Tracking Service Provider
Reporting 
Purpose
This process allows your service providers (for example, a transportation service provider) to send data from various systems and in various formats to a tracking service provider for the purpose of tracking and monitoring business objects and business processes.
The tracking service provider:
· Collects event data
· Combines the data
· Converts the different data formats
· Executes validity checks
· Makes this data available to SAP Event Management (SAP EM) using interfaces (for example, EDI or RosettaNet)
You define a tracking service provider profile (TSP profile) with your tracking service provider to specify your requirements for tracking a business object or a business process.
For example, you could specify that the tracking service provider only sends an alert to SAP EM for a reefer container, if the temperature either exceeds or falls below a defined tolerance range. The tracking service provider does not forward individual temperature measurements.
For more information, see the Implementation Guide (IMG) for SCM under Event Management ® External Service Provider Interfaces ® Define Tracking Service Provider Profiles.
The definition of the TSP profile is found on the tracking service provider side. SAP EM uses only the tracking profile ID to tell the tracking service provider which data is required for which event handler and when this information is needed.
Prerequisites
· You or your service providers work with a tracking service provider who is to track business objects or business processes.
· The tracking service provider can communicate with the SAP EM interfaces.
Process Flow
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You can split the process for reporting event data using a tracking service provider into a “physical” and an “electronic” part. These can run in parallel to one another.
“Physical” subprocess
1. Creating event data using the tracking service provider’s network
a. An application system or an external system sends a document (for example, a bill of lading) to the tracking service provider or the service provider.
b. Your service provider sends event messages to the tracking service provider.
2. The tracking service provider collects, formats, and checks the event data.
The tracking service provider collects the event messages in a queue until SAP EM sends a request to register a TSP profile.
The tracking service provider formats the data collected and executes validity checks using rules (standard and customer-specific rules) and tools. This is to ensure the quality of the data.
For example, you plan a shipment with all the times for when and where the goods are to be collected from. You inform your transportation service provider. The transportation service provider takes responsibility for the transfer order and sends event messages to your tracking service provider about the transportation process (for example, LTL shipment XYZ with the quantity XYZ of goods XYZ left warehouse XYZ at XX:YY). The tracking service provider executes the validity checks.
“Electronic” subprocess to send data from the tracking service provider to SAP EM
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1. The application system uses a BAPI call to create an event handler in SAP EM.
2. SAP EM uses a TSP profile request to tell the tracking service provider which tracking information SAP EM needs.
You can use a TSP profile to specify which event messages the tracking service provider sends to SAP EM and when.
For example, you could have arranged with your tracking service provider that he is to send an event message containing the current temperature of a reefer container to SAP EM every hour. Moreover, the tracking service provider is to send an alert to SAP EM if the temperature exceeds or falls under a defined tolerance range.
3. The tracking service provider sends an acknowledgement of the request to SAP EM and sends the required data for event handlers that are assigned to the TSP profile.
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The following figure provides an overview of the process flow:
Individual steps for sending data from the tracking service provider to SAP EM
TSP profile: SAP EM requests that the tracking service provider activates a TSP profile by registering an event handler. This event handler is linked to the TSP profile ID of this TSP profile.
The TSP profile request contains the:
· Information to track a business object or a business process (for example, event handler GUID or tracking ID)
· TSP profile ID that specifies which information is to be included in the event update
The tracking service provider uses this information to configure the process of updating an event by sending an event message:
· The tracking service provider needs the tracking ID to assign the TSP profile ID to the update information. The tracking service provider gets the tracking ID from the service provider (in an event message) or directly from you (for example, in a document).
· The TSP needs the event handler GUID to send the acknowledgement of the TSP profile request to SAP EM uniquely for a specific event handler.
TSP profile acknowledgement: The tracking service provider executes a syntax check for the TSP profile request and uses the TSP profile ID to configure processing in the TSP system. The TSP gets instructions on how to act from this.
The TSP sends a request acknowledgement to SAP EM and processes the requirements from the TSP profile.
Updating event handler data: The tracking service provider continuously receives event messages to update events. The TSP sends messages containing the data to update events to SAP EM, within the conditions that you have arranged with your tracking service provider for the current TSP profile ID (for example, time intervals, event list, alert types).
Result
· The tracking service provider has sent an acknowledgement of the TSP profile request and an event message for updating an event to SAP EM.
· SAP EM updates events on the basis of the data sent.