Performance features of the GPC module
‘Freight calculation and Freight settlement’
(Short description)
1. General
Within this add-in module for SAP R/3 – Systems freight cost can be calculated and settled. Due to the usage of a process controlled and variable condition technique this module offers the definition of master data and the creation of the complete process on a very high degree of flexibility. The calculated freight costs are used to create freight accruals, COPA postings, freight statistic records and to post the actual freight. In addition they are used to process freight inquiries and freight cost simulations.
2. Administration of master data
For maintaining the master data, GPC provides the following transactions:
Display, create, modify (including copy functions per condition record, between clients and systems), selections of the complete database, mass maintenance and archiving programs for the location master.
2.1 Location master
The location master can be connected to the following SD/MM-master data records:
- Customers
- Vendors
- Shipping points
- Connection points
- Shipment stages
Therefore the system provides special transactions for the manual process. In addition GPC delivers an automatic allocation procedure for these objects and a loading program for the location master for external databases.
The data contents (national/international) can also be delivered by GPC (separate order).
2.2 Distance data bases
GPC provides tools which allow the loading of external databases. Customer specific distance databases can be maintained by using transactions and special master file IDs.
GPC can deliver databases for:
- Europe
National and international connection point distance databases (Details see in
documentation distance databases), linked to the location master
- USA
Distance databases based on 3-digit and 5-digit zip codes, independent of a location
master and/or programs which access external distance determination tools online (e. g.
ALK and Rand McNally)
- Canada
Distance databases, based on alpha numeric zip codes
2.3 Conditions
This part of the master data contains all conditions, tariffs, discounts and assessorials used for the automatic freight calculation. A freight condition record may have the elements header, column and/or line and rates. A minimum configuration of a condition is header, column and rates. The system provides a print function of the saved conditions, selective and mass maintenance transactions including client and system copy functions.
2.4 Transit times for USA/Canada
Within these master data tables one can define carrier depending transit times from and to all zip codes. GPC created special converting and compressing programs to optimize the number of records, the loading procedure and the access times. Transit times are used especially in the Service Agent Selection and in the authorization control for carriers.
3. Processing
see Freight management system show/German (2,01MB)
see Freight management system show/English (2,21MB)
3.1 Freight calculation
The freight calculation is called by using a central function module. This function module contains an input and an output interface structure. It can be called in the following ways:
- within preceding documents of the shipment using a separate transaction
- in a selection program for the automatic freight calculation of shipments
- in the freight information transaction
- as a RFC from another system
Parameters control whether the calculated results are saved in the central result database which includes the reference to the calculated SAP document. Using this technique the results can be retrieved for each document individually. The system also provides maintenance and administration transactions for these results with the functions ‘Create’, ‘Change’ and ‘Display’. Using these transactions one is able to:
- correct the freight cost before the transfer to FI
- add difference cost after the transfer to FI
In general the freight calculation uses conditions which are created on the basis of a variable key technique and therefore offer the highest level of flexibility to create the dependencies of the conditions in the system. The conditions are grouped in base freight, discounts/assessorials (percentage and absolute) and in tax conditions. Beyond that the freight calculation can handle automatic conditions as well as manual ones and conditions which are uniquely used for simulation purposes.
The following list contains the essential capability characteristics and calculation criteria for particular transportation modes and countries:
Road Germany
- GFT- Full truck and tanker tariffs
- GFT- LTL tariffs
- Customer tariff 1+2
- BSL-tariff
- Exceptional tariffs (according to GFT rules)
- Tariffs for short distance traffic (GNT-rates, KURT)
Road USA/Canada
- LTL Tariffs for all goods classes (for inbound and outbound shipments one set of rates)
- FTL Tariffs (distance depending and absolute values)
- Express carrier tariffs
- Absolute Minima/Maxima per leg
- Absolute Minima/Maxima per shipment
- Stop-off calculation according to US-rules
Road in general
- Variable conditions with one or two dimensional freight rate tables and various scale types
- Geography (e. g. countries, regions, Zip codes/Location names, station numbers,
address numbers, UN-codes)
- Calculation criteria (e. g. weight, distance, number of stops, volume, location classes,
loading capacity, driving time, loading meters, number of MoT, product quantity)
Rail Europa
- Fully loaded wagons freight set 1 and coefficient tables
- Partially loaded freight sets
- Rail station tariffs (according to standard coefficient tables)
- Variable conditions with one or two dimensional freight rate tables and various scale types
Rail US and Canada
- Freight calculation according to rule 11
- Variable conditions with one or two dimensional freight rate tables and various scale types
Air freight
- Determination of the freight relevant weight according to the rules of the freight calculation
- Multiple currencies
- Express carrier tariffs with all services
- Variable conditions with one or two dimensional freight rate tables and various scale types
Sea freight
- Determination of the freight relevant weight according to the rules of the freight calculation
- All assessorials (e. g. THC, BAF, CAF, …)
- All calculation types (e. g. door to door, door to port, port to port, …)
- Multiple currencies
- Variable conditions with one or two dimensional freight rate tables and various scale types
3.2 Credit memo procedure (Self-invoicing)
The credit memo procedure is used to create freight invoice documents automatically and periodically. These documents can be transferred to FI immediately after the creation or after individual release. Adequate transactions are provided for this purpose. A credit note is created per service agent, transportation planning point and currency. The credit notes can be printed or sent out electronically. If credit notes are created incorrectly in form or in content, they can be deleted – before the transfer to the accounting. All assigned shipments are then open for corrections and a new credit note can be created after the correction process.
3.3 Freight payment procedure (Invoice matching)
The freight payment procedure can be used alternatively or in addition to the automatic credit memo procedure. There are two ways of processing a freight invoice: manual using invoice matching transactions or electronically by using an external interface to a third party payment company or a service agent. Processed and calculated shipments as well as the inbound (written or electronic) invoices are the basis for this process. The comparison/check of the invoice value is executed on header level (collective invoices). The automatic transfer of the invoice to the accounting (FI) is controlled by a separate function (release) and an optional tolerance table.
3.4 Customer freight calculation
The customer freight is controlled in the SAP standard pricing procedure by separate condition types for ‚Freight’. During the pricing process in the customer bill the system calls the GPC customer freight module in a standard userexit. Within this module there are three variants to calculate freight for a customer:
- Allocation of the service agent freight values including an optional adjustment by a
percentage
- New freight calculation based on customer specific conditions
- Freight equalization
3.5 Transfer of freight costs to FI
The basis for the transfer is the freight invoice document (credit note, freight invoice, correction postings) or a calculated shipment document.
Technical solution:
A selection program supplies a standard function module with all the relevant accounting data. The determination of the G/L accounts and of additional accounting characteristics is controlled by GPC tables and is processed after a successful freight calculation of a shipment.
Basically there are two different types of transfers at three different times:
1. Accruals
Accruals are created per shipment document. For the posting the system uses an accrual account (balance sheet account) and a planned freight account (freight expense account). The time of the transfer is controlled by the status of the shipment – at least it must be calculated. The shipment number is transferred as a reference number to the FI document.
2. Actual freight cost
Actual freight cost is transferred to FI after the freight invoice document is released. For the postings are used:
- the reconciliation account of the service agent
- the freight expense account (actual freight)
- the accounts used for the accruals creation. The posting values are always the originally
accrued values so that the account is balanced after this posting. The accruals reversal can
be posted in a separate accounting document.
Freight invoice document number (FI document header level) and shipment number on item level (single posting) can be transferred as reference numbers to FI. The system also provides number synchronization between invoice document and FI document. The whole process is controlled in the freight invoice type table.
3. Correction posting
Correction postings are based on additional freight invoices after the fact or on service agent credit notes (overpaying) after the fact. In this case accruals are not created (therefore there is no need for reversals) because the transfer of these documents to FI takes place almost immediately after the creation of the invoice or correction document.
3.6 Transfer of freight costs to COPA
Time: After the shipment is calculated.
The process is controlled by a matchcode per shipment document. The system transfers one record per freight cost element and delivery item (product). The freight cost is allocated to the items by a rule defined in the transportation planning point extension table (e. g. weight, volume, density, …). If there are corrections of freight results or freight invoice documents, according correction postings for COPA are created automatically.
4. Special functions
4.1 Freight cost simulations
This function is used to compare available freight relevant data, gained during the transportation processing - with the results of a new calculation of the same database based on new conditions and/or new carriers and display the results in percent and in absolute values. The simulation calculation is based on actual processed deliveries with which the user can create as often as necessary a new calculation data pool by using the available selection parameters. The system determines the new freight cost including all assessorials. The simulation results can be displayed online and further processed by SAP standard tools. This module has been created for short term comparisons (e. g. negotiations with service agents) as also for long term observation of the freight costs (e. g. determination of annual freight budgets).
4.2 Freight information
The aim of the freight information is to determine the freight costs on the base of tariffs, freight agreements, discounts and additional costs. This means that all cost elements that are determined in the shipment processing by the automatic freight calculation are already considered. Using this tool one can carry out real time pre-calculations on the base of real conditions without a SAP document (e. g. order or delivery). Furthermore, one can verify whether already entered conditions work technically and formally in the whole environment (e. g. procedure group, service agent, shipping types, shipment types, condition types, geography, means of transport, shipping conditions, incoterms, scale type, specific rules). The input of the following data is mandatory: departure data, destination data, material data, quantities/weights, incoterm, etc.
4.3 Address check
Controlled by customizing tables one can activate an address check in the system by country, transaction and/or table/view. This check is using the data saved in the location master. If this function is active there is also the possibility to search locations generically (partial location names, zip codes).
4.4 Loading programs
For the most part of the freight master data the system provides loading programs, e. g. for tariffs, locations, distances, tariff zones and transit times.
5. Others
5.1 Operating sequence in a time period (proposal)
Day 1:
- Shipment processing (Standard)
Day 1 (evening):
- Batch for the automatic determination of the freight cost for all processed shipments
- Creation of the statistic records
- Batch for the transfer to CO(-PA) for all calculated shipments
- Batch for the creation of freight accruals for all calculated shipments
- Batch for the creation of the due credit notes
- Batch for the transfer of all released freight invoice documents to FI
Day 2:
- Control of the batch jobs
- Control of the system activities using the GPC-Cockpit
- Control and probably correction of documents using analyzing programs and log files
5.2 USEREXITS
Userexits have been made available at certain points in the programs where customer specific functions are required but not available in the standard process. E. g. there is a need for a freight cost allocation based on special rules, a distance calculation within the freight calculation following customer specific rules.
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