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 Direct Store Delivery (Backend)

Purpose

Direct Store Delivery (DSD) is a business process that is used in the consumer products industry to distribute goods directly to the end customer. In a Direct Store Delivery process, distribution does not involve a retail company’s warehouse/distribution centers.

The backend is the basis for integrating a mobile solution. The mobile solution supports drivers’ activities during the shipment process.

Implementing Direct Store Delivery enables you to:

  • Make materials available to stores and customers quickly (for example, food, drink, flowers, newspapers)

  • Directly influence end customers, as the consumer products manufacturer

  • Optimize process settlement in sales and in distribution

  • Optimize logistics costs using efficient visit planning

The backend for DSD consists of the following subcomponents:
Master Data

In the master data for the Direct Store Delivery component, you maintain specific data for the Direct Store Delivery process that remains unchanged over a considerable period of time and contains information that is required repeatedly in the same format.

Visit Control

You use visit control in the Direct Store Delivery component to plan periodically recurring customer visits carried out by drivers (different roles) on their tours, within a logistics process. Visit control consists of a strategic part (visit plans) and an operational part (visit lists).

In visit plans, you specify, among other things, which customers are to receive deliveries or visits in which sequence, and how often. You can also specify the drivers and vehicles to be used for a shipment.

The system creates visit lists for set days from visit plans. You can process visit lists manually and can therefore react to sudden or unique events. During dynamic transportation planning, the system uses visit lists as the basis for creating shipments.

Transportation Planning

Using transportation planning from the Direct Store Delivery component, you plan and organize tours with the aim of incorporating due deliveries into shipments.

Outbound deliveries can be:

  • Incorporated manually into a single shipment using shipment transactions

  • Incorporated into a single shipment or into several shipments by the system using dynamic transportation planning

    Dynamic transportation planning takes the following into account when creating shipments:

    • Visit lists

    • Route master data

    • Different capacity criteria (optional)

Using the shipment list the system provides you with an overview of all shipments created. From the shipment list you can access shipment maintenance.

Vehicle Space Optimization

To use vehicle space optimization in the Direct Store Delivery component, you must first integrate an optimization algorithm from a third-party vendor using an interface.

Vehicle Space Optimization optimizes the order of delivery items for a shipment onto packaging materials (for example, pallets) and the order of these packaging materials in a vehicle. The system presents the results of Vehicle Space Optimization (packing proposals for vehicle space optimization) in a colored graphic that you can print out. You can change the order of the load in this loading graphic manually.

You use the determined packing proposals for vehicle space optimization to control picking in the warehouse.

Output Control

You implement Output Control for the Direct Store Delivery component if you want the system to automatically group together tour data for output control.

Route Accounting

Route Accounting begins after a vehicle is loaded and ends once all tour transactions have been posted. DSD Route Accounting supports delivery and route sales using:

  • Specific information and documents for each tour

  • Entry of outgoing and incoming control data

  • Entry of information and documents that drivers (with different roles) hand in after their tour to the settlement office

  • Settlement of documents and data entered with the data available in the ERP system

  • Settlement of documents and data entered in the ERP system.

Drivers who have returned from a tour hand in the documents from their tour to the settlement office, along with any handheld devices. These include, for example:

  • Documents

  • Cash

  • Credit card documents

  • New orders

  • Tour data contained in a handheld

You can use Route Accounting without using handhelds. Drivers enter tour activities by hand in the relevant documents. You can transfer this handwritten tour data subsequently in the settlement cockpit in the system. You use the settlement cockpit to display and correct tour data, and to enter additional data manually.

Direct Store Delivery Route Accounting is an offline solution. This means that data is exchanged from a handheld to the ERP system at the start and end of a tour. It is not possible to transfer data during a tour.

Implementation Considerations

  • If you want to use the Direct Store Delivery component, see the current information in SAP Note 755712.

  • If you want to use the backend of the Direct Store Delivery component i n your system, you must flag the checkbox Direct Store Delivery Active .

  • If you want to use the mobile part of the DSD process in your system, in the Activate Sales Area Processes table, you must have set the identically named indicator. Once you have set the indicator, the system activates checks in different functions (for example, driver master, shipment). These checks are performed to ensure that the process deals only with sales areas.

  • If you want to implement Vehicle Space Optimization for the Direct Store Delivery component in your system, you must set the Vehicle Space Optimization indicator to active in Customizing. You must set this indicator for the system to be able to use a third party administrator’s optimization algorithm via an interface.

    Caution Caution

    Vehicle Space Optimization can only be implemented once the following prerequisites have been met:

    • You have registered an optimization algorithm from a third party administrator in the operating system.

    • You have set up an RFC connection.

    End of the caution.

    Note Note

    For the system settings for the activating Direct Store Delivery and Vehicle Space Optimization, see Customizing under Basic Functions.

    End of the note.

  • If you want to use Route Accounting from the Direct Store Delivery component in your system, you must switch on the EA-SCM enhancement and activate the Direct Store Delivery component in Customizing.