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SAP Business Network for Supply Chain
Discover the Latest in SAP Business Network for Supply Chain: Q4 2024 Update Dive into our newest blog post, "What’s New in SAP Business Network for Supply Chain" for 2024. This article focuses on the exciting features introduced in the Q4 2024 Release. It's tailored for those looking for an in-depth look at the improvements launched in November 2024 for SAP Business Network for Supply Chain. Below, you'll find a summary of the updates expected to enhance our customers' experience.
1. Streamline Supply Chain Visibility: Seamless Material Traceability with SAP Business Network
We are excited to announce three new features for SAP Business Network for Supply Chain and SAP Business Network Material Traceability, designed to seamlessly enhance supply chain transparency and operational efficiency, one of key highlight traceability also supported now at component level in addition to finished goods.
Streamlined traceability of subcontracting processes is enabled by data integration from SAP Business Network for Supply Chain to SAP Business Network Material Traceability. Businesses can now seamlessly track component deliveries, receipts, and the delivery and receipt of final products. This integration provides comprehensive visibility into subcontracting processes and ensures that traceability data flow effortlessly from supplier accounts, enhancing integration within the SAP Business Network. The result is a robust system for tracking the history and origin of products, empowering stakeholders with extensive genealogy data.
Building on this interconnected framework, the integration of ship notice (ASN) data from SAP Business Network for Supply Chain introduces simplified traceability data sharing. Automated integration of relevant traceability data for delivered batch-managed or serialized products from supplier accounts into Material Traceability significantly enhances the sharing process with buyers.
Suppliers can also upload additional data through a user-friendly file upload functionality. By leveraging existing data from supply chain document collaboration between buyers and suppliers, this feature enables comprehensive sharing of batch characteristics and serialized product attributes, facilitating complete traceability.
By extending existing supplier relationships in SAP Business Network to include Material Traceability, businesses can now utilize the active relationship app, streamlining the onboarding of selected suppliers and facilitating seamless integration. Suppliers can easily accept relationship extension requests via the customer relationships app, and using single sign-on, they can access Material Traceability apps through the Trading Partner Portal of SAP Business Network. This linked setup simplifies the sharing of traceability data and maximizes the benefits of existing supply chain networks, thus reducing the complexity associated with separate onboarding processes.
With these features, SAP continues to lead in providing unparalleled supply chain traceability solutions.
2. Enable Clinical Trial Collaboration
Clinical trial sponsor (buyer) often employs third-party contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs, suppliers) to outsource labelling, printing, and packaging work to produce clinical finished goods (CFG) for a clinical study. This feature introduces a new Add on solution SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration, clinical trials add-on. When the Add on is enabled, the sponsor can share clinical trial relevant information with the CMOs as part of sub-contracting purchase orders or stock transport orders for efficient collaboration in the manufacturing and distribution of the clinical finished goods. Clinical trial data originates in the SAP Intelligent Clinical Supply Management (ICSM) industry solution.
SAP BN SCC Clinical trials add-on facilitates the exchange and execution of
- Subcontracting purchase orders for the external production of the CFGs.
- Stock transfer orders for dispatching CFGs from production to distribution locations, and for dispatching components to CMOs.
This includes the execution of all logistically necessary material stock movements of component and CFG stock in an automated way. Both parties’ sponsors and CMOs, will have synchronized visibility of supply chain activities and inventory stock situation. CMOs will obtain access to study details so that the necessary data can be exchanged between sponsor and CMO related to labelling, packaging, and provisioning of medication kits.
The New orders tile UI below shows the newly introduced filters and columns for the CMO user.
The screenshot below shows the clinical trial relevant information passed in a subcontracting purchase order details UI of the CMO user.
A supplier user is able to assign range of medication sequence numbers when creating the ship notice with or without handling units.
When the CMO Launchpad is selected a window will display with the BTP launchpad and the 5 Fiori Apps delivered for CMO collaboration. Supplier user will be able to access the data in different Fiori Apps and look at the data or perform actions.
3. Feature Improvements to Order Confirmations for Integrated Suppliers
- Selective Line-Item Confirmation: Suppliers can now confirm only the changed or relevant line items in an order confirmation, rather than all line items. This streamlines communication and reduces redundancy. Example: Supplier can confirm just the updated line item(s) with a new quantity or delivery date, without re-sending unchanged items.
- Flexible Confirmation ID (confirmID) Handling: SAP Business Network now processes order confirmations correctly even when suppliers use different confirmIDs for separate line items or updates. Example: Supplier can send confirmations with different confirmIDs for subsets of line items (e.g., OC1 for line items 1-6, OC2 for line items 7-10) and subsequently update them independently.
- Enhanced Integration: Better handling of order confirmations sent via SAP Integration Suite, Managed Gateway for Spend Management, and SAP Business Network. Initial confirmations use the 'new' operation type, while updates use the 'update' operation type. These improvements enable more efficient and flexible communication between buyers and suppliers, ensuring smoother operation and reducing the chance of errors.
Key Benefits:
- Allows suppliers to confirm only relevant or changed line items, reducing redundancy and clutter.
- Supports the use of different confirmation IDs for separate line items or updates.
- Facilitates independent updates and modifications, improving adaptability to changes.
- Better handling of order confirmations ensures fewer errors.
- Distinct operation types for initial confirmations and updates enhance precision.
4. Configure sending of attachments for Purchase order, Scheduling Agreements / Scheduling Agreement Releases, Order Confirmation and Advanced Ship Notice to Copy Suppliers
Many times, attachments are included in purchase orders (PO), Scheduling Agreements (SA), Scheduling Agreement Releases (SAR), order confirmations (OC), and advanced shipping notices (ASN) shared between the buyer and component supplier which should or shouldn’t be visible to contract manufacturer and logistics partners. This feature introduces four transaction rules enabling them would prevent attachments being sent between the buyer and main supplier from being sent to the copy suppliers in case of PO, SA/SAR, OC and ASN to preserve confidentiality of the documents.
5. Improved supplier comments Visibility with Buyer Supply Chain Monitor Integration
To further optimize transparency and collaboration, comments added by suppliers to order confirmations are now also displayed in the Supply Chain Monitor. This integration ensures that all relevant stakeholders have immediate access to the most up-to-date information, allowing for better tracking and management of orders. By centralizing these comments within the Supply Chain Monitor, the visibility of critical communication is greatly improved, facilitating smoother operations, and enabling more effective decision-making.
Key Benefits:
- Comments from suppliers are immediately visible in the Supply Chain Monitor, reducing information gaps.
- Better visibility of critical communication enables more informed and timely decision-making
- Enhanced communication flow leads to smoother operations, reducing potential delays and misunderstandings.
6 . Manage Serial Numbers for Specific Handling Units
In the advanced packaging wizard for shipment notices, this feature enables suppliers to manage serial numbers for packaged goods within a specific handling unit. Suppliers can either manually edit serial numbers directly in the interface or efficiently upload them using a template.
- Manual Serial Number Entry and Pre-populated Packaging Template Downloads
- Enable manual serial number entry for individual packed items within each handling unit directly on the 'Print Labels' screen
- Allow Excel upload of serial numbers and download pre-populated template with packaging structure details
Key Benefits
- Precisely track serialized materials with advanced packaging and handling unit management.
- Identify which packing material unit contains specific serialized materials with ease.
7. Serial Numbers on Component Receipt
Subcontracting processes are quite diverse based on industry and customer requirements. There is need to track and validate the lifecycle of finished products and contained components. This feature enables serial numbers to be supported within subcontracting processes in component receipts created against component ship notice whenever the serial numbers are present in the Component Ship Notice.
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These are the key features for Q4 2024. Please review the readiness content for comprehensive details on these key features for Q4 2024.
Please visit https://www.sap.com/businessnetwork to learn more about SAP Business Network.
To explore SAP Business Network for Supply Chain, visit SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration
For updates on our community and activities, please visit the: SAP Business Network Community
For the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment, please review the following link: IDC MarketScape
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