TM and EWM integration
The new FPS01 of S/4 2020 has been available since February 24, 2021. Anyone who has worked on an ASR project in an S/4 project so far knows the pitfalls. SAP promises a remedy with a revised concept: The EWM document "transport unit" is obsolete and the freight order is now also used in EWM.
There is a new UI that maps TM and EWM processes. The possibilities of dropshipping and multipick are addressed and should be possible in the next releases. Direct communication between TM and EWM without LDAP message will be possible.
Broadcast summary
Another exciting feature is a new document called the Consignment Order. This can be used to group transport requests. The consignment order is assigned to the freight order in a similar way to a freight unit.
From a cost calculation and billing perspective, it is exciting that the cost calculation can now be calculated either on the freight order or the consignment. Invoicing via the latter will be particularly advantageous in the area of general cargo and groupage freight, as it creates a distinction from physical transport, which is still mapped with a freight order.
Users who now fear that their previous application will become obsolete can relax: SAP announced that the integration via the transport unit and the new solution can run side by side in the system. For now, Advanced Shipping and Receiving (ASR) is only possible for "embedded" use. A decentralized solution is planned for 2022, according to the roadmap.
Basic TM and EWM
Another hurdle is also history thanks to the FPS01 release: the need to purchase both Advanced licenses for a TM/EWM integration. Now at least a solution with Basic TM and Basic EWM is provided. Unfortunately, there is currently no report that shows whether the features and settings used by the user belong to the Basic or Advanced license. In SAP EWM, this check option has long been possible via a report. The report in TM is to be rolled out this year.
For the areas of planning and billing we consider the following news relevant: Warehouse loading stops, these are now displayed more specifically in the freight orders and freight units including the possibility of loading gate display. This is helpful in EWM integrations and simplifies the mapping of warehouses.
Planning rules
Loadplanner, a new print document, allows to print the 3D views of the loadplanner as PDF. In addition, a new planning rule has been implemented that reduces the number of stacks during planning. The planning rule ensures to save loading meters by stacking the goods evenly.
Dispute management, in the event of disputes there should be a new way to contact the service provider or receive changes (SOAP message). We see this as a help, especially for customers who work with credit note procedures, to communicate changes faster and more transparently for all sides.
Carrier Collaboration, a new app, gives carriers the ability to respond directly to RFPs in Excel. Carriers do not need to use SAP TM to access and respond.
New functions for S/4 EWM
On the other side of the warehouse gates, i.e. in EWM, there are also a number of interesting enhancements. SAP has addressed many an important point that we have stumbled over so far: We have already described above the facilitated collaboration through the improved data synchronization between TM and EWM under the keyword ASR.
This eliminates the need to replicate the freight orders as transport units. Instead, we can work directly on the TM freight order. In the first step, however, this is only possible on an "embedded" system. It will be exciting in 2022 when this object division is also to run on stand-alone systems.
In truck handling, the use of the freight order has the effect that a truck can now both unload and load at a loading point. In addition, the Freight Order can now also include an EWM and at the same time an MM-IM managed storage location, for example, in order to supply production sites according to demand. Both storage locations share a loading point in the scenario.
Warehouse logisticians can perform booking activities via new or adapted user interfaces. SAP promises not only suitable GUI and Fiori transactions for assigning a gate, for example, but also new RF transactions for the still popular PDC devices.
By processing the freight orders in the warehouse, these objects are also extended with EWM-specific fields to meet the tasks of the warehouse staff. All relevant changes can also be viewed directly in TM by editing on the freight order.
Combination with ERP and QM
FPS01 2020 helps EWM to communicate not only with TM, but also with ERP and QM. SAP seems to have responded to many wishes of their customers, which we also know from our project business. In the future, the standard transaction MIGO will synchronously post a goods receipt in EWM for an external procurement.
If this posting runs into an error, this no longer appears in the queue, but is displayed to the employee directly in MIGO as an error message. Another clever feature is the possibility to mix the goods receipt in an MM-IM storage location with an EWM storage location in one posting.
Logistics Execution users can enjoy the fact that direct synchronization updates the exact delivery quantities from EWM. In this way, the end users already see the corresponding change in the system when the quantity is adjusted and not, as was previously the case, only when the goods issue is posted.
Batch management
For quality management on decentralized EWM systems, there is now a feature that previously only ran on "embedded" systems: "Scrap to cost center" and "Post as sample consumption" can now be defined as follow-up actions for usage decisions.
The following enhancements are intended to facilitate batch management in decentralized EWM and improve data consistency between ERP and EWM: On the one hand, newly created and changed batch masters are managed directly via the ALE-.
Framework distributed without the use of change pointers. The trigger for the distribution is the change on the database itself and not the transaction or job where the batch is processed.
The integrative batch processing is further enhanced: In EWM, the MSC1N and MSC2N transactions are provided for creating and changing batch masters. Finally, warehouse employees can add a new batch during inventory that was not yet in the system - of course with synchronization in the ERP system.
Batch Master.
Anyone who has ever dealt with pack specifications will also be pleased with the following point: With the new Feature Pack, mass changes can finally be made to the PackSpecs. The grueling repetitions of hundreds of identical entries are now a thing of the past.
Overall, we see the new features as useful and practical enhancements for SAP TM and EWM. Both new implementations, process adaptations and day-to-day business will benefit. Advanced Shipping and Receiving in particular will have a major impact on future projects. SAP is thus passing an important milestone in the development and merging of transport and warehouse processes and is taking the next step towards an integrated supply chain.
