Product Information
SAP Direct Distribution – A New Mobile App for Direct Store Delivery
Let’s have a closer look to the next generation native mobile app enabling a comprehensive direct store delivery process.
Last Mile Distribution is a central component of SAP’s direct store delivery solution SAP Direct Distribution. It is SAP’s offering that adds a level of flexibility previously not possible to a decades old process across the Consumer Products and Wholesale distribution industries.
This blog post focuses on the native mobile app which supports delivery drivers to execute a paperless delivery of goods on their daily route. An increased workforce efficiency is key with a well designed mobile solution leveraging native on-device capabilities which allows workforce to provide a prompt, reliable and friendly service to their customers.
Why using a new mobile app for SAP Direct Distribution?
The new native mobile solution addresses many of the challenges delivery drivers face on their daily routes. Drivers have to deliver within the planned delivery times and work under high time pressure. Fast processing of customer visits is prerequisite to keep the time schedule while at the same time the customer interaction and service quality should be in focus. More than that, workforce must ensure all documents reach the back office for settlement, avoiding differences in reconciliations. Having that in mind, the expectations towards the new native mobile solution is obvious and its benefits are based on the following key pillars:
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What are the key capabilities along the user journey?
Drivers are supported end-to-end on their daily route starting with truck loading at the warehouse, navigation to customer visit, delivery of goods and collecting returns at the visit until they end the day with checking-in at the warehouse again.
Check out SAP Road Map Explorer for further details on planned roadmap items.
How to get started with mobile app for SAP Direct Distribution?
The usage of this new mobile solution is included in SAP’s offering Last Mile Distribution for SAP Direct Distribution on SAP S/4HANA 2021 FPS01 (private cloud edition or on-premise). SAP Mobile Services on SAP Business Technology Platform is required to integrate to SAP S/4HANA.
Typically, the system administrator in your company will configure SAP Mobile Services using the administration user interface and create the API destinations (see Admin Guide). The system administrator would then share an onboarding QR-code with the users of the mobile app.
As the app user, you can simply download the app from the App Store, install it on your phone, scan the QR-code to start the onboarding and that’s it (see User Guide). If you just want to run the offline demo, there is no onboarding required. For using the demo mode, just install the app and explore it by clicking on “Try the Demo”.
Provide your feedback!
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Hello Sasha,
Thanks for the blog.Very interesting.
Great looking App also.
I saw some of the features that I missed in the APP where planned in the Road Map for the end of this year.
However I did not find the equivalent to the IOS app for Android.
Does it exists already? If not it is planned?
Thank you,
Kind Regards,
Pierre Claerhout
Hi Pierre,
thanks for your feedback. Android is planned and already on the roadmap.
Check this out: Roadmap Item Android
Thanks and best,
Sascha
Hello,
Information you provided in your blog is very interesting.
I am looking for initial settings for LMD on Hana, but so far without success. Could you pls suggest, where to get some additional data and parameters for setu in SPRO?
Than You & Best regards, Slavko
Hello Slavko,
Last Mile Distribution comes with an own license. Not sure, whether this will be an obstacle.
Have you checked the product documentation on SAP Help:
Last Mile Distribution for Direct Distribution | SAP Help Portal
Best regards,
Olaf
Hallo Sascha,
Wir finden deinen Blog zu dieser App auch sehr spannend. Danke dafür! Wir stehen aktuell vor der Entscheidung, ob wir für eine sehr vergleichbare Thematik im Zusammenhang mit SAP TM eine eigene App entwickeln wollen. Diese App hier ist bei uns in der Recherche aufgetaucht und hat unser Interesse geweckt.
In wie weit lässt sich die App an den von uns implementierten Prozess anpassen respektive modifizieren?
Beispiel:
Wir wollen mit der App die ausgelieferten Waren nicht manuell auf Positionsbasis bestätigen sondern Barcodes von Handling Units abscannen und diese als geliefert rückmelden. Ist vom Vorgang her vergleichbar mit dem was die App jetzt schon kann aber der Input kommt über den Scanner im Gerät. Zum Einsatz kommen sollen Geräte mit eingebauten Barcode Scanner und Android Betriebssystem. Android ist ja vorgesehen wie ich gesehen habe.
Viele Grüsse
Christian
Hi Christian,
thanks for your interest. First, it is to be considered that this mobile app is part of Last Mile Distribution which comes with an own license, as mentioned by Olaf in the above comment. For Last Mile Distribution you can check the following documentation: Last Mile Distribution for Direct Distribution | SAP Help Portal
If you get to the decision that Last Mile Distribution is relevant for your processes, you can also consider using the app with the in-built barcode scanning functionality for Android which is on the roadmap (iOS already available). Anyhow, HU handling is not yet provided for the delivery, but we are investigating into that topic.
Thanks and best, Sascha
when will be android version available? Will it includes al functionality of existing DSD or a totally new app
Hello,
Android will be available with v2 release in Q2 2023.
You will find all the details of the next versions and the functionalities in our Roadmap Explorer:
https://roadmaps.sap.com/board?range=FIRST-LAST&PRODUCT=73555000100800004082#Q2%202023
Please reach out to us if you have any further questions
Best regards,
SDD Mobile Team