Do you know this too? Your shipping department uses SAP for the basic processes, but in addition, more and more Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and unofficial "little helpers" are being created. What begins harmlessly quickly develops into a risky parallel system that can cost your company dearly.
It is a common sight in German companies: While SAP forms the basis for shipping processes, countless Excel spreadsheets are created on the side. These are often introduced as a "quick fix", but develop into permanent crutches with far-reaching consequences.
Parallel tracking lists
Employees keep their own Excel spreadsheets to keep track of shipment statuses because the SAP system does not provide sufficient transparency. These lists often contain critical information that is not documented anywhere else.
Detailed packing plans outside of SAP
Complex loading space distributions and special packing instructions are managed in separate tables, as the standard SAP functions reach their limits here.
Customer-specific special instructions
Special shipping requirements of individual customers - from special labels to special delivery dates - are maintained in Word documents or Excel lists instead of being mapped systematically.
Quality protocols and problem documentation
If problems occur during shipping or quality deviations need to be documented, local data collections are often created that contain important findings.
Excel files are stored on local computers, are lost in the event of hardware failures or are only accessible to certain employees. Critical dispatch knowledge disappears when employees leave the company.
Data managed in parallel to SAP quickly develops a life of its own. Different versions of Excel spreadsheets lead to contradictory information and incorrect decisions.
If critical shipping processes take place outside of the documented SAP system, there are gaps in traceability. In the event of audits or complaints, the necessary documents are then missing.
Every manual transfer between Excel and SAP is a potential source of error. Typing errors, outdated data or forgotten updates can lead to costly shipping errors.
Complex Excel constructs are often only understandable to their creators. If this person is absent, the entire process comes to a standstill.
If individual employees are regarded as indispensable "Excel experts", this is a clear warning signal for system dependencies.
The same data is recorded in both SAP and parallel systems - a sure sign of inefficient processes.
If the familiarization mainly consists of learning unofficial workarounds, this shows the complexity of your parallel systems.
Shipping errors that occur with vacation replacements or new employees indicate poorly documented processes outside of SAP.
Excel workarounds in shipping are often a symptom of underlying problems in your SAP landscape. Instead of tolerating these symptoms, you should systematically tackle the causes. A well thought-out expansion of your SAP functionality in the shipping area pays off in the long term through more stable processes, lower error rates and better traceability.
The first step is always an honest inventory: How many Excel crutches does your shipping department actually use? And what risks are you taking on a daily basis?
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