Item: SAP Ariba
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SAP Ariba Procurement functions as a platform to manage inbound purchase orders and invoice against those orders. We are also increasingly asked to respond to tenders via SAP Ariba. Our clients typically decide when they are ready to start transacting via Ariba, and we take that opportunity to deliver additional value by offering extensive catalogue options including CIF and PunchOut. This provides additional functionality like integrated vendor configuration tools, real time pricing and reporting - all available via the customer's Ariba environment.

Pros and Cons

SAP Ariba provides extensive Order Routing options that allow us to manage inbound data flow and troubleshoot any issues without having to bother our customers.
SAP Ariba enables us to easily add additional lines of business to an existing relationship.
SAP Ariba is an end-to-end collaboration solution from a supplier point of view, providing quote or catalogue data to the client, purchase orders back to us, and order confirmation and invoicing back to the client.
As suppliers, we have a single point of contact at Ariba who assists us to drive value with the client. This partnership is unique in Australia, no other platform offers this.

Anyone can register a Supplier account. This has caused significant frustrations and confusion over the years, especially when integrating with clients or responding to tenders that are submitted to rogue accounts.
SAP Ariba allows our clients to build extrinsic fields in the cXML that require additional mapping. A much closer adherence to the cXML standard would provide much simpler and robust integrations.
Technical support from Ariba is split between the Supplier and Buyer side, resulting in painful situations when trying to resolve issues together with clients. We would really like to see a single point of contact that all stakeholders can work with (i.e. an Ariba technical contact, the client and the supplier working together to resolve a problem).

Most Important Features

PunchOut integration enables us to become part of our clients' procurement environment.
Integration options allow us to scale our offer to the client.
The Ariba Network dashboard provides a valuable layer between our clients' systems and our own platforms.

Return on Investment

After moving to Ariba, some of our slowest paying customers now pay on time, almost every time.
Over eighty percent of POs received from clients on Ariba are processed automatically.
Fifteen of our Top 20 clients transact with us via Ariba, most of them via cXML.

Key Insights

Do you think SAP Ariba delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with SAP Ariba's feature set?

Yes

Did SAP Ariba live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of SAP Ariba go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy SAP Ariba again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

SAP Ariba Procurement is very well suited to large organisations that are willing to adopt the full Ariba ecosystem. It is less suited to companies that simply want to re-create what they already have under a different name. We have experienced both scenarios and note that clients who use Ariba from Requisition to Invoice with standard data are the most successful. Clients that have to retrofit (or even integrate a different ERP) seem to have significant challenges that also affect us as suppliers.

A benchmark system that connects us to our most valuable clients and enables us to offer them a premium experience.

Overall Satisfaction with SAP Ariba Procurement