Gautam Bhattacharya is an SAP solution lead in the supply chain management space with specialization in sourcing and procurement, logistics, and BRFplus. He has more than 19 years of SAP experience related to the design, development, and implementation of SAP MM, SRM, QM, BRFplus, and SAP integration with legacy applications. His recent engagements include overseeing design and implementation of end-to-end global intercompany processes and 3PL integration. As a post-graduate in engineering, Gautam started his career in domain functions of the metals and welding industries. He holds certifications in SAP MM, SRM, SAP S/4HANA Sourcing, and SAP Ariba procurement.

Send data via EDI and iDocs, direct connectivity and middleware, and application programming interfaces

... Preface ... 15

... Objective of This Book ... 15

... Target Audience ... 16

... Structure of the Book ... 16

... Acknowledgments ... 19

1 ... Introduction to Third-Party Logistics ... 21

1.1 ... Supply Chain Integration ... 22

1.2 ... Business Case for Third-Party Logistics Integration ... 27

1.3 ... Integrated Business Processes ... 29

1.4 ... Summary ... 33

2 ... Design and Implementation Criteria ... 35

2.1 ... Determine Business Needs ... 36

2.2 ... Assess Current State and Future Challenges ... 40

2.3 ... Summary ... 46

3 ... Organizational Entities and Master Data ... 47

3.1 ... Organizational Entities ... 48

3.2 ... Business Partners ... 61

3.3 ... Master Data ... 75

3.4 ... Summary ... 86

4 ... Packaging and Traceability ... 87

4.1 ... Batch Management ... 88

4.2 ... Handling Unit Management ... 108

4.3 ... Summary ... 123

5 ... Shipping and Delivery ... 125

5.1 ... Shipping and Logistics Processes ... 125

5.2 ... Logistics Execution ... 128

5.3 ... Availability Check and Transfer of Requirements ... 160

5.4 ... Output Control in Shipping ... 170

5.5 ... Summary ... 184

6 ... Inventory Management and Reconciliations ... 185

6.1 ... Goods Movement ... 186

6.2 ... Movement Types ... 204

6.3 ... Output Determination ... 207

6.4 ... Inventory Reconciliation ... 212

6.5 ... Summary ... 215

7 ... Warehousing ... 217

7.1 ... Deployment Scenarios for Third-Party Logistics ... 218

7.2 ... System Landscapes ... 230

7.3 ... Integration between SAP S/4HANA and SAP Extended Warehouse Management ... 233

7.4 ... Master Data in Extended Warehouse Management ... 253

7.5 ... Summary ... 259

8 ... Transportation ... 261

8.1 ... Third-Party Logistics Providers and Transportation ... 261

8.2 ... Deployment Scenarios for Third-Party Logistics ... 263

8.3 ... Master Data and Organizational Structure ... 271

8.4 ... Basic Configuration Setups ... 277

8.5 ... Summary ... 303

9 ... Application Link Enabling and IDocs ... 305

9.1 ... IDoc Interface and Application Link Enabling ... 305

9.2 ... IDoc Basics for Functional Consultants ... 316

9.3 ... Technical Integration Features ... 330

9.4 ... Summary ... 342

10 ... Direct Connectivity and Middleware ... 343

10.1 ... Direct Connectivity Options ... 344

10.2 ... Integration through SAP Middleware ... 366

10.3 ... Connection to a Business-to-Business/Electronic Data Interchange Solution via Application Programming Interfaces ... 379

10.4 ... Summary ... 391

11 ... Business Rule Framework Plus ... 393

11.1 ... Overview ... 394

11.2 ... Business Rule Framework Plus User Interface ... 395

11.3 ... Business Rule Framework Plus Applications ... 396

11.4 ... Business Rule Framework Plus Data Objects ... 399

11.5 ... Expressions ... 403

11.6 ... Actions ... 408

11.7 ... Function ... 410

11.8 ... Business Rule Framework Plus in Output Management ... 417

11.9 ... Managing Custom Rules with Business Rule Framework Plus ... 421

11.10 ... Summary ... 422

12 ... Monitoring and Control ... 423

12.1 ... IDoc Monitoring and Dashboard ... 423

12.2 ... SAP Application Interface Framework ... 429

12.3 ... Inventory Reports ... 434

12.4 ... Summary ... 443

... The Authors ... 445

... Index ... 447