SAP Business Network for Logistics - Dock Appointment Scheduling: Preferred Timeslots by Shipper

[MarcoFreischlag]

General 

Communicate your preferred and acceptable time slots for appointment bookings with your carrier. Indicate your preferred dates and times to streamline the scheduling process and ensure optimal coordination with your carrier.

As of today, BN4L FC-DAS supports the appointment integration via either:

• SAP S4/HANA Transportation Management Freight Subcontracting SOAP Message Type (TransportationOrderRequest)
• Provider API for Dock Appointment Scheduling (GenericAppointment_In)

More details about the integration setup can be found here: 

• How to Setup Direct connection from On Prem to SAP Logistics Business Network Freight Collaboration
• Administration Guide for Shippers - Connectivity

Preferred Timeslots was already supported for TransportationOrderRequest prior to release 2502.

New Features in Release 2502

With release 2502, BN4L FC-DAS now supports preferred time slots for the Provider API for Dock Appointment Scheduling. Additionally, the term "Preferred" has been renamed to "Acceptable."

 

Provider API for Dock Appointment Scheduling (GenericAppointment_In)

Using the Provider API for Dock Appointment Scheduling (GenericAppointment_In) you determine the following makers for the time slots based on the date fields:

• Requested:
  • RequestedStartDateTime
  • RequestedEndDateTime
• Acceptable:
  • AcceptableStartDateTime
  • AcceptableEndDateTime

Carriers can still book outside your requested and acceptable time slots but will have guidance on which slots are preferred.

 

SAP S4/HANA Transportation Management Freight Subcontracting  

Using the integration via SAP S4/HANA Transportation Management Freight Order (TransportationOrderRequest), the time slots marker are determined as follows:

• Acceptable:
  • Freight Order UI: Start Date/Time Confirmed by Carrier
  • Freight Order UI: End Date/Time Confirmed by Carrier
  • TransportationOrderRequest SOAP XML: AcceptableLoadingDateTimePeriod -> StartDateTime/EndDateTime

• Requested: 
  • Freight Order UI: Loading of Cargo Start Date/Time
  • Freight Order UI: Loading of Cargo End Date/Time
  • TransportationOrderRequest SOAP XML: RequestedLoadingDateTimePeriod -> StartDateTime/EndDateTime

For destination stops (Unloading), there are analogous fields: AcceptableUnloadingDateTimePeriod and RequestedUnloadingDateTimePeriod.

Further Information

• Release Schedule and Dates
• What's New in SAP Business Network Freight Collaboration
• What's New in the Test Tenants of SAP Business Network Freight Collaboration
• Shipper Apps and APIs - Dock Appointment Scheduling
• Carrier Apps and APIs - Self-Book Dock Appointments
• Shipper APIs (SOAP APIs) - Dock Appointment Scheduling
• Business Accelerator Hub - SAP Business Network Freight Collaboration (SOAP API)