Automatic Change Management for Freight Settlements
You are a requester of transportation services, such as a shipper or a logistics service provider (LSP). You create a freight order, freight booking, or service order in your SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) system to request transportation services. An LSP can provide transportation services if you are a shipper. Alternatively, a carrier can provide transportation services if you are an LSP.
Sometimes, there may be a difference between what you expect to pay against your service provider expects to be paid. To keep good business relationships, you can work closely with your service provider to resolve these differences in a collaborative way. For more information, see Dispute Management for Freight Settlements. When you resolve a dispute using the dispute management process, the system updates the freight order with the changed charge information.
Alternatively, you may not have a dispute management process in place with your service provider. Instead, your service provider communicates a discrepancy directly to your shipping department. You agree with the change, and you update the freight order directly with the changed information.
You use the background function Creation of Freight Settlement Documents
(program /SCMTMS/SFIR_CREATE_BATCH
) to create, change, and transfer the freight settlement documents to SAP ERP (see Creation and Transfer of Freight Settlement Documents). The freight settlement document contains the changes from the freight order.
The system uses the automatic change management process that you specify in the relevant settlement profile in Customizing. For more information, see Customizing for Transportation Management
under . For example, you have a freight order with a transportation charge of USD 2000. Your carrier contacts you with a request to increase the transportation charge. For example, your carrier got delayed at a loading point and incurred an unplanned demurrage charge of USD 300. You verify the request and agree to pay the higher transportation rate. In the relevant freight order, you change the transportation charge to USD 2300 by adding the demurrage charge.
SAP TM uses the following elements to determine what approach to take with the change:
Change Process FSD
setting in the settlement profile
You use the settlement profile to create the relevant freight settlement document.
Life cycle status of the freight settlement document
You can select the following change process strategies:
Change Current FSD and Resend
Life Cycle Status of FSD | System Action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Include the new charges and recalculate the existing freight settlement document if just one freight settlement document exists for the freight order. | SAP TM changes the charges in the freight settlement document from USD 2000 to USD 2300. |
|
| SAP ERP had previously created a purchase order and an SES entry for USD 2000. SAP ERP posts a cancellation for USD 2000 and a new posting for USD 2300 |
| Create a new freight settlement document with the updated amount. | SAP TM creates a new freight settlement document for USD 2300. |
| Create a charge correction advice document (CCAD) for the delta amount when a CCAD already exists for the freight document. If a CCAD does not already exist, create a credit memo for the freight document with reference to the freight settlement document or the freight settlement document item, to reverse the amount. Then create a new freight settlement document for the full value of the freight order charges. | If a CCAD already exists:
If a CCAD does not already exist:
|
Create New FSD for Delta Amount
Life Cycle Status of FSD | System Action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If the invoicing status of the freight document is If the invoicing status of the freight document is | SAP TM cancels the freight settlement document for USD 2000 for the freight order. SAP TM creates a new freight settlement document for USD 2300 |
|
|
|
| Create a new freight settlement document with the updated amount. | SAP TM creates a new freight settlement document for USD 2300. |
Reverse and Repost with New FSD
Life Cycle Status of FSD | System Action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel the freight settlement document or freight settlement document item and create a new freight settlement document. | SAP TM cancels the freight settlement document for USD 2000. It creates a new freight settlement document for USD 2300. |
| Create a CCAD for the delta amount when a CCAD already exists for the freight document. If a CCAD does not already exist, create a credit memo for the freight document with reference to the freight settlement document or the freight settlement document item, to reverse the amount. Then create a new freight settlement document for the full value of the freight order charges | If a CCAD already exists:
If a CCAD does not already exist
|
| Create a new freight settlement document with the updated amount. | SAP TM creates a new freight settlement document for USD 2300. |
Note
You can run the Creation of Freight Settlement Documents
background function to automatically make changes in freight settlement documents.
In a dispute case management scenario, you can include, exclude, or include only the freight orders or freight bookings for which all dispute cases are resolved, when you create and transfer freight settlement documents in the background. For more information, see Creation and Transfer of Freight Settlement Documents.
Regardless of the change process strategy, if the invoicing status of a freight order is Not Up-to-Date
, the system automatically tries to apply the change process strategy of Reverse and Repost with New FSD
.
The system does not automatically execute the change process and reports an error in the following situations:
The invoicing status of a freight order is Not Up-to-Date
, and the freight order has an existing CCAD or credit memo that is created from the freight order.
You change a freight order after you begin the freight settlement process, and the freight order has an existing credit memo that is not enabled to influence the invoicing status.
More than one freight settlement document already exists for a freight order and the change process strategy is Change Current FSD and Resend
.
Regardless of the change process strategy, you manually change a freight settlement document.
In all these situations, you must make a manual change in the settlement process. You can change or cancel the relevant freight settlement document, CCAD, or credit memo. Alternatively, you can create a new freight settlement document, CCAD, or credit memo for the relevant freight order.
Regardless of the change process strategy, if a freight settlement document has a life cycle status of Transferred for Accruals
or Cancellation Requested in SAP ERP
and you run the function Create and Transfer Freight Settlement Documents
, the system reports an error.
You must wait until SAP ERP updates the life cycle status in SAP TM to either Accruals Posted
or In Process
before you take further action. If the system updates the status to In Process
, errors have occurred in SAP ERP.
You can create a CCAD to recover an overpaid amount from your carrier
You can only manually create a CCAD for air freight documents on the NWBC UI. However, the system can create a CCAD for all freight order types when you use the background function to create and transfer a freight settlement document.
A CCAD contains the amount that has already been settled, the new negative delta amount to be corrected, and the final correct settlement amount for the freight order.
When SAP ERP receives a charge correction advice document, it takes the following steps:
Posts an SES return to reverse the amount you previously transferred from SAP TM
Posts an SES with the revised freight order charge
Subject | More Information |
|---|---|
Change management process for settlement documents | |
Change management process for forwarding settlements | |
Working with a dispute case | |
Charge correction advice management process |