The use of specialized software components is becoming increasingly important as a way to optimize planning of transportation requirements. The SAP system does not offer automated support for optimizing transportation planning, since the large number of different possible transportation processing procedures and optimization criteria require software that is tailored precisely to the customer’s needs.
The SD-TPS interface (described below) between the SAP system and one or more specialized, external Transportation Planning Systems (TPS) can be implemented in order to fulfill such specific customer needs in the transportation planning area.