A bill of lading issued by the shipper has transportation information relevant to the movement of goods sent to an importer. This information is important for the importer to begin the filing process for import, as well as other customs processes.
As part of the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) functionality in SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) version 11.0, in the Customs Management Import area there is a new tab and document called the “Customs Waybill”.
Customs Waybill Purpose
The purpose of the Customs Waybill document is to allow greater flexibility and functionality in the processing of inbound shipments, especially those related to the FTZ process.
For FTZ entries, a Permit to Transfer (PTT) must be filed with Customs before goods can be moved from the port of unloading to a zone. SAP GTS can be configured to enable a worklist to create the PTT based on a Customs Waybill.
The GTS Customs Waybill stores key transport information such as:
- Bill of Lading (BOL) Number
- Mode of transport
- Vessel
- Carrier code
- Arrival date
- Place of Lading
- Forwarding Agent
- Container Number
- Vessel Name
- Number of Packages
- Gross Weight
In order to create a PTT worklist from the Customs Waybill, the checkbox “Monitor Number of Packages per Customs Waybill” must be checked in the Waybill. This is because the Importer/Zone Operator must concur that the manifest quantity on the waybill matches what was actually received into the FTZ. In fact, Customs will keep the status of the waybill “open” in the AMS system until the concurrence is reported.
There are various options how to create a Customs Waybill to kick off the FTZ process in SAP GTS. The Waybill may be created manually, using the actual BOL as the source of data. There is also an API provided in SAP GTS so that the Waybill can be created automatically from an external interface.
While creating the Waybill, it is important to assign it to an inbound delivery and/or a Purchase Order. This enables document flow functionality, and sharing of waybill data across the documents. If the Inbound Delivery/PO information is not known at the time of Waybill creation, the documents can be linked at a later time. There is a worklist in GTS that shows Waybills without a document assignment.
