Lesson 1 of 6
Why LE-TRA must go and when
9 min
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LE-TRA is the transportation component of SAP ECC's Logistics Execution: shipments (VT01N, VT02N, collective creation in VT04), shipment stages, and shipment cost documents (VI01, VI02) that calculate and settle freight with carriers. It still runs in SAP S/4HANA, but only as part of the compatibility scope, the set of ECC functions SAP lets customers keep for a limited time while they move to the successor. For transportation, the successor is SAP Transportation Management (TM) in S/4HANA.
The dates
| Where LE-TRA runs | Usage right or maintenance | Source to check |
|---|---|---|
| SAP ECC 6.0 | Mainstream maintenance ends December 31, 2027; optional extended maintenance to 2030 | SAP maintenance strategy for Business Suite 7 |
| SAP S/4HANA under a cloud subscription (for example RISE, private cloud) | Compatibility pack usage rights longer than on premise (check SAP Note 2269324 for the current date) | SAP Note 2269324 and SAP's compatibility pack announcements |
| SAP S/4HANA on premise, perpetual license | General compatibility pack rights ended May 31, 2026; selected LE-TRA, CS and PP-PI items run to December 31, 2030 | SAP Note 2269324; confirm eligibility with SAP |
LE-TRA dates as published by SAP in 2025–2026; check your own contract.
Contoso runs SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition under RISE, so its LE-TRA usage right in CMP runs at least to December 31, 2030 (the LE-TRA date even on premise) and longer under RISE (check SAP Note 2269324 for the current date). Contoso plans against 2030. That sounds like plenty of time. It is not, because there is no migration path from LE-TRA to TM: TM uses different business objects (freight units, freight orders, freight settlement documents), different master data and different customizing. No report converts a shipment into a freight order. Moving means redesigning and re-implementing transportation, then testing it end to end.
How Contoso uses LE-TRA today
Derek, Contoso's transportation manager, runs outbound road transport from shipping points 1710 Detroit and 1720 Chicago, and replenishment from both plants to the Toledo distribution center (1810). Each evening his team collects the next day's outbound deliveries into shipments with VT04, assigns a carrier (Midwest Freightways or Keystone Carriers, illustrative suppliers), prints the bill of lading and posts goods issue through the shipment. Shipment cost documents calculate freight from condition records, and settlement creates a service purchase order and service entry sheet so Ana in accounts payable can verify the carrier invoice.
| LE-TRA (compatibility scope) | TM in S/4HANA | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Usage right limited; no innovation | Strategic; new features each release |
| Planning object | Shipment built from deliveries | Freight unit built from orders or deliveries |
| Execution object | Shipment | Freight order (or freight booking) |
| Freight cost | Shipment cost document | Charges on freight order; freight settlement document |
| Rates | Condition records in a shipment cost pricing procedure | Freight agreements, calculation sheets, rate tables |
| Migration | None to TM | Re-implementation with new master data |
Step by step: inventory what LE-TRA does for you
- List shipment types in use and their volumes per shipping point over the last twelve months (table VTTK holds shipment headers).
- List shipment cost types, the pricing procedure and the condition types behind each freight rate, with the carriers and lanes they cover.
- List outputs: bills of lading, loading lists, carrier IDocs (for example SHPMNT) and any EDI to carriers.
- List custom code: user exits in shipment processing, Z reports on shipments and freight costs, enhancements to settlement.
- List the finance touchpoints: accrual accounts, cost distribution to products or profitability, and invoice verification practice.
- Interview Derek's planners on what they do outside the system (phone tenders, spreadsheets of rates), because TM can absorb some of it.
| LE-TRA element at Contoso | Volume or count (illustrative) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound shipments, 1710 Detroit | About 700 per month | Mostly full truckloads to fleet depots |
| Outbound shipments, 1720 Chicago | About 250 per month | Aftermarket, more less-than-truckload |
| Replenishment to 1810 Toledo | About 150 per month | Stock transfers from both plants |
| Carriers | 2 contracted plus spot carriers | Midwest Freightways, Keystone Carriers |
| Shipment cost condition records | About 420 | Lane rates, fuel surcharge, accessorials |
| Custom enhancements | 9 | Including a fuel surcharge update program |
What Contoso's inventory found; each line becomes a design or retirement decision.
What would you do?
In a steering meeting, the finance director says LE-TRA can stay until December 2030 and the TM project should start in mid-2030 "to defer cost". What should Grace's program respond?
- LE-TRA runs in S/4HANA only in the compatibility scope; Contoso plans against December 31, 2030, though RISE rights run longer (check SAP Note 2269324 for the current date).
- ECC mainstream maintenance ends in 2027; on-premise S/4HANA rights depend on contract conditions.
- There is no migration path: TM is a redesign with new objects and master data.
- Start early enough to phase by site and keep a buffer year.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which date can Contoso safely plan its LE-TRA exit against in its RISE-based S/4HANA system?
2. Which SAP Note is the central reference for the compatibility scope?
3. Why is moving from LE-TRA to TM a redesign rather than a migration?
4. Which LE-TRA transaction creates shipments collectively?