Managing Disputes with SAP Transportation Management Collaboration Portal

Introduction:

Explore the functionalities of dispute management within the SAP Transportation Management collaboration portal. Gain insights into the process of creating dispute cases for logistics quantities and charge amounts by your service provider. Understand the significance of tolerance checks and the cycle of resolving disputes. Delve into the utilization of workflow systems and work items to effectively structure and streamline the approval process for dispute cases.

Dispute Management Features with SAP Transportation Management Collaboration Portal

The SAP Transportation Management collaboration portal offers a range of features for managing disputes related to freight orders.

Here are some key features:

1. Reference Freight Order Numbers:

When accessing the collaboration portal, your service provider, whether it is your carrier or an additional agreement party, utilizes the freight order numbers you provide as references. These freight order numbers serve as a means to showcase the pertinent freight orders within the collaboration portal, facilitating effective communication and collaboration between all parties involved.

2. Dispute Cases:

Depending on your customizing settings, the service provider can create a dispute case for gross weight, net weight, total distance, final amount of a charge line, rate amount of a charge line, or total amount of a freight order. The service provider can also simulate the effect of the change on the total amount for the freight order.

3. ToleranceCheck:

In SAP Transportation Management, the tolerance settings defined in the Define Dispute Tolerance Rules Customizing activity are utilized. These settings determine how the system handles dispute cases. If a dispute case falls within the specified tolerance limits, the system automatically accepts the case. However, if the dispute case exceeds the tolerance limits, it requires manual review by a user in the Freight Settlement Dispute Case Overview screen in the Freight Settlement module.

4. Dispute Resolution Cycle:

Disputes go through proposal and rejection cycles until both parties arrive at a common agreement on the charge or logistics item under dispute. Only one dispute case may exist for one service provider at a time on charges and logistical quantities in a freight order.

Workflow and Work Items:

To establish a structured approval process for dispute cases, a workflow system can be employed. This system generates work items specifically assigned to level-1 and level-2 users, enabling them to conveniently review the status of these cases through the Freight Settlement Dispute Case Work Items screen. Users can effortlessly navigate to the dispute case screen from within the work item interface.

Understand the Different Statuses of Freight Order Dispute Cases

When managing disputes related to freight orders, it’s essential to know the different statuses associated with the dispute cases.

Here are the key statuses you need to be aware of:

1. Life cycle status: This refers to whether the dispute case is currently open or resolved.

2. Action status: This status identifies who needs to take action regarding the dispute case.

3. Workflow status: This status indicates the current status of the individual work item.

4. Dispute item status: On the Logistics Details tab page and the Charge Details tab page, this status shows the approval status of each individual dispute item.

5. Dispute status for total amount: This status shows the overall approval status for the total amount of the freight order.

Understanding Freight Order Dispute Case Statuses

Managing freight orders can become complicated when disputes arise. Freight order dispute cases can have different statuses, indicating where things stand and what actions need to be taken. Here’s a breakdown of the various dispute case statuses you might encounter.

No Dispute: The default status for a freight order is “No Dispute.” This means that there are currently no disputes open against the freight order. It’s a simple label that indicates everything is running smoothly.

Awaiting Your Approval: This status implies that you, as the service requester, must take action. It means that your service provider has created a dispute case, and you need to approve, reject or propose a solution to the dispute.

Awaiting Carrier Approval: In the scenario where a dispute case emerges within a freight order involving both a carrier and an additional agreement party, it is the responsibility of each respective service provider to address their own dispute case. In this situation, the status of the dispute case will indicate as “Awaiting Carrier Approval.”

Resolved:

Assuming that a resolution is found and agreed upon, the status will change to “Resolved.” This means that both you as the service requester and your service provider have come to an agreement on the dispute, and everything is settled.

In Dispute:

If there is an ongoing dispute that has not yet been resolved, the status will be labeled as “In Dispute.” This applies only to the dispute case status on the status tab of a freight document. If there are multiple open dispute cases from different service providers, each case may have its own separate status. In such cases, you’ll need to navigate to the actual dispute case document to get more information on the current status.

Title: Managing Disputes with Carriers and Additional Agreement Parties in Freight Orders

When you have multiple carriers or additional agreement parties involved in a freight order, managing disputes can become complicated. Here’s how to handle disputes in such scenarios:

Creating Dispute Cases:

To initiate a dispute case, carriers or additional agreement parties have two options: logging into the collaboration portal or submitting an invoice to the shipper. If self-billing is chosen by the service provider, they will create the dispute case via the collaboration portal. The SAP TM system then notifies the service requester or shipper regarding the dispute. Resolution occurs when the shipper approves the proposal presented by the service provider, and the service provider accepts the proposal put forth by the shipper. Once the dispute is resolved, the system selectively copies only the applicable charge items related to that specific carrier or additional agreement party for charge calculation purposes.

Freight Carrier Invoice Scenario:

In the case of a shipping provider billing scenario, the carrier can send invoices with disputed items through the collaboration portal. The SAP TM system notifies the sender of the dispute. Disputes are resolved when the sender accepts the proposal submitted by the service provider and the service provider accepts the proposal submitted by the sender. When the dispute is resolved, the system copies the freight based on the carrier’s invoice and updates the order.

Dispute Resolution Statuses:

In situations where multiple service providers create multiple dispute cases, the status of each disputed case may differ. Hence, the system displays the dispute resolution status for every charge item in a freight order. Based on the dispute statuses of the charge items, the system displays a freight order dispute resolution status in the Dispute Case Status field on the Statuses tab.

Deleting a Dispute Case Draft:

In some cases, a Service Provider may create a Dispute Case but not submit it, resulting in an incomplete Draft Dispute Case. To remove these Dispute Case projects from your system, you must run the program /SCMTMS/DEL_DRAFT_DISP_CASE. It is recommended to run this program regularly to keep your system clean.

Conclusion:

In summary, handling disagreements with carriers and other parties involved in a freight order can be complicated, especially when multiple service providers are involved. Nevertheless, by comprehending the different statuses of dispute cases and adhering to the provided guidelines, you can effectively resolve disputes, prevent any disruptions or conflicts from impacting your supply chain operations, and ensure smooth functioning.

How SCM Champs Can Help?

SCM Champs provides an array of supply chain management services aimed at assisting you in efficiently handling your freight orders and effectively addressing any disputes that may arise. Our team of skilled professionals is equipped to offer expert advice on optimal strategies, handle communication with service providers, and ensure timely resolution of disputes. By entrusting us with your supply chain management requirements, you can concentrate on running your business while we take care of the intricate details.

Read also: How to Maximize Transportation Efficiency with SAP TM’s Route Optimization?