Blog / Article
These are the key issues that you will read about in this article:
Since 70 years, the logistics and transport industry was one of the pioneers of “computerization”, remote data transmission, and automation. Since then, it has been driving technological. Compared to other industries, it is almost part of its business model to keep its systems up to date. Transportation and logistics companies know the central importance of technology for cost offerings, speed of service, and competitiveness.
The logistics industry faces another development step in the SAP world - the changeover from SAP LE-TRA to SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM).
As a long-standing partner of logistics companies such as DACHSER, we have looked into the topic and asked ourselves: What improvements will the changeover bring for your company? And what changes do you need to prepare your employees for?
Here we present the most important aspects of the upcoming change briefly and clearly. And above all, we will show you how you can benefit from the LE-TRA SAP changeover.
First things first: migrating from LE-TRA SAP to SAP TM is a good move. It is worthwhile for you, even if some habits change in digitized transport logistics under SAP. Since its introduction in 1993, countless companies have used the LE-TRA module and become accustomed to its constantly growing range of functions.
With the introduction of S/4HANA, SAP has now classified the LE-TRA module as no longer strategically relevant and recommends switching to SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM).
To put it bluntly: the end of the LE-TRA era is near. On December 31, 2027, SAP will discontinue standard maintenance for SAP LE-TRA in SAP ECC 6.0. In S/4HANA, where LE-TRA is available via a compatibility layer, its use will expire on December 31, 2030. That means for you:
You can use SAP TM in two ways: either as a stand-alone system (SAP TM Stand-alone, version 9.6) or as part of a S/4HANA environment (SAP S/4HANA Supply Chain for Transportation Management). Important information: Companies often do not need to purchase a separate license for SAP TM because SAP TM is part of the core system from S/4HANA version 1709. Many functions can therefore be used license-free.
When comparing SAP LE-TRA and SAP TM, another key point is the more efficient integration with the other SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA system modules. It enables seamless data communication and processing between all involved business processes. This makes overall corporate management more transparent and flexible. With SAP TM, you can therefore configure or change your systems much more easily for the specific needs of your transport processes.
Converting from LE-TRA SAP to SAP TM offers companies numerous advantages that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their transportation logistics.
SAP TM offers advanced planning and optimization functions not available in SAP LE-TRA. With these functions, you can plan and optimize your transport processes more precisely. This allows you to reduce costs, improve supply chains, and increase resource utilization. You can also integrate different transportation modes and react flexibly to disruptions or changing conditions.
One benefit of seamless data communication is real-time transparency. With SAP TM, your transportation activities are visible and controllable in real-time down to the level of individual freight units. The user-friendly dashboards and comprehensive reporting tools allow you to monitor the status of your shipments at any time and intervene immediately if necessary. This transparency facilitates decision-making, improves responsiveness to unforeseen events, and improves customer communication.
SAP TM connects companies with external freight forwarders and other logistics service providers or partners. Project teams are formed that use a common central platform for all transport-relevant data and processes. This makes data-based coordination much simpler and faster. The result: even complicated transportation tasks can be planned and processed smoothly. And all information is immediately available where it is needed. The result: better service quality.
Switching to SAP TM reduces the operating costs associated with transportation. The effect can be significant, depending on the company. The automation and optimization of transport processes minimizes manual effort - productivity increases. SAP TM also allows you to enjoy highly precise control of freight costs, for example by reducing general cargo costs through the optimal use of resources.
SAP TM is a future-proof solution and uses the latest technologies. As cloud software, you benefit from continuous maintenance, new functions, and updates without your organization having to use its resources every time.
The changeover to SAP TM also entails significant changes to the data structure and vocabulary. The innovations increase the efficiency and planning accuracy of transport logistics. comparison of the data structure and vocabulary of LE-TRA and SAP TM
LE-TRA uses a traditional data structure that is less flexible and scalable. The LE-TRA data model was therefore static and offered far fewer options for real-time analysis and integration of additional data sources. This was sufficient for the basic functions of transportation logistics. However, LE-TRA reached its limits when it came to more complex requirements.
This is different from SAP TM. As part of SAP S/4HANA, SAP Transport Management uses a state-of-the-art, flexible, and scalable data structure that enables much more efficient, faster, and more comprehensive processing, management, and analysis of large volumes of data. As a result, users can make practically ad-hoc, well-founded, and reliable decisions. The extended data modeling in SAP TM also supports the integration of IoT data, which enables correspondingly granular transparency and control of transport requests.
The vocabulary in LE-TRA was hardly specifically geared toward transportation logistics. In the past, this could easily lead to misunderstandings and inaccuracies in communication and thus to additional manual work in transportation management.
SAP TM eliminates these problems with a specific vocabulary that is easy to understand for everyone in the transportation management chain. It includes more precise terms and concepts from transportation and logistics. The new terms and concepts in SAP TM include, for example
The new data structure and the more precise vocabulary represent a real breakthrough in our eyes. Companies that switch to SAP TM benefit from faster and more comprehensive data processing, more precise control of transportation processes, and, last but not least, better communication based on real-time data.
The changeover from LE-TRA SAP to SAP TM enables noticeable improvements in the handling and optimization of transport processes. The user interfaces differ but are easy to understand because the basic functions are largely the same. This applies in particular to the Basic version of SAP S/4HANA TM, which includes practically identical functions to LE-TRA, while the more comprehensive Advanced version offers the use of additional new functions.
Nevertheless, we must point out three key differences in the processes between SAP S/4HANA TM and LE-TRA:
SAP TM already goes beyond parity with the LE-TRA functions and offers you a larger and more modern range of functions with the Advanced version.
The switch from LE-TRA SAP to SAP S/4HANA TM is a strategic step that offers companies numerous tangible benefits. From the modern data structure to the significantly expanded options for planning and controlling each freight unit to the user-friendly interface, SAP TM is the superior logistics solution.
This also has consequences for integration with other SAP modules, including invoice receipt processing and all associated booking steps. The overall picture is clear: the advanced planning and optimization functions enable greater efficiency across the board. In addition, real-time transparency and the automation of data processes improve your company's decision-making and responsiveness.
If you haven't already done so, it will make sense for most companies in the logistics and transportation industry to migrate to SAP S/4HANA TM. This applies to all companies that are regularly involved in SAP-supported supply chains.
At the end of the day, it's all about improving cost structures. Keeping costs in check is an ongoing issue. SAP TM is also designed to make business management more effective, i.e. ultimately to reduce freight costs per freight unit and also to optimize invoicing.
This is where we see one of the main advantages of SAP TM. The new data structure enables more detailed accuracy for calculating, checking, and invoicing freight costs. SAP TM supports complex tariffs, surcharges, and discounts, for example, and ultimately also the sustainable optimization of transport routes and resources.
This opens up new opportunities for more sophisticated automation in invoice receipt. If you would like to know more about these opportunities, please contact avvaneo informally and ask us how we can help companies, shipping or purchasing departments, or logistics service providers to save costs.
Request your preferred appointment time here, quickly and easily using our online calendar.
We look forward to getting to know you.
Newsletter
Learn how AI came to be used in accounting, where it is used today, what role systems such as SAP play, and how companies can take the next step in automation with solutions such as avvaneo Expedite.
Learn how the ZUGFeRD format works, what advantages it offers companies and public authorities, and how it differs from XRechnung. Our guide provides practical tips and tools for easily creating and using ZUGFeRD invoices.
Read article ZUGFeRD format – definition, advantages, and creation
We explain in simple and clear terms what you need to know about EDIFACT as a company.
Read article EDIFACT: The electronic data interchange standard
Find out which formats are relevant for electronic invoicing and what advantages the introduction has for companies.
Read article Which formats are permitted for electronic invoices?
Find out how the conversion from LE-TRA to SAP TM optimizes your transport logistics. Discover the benefits, the modern data structure, and the enhanced processes of SAP S/4HANA TM.
Digitization is a megatrend. An important part of this is electronic invoices as a mandatory requirement for business-to-business transactions. Their introduction will soon be mandatory throughout Europe - no company will be able to avoid this digitization step. In Germany, the legal guideline for this is contained in the Growth Opportunities Act.
avvaneo Expedite has learned and can now extract enough clues from unstructured invoice information to automatically set up to over 90 percent of all tax codes correctly.
Read article What a data analyst can take days to do, avvaneo Discover delivers in two clicks
avvaneo Expedite has learned and can now extract enough clues from unstructured invoice information to automatically set up to over 90 percent of all tax codes correctly.
Read article Tax codes: Reducing administrative costs with AI
AI on all screens. The public trembles. Cheers. Amazed. We are not surprised.
Ask the ordinary person on the street what the abbreviation ISO stands for. Electricians' shorthand for "insulate"? Internal Safety Organism? Internal Security Orchestra? The last one comes close, but of course ISO is the abbreviation for one of the most successful NGOs of all time.
Auf der Basis unserer Erfahrungen und der vorhandenen Expertise arbeiten wir an der nächsten Stufe des Fortschritts in der Automatisierung von Finanzprozessen. Darüber und viel mehr wollen wir Ihnen gerne direkt berichten, bei unserem nächsten avvaneo User Group Meeting.
This has been extraordinary year for all of us. Therefore, we would like to thank our customers and partners personally for their trust and collaboration.
Mathematical computing has advanced rapidly in recent years. Learn more about the state of Artificial Intelligence. We will share the definitions, the most important areas, and how we at avvaneo use Artificial Intelligence to your advantage.
Read article Artificial intelligence: Is everything going faster and faster now?
It can be a long road from fully automated digitization of invoice documents to end-to-end automatic posting. Where do the problems lie?
Read article Blumatix & avvaneo: Together we make you more efficient
We are looking forward to working with the SAP Competence Center and the accounting department of ASFiNAG, the Austrian freeway operator.
Last week we went to Berlin with the entire team of avvaneo to our annual workshop.
Too many invoices do not find their way into the correct workflow automatically? You are not alone with this issue. In many companies with automatic invoice processing, up to 15% of incoming invoices are routed incorrectly. Sometimes the mistake is made by the system, sometimes by a person.
Read article AI solves assignment problems faster than humans - Part 2
You have been driving the automation of your financial processes for years. And then you realize: there are still annoying losses due to inefficiency. For example, invoices that should process automatically but still get stuck in manual workflow loops for 2 to 5 days.
Read article AI solves assignment problems faster than humans - Part 1
Invoice receipt in SAP - today this essentially runs automatically in large companies. Usually smoothly and quickly, as long as the relevant information for automatic account assignment is within the invoice data received.
Read article AI for more speed: Intelligent account assignment of incoming invoices
avvaneo Discover can now do even more: Until now, you only had the analysis - now you have concrete indications of exactly where improvements are possible and what changes bring. Read more ...
Read article New: avvaneo Discover shows concrete optimization potential
You know the drill! The accounting department is expecting purchase orders that are correctly allocated. However, the purchasing department does not have the time or all the necessary information, so they sometimes use just any account assignment.
Read article Purchasing and accounting - one happy family? Yes, sure!
The first avvaneo User Group was a great success. Presentation by Porsche on the use of artificial intelligence for financial processes with avvaneo Expedite deserves special mention.
Exceptions happen, right? But what happens when you don’t address the root cause?
Read article What are the costs of handling your inbound invoices?
Until now, the automation of general expense invoices was limited. We have analyzed how AI can overcome these limitations.
Read article Automate all processes for incoming invoices using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Assigning the correct cost elements and G/L accounts to incoming invoices is a time-consuming task for finance teams.
How much automation is possible?
Read article Coding in finance on autopilot with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The use of AI in finance departments allows automation for processes that previously had to be handled manually. Read our analysis of real data of a company on the potential of using AI.
Read article AI for financial processes - An analysis of automation potential with real data
Do you know how much discount you are throwing away?
Read article Are you missing out on easily accessible early payment discounts?
How close are you to the goal of automatically processing incoming invoices? Where are the biggest opportunities for process improvement in your company? How good is the recognition of unstructured invoices?
Do you know the answers to all these questions?
Read article How automated is your accounts payable and how accurate is your recognition?
The billion-euro economic stimulus package of the German government includes a planned reduction of the value-added tax rates from July 1 until the end of 2020, which leaves companies with little time to adapt their systems accordingly.
Read article Reduction of VAT in Germany until the end of 2020, what companies need to consider.
avvaneo helps ensure transparency and accountability for leading biotech company, QIAGEN
Read article Webinar - AP Automation in a data driven future
avvaneo Transforms Edgewell Personal Care Company's Global Financial Operations for Innovation and Scale
In December, avvaneo attended the inaugural meeting of AIF, where members of the association discussed plans for the sharing of information and knowledge to ensure the region has access to the best talent and resources to hasten AI developments that will benefit citizens most.
Read article avvaneo Supports Artificial Intelligence Frankfurt Rhein-Main
The majority of finance team processes are either structured and repetitive or analytical and statistical — here we look at how those scenarios map to available technology, AI and RPA.
Deploying a virtual workforce to assist humans creates a more flexible workforce, but how best to incorporate AI and Machine Learning.
Read article How a typical employee maps to the Virtual Workforce, and how they don’t!
Robots do all the work while we sit back and relax.... Is this our new reality?
Not for now!
Read article Why all the hype over artificial intelligence (AI)?
avvaneo and AFI Solutions partner to help companies automate financial processes inside SAP
Your organization’s financial close and reporting processes — from closing out subledgers to creating and delivering financial filings to regulatory bodies — are complex and burdensome involving multiple systems, departments, and people.
Your organization works with multiple suppliers and fluctuating prices, which can make sourcing products and cost containment laborious and undependable.
Your organization’s ongoing KYC and KYV initiatives are complex, manually-intensive, and challenging and costly to maintain, which can result in compromised processes and quality checks, ultimately leading to poor customer/vendor relationships or even bad press for your organization.
Read article RPA for FPA: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Vendor (KYV)
Your organization has set up an invoice portal, which streamlines e-invoicing and invoice processing but onboarding new vendors and data collection remain manual processes, dragging down overall efficiencies.
To vacation or not to vacation? The age-old challenge for organizations and their teams. With the introduction of robots, to vacation is the answer.
Read article Have summer holidays zapped your staff? There’s a Robot for that...
The question is not whether you should automate, but why aren’t you automating more?
Read article Financial Process Automation not just AP Automation
Considering implementing an AP automation solution to improve your accounting and finance processes? First and foremost, you must decide where your AP automation solution should sit — inside or outside of your ERP.
If you’ve automated your invoice processing, the majority of invoices should either post automatically or enter a workflow. But what happens if you need to manually correct an invoice? This can often be complicated, but it shouldn’t be.
Read article The key to invoice exception resolution in Shared Services
You’ve likely heard the term “e-invoicing” bantered about as the panacea to all life’s problems — or at least account payables’.
Read article E-invoicing is good. But e-invoicing paired with AP automation is better
Agility means to move quickly and easily. Manual invoice processing is the antithesis of agility. There are multiple points of friction that slow down manual invoice processing and it’s costing your organization time and money.
Read article Manual invoice processing is hurting your company. Agile invoice processing is the fix.
avvaneo + strategic partners = solutions that work
avvaneo’s experience combined with our range of partnerships with leading application vendors creates the perfect solution for automating financial processes.
Do you have lots of invoices flying around in your company and you lost track?
Why not automate your invoice processing?
Robots aren’t replacing everyone, but the misconception is understandable given the constant barrage of warnings from robotization experts and press. The reality is that in many environments, robotic process automation is about the efficient allocation of the people doing the work, not about reducing the number of people who are working.
Read article How robotics improve AP …and No, they aren’t coming for your Job.
avvaneo, innovators of leading-edge financial applications and approaches, today announced it has partnered with Centrifuge - the Operating System for the financial supply chain - to create a more open and innovative blockchain-based supply chain for ERP, accounting systems, and other financial processes.
Read article avvaneo partners with Centrifuge to bring blockchain to financial process automation
By integrating avvaneo Document Creator into your existing processes, you can engage your business’s most critical invoicing activities for your business now directly in SAP!
Read article avvaneo Document Creator 2 certified as powered by SAP NetWeaver®
avvaneo Document Creator is the first SAP-certified ZUGFeRD solution for billing, thus guaranteeing simple integration into all SAP ERP systems.
Read article avvaneo Document Creator certified as powered by SAP NetWeaver®
Today we are very happy to announce the beginning of something great: our newly founded company with a new vision to further support a growing SAP market.