Shipping control and sales planning

Detailed guidance for shipping control in Automotive with filter logic, underdelivery and overdelivery handling, and creation of goods issues.

Purpose

This page deepens the sales-planning area around shipping control. It describes the operational path used in Automotive to build shipments from open sales-order lines, prepare mixed pallets, and control quantity deviations consciously.

When shipping control is the right tool

Shipping control is the intended standard path for shipping in Automotive. Quantities can also be shipped directly from the sales order, but that route is much weaker for complex shipment patterns. Mixed pallets or consciously grouped shipment scenarios are handled much better through shipping control.

Use shipping control especially when:

multiple order lines should flow into one shipping run,
filters by date, customer, plant, or other business criteria are required,
underdeliveries or overdeliveries must be reviewed consciously,
one goods issue should not be limited to a single sales line.

Shipping control setup

Shipping control starts with its own setup list. There you define the criteria used to propose open order lines for shipment.

Field	Meaning	Typical check question
Code	unique identifier of the setup line	Is the line clearly tied to one shipping scenario?
Description	text explanation of the selection logic	Does the team immediately understand what the filter is for?
Due date formula	time horizon for planned shipping	How many days in advance should lines be proposed?
Filter field 1 to 5	selection of a field from the sales-order line	Which business criterion should be filtered?
Filter 1 to 5	concrete filter value for the selected field	Is the filter value unique in master data or documents?

An effective filter does not only shorten the list. It improves operational quality. Filters that are too broad create unclear batch runs. Filters that are too narrow split up deliveries that should stay together.

Operational sequence

Open the shipping-control setup.
Maintain the due-date formula and the business-relevant filters.
Start shipping control.
Review the proposed shipping overview line by line.
Create a new goods issue from the marked line or add the line to an existing goods issue of the matching customer.

The result list is not just a preview. It is the business decision point where you decide what quantity should really go into shipment.

Treat underdelivery consciously

If the value in Goods Issue Quantity (Base) is smaller than the Remaining Order Quantity (Base), the system asks whether the remaining quantity on the linked sales line should be reduced.

Confirm this with Yes only if the reduced quantity should really become the future remaining quantity. Otherwise you change the open order balance more strongly than intended by the business process.

Treat overdelivery consciously

If the Goods Issue Quantity is greater than the Remaining Order Quantity, the system also shows a warning. After confirmation, processing continues.

Do not confirm this routinely. Always review first:

whether this is a real exception case,
whether the order is still business-correct,
whether delivery-progress counters or call-off quantities need later clarification,
whether the customer is prepared for the overdelivery.

Goods issue, transport order, and shipping documents

The service description adds a clear execution sequence after quantity decisions in shipping control:

Create goods issue from shipping control and check availability by color status.
If required by warehouse setup, complete picking before posting.
Register pack structure in goods issue so single and master loading units are posted correctly.
Post goods issue and create the transport order.
In the transport order, consolidate delivery notes by customer or unloading point and complete transport data.

For message and document handling, the source adds these rules:

TSB message can be sent first for forwarding documents; shipment EDI can follow later.
The transport order is the collection point for carrier, transport means, and shipping remarks.
VDA delivery note, EDI goods accompanying note, and forwarding order are generated from transport context.
Single and master labels can already be printed on unposted goods issue.

This sequence keeps shipping data, loading-unit account posting, and outbound EDI in sync.

Operational control steps

Point in time	What to check
Before the run	Are due-date formula and filters aligned with the current shipping scenario?
In the proposal list	Do customer, quantity, date, and shipping context really fit together?
In an underdelivery case	Should the remaining quantity really be reduced, or is it only a partial delivery?
In an overdelivery case	Is the extra quantity approved from a business perspective and traceable in the order?
Before goods issue	Should a new document be created, or should the line join an existing goods issue?

Typical error patterns

Situation	Possible cause	Check
Too many lines appear in shipping control	filters are too broad or missing	review setup lines and due-date formula
Related deliveries appear separately	filters are too narrow or maintained inconsistently	compare the filter criteria per line
Open remaining quantities are changed unintentionally	underdelivery warning was confirmed too quickly	inspect original order and remaining quantity
Shipping quantity is higher than agreed	overdelivery warning was confirmed without clarification	review order, call-off, and customer approval

Migration deepening: special cases

For real operations, the following special cases should be documented explicitly and trained regularly:

Partially picked goods issue with remaining-quantity decision.
Overdelivery with documented customer approval.
Mixed pallets driven by deliberate filter criteria.
Early TSB message with later shipment EDI.
Label printing before final posting in transport context.

Screenshot backlog by section

Screenshot ID	Area	Expected statement
SHIP-SET-01	Shipping-control setup with due-date formula and filters	Daily filter logic is reproducible.
SHIP-LIST-01	Proposal list after starting shipping control	Line-by-line review before document creation is clear.
SHIP-UD-01	Underdelivery warning with remaining-quantity hint	User sees impact on open remaining order quantity.
SHIP-OD-01	Overdelivery warning	Exception approval is conscious and documented.
SHIP-TRANS-01	Transport order with consolidated delivery notes	Transition from goods issue to transport is transparent.
SHIP-DOC-01	Print/TSB/shipment EDI in transport context	Message and document sequence is consistent.

Result

You can use shipping control as a conscious planning and consolidation process.
You understand how underdeliveries and overdeliveries affect remaining quantities on the order.
You avoid uncontrolled shipping runs through well-designed business filters.