Shippers, Manufacturers use this business process to send freight requests for quotation (freight RFQs) to carriers. Carriers can accept or decline these freight RFQs and change data such as the price when they return the freight quotations. Shipper can then automatically accept the tendering and send the freight order back to the awarded carrier. You can define a timeout in the system so that the system either tenders the freight order to another carrier or switches from one tendering type to the next. The tendering process results in one carrier being selected to execute the freight order.
Typical Tendering Process between TM and LBN is explained using below flow chart:
Note:
- This integration is between TM and LBN Freight Collaboration
- SAP standard Web Service communication is used via SOAMANAGER configuration for integration between TM <-> LBN.
This process runs as follows:
- Start tendering from TM Freight order
You start the tendering process. The process can be initiated by selecting an existing tendering profile. The tendering steps can also be created manually and stored as a tendering template. The process can involve the following:
- Definition of price limits and time limits
- Assignment of visibility settings (determines whether a carrier is allowed to change prices and dates)
- Perform peer-to-peer tendering
The system sends the freight RFQs or freight orders one after the other to the specified carriers.
- Perform broadcast tendering
The system sends the freight RFQs to all carriers simultaneously.
- Create RFQ from TM system– Send out freight requests for quotation (freight RFQs) to one or more carriers, according to a tendering plan.
- You can send the freight RFQs manually
- You can enable the system to send freight RFQ’s out automatically.
- You can also use a direct tendering process to send a road freight order (road FO) directly to a specified carrier without creating a freight RFQ. Carriers can confirm or reject the road FOs. Unlike the freight RFQ process, the system generally awards a carrier if he or she does not reject the road FO within a given time limit.
Direct tendering can be created and started manually by the user, or automatically by the system.
- Carrier Acceptance or Rejection of a Freight Request for Quotation via LBN
- Quotation that was created in Step2 must have received into LBN.
- A carrier must respond to the sold-to party within the time limit given in the freight request for quotation (freight RFQ). The carrier must accept or reject the freight RFQ before the response time ends.
- Open the application ‘Freight Requests for Quotation’ in Carrier tenant LBN portal
- Carrier can see Tendering Quotation received into LBN
- Carrier can Accept / Reject / Accept with changes
- Evaluation of Freight Quotations in TM system
- If the Carrier response is Accept, Response code is ‘Accepted and Evaluation pending’ against the Tendering Quotation Request in TM system.
- If the carrier response is Reject, then RFQ status is updated as rejected and a new RFQ can be initiated again.
- Shipper can evaluate freight quotations immediately after carrier has responded them.
- Tendering manager Evaluates FQs to detect that the maximum response time for a RFQ time is over.
- Additional evaluation criteria:
- Lowest price
- Carrier who commits to stop date
- Fastest carrier
- To evaluate the RFQ process automatically in TM system, program /SCMTMS/TEND_CONT_PROCESS can run in foreground / background as a batch job.
- Award a freight quotation in TM system
- Immediately after Freight quotation is awarded to a carrier, following information is updated in freight order.
- Selected carrier
- Submitted price
- Charge hierarchy
- Confirmed stop dates and times
The system sends the freight order as a transportation request to the carrier. The carrier can receive the transportation request on the mobile device using SAP Transport Tendering.
In this step, Tendering is Awarded to carrier and sent for confirmation to Carrier.
After awarding to carrier, Status of RFQ is updated to Awarded in TM Freight order.
- Carrier confirmation from LBN portal
- After Shipper awarded it to carrier, Freight order is received in to LBN for confirmation from Carrier.
- Carrier login to LBN portal in respective carrier tenant -> Open the application ‘Freight Orders for Confirmation’ to see if any freight orders waiting for confirmation.
- Carrier confirm the shipment, and then shipment execution can began as per the requested dates.
Pre-requisites:
- Customizing settings for tendering
- A tendering plan
- Define freight order types that are relevant for subcontracting.
- Carrier BP in TM
- LBN Carrier tenants
- LBN Shipper tenant
- SAP Standard Web Service SOAMANAGER configuration between TM <-> LBN
