What´s new in the SAP S/4HANA 2020 FPS01 release? (PART 1/2)
Since February 24, 2021, the new FSP01 release of SAP S/4HANA 2020 is available. We have taken a look at the innovations and want to present the most interesting features such as “Advanced Shipping Receiving”. Thanks to the intensive exchange of our leogistics-internal S/4HANA Community, we have evaluated the new possibilities of the S/4HANA solution from all perspectives. In today’s article, we would like to share our impressions from the TM point of view with you, before the second part will deal with EWM.
New concept for SAP Transportation Management and Extended Warehouse Management integration
The new SAP S/4HANA 2020 FSP01 release has already made big waves in the SAP logistics community. In the social networks, numerous users commented on the innovations during the official presentation of “Advanced Shipping Receiving “. From our point of view, this announcement was also the biggest and most exciting novelty. Behind the name “Advanced Shipping and Receiving” hides the new and long-awaited possibility for TM/EWM integration.
Anyone who has worked on a TM/EWM integration in an SAP S/4HANA project knows the pitfalls of the old solution. In the past, we as leogistics were able to get them out of the way early on thanks to our wide-ranging expertise. Now, fortunately, the release has made the path to the goal much easier.
Challenges in the past included:
XML interface between TM and EWM
Overcoming redundant objects
Lack of dropshipping capabilities
User friendliness (different documents, UIs)
SAP promises a remedy with a revised concept:
The EWM document “transport unit” is now obsolete and EWM now also works with the freight order.
There is a new UI that maps TM and EWM processes.
Dropshipping and multipick capabilities are being addressed
and should be possible in the next releases.
Direct communication between TM and EWM
New document type for shipment summary
The presentation of a new document, the so-called “Consignment Order”, was also exciting. This can be used to group transport requests according to various criteria. Previously, this was only possible with a freight order. The Consignment Order is assigned to the freight order similar to a freight unit (one or more Consignment Orders are assigned to a freight order). From a cost calculation and billing perspective, it is exciting that the cost calculation can now be calculated on either the freight order or the consignment. Invoicing via the consignment will offer advantages, especially 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.
Parallel use of different versions possible
Users who are afraid that their previous application will become obsolete can relax: SAP announced that the previous integration (i.e., via the transport unit) and the new solution can run side by side in the system. The control of which of the possible integrations is to be used runs via the loading point. For the time being, Advanced Shipping and Receiving is only possible with “embedded” use. According to the roadmap, a decentralized solution is planned for 2022.
The eternal question: basic oder advanced licensing?
Another hurdle of the past is history thanks to the SAP S/4HANA 2020 FPS01 release: The need to purchase both Advanced licenses for a TM/EWM integration is obsolete since the ASR! Now at least a solution with Basic TM and Basic EWM is provided.
Many questions reached the SAP product managers on the subject of licenses. They promised to improve and to provide a new and clearer listing of applications and features in Basic and Advanced (incl. breakdown by Planning and Settlement).
Unfortunately, there is currently no report that shows whether the features and settings used by the user are part of the Basic or the Advanced license. In SAP EWM this check has been possible for a long time via the report /SCWM/RP_COMPLIANCE_CHECK. This is a popular tool used by consultants to ensure Basic realizations. The report in TM is currently under development and will be rolled out this year.
Transportation Management features worth mentioning in FSP01
We consider the following news relevant for the “Planning” area:
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.
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 basically ensures to save loading meters by stacking the goods evenly.
While we will certainly try out the changes in the new planning rule, we can’t yet imagine printing 3D views as a use case. For extensive users of the Loadplanner, the new planning rule makes sense and improves the process. From our diverse project experience, we can say that customers have always found the Loadplanner exciting so far, but warehouse colleagues liked to have the final say on load space planning in the end.
In the area of billing, SAP mainly took care of the communication with the forwarder in FSP01:
Dispute Management:
In case of disputes there should be a new possibility to contact the service provider or to receive changes (SOAP message). Here we see a help especially for customers who work with credit note procedures to communicate changes faster and more transparent 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.
We are curious to see how such a concrete involvement of carriers is implemented on the licensing and firewall side and look forward to reading about initial experiences.
New features also for SAP S/4HANA EWM
The interaction of SAP S/4HANA EWM and SAP S/4HANA TM brings many advantages in the execution of planned transport processes. For example, packing can be carried out at an early stage and thus the transport capacity utilization can be optimized on the basis of the packages. The result is made available to SAP S/4HANA for further processing with the integration variants described. Any changes in the warehouse can be fed back automatically. SAP S/4HANA EWM also enjoys some new functionalities!
We are here for you
In conclusion, Advanced Shipping and Receiving in particular represents an important milestone in the development and merging of transport and warehouse processes and will have the greatest influence on future projects. It is worth taking a closer look at what’s new in SAP S/4HANA 2020 FPS01.
If you too are thinking of making the switch, let us know: SAP is still looking for early adopters for Advanced Shipping and Receiving. In these programs, SAP offers a direct line to the developers of the applications. We would be happy to help you participate. We can also support you in making your operational processes more efficient, transparent and cost-saving, thus improving your supply chains. Have we sparked your interest? Then please feel free to contact us.
For questions about this or other topics on the blog, contact blog@leogistics.com.
Jens Arndt
Frank Meier
Consultants SAP Logistics
