SAP GTS Interview Questions

Quick Briefing:

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You will go through carefully-picked interview questions that every SAP GTS aspirant should know.

• Read the Quick Takes if you want to get a glance at the questions.
• Learn the complete guide if you have sufficient time for interview preparation.

Table of Content:

• SAP GTS Interview Questions for Beginner
• SAP GTS Interview Questions for Advanced
• Scenario-based Questions
• Interview Preparation Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions

SAP GTS Interview Questions for Beginner

These questions will help you understand SAP GTS from the basics. Making a good first impression is crucial. Achieve it by learning these questions thoroughly.

1. What is SAP GTS?

Quick Take: SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) is SAP’s customs and trade compliance management solution.

SAP GTS helps organizations manage and automate international trade and customs processes. Organizations use this tool to import, export, and transport goods between countries, ensuring compliance with trade regulations.

By leveraging SAP GTS, you can reduce regulatory risks, lower customs costs, and avoid delays in the transportation of goods.

2. What are the key features of SAP GTS?

Quick Take: The key features are customs management, SPL screening, import and export management, real-time compliance checks, and more.

• SPL screening: SPL stands for Sanctioned Party List screening. This module examines business partners against the government restricted party lists before finalizing business contracts.
• Customs management: This module helps you automate and streamline import and export customs procedures.
• Import and export management: SAP GTS connects with logistics processes and multiple government customs systems. It helps ensure efficient import and export management.
• Real-time compliance checks and controls: This platform integrates with order and shipment processes. It helps transfer compliance-related data quickly.
• Support for special customs procedures: It helps meet customs requirements, such as foreign trade zones, bonded warehousing, and the EMCS.
• Accelerated application data analysis: We can use SAP HANA as the primary database for global trade services and speed up data analysis.

3. What are preference determination and restitution?

Preference determination is the process used to determine whether goods qualify for reduced or zero duty rates. Restitution is the process of claiming a refund, reimbursement, or compensation for duties and taxes from customs authorities.

4. What is a bonded warehouse and a letter of credit?

A bonded warehouse is a secure storage facility where imported goods are held under customs control. A letter of credit is a financial guarantee issued by a bank on behalf of a buyer. It is used to reduce the risk for both buyers and sellers.

5. What is the latest version of SAP GTS?

SAP GTS, edition for SAP HANA (E4H), is SAP’s global trade software built on the advanced SAP HANA architecture.

6. What is a customs declaration?

It is the document that you will submit to customs authorities describing the nature, quantity, and value of goods being imported or exported.

7. How will you integrate SAP GTS with SAP ERP?

Quick Take: We can use remote function call (RFC) connections to integrate SAP GTS with SAP ERP.

SAP GTS is a plug-in system that you can connect with SAP S/4HANA through RFC calls.

8. What are the legal regulations in SAP GTS?

Quick Take: They are country-specific trade compliance rules that govern import and export operations.

Legal regulations help organizations to comply with international trade laws, manage customs declarations, handle export licenses and permits, and more.

They are widely used in embargo checks, screening of sanctioned party lists, product classification, and customs management.

9. What do you mean by customs product classification?

Quick Take: It is the process of assigning a customs tariff code to a product.

Product classification helps customs authorities accurately determine duties, taxes, and restrictions. It also helps with understanding the statistical reporting requirements, licensing requirements, and special duties.

10. What are the benefits of SAP GTS?

Quick Take: It improves efficiency, reduces risks, and optimizes operations.

• Improve efficiency: SAP GTS helps handle import/export customs and product tariff classification effectively, and saves costs with battle-tested strategies.
• Reduce risk: Validate all your orders against the latest compliance requirements. So you can reduce the risk of fines and penalties.
• Optimize operations: The tool accelerates supply chain processes through real-time compliance checks.

Advanced Questions - Expertise Level

The questions in this section will deepen your SAP GTS expertise.

11. How will you enable GTS system migration from ECC to S/4HANA?

We can follow the step-by-step procedure below.

12. Explain the relation between SAP R/3 and SAP GTS?

Quick Take: SAP R/3 is the enterprise resource planning software produced by SAP. It works on a 3-tier client/server architecture.

SAP R/3 is an enterprise-wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources, information, and activities required to complete business processes such as order fulfillment and billing.

SAP R/3 has a three-tier client/server structure, including:

• Presentation Layer (GUI)
• Application Layer
• Database Layer

GTS is a standalone SAP module that replaces the existing foreign trade functionality in R/3 SAP. Organizations must comply with local laws, meet documentation requirements, and understand complicated tariffs and duties to conduct business in other countries.

All master data, such as material, customer, and vendor data, and transaction data, including sales orders, deliveries, and billing documents, are transferred to GTS via an RFC call. And any message back to the Feeder system flows through the RFC call.

13. How will you configure Free Trade Agreements (FTA) in GTS?

The procedure below will help you with the same.

• Define legal regulations
• Assign countries to FTA
• Configure rules of origin
• Set BOM explosion for preference calculation
• Assign vendor declarations

14. What is the difference between Tally and SAP?

Quick Take: Tally is simple, user-friendly accounting software, whereas SAP is a full-fledged ERP.

The advantage of ERP in any industry is that it gives access to as many employees as possible, limited only by their roles.

For example, a PO is raised in the production module, but an invoice is raised in the FI/CO module. For an Invoice to be processed in SAP, there should be a 3-way match. Once a 3-way match is done, the invoice is booked. During the payment run, it is picked up, and the vendor receives payment.

15. What is the difference between Accounts Payable / Receivable and Bills Payable / Receivable?

16. What are the PO types in Purchasing and Invoices in SAP?

There are mainly 4 types of POs.

• Standard PO
• Blanket PO
• Contract PO
• Planned PO

There are different types of invoices, including:

• Standard invoice
• PO default invoice
• Credit memo invoice
• Debit memo invoice
• Prepayment invoice
• Mixed Invoice
• Expense report invoice

Scenario-based Questions

1) GTS blocks an important $5 million shipment to a customer because of an SPL hit. The customer is demanding delivery within 24 hours; they may cancel the order if it is not met. The sales team is pressuring you to solve the problem quickly. What will you do?

Solution:

1. First, explain to the sales team that bypassing compliance is illegal and will lead to reputation damage
2. Review the screening log and identify the list that caused the hit
3. Check name spelling variations and verify address details, and cross-check with the legal team
4. Notify the Chief Compliance Officer immediately and document every detail
5. Resolve the issue either by approving the shipment if the hit is a false positive or notifying management if it is a genuine hit

Best practice: You need to prioritize meeting compliance requirements over completing process transactions.

2) A company wants to export goods from the UK to South Korea under the EU-Korea FTA to benefit from preferential duty rates. Unfortunately, the Korean customs authority rejected the goods, stating that they do not qualify for preference. Your client is losing money due to duty payments. How will you troubleshoot this problem?

Solution:

• First, understand the reason for the rejection by reviewing the rejection notice.
• Review the GTS preference configuration
• Review product classification and vendor declarations
• Run preference determination manually
• Update rules of origin if misconfigured
• Reclassify and re-run preference determination
• Take preventive actions

Battle-tested Interview Preparation Tips

Technical expertise alone won't help crack your interviews. Strategy is more important than hard work. Follow these best practices to bag your dream job.

• Before the interview – Research and Preparation
  • Study the company's operations, whether it imports or exports.
  • Map the job descriptions with your skills and experience
  • Gather relevant business news related to the company
  • Be accurate with your experience, notice period, and certifications that you mentioned in the portfolio
• During the Interview - Be Confident and Leading
  • Demonstrate your skills and abilities in a strong way to interviewers
  • Speak more about your practical experience by discussing projects, workshops, and similar activities.
  • Use the STAR method while answering questions (refer to STAR)
  • Keep your answers sharp and concise
  • Ask a few smart questions, including their business landscape, successful projects, and opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read through the common questions about required skills, responsibilities, and career prospects.

1) Is it easy to learn SAP GTS?

Yes, it is easy to learn SAP GTS. If you have a basic understanding of compliance and customs management processes, it will help you learn SAP GTS quickly.

2) What are the skills required for SAP GTS consultants?

• Expertise in end-to-end configuration of all GTS modules
• Knowledge of trade compliance and legal regulations knowledge
• Integrating SAP GTS with other SAP modules
• Knowledge of import/export customs processes
• Deep understanding of SPL screening and RFC connections

3) How long will it take to learn SAP GTS?

You can learn SAP GTS in 3-4 weeks. If you continue practicing hands-on exercises, you will soon emerge as a competent SAP GTS consultant.

4) I have completed an MBA in international business. Which SAP module will best suit me to learn?

You can learn SAP GTS, as you have already graduated in International Business. By learning SAP GTS, you will become familiar with import/export compliance, customs, embargo checks, and more. It will substantiate your portfolio and build a strong career in international business.

5) What are the key job responsibilities of SAP GTS consultants?

• Understanding the requirements of clients
• Writing clear specifications for development teams
• Testing all compliance scenarios
• Troubleshooting and resolving issues

Conclusion:

We hope that these SAP GTS interview questions helped you gain a comprehensive understanding of the platform. You must have gained the necessary confidence to crack your interviews.

If you want to learn more about the software, you can enroll in the SAP GTS course at MindMajix. By the end of the training, you will acquire the expertise to become a competent SAP GTS consultant and stay ahead.

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