NB-L in PO

[Rafal8]

Hi Team,

I have a question regarding the NB-L document type in transaction ME21N.
There’s an issue with missing planned transportation costs when purchasing flour. I’d like to confirm when exactly the transportation cost planning takes place, as it seems that for some deliveries these costs are not included.

From what I understand, during the raw material purchasing planning stage, planned transportation costs should be entered, but in this case they are missing. Could you please clarify:

• where these costs should be entered,

• at which stage of the process they should be planned,

• and why in ME21N the order history sometimes shows NB-L, while other times it does not.

Thanks in advance for your clarification.

Rafal 

[Lakshmipathi]

Planned transportation costs in ME21N (NB-L) should be entered during the purchase order creation stage, typically via conditions or freight agreements. Missing costs often stem from configuration gaps or inconsistent use of document types.

Here is a breakdown of your questions:

Where should transportation costs be entered?
In ME21N, transportation costs are typically entered as planned delivery costs using condition types (e.g., FRA1 for freight). These are added in the item details under the “Conditions” tab or via header-level conditions depending on your setup. Alternatively, if using shipment cost documents, the costs are linked via Logistics Execution (LE) and transferred to the PO through integration.
 
At which stage should they be planned?
During PO creation (ME21N): Planned transportation costs should be added when the purchase order is created, especially for raw materials like flour. If using shipment cost documents, planning occurs in the transportation planning stage in LE and is later transferred to the PO. Ensure that freight agreements or condition records are maintained in the system so costs are automatically proposed during PO creation.

Why does NB-L appear inconsistently in order history?
NB-L is a variant of the standard NB document type, often used for logistics-related purchase orders. It may appear only when the PO is created via shipment cost document integration. Specific custom configurations route certain POs to NB-L based on vendor, material type, or purchasing organization. If NB-L is missing, it could be due to manual PO creation using standard NB instead of NB-L. Missing or incorrect document type assignment in the configuration for shipment cost processing

So my recommendation would be

• Check if freight condition types are properly configured and assigned to your vendor/material.
• Review document type determination settings in SPRO under Logistics Execution → Transportation → Shipment Cost Document → Assign Document Type.
• Ensure consistent use of NB-L for flour-related purchases if transportation costs are expected to be planned via LE.

[Rafal8]

Thank you Lakshmipathi for explenation. One more question: I’m not sure if I might be misunderstanding something, but isn’t there some kind of connection or dependency here — for example, that in order for the freight costs to be applied, certain conditions need to be met, such as entering them manually in the Conditions tab in the ME21N order, or selecting Delivery Notification in the confirmations? The message I’m getting is Z001, so I assume it was created specifically for my organization — is that correct?