Forwarding Order 
An order from an ordering party to a carrier or logistics service provider with respect to the transportation of goods from a shipper to a consignee according to the agreed-upon conditions.
You can use the forwarding order business document in SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) to enter data for the transportation of goods that you have agreed upon with an ordering party. You can enter the data manually (for example, after a telephone call) or you can transfer it automatically (via PI interfaces, EDI). The forwarding order is the basis for further transportation planning. It contains the most important data for planning and executing the transportation, such as the pick-up and delivery address, dates/times, and the goods that are to be transported. From the forwarding order, you can determine and define the transportation route, and create freight units and a transportation plan. You can also have the system calculate the transportation charges and start the invoicing.
Structure
The user interface of the forwarding order is set up according to the document type that you define in Customizing (see the Prerequisites section in Creation of a Forwarding Order) as well as according to your own screen settings in SAP NetWeaver Business Client. Thus, the document type determines whether dangerous goods information is displayed for the order items, for example, and you can decide whether a tab page or an assignment block for the forwarding order is to be displayed or hidden. The forwarding order generally has the following basic structure:
Areas for general data, business partners, locations, and dates/times
In these areas of the forwarding order, you enter data (or the system displays data) that is valid for all items in the order. This data includes, for example, the sales organization, incoterms, and service level. In addition, the totaled quantity data and weight data for the order items is displayed.
Stages
In this assignment block or on the tab page, you can enter the route requested by the ordering party with the individual transportation stages. In addition, the system displays the actual route it planned.
List of order items
In this table, you enter the item-specific data in the form of an item hierarchy.
Transportation charges
The system displays here the data from a transportation charge calculation that you have made for the forwarding order. Moreover, you can enter the transportation charges manually as well.
Document flow
The system displays here which business documents have been entered into the forwarding order and which business documents were created based on it. You can also display the follow-on documents from here, and call a freight unit, for example.
Output history
Here the system displays which documents were already printed or sent (by e-mail or fax, for example) for this forwarding order.
Status
Here the system displays the different statuses of the document, such as the life cycle status and the lock status. For more information, see the Statuses of the Forwarding Order and Locking the Forwarding Order sections below.
Statuses of the Forwarding Order
The following are important statuses of the forwarding order:
Life Cycle Status
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
New |
The forwarding order was newly created, and no freight units have been created for this order yet. |
In Planning |
The forwarding order is in the planning process, and at least one freight unit has been created for the order. |
Planned |
The forwarding order is in the planning process. All freight units assigned to it have been planned. |
In Execution |
The forwarding order is in the execution process. At least one follow-on document (not necessarily a freight unit) is in execution. For more information about the execution of a forwarding order, see the execution status of the forwarding order or of the follow-on documents. |
Executed |
Execution of the forwarding order has been completed. Execution of all planning documents assigned to the forwarding order has been completed. |
Partially Invoiced |
The forwarding order is in the invoicing process. One or more forwarding settlement documents were created, but the invoicing has not been carried out completely yet. |
Completed |
Processing of the forwarding order has been completed. Execution has finished, and the invoicing has taken place. |
Canceled |
The forwarding order was canceled. |
Planning Status
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
Planning Not Started |
The planning process has not yet been started for the forwarding order. |
In Planning |
The forwarding order is in the planning process, and at least one freight unit has been created for the order. |
Planned |
The forwarding order is in the planning process. All freight units assigned to it have been planned. |
Execution Status
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
Execution Not Started |
Execution of the forwarding order has not yet been started. |
In Execution |
The forwarding order is currently being executed. At least one of the planning documents linked to the forwarding order is in the execution process. |
Executed |
Execution of the forwarding order has been completed. Execution of all planning documents assigned to the forwarding order has been completed. |
Confirmation Status
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
Not Confirmed |
No forwarding order confirmation has been created yet, or an existing confirmation was reset because data in the forwarding order has changed. |
Confirmed |
A forwarding order confirmation has been created. |
Completeness Status
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
Check Pending |
A completeness check for the forwarding order is still outstanding. |
Incomplete |
The data in the forwarding order is incomplete. |
Complete |
The data in the forwarding order is complete. |
Approval Status
This status is only displayed if you have activated the approval workflow.
Status |
Name |
|---|---|
Not Checked |
The approval limits were not yet checked for this forwarding order. |
No Approval Required |
The approval check was conducted for this forwarding order. The defined limits were not exceeded. |
Approval Required |
The approval check was conducted for this forwarding order, and the defined limits were exceeded. The forwarding order was locked against further processing. |
Approved |
The approval workflow was executed, and the forwarding order was approved by the person responsible. The lock of the forwarding order against further processing was removed. |
Not Approved |
The approval workflow was executed, and the forwarding order was not approved by the person responsible. The forwarding order remains locked against further processing. |
Locking the Forwarding Order
In addition to the forwarding order statuses described above, the system displays the locking status for this order. You can set locks manually or have the system set locks automatically for the following functions and processes:
Planning of the forwarding order, in other words, creation of freight units and creation of freight orders
Execution of the forwarding order and associated planning documents
Confirmation of the forwarding order
Creation of the forwarding settlement document
The system sets automatic locks when executing the approval workflow or during the dangerous goods check, for example. The reason for the lock is also displayed for the lock status. If you set the lock manually, you can use the value help to select the reason for the lock.
Integration
The business document for the forwarding order is integrated with further business documents in SAP TM, such as the following:
If you have sent a forwarding qutotation to an ordering party and it was accepted by the ordering party, you can create a forwarding order based on this forwarding quotation.
You can create freight units for this forwarding order from the order.
Forwarding Settlement Document
You can create a forwarding settlement document for this forwarding order from the order.