Which SAP TM objects are integrated with SAP EM? I get asked all the time...
Within TM Business Objects are leveraged to integrate with SAP EM. According to the definition in the book, Transportation Management with SAP TM:
"The term business object is used in many places and contexts throughout this book. Business objects such as sales orders, invoices, business partners, and equipment are representations of real-world business documents or processes in an IT system. They encapsulate and structure data belonging to a business-related context and provide a set of methods to create, maintain, and delete the object and to exchange the data via interfaces. No activities ever breach the integrity of the business object." Lauterbach, Bernd, et al. Transportation Management with SAP TM. Boston: Galileo, 2014. Print.
SAP TM Business Objects that SAP EM can use are:
Freight Unit (FU): Single product or group of goods traveling from origin to destination; comparable to a delivery in SAP ERP Events include: Scheduled, Loading Begin, Loading End, Departure, Arrival at Destination, Unloading Begin, Unloading End, Damage, Delay
Transportation Unit (TU): Physical container used to transport goods or products, i.e., for trucking, a unit would be a trailer; for railway, a unit would be a railcar
Freight Order (FO or TO): The outcome scenario that is derived from the transportation plan; comparable to a shipment in SAP ERP; the Freight Order is comprised of one or more Freight Units. Events include: Loading Begin (event message date and time is derived from the earliest assigned freight unit), Loading End (event message date and time is derived from the latest assigned freight unit), Proof of Pickup, Departure, Customs Cleared, Arrival at Destination, Unloading Begin (event message date and time is derived from the earliest assigned freight unit), Unloading End (event message date and time is derived from the latest assigned freight unit), Proof of Delivery (POD), Delay
Freight Booking (BO): Similar to a Freight Order in that it is a transportation plan; this plan is formulated by the carrier and comprises one or more of the carrier's customer's movements of goods or products from origin to destination
Forwarding Order (FWO): A request to a carrier from an entity needing to ship goods or products; typically, the carrier will plan how the goods or products will be shipped, ensuring that the movement meets the terms and agreements of the carrier's customer Events include: Loading Begin (message date and time is derived from the earliest assigned freight unit), Loading End (message date & time is derived from the latest assigned freight unit), Proof of Pickup, Departure, Customs Cleared, Arrival at Destination, Unloading Begin (event message date and time is derived from the earliest assigned freight unit), Unloading End (event message date and time is derived from the latest assigned freight unit), Proof of Delivery (POD), Delay (unexpected event message)
Resources: The equipment and resources used in the transportation plan. Events include: Uncoupling/Decoupling, Arrival, Departure, Sighting (unexpected event message), Damage (unexpected event message)
Tendering: Messaging to potential transportation service providers Events include: Send Request for Quote, Receive Response, Accept Request for Quote, Reject Request for Quote, Accept Request for Quote, with Changes, Select Quote, Accept Quote
Instructions: A set of instructions to apply to the transportation plan Events include: Pending (initial value), In progress, Completed, Completed after Due Date – automatically set by SAP TM if completion date is after due date, Alert*, Overdue*, set by SAP EM. There are no unexpected events for Instructions.