Skip to content
AITISHTECH

Case study 02 · SAP TM + EWM, S/4HANA 2023

Tractor-and-Trailer Fleet Planning Across Decentralized SAP TM and EWM

Aitishtech implemented combination resource planning and execution for a tractor-and-trailer fleet across decentralised SAP TM and SAP EWM on S/4HANA 2023, including trailer attach and detach, multiple designated parking positions per drop location, and geo-coordinates for each position.

Sound familiar?

Tractors and Trailers Split Up and Recombine Mid-Journey, and SAP Planning Treats the Truck as One Fixed Unit

  • A tractor drops a trailer at one site and leaves with another, and the plan cannot follow it.
  • Nobody can see which trailers are parked where, or which are free for the next job.
  • Drivers and yard staff track trailer positions on paper or by phone.
  • Transport and the warehouse coordinate each drop and pick-up by hand.

Published · Updated

At a glance

Platform
SAP S/4HANA 2023
Landscape
Decentralised SAP TM and SAP EWM
Fleet
The client’s Red Fleet: tractors and trailers
Capability
Combination resource planning and execution
Key innovation
Trailer attach and detach, multiple parking positions
Also delivered
Geo-coordinates for every parking position

The challenge

What the Business Needed

Vehicle-based planning treats a truck as one fixed unit. This fleet does not work that way: tractors and trailers split up and recombine during a journey, and the plan has to keep up.

  • Plan tractors and trailers as a combination, not as one vehicle.
  • Attach and detach trailers at different locations during execution.
  • Support several parking positions at a single drop location.
  • Know where each parking position physically is.
  • See which trailers are parked, where, and available for the next job.
  • Coordinate transport with warehouse execution.
  • Keep decentralised SAP TM and EWM in step throughout.

Our approach

How We Went About It

We modelled the fleet the way it physically moves. The combination is formed in planning, carried through execution, and allowed to come apart when a trailer is dropped.

Model the Real Operation

Tractor, trailer, driver, requirement and location are tracked as separate resources.

One Lifecycle

Attach, execute, detach, park and reassign are steps in one process, not side activities.

Location as Data

Parking positions are records with coordinates, not notes on a yard map.

TM and EWM Together

Transport and warehouse execution coordinate across the decentralised landscape.

The solution

The Process, End to End

  1. 01 Transportation demand
  2. 02 Transportation planning
  3. 03 Combination resource assigned
  4. 04 Dispatch
  5. 05 Trailer attach
  6. 06 Transportation execution
  7. 07 Arrival at drop location
  8. 08 Trailer detach
  9. 09 Trailer parked at a designated position
  10. 10 Position geo-located
  11. 11 Trailer reassigned to the next requirement

What we built

The Capabilities That Made It Work

01

Combination Resources

Planning understands the tractor, the trailer, the driver where relevant, the requirement and the location — and that a trailer can be detached and managed on its own.

02

Multiple Parking Positions

One drop location can hold several designated positions, for example A01 to A05. The business sees which are occupied, which are free, and which trailer is where.

03

Geo-Coordinates

Each position resolves from drop location to parking area to position to latitude and longitude, a base for proximity checks, yard optimisation and mobile execution.

04

TM and EWM Integration

SAP TM handles demand, planning, resources and fleet execution; SAP EWM handles the warehouse side of each movement, across a decentralised landscape.

Worked example

One Tractor, Two Trailers

How the model handles a routine drop and swap:

  1. Tractor T100 arrives at Location A pulling trailer T001.
  2. T001 is detached and parked at a designated position, with its coordinates.
  3. T100 is now free; T001 is managed as an independent, available resource.
  4. T100 takes a new assignment with trailer T005.
  5. T001 can be selected later for another transportation requirement.

Before and after

What Changed for the Business

Before

  • Little visibility of individual trailers
  • Static tractor–trailer relationships
  • Manual trailer tracking
  • Little parking visibility
  • Hard to tell which trailers are available
  • Manual coordination between transport and warehouse

After

  • Combination resource planning
  • Controlled attach and detach
  • Trailer lifecycle visibility
  • Multiple designated parking positions
  • Geo-coordinate-enabled parking
  • Integrated TM and EWM execution

Outcome

What the Business Gained

Better Fleet Utilisation

Trailers are detached, parked and reassigned as operations require.

Better Resource Visibility

Tractor and trailer status is visible across the whole transport lifecycle.

More Accurate Planning

Plans reflect individual resources, not a vehicle treated as one static unit.

Less Manual Coordination

Transport and warehouse work from the same process instead of phone calls.

SAP should plan the fleet the way it actually moves: tractor plus trailer, then detach, park and reassign.

Questions buyers ask

Before You Ask

Can SAP TM plan tractors and trailers separately?

Yes, with combination resource planning. In this project SAP TM plans the tractor, trailer, driver, requirement and location as separate resources, so a trailer can be attached, detached, parked and reassigned during execution.

How do you track where trailers are parked in SAP?

Each drop location holds several designated parking positions, and each position carries latitude and longitude. The business sees which positions are occupied, which trailer is where, and which trailers are available.

Does trailer handling work with decentralised SAP EWM?

Yes. In this landscape SAP TM handles demand, planning and fleet execution while a decentralised SAP EWM handles the warehouse side of each movement, and the two stay coordinated throughout.

More delivered work

Case 01 · SAP TM 2023

Air and Ocean Freight Tendering, Built into SAP TM 2023

Carrier RFQs for Air and Ocean Freight Still Run on Email and Spreadsheets, Outside SAP TM

 Case 03 · SAP S/4HANA TM + Finance

Budget Control on Every Freight Order in SAP S/4HANA TM

Freight Spend Is Committed in Transport Long Before Finance Sees It, so Budget Is Checked After the Invoice Arrives

Your requirement

Got a Process Standard SAP Does Not Cover?

Send the requirement. We will tell you what standard already does, where the real gap is, and what the smallest sound extension looks like.

Contact us [email protected] +91 63600 21176

Monday–Friday, 09:00–18:30 IST (UTC+5:30)