completed (i.e., transportation requirements have been assigned) in SAP TM. Once EWM is updated with the final planning results, the block is removed automatically from the outbound delivery order in EWM.
8. Once all transportation requests are assigned to a transportation order (i.e., technically the freight units are assigned to a freight order), shipment document creation is triggered in ECC.
9. When ERP shipments are sent to EWM, the system creates a transportation unit and this object basically assigns all outbound delivery orders. With this step, the outbound delivery orders are released and updated with all carrier information from SAP TM. Since the orders are unlocked now in EWM, this triggers the warehouse execution process in EWM.
10. Now as part of the warehouse internal process, waves are created and released. Wave management basically groups various warehouse requests into a wave which in turn generates work packages in the form of the warehouse order or warehouse task. EWM also uses the concept of wave templates to implement this feature based on shipping information. Note that a warehouse order is an integral part of EWM since it contains warehouse tasks or inventory items to be executed.
11. The next step is picking, packing, and staging the goods to the staging area. It is carried out using an RF device. Using the device the worker acting as a resource logs on to the screen and picks the product from the source bin as proposed by the system. As part of the RF functionality, the product barcode and pick HU are scanned before the quantity is entered and confirmed by the worker. In this way multiple picking is done as part of the warehouse order. When the last task has been executed and confirmed the goods are moved to the staging area. Once the goods are confirmed as reaching the staging area, EWM prints a shipping HU label that is attached to the pallet.
12. Once the products in the warehouse have been picked, packed, and staged the resulting HUs are loaded and the system is ready for posting a goods issue. At this stage you can also use the SAP Yard Management module so that the movement of the truck in the warehouse premises can be monitored and steps can be executed.
13. Once the truck arrives at the warehouse and is parked at the door, the loading process starts, which can also be implemented using an RF device. Once the scanning process starts at the door, the transportation unit is also assumed to be loaded. Now the shipped HU is loaded onto the truck. The barcode attached to the pallet is scanned and the system automatically confirms all tasks that were supposed to be executed by the worker as part of the warehouse order.
14. Finally when a loading event is finished in the warehouse, an EWM outbound delivery is created. Various handover documents such as delivery notes and waybills are printed. A goods issue is then posted based on the transportation unit in EWM, which later updates the execution status of the freight order in SAP TM.
15. Based on the goods issue, EWM sends execution results to ECC.
16. Based on the warehouse execution with the final action of the posting of the goods issue in EWM, the corresponding deliveries and shipments in ERP are updated with the results of warehouse execution.
17. Based on the updates in ERP, these are then forwarded to SAP TM to trigger the charge calculation and freight settlement process. At the same time a DTR is completed in SAP TM and the corresponding execution status is updated in the freight order.

This next scenario is a variant of SAP TM-EWM standard integration content. The basic difference is that this scenario is related to warehouse integration with DTR. In the previous scenario you saw that based on the OTR and delivery proposals triggered from SAP TM, an outbound delivery was created in ECC and then the warehouse integration in EWM system was executed. However, this scenario of an outbound delivery process in ECC triggering a DTR in SAP TM without creating an OTR in SAP TM was triggered directly from outbound deliveries being scheduled in ECC.

After transportation planning is executed in SAP TM, freight orders are created, which triggers shipment document creation in ERP. A parallel transportation unit is created in EWM. The rest of the process remains the same as the earlier process in which goods are picked by waves, directly put into shipping handling units, packed, and finally loaded on to a truck, which signifies the event posting goods issue from warehouse. This again updates the freight order status in SAP TM and shipment status in ERP. Once the freight order execution is completed, the freight settlement process is also triggered in SAP TM.

The basic difference is that this process flow works on the concept that deliveries are already created based on existing transportation requirements in ERP. The transportation planning in SAP TM starts with DTR and freight unit creation in SAP TM while in the earlier process the transportation planning was based on OTR and freight units created in SAP TM. The rest of process remains the same whereby once DTRs are created in SAP TM, an outbound delivery in ERP also creates an outbound delivery request and outbound delivery orders in EWM. The user needs to note the status of the orders since the outbound delivery orders are locked unless a transportation unit is assigned.

Based on the two scenarios I discussed, when setting up the integration between SAP TM and EWM, you should configure and set up the transport management system so that:

• Packaging material should be assigned to a container equipment type
• Packaging material should be assigned to a vehicle resource
• Shipment creation relevance should be updated in freight order type configuration so that the shipment integration scenario is set up correctly. Via the configuration setup it should be possible to send either container packaging information, vehicle resource info, or both.

Interface with the Weighbridge

As part of the SAP TM and EWM integration process, the loading process component is tightly integrated with the weighbridge interfaces. It is mostly the freight execution document such as a freight order that acts as a reference before the trucks proceed to the weighbridge for measurement purposes. In the implementation I worked on, we discussed if we needed to use a delivery document or a freight order number as a reference. However, since the loading measurement commences only when the subcontracting process is initiated in the transportation process, the freight order number was used as a reference.

Other important information such as the carrier number, net weight of the pallet, means of transport, and shipping point information were also transferred to the weighbridge. The measurement starts in the weighbridge and after the measurement is completed a weigh order is generated. It captures all the loading information including the truck number and the date and time of loading. This information is used to indicate if the planned and actual quantities differ, In case they differ, discrepancy functionality is updated in SAP TM. For the interface to work we used the system architecture (i.e., SAP Process Integration [SAP PI] was used as a middleware) shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

Process flow to depict the data flow for a weighbridge interface

After the updates were received in the weigh order, the corresponding updates were sent to SAP TM and freight order execution status related to loading was updated. The data was transferred via a file from the weighbridge from SAP PI to SAP TM.

An XML message was generated from the weighbridge to capture information such as the freight order number, weighing date/time, net weight, vehicle license number, and carrier. Whenever you are interfacing SAP TM with an external system, such as a weighbridge, you need to develop an interface so that there are real-time updates in the SAP system whenever any information is captured and transmitted from the weighbridge. Now SAP TM works on service-oriented arcitecture (SOA) in which SAP PI is the middleware used to exchange information and data from SAP TM to weighbridge. Whenever SAP PI is used, XML messages are transmitted between the two systems using a service concept. In this case we used standard service TransportationOrderConfirmation_In as provided by SAP. Since additional information was required to be added, we needed to enhance the existing service so that all the required information from the weighbridge was updated in SAP TM .

In short the SAP TM-EWM and the weighbridge interface led to the following updates in the documents:

• The transportation unit in the warehouse has the status Loading started when the loading process begins in EWM.
• The trucker ensures that the loading process is completed as per the task assigned to him and once all the loading quantities along with timestamp is completed the transportation unit has the status Loading completed.
• A goods issue is posted from the EWM system that updates the transportation unit status to goods issue posted.
• Once the above activity is completed, SAP TM receives the updates via the service LoadingAppointmentNotfication message that ultimately updates the cargo receipt status for the item as Set to Shipped.
• Now when the transportation planner goes to the execution tab of the freight order to the event Loading begin, loading end, this event is triggered automatically and the actual date/time location of the event is filled automatically based on the updates in EWM.
• If there is any discrepancy observed between the loading quantity in the warehouse and after it is loaded in the truck, then discrepancy functionality is triggered in SAP TM based on discrepancy type of quantity. In SAP TM for the business object freight order, you can capture under cargo item any discrepancy information, such as discrepancy type (such as quantity or volume). The information such as planned quantity and actual quantity is updated in the corresponding cargo tab in the freight order and propagated to the freight unit as well.
• You set up Event Management for the discrepancy functionality. Based on the discrepancy type, events such as weight discrepancy/quantity discrepancy were triggered, which ultimately provided alerts to the transportation planner.

Before I discuss the configuration required to set up the integration, there are two aspects you need to consider: activation of a business function using transaction code SFW5and definition of user roles created by the security team using transaction code PFCG.

These roles are available for the business scenario:

• /SCWM/EXPERT role for the EWM transaction
• /SCMTMS/TRANSPORTATION_MGR_V2 role for the SAP TM transaction
• SAP_EP_LO_SD_VA00 and SAP_EP_LO_LE_OUTB used for ERP transactions for the normal sales and distribution (SD) process and the goods issue process

Alternatively, you can set up cross-system roles that can provide access to users to execute transactions across all three systems from SAP NetWeaver Business Client (NWBC).

Table 1 shows the business functions to be activated in SAP TM.

Following are the various transactions to be used in SAP TM to configure the transfer of master data from ECC to SAP TM by the CIF.

Activate these configurations and business functions in SAP TM.

Step 1. Name the logical systems for the connection to ECC and SAP TM in SAP TM. The objective of carrying out this activity is to set up the logical system so that the corresponding RFC from the SAP TM system to another system can be done. Therefore, a logical system for both SAP TM and ERP needs to be set up here.

In customizing for SCM Basis, follow menu path Integration > Basic Settings for Creating the System Landscape > Name Logical Systems. In the initial screen that displays (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 4), define the logical system in SAP TM so that it can be used for an RFC connection to ECC to define the logical system.

Figure 4

Name the logical system for connection to ECC

Step 2. Assign the logical system to clients in SAP TM. In customizing for SCM Basis follow menu path Integration > Basic Settings for Creating the System Landscape > Assign Logical Systems to a Client. In the initial screen that appears (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 5), assign the logical system to the client in SAP TM. After you populate the fields shown in Figure 5, click the save icon to save your data.

Figure 5

Assign a logical system to a client

Step 3. Define the System Landscape Directory (SLD) data of business systems in SAP TM. As part of the standard installation process of SAP TM, the various data sets should be imported automatically. The Basis team should check the settings from the SLD. In customizing for Transportation Management go to Define SLD Data of Business Systems. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 6), define a business system so that corresponding communication from ECC with SAP TM occurs through the queue type set up within a business system. All the systems that are part of the landscape need to have a business system defined. In Figure 6, enter a name in the Business System field. In the Buffer for SLD Data of Business Systems section, enter the name of the business system in the Logical system field. In the Manual Maint. (manual maintenance) field, select Flag is Not Set from the list of options. Click the save icon to save your data.

Figure 6

Define a business system

Step 4. Maintain the Business System Groups in SAP TM for both the ERP and the SAP TM systems so that the corresponding logical system can be assigned to the corresponding group. The business system group is mandatory to be set up as part of the CIF process that you use to transfer master data from ERP to SAP TM.

In customizing for SCM Basis follow menu path Integration > Basic Settings for Creating the System Landscape > Maintain Business System Group. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 7), enter a name in the BusSystGrp (business system group) along with a description. The same business system group should be used when master data is transmitted from ECC to SAP TM using the CIF framework model.

Figure 7

Maintain business system groups

Also assign the logical systems for ECC and SAP TM, and a queue type to the business system group. In customizing for SCM Basis follow menu path Integration > Basic Settings for Creating the System Landscape > Assign Logical System and Queue Type. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 8) assign a logical system and queue type to the business system group. Click the save icon.

Figure 8

Assign logical system and queue type

Step 5. Activate the planning version and model for master data in SAP TM. To create the master data in SAP TM, you create planning version 000 and model 000 so that the CIF operation works. In customizing for Transportation Management, follow menu path Master Data > Create Active Version and Model. This setting requires authorization for objects C_APO_MOD and C_APO_VERS with activity 0. In the initial screen (not shown), you can check if SAP APO model and planning versions exist or not. The output of this transaction is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

Check the SAP APO model and planning version

Step 6. Define the delivery-based transportation requirement type. As part of the process of creating a DTR in SAP TM based on outbound delivery creation in ECC, you need to maintain the object mapping between ERP and SAP TM. In customizing for Transportation Management follow menu path ERP Logistics Integration > Define Delivery-Based Transportation Requirement Types. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 10) define a delivery-based transportation requirement document type (DTR type). To integrate a DTR type from SAP TM to EWM, click the Dir.EWM Int.Active check box. Click the save icon to save your data.

Figure 10

Define a delivery-based transportation requirement type

Step 7. Define the freight order type for outbound EWM integration. In customizing for Transportation Management follow menu path Freight Order Management > Freight Order > Define Freight Order Types. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 11) define the freight order type. For the integration between SAP TM and EWM you need to define a freight order type in SAP TM and then in the creation screen you need to select the Transportation Activity Creation in EWM option under the Document Creation Relevance field. Click the save icon to save your data.

Figure 11

Define a freight order type

Configuration and Business Functions to Be Activated in EWM

In EWM the business functions shown in Table 2 require activation.

Step 1. Define the logical system and business system for SAP TM in EWM. In customizing for SCM Basis, follow menu path Integration > Basic Settings for Creating the System Landscape > Name Logical Systems. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 12) define the logical system in EWM so that it can be used for an RFC connection to ECC and SAP TM.

Figure 12

Name the logical system for connection to ECC and SAP TM

Step 2. In customizing for Extended Warehouse Management, follow menu path Interfaces > ERP Integration > General Settings > Define Business System. The objective of this configuration is the same as for the business system group in SAP TM. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 13) define a business system so that corresponding communication from ECC with EWM occurs through the queue type set up within a business system. All the systems that are part of the landscape need to have a business system defined. Click the save icon.

Figure 13

Define the business system

Step 3. Activate the error and conflict handler in EWM. In customizing for Extended Warehouse Management, follow menu path Cross-Application Components > Processes and Tools for Enterprise Applications > Enterprise Services Error and Conflict Handler > Activate Error and Conflict Handler. In the screen that displays (Figure 14), select the Activated check box for error and conflict handler. This is done to trace the logs for any issues between EWM and another application system. You need to activate the error and conflict handlers so that all errors and conflicts are saved in a database for further analyses.

Figure 14

Activate the error and conflict handler

This activity is required so that error and conflict handling process can be activated for service operations. Since SAP PI is the middleware used to exchange information between SAP TM and EWM, detailed error information about queues within the SAP PI layer can be tracked only if this activation is done. Also there may be a requirement to restart and initialize the queues after errors are resolved. This is possible only after you activate this functionality.

Step 4. Configure a staging area and door determination in EWM. In the SAP Easy Access screen for SAP Extended Warehouse Management, choose Settings and then Shipping and Receiving Staging Area and Door Determination (Outbound). In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 15), enter parameters in the Warehouse No. (warehouse number), Staging Area, and Warehouse Door fields so that system can determine this master data under a warehouse when truck arrives at the warehouse for loading process. Click the save icon.

Figure 15

Define the staging area and door for a warehouse

Step 5. Configure the access sequence to staging areas and door determination in EWM. In the SAP Easy Access menu for EWM choose Settings > Shipping and Receiving Access Sequence to Staging Areas and Door Determination. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen (Figure 16), maintain the parameter such as direction and select a check box for the various parameters such as Route and WhPR (warehouse process).When the truck arrives at the warehouse door for loading the product, depending on the free availability, the system proposes the staging areas and door in sequence. The user needs to define the access sequence for the staging area and door determination.

Figure 16

Maintain parameters for staging areas and door determination

Step 6. Check the packaging material type in EWM. In customizing for Extended Warehouse Management, follow menu path Cross-Process Settings Handling Units > Basics > Define Packaging Material Types. In the initial screen, click the New Entries button (Figure 17). As part of the handling unit setup, you need to define a packaging material in the field under the PkMtT column, describe the material in the field under the Description column, and enter the name of a category in the field under the PMCat (packaging material category) column. Click the save icon.

Figure 17

Define a packaging material type

Step 7. Configure a means of transport in EWM. In customizing for SCM Basis, follow menu path Master Data > Transportation Lane > Maintain Means of Transport. In the screen that displays (Figure 18), click the New Entries button. Enter a code in the field under the MTr (means of transport) column and describe the means of transport in the field under the Description column. Enter a code in the field under the Std Code (standard code) and a speed in the field under the Average Speed columns. (The average speed is measured in kilometers per hour.) This data helps you to determine the distance between the locations to be travelled. Click the save icon.

Figure 18

Define a means of transport

Step 8. Define the link between packaging material and MTR in EWM. In the SAP Easy Access screen for SAP Extended Warehouse Management, follow menu path Settings > Shipping and Receiving > Link Between Packaging Material (TU) and Means of Transport. In the initial screen (not shown), click the New Entries button. In the next screen, populate the fields under the MTr (means of transport) and Pack. Material (packaging material) columns as shown in Figure 19. The relationship between the means of transport and packaging material can be made optional by selecting the check box under the Optional column. It is not mandatory to populate the fields under the Seq. PMs (sequence of mandatory packaging materials in means of transport) and No. PMs in MTr (number of mandatory packaging materials in means of transport) columns. The check box under the Cont. PM column denotes if a transportation unit or a vehicle is to be created. If this check box is selected, the system creates a transportation unit. If it is not selected, the system creates a vehicle.

Figure 19

Relationship between packaging material and means of transport

Dependencies on ERP to Set Up SAP TM-EWM Integration

This section highlights the synchronization in the configuration required between ECC, SAP TM, and EWM so that the integration scenario works perfectly and there is no issue when data is exchanged between the multiple systems. For the integration between ECC, SAP TM, and EWM to work effectively, certain data items must be identical in all three systems. Examples of these data items are incoterms, packaging material types, shipping conditions, and transportation service levels. In this section, I include a list of these items along with the navigation path you need to follow for each system to maintain the same values across all three systems.

Incoterms

You need to maintain incoterms in all three systems with identical values. In ECC, follow menu path Sales and Distribution > Master Data > Business Partners > Customers Billing Document > Define Incoterms.

In SAP TM, follow menu path SCM Basis > Master Data > Define Incoterms.

In EWM follow menu path Cross?Process Settings > Delivery Processing > General Settings > Define Incoterms.

In the screen that appears (Figure 20), click the New Entries button. Populate the first two columns of the refreshed screen as shown in Figure 20. In the Loc (location) column, select the check boxes for any incoterms that are mandatory. Click the save icon.

Figure 20

Define incoterms

Packaging Material Types

Follow these menu paths to maintain the packaging material type (which is equivalent to a transportation unit in EWM).

In ECC, follow menu path Logistics General > Handling Unit Management > Basics > Define Packaging Material Types.

In SAP TM, follow menu path SCM Basis > Pack > Handling Units > Define Packaging Material Types.

In EWM follow menu path Cross?Process Settings > Handling Units > Basics > Define Packaging Material Types.

In the screen that appears, populate the fields under the PkMtT (packaging material), Description, and PMCat (packaging material category) columns as shown in Figure 21. Click the save icon.

Figure 21

Define packaging material types

Shipping Conditions

To maintain the shipping condition, you need to maintain the values for the transportation service level. To complete this step, you need to follow the menu paths listed below.

In ECC, follow menu path Logistics Execution > Shipping > Basic Shipping Functions > Shipping Point and Goods Receiving Point Determination > Define Shipping Conditions.

In SAP TM, follow menu path Forwarding Order Management > Define Transportation Service Level Codes.

In EWM follow menu path Cross?Process Settings > Delivery Processing > General Settings > Define Shipping Conditions.

In the screen that appears, select the folder highlighted in Figure 22 and click the New Entries button. In the section on the right, populate the fields under the Service Lev… (service level) and Description columns. Click the save icon to save your data.

Figure 22

Define Transportation Service level codes

Master Data to Be Transferred from ECC to SAP TM and EWM

This section does not elaborately describe how the CIF operation works when master data needs to be transferred from ECC to SAP TM and EWM, but only explains the objects that are transferred after the CIF process is completed. CIF is the framework and methodology used to transfer master data from ECC to other systems and is unidirectional in nature.

After the CIF process, the customer and plant in ECC create a location in SAP TM with various location types. When you use the CIF framework model to send master data from ECC to SAP TM, the master data always creates a location with a specific location type in SAP TM along with a business partner if the selection model in ECC is executed accordingly. As per the standard process for transferring master data from ECC to SAP TM, when master data is transferred from ECC, the system provides you with the option to select Create location, Create Business partner, or Create both location and business partner. Based on the selection of the model, the system creates the location. The location for the plant is equivalent to the supply chain unit in EWM.

After transferring data from ECC to SAP TM and EWM via the CIF, the vendor in ECC creates a location as well as a business partner in both SAP TM and EWM. In EWM the business party has the partner role of Party to dispose Material in ECC after the CIF creates products in SAP TM and EWM. In EWM you need to have master data such as queue or resource.

Warehouse Structure

For the integration between SAP TM-EWM to work effectively you need to have the following organizational units in place in EWM:

• Warehouse number
• Storage type
• Storage section
• Storage bin
• Activity area
• Door

Similarly in SAP TM and ERP these are the objects that have to exist so that the data exchange and updates occur synchronously between SAP TM-EWM:

• Order types (ERP)
• Delivery types (ERP)
• Outbound delivery request (EWM)
• Outbound delivery order (EWM)
• Order and delivery based transportation requirement (SAP TM)
• Freight unit type (SAP TM)
• Freight order type (SAP TM)
• Warehouse process type (EWM)

SAP TM-EWM Integration Tips

Here are some of the important components to consider while setting up the SAP TM-EWM components:

• Type of sales order you are planning to execute in ECC. Because there has to be correct mapping between an ECC sales order and an order-based requirement type in SAP TM, it is important to know which sales order document type is to be used in ECC so that transportation planning and warehouse execution process can be set up. You need to ensure that all master data is transferred via the CIF properly from ECC to SAP TM and EWM. Because master data is a prerequisite for setting up any transaction data and process flow between ECC, SAP TM, and EWM, you need to check that all the master data exists in the system.
• Shipping conditions equivalent to service levels in SAP TM that impact the charge management and carrier analysis. This is also important from the perspective of transportation planning as the shipping condition varies from customer to customer.
• The characteristics of material handled (i.e., whether batch managed or not and how the HU is set up during delivery creation).
• Proper status updates in both SAP TM and EWM when loading and unloading operations. In case the loading operations are influenced by any interfaces, you need to make sure that the handling statuses are properly updated in SAP TM once the trucks enter the yard or after check-in of the truck is done or goods are loaded or unloaded and a goods issue is posted.
• The selection of a freight unit along with the setup of HUs is important. Also the various selection strategies used for batch determination play an important role in the warehouse-to-transport execution process.
• The warehouse monitoring and RF devices should be working properly so that during times of scanning the HU, all the relevant bin and quantity information is captured and updated in EWM, which further updates the cargo statuses in SAP TM.
• The truck resource is important so that it has sufficient loading capacity to carry the pallets from the warehouse. The transportation planner based on the transportation requirement has to ensure that based on certain rules or regulations and available capacities only, the resources (i.e., trucks) should be deployed to the site for the loading operations to begin.
• Since there are many services involved here as part of the data exchange between SAP TM and EWM, proper monitoring of the queues and XML messages is important so that there is synchronization between the systems and data integrity is maintained.
• Lastly, the tight integration between SAP TM transportation planning with EWM wave management functionality has improved the overall constraints of selecting proper loading or unloading gates along with the duration. Previously, due to poor transportation planning, the warehouse gate or door was always occupied with trucks in a queue, which impacted the delivery of products to customers at the required timelines. However, with the implementation of dock appointment scheduling functionality in EWM, based on the DTR object in SAP TM, when the planner did the transportation planning the loading and unloading gates or locations were tightly integrated with the layout visible in dock scheduling functionality. In this way the truck had to wait less time in the queues and the planning constraint was virtually eliminated. The transportation planner and the shipping office clerk had a full dimensional view of the gates or doors available at various times of the day for loading and unloading the cargo items.