From free text to structure: How companies bring order to logistical master data with Loady™ and SAP® S/4HANA text IDs
A practical approach to mediating between logistics systems.
1. Initial situation: free text, fragmentation and lack of standards
In daily practice, logistical requirements are often managed in free text fields, Excel spreadsheets or PDF documents. According to one Fraunhofer IML study (2022) Up to 30% of all transport disruptions are caused by incomplete or outdated master data. In practice, this means that any manual maintenance — whether in Excel or free text fields — entails risks for operational processes and data consistency. This information is operationally indispensable — but it is barely standardized, difficult to find and cannot be used across systems.
Typical examples:
- Delivery addresses, geographical coordinates, opening times, closing or public holidays, information on check-in processes, loading times and slot bookings are in free text fields.
- Requirements for technical equipment or safety equipment can be found in emails, on websites, in word documents or PDFs.
- Driver instructions are generally carried out, e.g. via educational videos or safety tests to be carried out annually, and there are also printouts in several languages at the gate or as a PDF for download.
- Special requirements, e.g. pre-load restrictions, are provided in various formats; PDFs or Excel files with several hundred entries are not uncommon
With SAP S/4HANA, the focus is now on the need to keep this information structured and machine-readable — not just for internal documentation, but as part of a networked logistics chain.
2. Text IDs in SAP S/4HANA: An underrated tool
With so-called text IDs, SAP offers a flexible but often insufficiently used tool to structure additional text-based information.
Text IDs can be maintained on various objects — in the customer base, in the delivery or in the transport order — and thus enable relevant information to be stored in a context-related manner.
In many companies, however, they are filled manually, without a clear structure or governance.
This results in redundant data, multiple maintenance and lack of timeliness (as was previously the case in the old system).
With Loady, these text IDs can be filled automatically and based on rules — with verified, validated content that is maintained at the source and synchronized via the API.
3. The Loady Data Model: Structured Buckets as a Foundation
Loady works with a fixed, standardized data model, which is divided into so-called buckets.
Each bucket represents a topic area, such as:
- Safety Requirements and Protective Equipment
- Check-in and access processes
- Technical equipment (ramps, connections, etc.)
- Opening hours and closing days
- Vehicle restrictions
- Driver Notes, multilingual instructions or visual instructions
This structure is predefined and therefore the same for all users — a decisive advantage for making data comparable and interoperable between companies. The Loady Model follows the idea of semantic standardization: A defined data space with clear field structures ensures that even complex information — such as technical charging conditions or location-specific safety requirements — becomes machine-readable and context-related.
“The buckets are our content components,” explains Elzbieta Wiankowska, co-founder and product owner at Loady. “Customers can come up with their own formats and wording for their buckets, but they then map their information onto our structure. That is the key to standardization and quality. This allows Loady to translate between different systems, regardless of how companies have set up their buckets.”
4. Mapping: From buckets to SAP text IDs
The central step of integration is the matching between Loady Buckets and SAP text IDs.
Each company decides for itself how fine or rough they want to design this image. The matching does not have to be one-to-one, as the companies would otherwise have to develop a similar granular structure to Loady — but this is not necessary for ongoing processes. Several buckets can be combined in a text ID — grouped by recipient or process, for example.
Exemplary allocation:
5. Technical implementation: integration via the Loady API
Synchronization is done via the Loady REST API with OAuth2.0 authentication.
All validated content can be retrieved and imported into SAP via this interface. Many companies use middleware solutions such as SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI) or SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to automatically integrate Loady data into existing processes. Thanks to the API-based approach, integration is not invasive — existing SAP customizings remain untouched.
Integration follows four clear steps:
1. Define and activate the required text IDs in SAP
2. Create the mapping table for Loady Buckets
3. Setting up the API connection and authentication
4. Automated import of content into defined text objects
The result: Information that is always up-to-date, checked and consistently structured — directly in the SAP interface.
6. Best practice: Structure by data users
Projects with industrial companies have shown that structuring according to data recipients is the most efficient.
Typically, 10-12 text IDs are enough to capture all relevant information. Before companies start integrating, they should understand who the data users are. A freight forwarder needs different information than the warehouse or the internal transport planner. This logic determines how the text IDs are best constructed.
Headings, sequence and target objects can be individually defined — the content comes from Loady, in verified and multilingual form.
Projects with industrial customers have shown that a clean structuring of text IDs according to recipient categories can reduce maintenance costs by up to 50%. At the same time, transparency in transport management increases significantly because data flows remain comprehensible.
7. Governance and Operations
Loady transfers care responsibility to the source: The operator of a location or the recipient of goods maintains their requirements directly in Loady, where they are versioned, validated and approved.
The SAP system only receives approved, verified information — and synchronizes it automatically via the API.
This makes master data maintenance a collaborative process, not an ongoing internal task.
Outlook: From Integration to Interoperability
Technical integration via text IDs is just the first step. Loady's actual vision read in Universal Understanding of Logistical Data — Across System and Company Boundaries.
In a reality in which every company uses its own IT systems, processes and data models, it is neither practicable nor efficient to force everything onto a uniform structure.
Loady thus becomes a universal translator for logistical master data. Every company can continue to use their existing system — whether SAP S/4HANA, another ERP or a TMS.
Loady is a converter node and translates data formats into internal company systems. This makes data available for logistics processes, from freight purchasing to transport assignments, planning, scheduling, driver instruction and control.
Loady connects these systems together, translates their content and ensures that all parties use the same validated information.
This creates an interoperable data ecosystem that does not rely on adaptation but on intelligent communication. An approach that will shape the future of digital logistics.
“It is neither realistic nor useful for companies to adapt their systems down to the operational level just to maintain the same data structure,” says Wiankowska.
“That's why we see Loady as a neutral intermediary that respects this diversity — and yet ensures compatibility.”
Conclusion
With the integration of Loady and SAP S/4HANA, companies can move from manual data maintenance to data-driven collaboration.
Text IDs become the connecting element between system worlds, and Loady becomes a platform that brings them to life — as a bridge between companies, processes and languages.
Loadyconnects fragmented systems and bridges media gaps.
Author: Elzbieta Wiankowska, COO, Loady GmbH
