SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM Migration: 7 Pitfalls Most Teams Miss

Migrating from SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to SAP S/4HANA Transportation Management (TM) involves fundamental changes to data structure, processes, integrations, and the way entire transportation operations are planned and executed. It is also an opportunity to move beyond SAP TM 9.5/9.6 processes and build a more integrated and scalable transportation landscape.

Organisations that are moving from SAP TM 9.5/9.6 must first adopt embedded SAP S/4HANA TM or deploy SAP TM as a side-by-side architecture. This significantly influences the migration approach, master data setup, integration model, and how the existing transportation processes and transactional data are viewed.

But most business complexities arise when legacy customisations, master-data dependencies, existing transportation processes, and carrier integration are taken into account. Most decision makers fail to understand that not every capability of the legacy system needs to be migrated as it is. Some need to be replaced, others need to be redesigned, and some may need to be retired where standard TM functionality can take over.

This is where assessment and planning play a crucial role in a successful migration from SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM.

Explore the common pitfalls businesses face during migration, and how an experienced SAP TM partner helps organisations evaluate the existing SAP landscape, set the right migration strategy, and build a future-ready transportation ecosystem.

7 Common Pitfalls in SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM Migration

Why does the SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM transition matter? As businesses expand, continuing to rely on legacy SAP TM 9.5/9.6 processes limits the ability to use newer transportation capabilities and end-to-end visibility.

With time, migration is needed to reduce transportation challenges, improve operational efficiency, and build a digital infrastructure for future business growth.

However, it comes with challenges that need to be addressed with the right guidance and expertise.

1. Treating Migration as a Technical Lift-and-Shift

One common mistake business people make during migration is assuming the existing transportation process will be recreated in S/4HANA TM and will work exactly as it does today.

But you need to understand that the legacy system accumulates multiple configurations, processes, workarounds, and custom developments over the years, and these may no longer meet modern needs. Many can be replaced with a standard alternative in S/4HANA TM.

The relevant question to ask is "Which capabilities add to business value and how can they be delivered with S/4HANA TM?"

The practical approach is to evaluate every capability and place it in one of four buckets:

• Retain: The capability still adds value and works the same way. Move it across as it is.
• Replace: Standard S/4HANA TM functionality already delivers the same outcome. Drop the legacy version and adopt the standard one.
• Rebuild: The business need is valid, but the old design will not work in the new system. Build it again to fit S/4HANA TM.
• Retire: The requirement no longer exists. Leave it behind.

This structured approach eliminates unnecessary complexities and enables a smoother migration.

2. Underestimating Master Data and Object Dependencies

Transportation data collected over time rarely operates as isolated objects. It also involves dependencies between business partners and conditions.

Migrating a transportation object without understanding the configuration or master data objects can lead to activation problems and unexpected behaviour.

The emphasis should be on the following during migration:

• What data to assess before migration?
• What master data is actually required in the new system?
• Dependencies of one object on another
• Which data needs transformation?
• Are custom fields or rules embedded in the existing processes?

Migration without understanding data dependencies can create problems that are only reflected during testing or execution.

3. Assuming Legacy Customisations Will Work in S/4HANA TM

Your old SAP TM system has years of custom configuration and functional customisations built around how the business used to work. Just because these customisations work in the older system does not mean all need to be migrated to S/4HANA TM. The question that one needs to ask is:

Do we still need all these customisations with S/4HANA TM?

The business requirements may have changed, and the old customisations may no longer be useful.

Are the existing customisations already available as standard functionality in S/4HANA TM?

If yes, then retire the legacy customisation and adopt the S/4HANA TM standard functionality.

If not, then analyse whether configuration or an enhancement can meet the requirement.

4. Ignoring Event Management to GTT Transformation

In the legacy environment, you have SAP Event Management that helps track events, define tracking scenarios, and supports visibility-related TM processes. When migrating to the SAP S/4HANA TM landscape, GTT becomes the visibility solution.

For businesses, the requirement remains the same, i.e. "To know what is happening to the shipment!"

The following aspects are crucial when it comes to shipments:

• What events are genuinely needed?
• Where does the event information come from?
• What should happen when an event occurs?

And most importantly, how will this work in the target S/4HANA + GTT architecture?

During migration, the focus should be on not recreating the same EM setup from the old system in the new GTT system. Instead, redesign the process with GTT capabilities that can help enhance visibility and notify the responsible team of delays or disruption during shipment.

The focus should be on understanding what level of visibility businesses need and what is the best way to achieve it with the new S/4HANA architecture.

5. Migrating Custom Code Before Understanding Dependencies

Custom code such as Z-programs, BAdIs, user exits, and enhancements is written for specific business objects, configuration, and interfaces. Identifying custom code and moving it to S/4HANA TM without understanding how it will function in the new system adds to unexpected errors and makes migration even more complex.

Before migrating custom code, businesses should first understand:

• Which processes does the specific custom code support?
• Which master data and configuration does it depend on?
• Is there a standard alternative already available in the target S/4HANA TM?

The practical approach is to analyse the custom code based on business relevance and its compatibility with the target system.

If the standard functionality is available in the target S/4HANA TM, then the code should be retired. If not, the custom code must be assessed before deciding whether to adapt or replace it.

The aim should be to migrate only the code whose capabilities continue to deliver business value.

6. Underestimating Process Change and User Adoption

Often business leaders delay a migration decision, thinking the change will not add any business value.

The standard functionality may work differently from the existing transportation process. A change in the execution can impact day-to-day operations.

An evaluation is needed on:

• How does standard functionality in SAP S/4HANA TM change the existing process?
• Which roles and functions will be impacted?
• Does the new process require organisational changes?
• Do we need to train the personnel?

This makes the migration acceptable, practical, and manageable for the people who use the new system.

7. Underestimating Integration and Carrier Dependencies

Transportation processes do not operate within SAP TM alone but have dependencies on ERP and API interfaces, and other internal and external systems.

During a SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM migration, changes to the transportation objects, integration points, and interfaces can affect the downstream processes. Businesses should assess the following:

• Which upstream and downstream systems exchange transportation data?
• Which carrier integrations and APIs are in use?
• What information is exchanged between logistics partners and carriers?
• Are the existing interfaces compatible with the target S/4HANA TM architecture?
• How do the events, confirmations, status, and exceptions flow between systems?

Carrier dependency is crucial, as even a successful migration can still disrupt operations if there is a collaboration gap with carriers.

The focus should be on end-to-end integration validation and not just migrating to the S/4HANA TM system working in isolation. Data must flow reliably across connected systems.

This is where the right SAP TM expertise is crucial. A reliable partner analyses dependencies on existing data, processes, and the existing system, figures out integration risks, and assures the team that the new system will work with enhanced efficiency in an interconnected ecosystem and will help add business value. 

How SCM Champs Helps Organisations Navigate SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM Migration

SCM Champs, a trusted SAP supply chain partner, has been helping organisations worldwide to move beyond technical SAP TM migration and build a new transportation landscape that aligns with current business requirements as well as helps build an SAP transportation management digital infrastructure for the future.

Their approach begins by understanding the existing SAP TM 9.5/9.6 landscape, identifying data and process dependencies, and then enabling businesses to determine what entities need to be retained, redesigned, replaced, or retired before the technical migration process begins. Here is the strategic approach:

• Assess the Existing SAP TM 9.5/9.6 Landscape: Analyse existing data, processes, and integration, and evaluate the transformation and upgrade requirements.
• Design the New Architecture: Evaluate the technical and functional requirements to define the right approach for SAP S/4HANA TM migration.
• Define Customisation Requirements: Identify redundant customisation in the existing configuration and decide if it needs to be retired or redesigned with the new configuration.
• Prepare the Master and Transactional Data: Analyse existing data dependencies and determine if data needs to be migrated, recreated, or phased out in the new environment.
• Redesign the Transportation Process: Map existing processes to S/4HANA TM standard capabilities instead of replication that does not add any business value.
• Validate Integrations: Understand the system collaboration and upstream and downstream integrations to ensure end-to-end data flow.
• Support Testing: Validate processes and integrations before go-live. This helps avoid gaps and reduce risks in the new SAP transportation environment.

Talk to Experts at SCM Champs to Make the Right SAP TM Migration Decisions Before Investing

Most migration budgets are approved before anyone knows what the project really involves. That is where the cost overruns start.

SCM Champs works the other way around. Before you sign off on the spend, the team studies your current SAP TM 9.5/9.6 system and tells you plainly what you are dealing with.

• Count what is actually there. How many custom objects, how many interfaces, how many process variants. Not an estimate, a real number.
• Show what standard S/4HANA TM already covers. A large part of your old custom work is often built into the new system. That part costs you nothing to rebuild.
• Compare embedded and side-by-side honestly. Both work. Which one fits your volume, your IT team, and your budget is a different question, and the team answers it based on your setup, not on a preference.
• Give a realistic effort and timeline. Split by phase, so you can see where the money goes and why.
• Flag the risks early. If something in your landscape is going to be difficult, you hear it before the project starts, not in month six.

You end up approving a budget you understand, with a scope that was checked first.

Avoid Carrying Unnecessary Legacy Complexity into S/4HANA TM: Know How SCM Champs Helps

Every old SAP TM system carries baggage. Reports nobody opens. Custom fields added for a customer you lost years ago. Workarounds built for a problem that was fixed long back.

If you move all of it, you pay to rebuild it, then pay again to maintain it. SCM Champs makes sure that does not happen.

• Check what is really being used. Usage data shows which objects and reports people actually open. The rest can go.
• Match old customisations against standard functionality. If S/4HANA TM already does it, the custom version is retired.
• Ask the business, not just IT. The people running transportation know which processes still matter and which ones they stopped following long ago.
• Clean the master data before it moves. Old partners, dead locations, and unused conditions are removed instead of being carried forward.
• Write down every decision. Each retain, replace, rebuild, or retire call is recorded with a reason, so no one reopens the argument later.

The result is a lighter system that is easier to support and cheaper to run.

Protect Transportation Planning Performance During Migration with Proven SAP TM Expertise 

Planning is where transportation teams feel the system every day. If freight orders take too long to build or the planning screen is slow, your team notices immediately, and so do your customers.

SCM Champs treats planning speed as a target to hit, not something to check after go-live.

• Test with your real volumes. Planning is tested with the number of orders you handle on a normal day and on your busiest day, not with a small sample.
• Tune the optimiser settings. Selection rules, planning horizons, and profiles are set up so the system works on the right data instead of scanning everything.
• Measure screen response. How long the planning cockpit takes to open and refresh is tracked and improved before users get their hands on it.
• Keep old data out of the way. Closed freight orders and completed documents from previous years are archived so they do not slow down daily work.
• Let planners try it first. Your own planning team runs their normal day in the new system during testing and tells you what feels slow.

Your planners get a system that keeps up with them from day one.

Reduces Business Disruption During SAP TM Migration: How SCM Champs Helps with Relevant Expertise 

Trucks do not stop moving because your IT project is going live. Shipments still have to be planned, carriers still have to be booked, and customers still expect their deliveries.

SCM Champs plans the switch around your operations so the business keeps running.

• Pick the right time to go live. The cutover is scheduled around your quieter periods, not during peak season or month-end.
• Plan the cutover hour by hour. Who does what, when, and who to call if something goes wrong. Everything is written down before the weekend starts.
• Rehearse it. The cutover is practised on a test system, so the real one is not the first attempt.
• Tell carriers in advance. Partners and carriers know what is changing and when, so bookings and status updates do not break on day one.
• Keep a fallback ready. A clear rollback plan is in place in case something needs to be reversed.
• Stay on site after go-live. The team is available in the first days to fix small issues before they turn into big ones.

Your operations continue, and the change stays behind the scenes where it belongs.

The objective is to transition from SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM with minimal disruption and maximum value addition.

With the right assessment, a clear migration strategy, and SAP TM expertise, organisations can reduce the complexity of existing transportation processes and adopt a system with additional capabilities that is built to handle the complexities of the future.

SCM Champs brings the right SAP expertise to help organisations evaluate, define the migration roadmap, transform, and optimise the transportation management landscape.

Make the transition from SAP TM 9.5/9.6 to S/4HANA TM structured, informed, and business-focused with SCM Champs

Unsure about your SAP TM migration? Talk to SCM Champs experts to evaluate your current landscape, build a clear migration blueprint, and transform your transportation operations seamlessly.