The four most annoying tasks when working with scheduling agreements
Dispatchers lose time and nerves here
Table of contents
SAP systems are not exactly known for their user-friendliness. In some places, additional functions would help to simplify the work. For this text, we have collected four topics that cost time and nerves when managing scheduling agreements.
Delivery schedules usually fall within the remit of order management. Dispatchers or supply chain managers are responsible for processing customer orders on time. To do this, they usually monitor hundreds of requirements and stocks at the same time. In the Working with scheduling agreements is based on a framework agreement agreed between the customer and the supplier. Certain partial quantities of this framework agreement are called off via delivery call-offs. Progress is monitored for each individual material in a delivery schedule.
SAP users who work with scheduling agreements have to carry out numerous tasks in addition to monitoring call-offs, scheduling agreements and stock levels - unfortunately, this is time-consuming and complicated in the SAP system.
1. new material numbers and old stocks
If there are minor technical changes to a product, a new material number must be created in the SAP system for traceable documentation. This is the only way to keep the old and new stocks separate. This requires a new scheduling agreement. You therefore have to monitor each affected scheduling agreement on a daily basis, sometimes for days or weeks:
- When exactly does the new product have to be available?
- How much old material is still available?
- How do you calculate the key date for the start of a new scheduling agreement?
In the event of errors, it could be that old stocks are left behind, for which the user then has to justify. Unfortunately, SAP does not offer any support, as there are no clear rules for the expiry and start of scheduling agreements.
2. Copy 500 scheduling agreements at once
Having to copy and create delivery schedules is frustrating and time-consuming. It also has little to do with the actual task of supplying customers smoothly. In the case of production relocations or new color variants, sometimes hundreds of scheduling agreements have to be created manually. This means monotonous hard work, costs time and is also prone to errors.
Another major problem is performance: scheduling agreements with six-digit document numbers are almost impossible to open. This leads to long loading times and slows down work massively. To avoid putting an additional strain on system performance, the only option is often to copy scheduling agreements - often at night, which is an additional organizational effort.
To make matters worse, there is no intelligent link between old and new scheduling agreements. If, for example, a new scheduling agreement is created because there is a performance problem due to the documents, the SAP standard does not provide a reference to the previous scheduling agreement. This makes subsequent tracking tedious.
This makes the whole task feel like an obstacle course: unnecessarily cumbersome, slow, error-prone and ultimately a distraction from more important activities. The constant worry of making a mistake with so many manual entries creates additional pressure and frustration.
3. adapt hundreds of scheduling agreements
The mass update of scheduling agreements is a tedious and error-prone task. Changes to central data such as unloading point, ship-to party or Incoterms have to be adjusted manually in each individual scheduling agreement. The SAP standard has no functions to automatically check which entries need to be updated. Instead, the MRP controller has to laboriously search for the relevant scheduling agreements themselves.
It becomes particularly problematic when many changes need to be made at once. While individual adjustments would not be a major problem, the work becomes extremely time-consuming when there are a large number of changes. In addition, the affected data is sometimes stored in hidden places, which increases the risk of careless errors. This not only causes additional stress, but also carries the risk of incorrect or incomplete data being transferred.
Another annoyance is that most of the changes come from internal sources - i.e. colleagues from other departments - which can make things even more frustrating. Even if the necessity is understandable, the task feels like a chore that is not only boring but also unnecessarily time-consuming.
4. progress figures and the fiscal year change
Every year, the fiscal year change brings with it a time-consuming and critical task: manually resetting the cumulative quantities in the delivery schedules. For large companies such as the VW Group in particular, this means a large number of corrections in the last week of October and the first week of November. For other delivery schedules, which are based on the calendar year, this work is usually carried out in the first two weeks of January.
The problem: SAP does not automatically recognize the necessary change in cumulative quantities. It takes time to realize that a reset is necessary - and by then, errors can already occur in MRP. The entire process has to be carried out manually, which means that call-off, delivery and cumulative quantities received have to be compared with each other and open quantities have to be taken into account.
As the SAP standard offers no support here, the responsibility lies entirely with the dispatcher. If the provision is overlooked or not carried out in time, this can have serious consequences: You don't realize that deliveries are due, you may not order anything and this puts the entire supply chain at a standstill. In the worst case scenario, your customers may experience production downtimes, your supplier rating may suffer if there are frequent incorrect deliveries, or there may be consequences such as a negative audit. This task is therefore not only time-consuming and laborious, but also critical for the entire process.
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5. conclusion: Worse than the annoying processes are the consequences
As tedious and time-consuming as the manual processing of scheduling agreements is, the real problem lies not only in the repetitive, monotonous work. Much more serious are the possible consequences of errors that can creep in.
Whether copying scheduling agreements, mass updating data or resetting cumulative quantities at the end of the financial year - there are risks lurking everywhere that go far beyond personal frustration. If a scheduling agreement is not created or adjusted in time, if central data is missing or if cumulative quantities are not reset correctly, this can quickly lead to real supply problems. Suddenly, call-offs are missing, orders are not triggered on time or deliveries are not made - and this can lead to a chain reaction that can even result in line stoppages at the customer's premises, expensive special transports or even poor supplier ratings.
The biggest annoyance is therefore not the laborious task itself, but the uncertainty that comes with it. Every small error can have serious consequences for the entire supply chain. The responsibility often lies solely with the dispatcher - without any supporting mechanisms to point out problems at an early stage or safeguard the process. This not only causes frustration, but also unnecessary pressure and potential risks that could be avoided by relatively simple means.
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How to simplify scheduling agreement management in SAP
Delivery schedules are the backbone of collaboration between automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. Efficient management of these scheduling agreements is crucial to ensure on-time deliveries and avoid bottlenecks. In practice, however, it often turns out that working with scheduling agreements in SAP is cumbersome and error-prone - especially if the number of scheduling agreements you monitor is too high.
