Transportation Management with SAP LES

12
Shipment
At this point, you must note the following terms: Shipments are carried out to transport
goods from your enterprise or warehouse to the ship-to party, whereas transport requests
(from Warehouse Manager [WM] or lean WM) are used for shipments within the warehouse.
I recommend adopting this terminology. In the shipment document, shipment
is mapped. I have also come across the terms forwarding instruction or shipping order.
These also refer to the shipment document. You must therefore differentiate between
shipment and transport request.
12.1.1 Shipment Document Tasks
Often, and particularly in larger enterprises, the departments that process delivery
documents and shipment documents are separated. Figure 12.1 illustrates typical
tasks that must be carried out to implement shipments.
For example, if the forwarding agent has not yet been determined (because the
customer has not defined a specific forwarding agent), the MRP controller must
find a suitable forwarding agent. He must know in advance the shipping quantity
and when the goods are supposed to be collected and shipped. Forwarding companies
usually calculate loading meters or weight, in rare cases also volume (very
often for air freights if, in comparison, the volume is higher than the weight). The
deadlines must also be taken into account, in particular the date when the ship-to
party must receive the material.
In many cases, enterprises conclude outline agreements with forwarding agents.
Pending shipments are increasingly shipped via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
to the forwarding agent. This EDI output contains all information required by the
forwarding company to implement on-time shipments and prepare the labeling of
trucks or containers for possible shipment of dangerous goods.
Some shipments are not forwarded to the ship-to party directly, but to load transfer
points or cross-docking stations first. For this purpose, the routes may have to
be adjusted and legs determined. MRP and implementation of a shipment may
be more complex if materials are shipped via sea freight or air freight. Customs
offices, ports of departure (either sea port or airport), and ports of destination must
be considered in leg planning.
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