Transport Request

A Transport Request is the planning document in Shipper TMS.

It answers four questions:

what must be moved,
from where,
to where,
and when.

Use a Transport Request before you build the trip in a Transport Order.

The diagram below shows how a Transport Request works as the architecture layer between source documents and transport execution. It can also separate source demand by transportation condition before planning, helping planners keep incompatible cargo in separate requests, loads, or compartments.

Transport Request architecture layer showing source documents, transport conditions, and transport planning

Transport Request example showing load point, unload point, and route actions

Before you start

Make sure that:

TMS Setup has Transport Request Nos. filled.
The source document has eligible item quantities that are not already fully assigned to transport.
Unposted sales, purchase, and transfer documents are Released before you create requests from them.
The request has Load Date And Time and Unload Date And Time before you release it.
Map locations or complete addresses exist if you want route display, distance, or duration.

What a Transport Request contains

A Transport Request can contain:

source document lines,
shipper and consignee information,
load and unload dates,
route and route sequence,
transportation condition,
calculated totals such as weight, volume, footage, and estimated logistic units.

How requests are created

Method	Use it when
Automatic creation from released documents	TMS Setup is configured to create requests during document release
Create Transport Request on a source document	The remaining eligible quantities should become requests immediately
Transport Request Planning	You need partial quantities or several requests from one document
Get Source Documents on a request	You want to add more released source lines to an Open request
Document lists	You want to create requests for several documents in bulk

For supported document types, see Source Documents.

How load and unload points are selected

Every Transport Request needs a load point and an unload point. When a request is created from a source document, Shipper TMS derives those endpoints from the document line and header.

Source scenario	Load point	Unload point
Sales shipment or sales invoice line with Location Code	Location	Customer or ship-to address
Sales shipment or sales invoice line without Location Code	Company Information	Customer or ship-to address
Sales return or sales credit memo line with Location Code	Customer or ship-to address	Location
Sales return or sales credit memo line without Location Code	Customer or ship-to address	Company Information
Purchase receipt or purchase invoice line with Location Code	Vendor or order address	Location
Purchase receipt or purchase invoice line without Location Code	Vendor or order address	Company Information
Purchase return or purchase credit memo line with Location Code	Location	Vendor or order address
Purchase return or purchase credit memo line without Location Code	Company Information	Vendor or order address

If the source line does not have a Location Code, Shipper TMS uses the company address as the company-side endpoint. This supports companies that do not use Business Central locations on sales or purchase lines.

To use this scenario, fill Default Map Location on Company Information with a Map Location whose source type is Company. This Map Location is used for route display, distance, and duration. It does not create or require a Business Central warehouse location and does not change inventory or warehouse posting behavior.

Drop shipment

For Drop Shipment Sales Order lines, Shipper TMS creates the Transport Request from the Sales Order, not from the Purchase Order.

The route is:

Vendor or order address -> Customer or ship-to address

The Sales Line Location Code is not used for this route. Shipper TMS uses the linked Purchase Order line to identify the vendor pickup point. If the drop shipment Sales Line is not linked to a Purchase Order line, request creation stops and asks you to create or link the Purchase Order first.

Purchase Order lines marked Drop Shipment are skipped during Transport Request creation. This prevents duplicate requests for the same vendor-to-customer movement.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
Open	The request can still be prepared and adjusted
Released	The request is ready for planning
Assigned	The request is assigned to a Transport Order

Allowed status movement is:

Open -> Released -> Assigned
Released -> Open

Important rules

Only Released requests can be assigned to a Transport Order.
A request in Assigned status is already assigned to a Transport Order and is no longer freely editable or available in the planning pool.
If the request is removed from the Transport Order, it can return to Released.
For unposted source documents, manual creation from the document card requires the source document to be Released.

Reschedule requests

Use Reschedule Date/Time when one or more Transport Requests must be moved to another loading or unloading date/time after planning has started.

The action is available from:

the Transport Request card,
the Transport Requests list,
Customer Stop Pre-Planner for selected customer-stop rows.

The wizard can update Load Date And Time, Unload Date And Time, or both. It works with Open and Released requests. Requests in Assigned status are shown in the review step and skipped.

For New Load Time and New Unload Time, use lookup to choose a value from the time-slot profiles used by the selected Transport Requests. If several requests are selected, the lookup combines the unique load or unload profiles from the selection. The time field is still editable, so the dispatcher can type any time manually when the change is intentional.

Before applying the change, the wizard shows:

the current and new load/unload date/time values,
requests that will be skipped,
warnings when the new load or unload time is outside the related time-slot profile.

Time-slot warnings do not block the change. If the dispatcher decides that the new date/time is intentional, choose Apply. The wizard still preserves standard date validation, so Unload Date And Time cannot be earlier than Load Date And Time.

Before you release a request

Use this checklist before choosing Release:

Check	Why it matters
Load Date And Time is filled	Required before the request can become available for planning
Unload Date And Time is filled	Required before the request can become available for planning
Source lines and quantities are correct	Released requests are what planners see in load-building pages
Shipper and consignee addresses are correct	Route, distance, warehouse, and map behavior depend on these values
Transportation condition is correct when used	Conditions can affect splitting, compatibility, and compartment planning

Transport Request created from source document

How to work in this window

Review the General section and confirm the request status.
Review Shipper and Consignee.
Fill or adjust load and unload date/time values while the request is still Open.
Review Lines.
If you need to add more source lines, choose Get Source Documents while the request is Open. The selected released source lines are added to the request.
If map locations are filled, choose Show Route. The route opens on the configured map provider.
Choose Transport Time & Distance to calculate distance and duration. The request stores the distance and transport duration returned by the map provider.
Choose Estimate when logistic unit estimation should be rebuilt.
Choose Release when the request is ready for planning. The status changes to Released and the request becomes available for Transport Order planning.
Choose Assign to Transport Order when you want to place this request into an existing Transport Order. The request status changes to Assigned after it is added to the selected order.
If the request is already assigned, choose Show Transport to open the related order.

What changes after assignment

After a request is assigned to a Transport Order:

the request leaves the general planning pool;
the request status is shown as Assigned;
the Assigned To field points to the linked Transport Order;
most request changes must be made by changing the Transport Order plan or by removing the request from the order first.

Use the list page when you want to release, reopen, or assign multiple requests at the same time.

Useful actions

Action	Available when	Result
Get Source Documents	Request is Open	Adds eligible released source document lines
Show Route	Endpoints have map data	Displays the route on the map
Transport Time & Distance	Endpoints and map provider are valid	Calculates distance and duration
Release	Request is Open	Makes the request available for planning
Reopen	Request is Released and not assigned to a Transport Order	Returns the request to editing
Reschedule Date/Time	Request is Open or Released	Updates load and/or unload date/time after a warning review
Assign to Transport Order	Request is Released	Assigns the request to a new or existing Transport Order
Show Transport	Request is Assigned	Opens the linked Transport Order
Estimate	Request has lines	Rebuilds estimated logistic units

Typical workflow

Create the request from a source document.
Review addresses, route, dates, and totals.
Release the request.
Assign it to a Transport Order directly or through a planning tool.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
Release fails	Fill Load Date And Time and Unload Date And Time.
Get Source Documents is unavailable	The request must be Open.
The request does not appear in planning pages	Only Released requests are available for planning. A request in Assigned status is already assigned.
Assign to Transport Order is unavailable	The request must be Released.
Reschedule Date/Time skips a request	The request is already Assigned to a Transport Order. Remove it from the order first if it must be changed as a request.
Show Route fails	Check shipper and consignee map locations, coordinates, and map provider setup.
Distance or duration is empty	Configure a map provider and verify that both route endpoints can be geocoded.
Requests from lines without Location Code fail	Fill Default Map Location on Company Information and make sure that Map Location has source type Company.
A drop shipment Sales Order does not create a request	Make sure the Sales Line is linked to the related Purchase Order line.
You cannot delete the request	Requests in Assigned status must be removed from the Transport Order first.