LGM Knowledge Snippet: From Pickup Schedule To Pic...

If you operate a shipping process with regular carrier pickups, Pickup Schedules are your key tool for automating Pickup/Delivery Document (PDD) creation in SAP Logistics Management. This post walks through the end-to-end flow: from defining a schedule to having a PDD ready for execution.

What is a Pickup Schedule?

A Pickup Schedule captures the recurring pattern of a carrier's vehicle arriving at your shipping point. Instead of manually creating a Pickup/Delivery Document every time a truck is expected, you define the pattern once and the system generates PDDs automatically.

Each Pickup Schedule contains:

Carrier – which carrier operates the pickup
Shipping Point and Location – where the pickup takes place
Recurrence Pattern – which days of the week the pickup occurs (Monday through Sunday)
Arrival Times – when the carrier's vehicle is expected (stored in the location's local timezone)
Validity Period – when the schedule is active, optionally open-ended

For example: “CarrierParcel Carrier 4711 arrives every Monday and Thursday at 09:00 and 15:00 at Shipping Point 1011 valid from from now with open end.” would look like this:

You maintain Pickup Schedules in the Maintain Pickup Schedules app.

From Schedule to PDD: The Synchronization

Pickup Schedules don't create PDDs on their own (so far ;.-) ) – a synchronization process reads the schedules and generates the corresponding PDDs. This is done using the “Create Pickup Documents” button and selecting the time frame you want to create PDDs for, e.g. for next 14 days of for a defined time frame:

During synchronization, the system:

Reads all Pickup Schedules valid for the sync period
For each valid day and arrival time, creates a PDD (if one doesn't already exist)
Populates the PDD with carrier, location, and planned arrival time from the schedule
Removes any previously created PDDs that no longer match the schedule (only if still empty and unused)

One important note: If a existing Pickup document for a given departure has been deleted manually, it will not be recreated for this dat/time combination. The ratio here is, that this pickup has been specifically cancelled and a recreate would contradicts the users intention. From that you can see, PDDs are not really deleted but stored as cancelled and basically hidden from any UIs, but still there for e.g. prevention of creation a duplicate for the cancelled date/time.

The result: a set of empty PDD shells – headers with carrier and timing information, but no items yet. The items come later.

Timezone Handling

An important detail: arrival times in Pickup Schedules are stored in the shipping point's local timezone. During synchronization, these times are converted to UTC for the PDD's planned arrival time. This means a 14:00 pickup in Hamburg (CET) and a 14:00 pickup in New York (EST) will produce PDDs with different UTC timestamps, and each PDD correctly reflects the local expectation at the respective warehouse.

Filling the PDD: Transportation Request Assignment

With PDD in place, the next step is connecting them to actual goods. This happens through Transportation Request (TR) assignment, and the timing depends on your Processing Variant configuration. And some more info on that linkage can be found here.

In a typical LTL or Parcel shipping process, the flow is:

Transportation Requests are created and go through warehouse processing (picking, packing, staging)
Once warehouse processing completes, the system searches for a matching PDD – one with the right carrier, location, and time window
If a match is found, PDD items are created and linked to the TR items
The TR's pickup planning status moves to Completed

This “late linking” pattern works well when you have regular carrier pickups and the warehouse prepares goods independently. The goods are assigned to the next suitable pickup slot as they become ready.

When No PDD is Found

If the system cannot find a matching PDD for a completed Transportation Request, the TR's pickup planning status changes to Error and is flagged with Action Required. This typically means:

No Pickup Schedule covers the required carrier/location/time combination
The schedule exists but the sync hasn't run yet for the relevant dates
The PDD was manually deleted or is no longer valid

To resolve this, create a PDD manually or update the Pickup Schedule and trigger a sync, then use the Retry PDD Assignment action on the Transportation Request.

The Complete Flow at a Glance

Putting it all together, here's the end-to-end journey from Pickup Schedule to loaded truck:

Define – Maintain Pickup Schedules with carrier, location, days, and times
Generate – Sync job creates empty PDD headers for upcoming pickup slots
Prepare – Warehouse processes Transportation Requests (picking, packing, staging)
Assign – Completed TRs are matched to suitable PDDs; PDD items are created
Execute – Warehouse staff uses the PDD to know exactly what to load and when

Each step is automated through configuration, requiring no manual intervention in the standard case.

Practical Tips

Keep schedules current – If a carrier changes their pickup days or times, update the schedule and re-sync. Outdated schedules lead to unused PDDs or assignment errors.
Use manual sync after changes – After editing a Pickup Schedule, trigger a manual sync for the affected date range to immediately see the updated PDDs.
Monitor assignment errors – Regularly check for Transportation Requests in Error status. They often indicate gaps in your Pickup Schedule coverage.
Holiday handling – For days when no pickup occurs (holidays, closures), either adjust the schedule validity or delete the generated PDD. Deleted PDDs won't be regenerated by future syncs.

When Pickup Schedules Don't Apply

Not every shipping process uses Pickup Schedules. In a Direct LTL and the FTL process, the carrier is determined on a per-consignment basis. Here, the PDD is created automatically when the carrier confirms acceptance – no schedule needed. The system creates the PDD with items already linked, and the pickup planning status is set to Not Relevant since late linking doesn't apply.