SAP Mentor Feb 27 Community Call Recap: SAP Ariba
This was a public SAP Mentor Community Call last week.
Agenda:
1. Introduction on SAP Ariba
2. Description of SAP Ariba’s Strategy and Brand
3. Ariba Cloud Applications and Ariba Network Overview
4. Q&A
Presenter: Joe Fox, SVP Bus & Dev, SAP Ariba (SAP Mentor)
Recording link: https://sap.na.pgiconnect.com/p3bttn5x3wq/
Figure 1: Source:SAP Ariba
SAP Ariba was purchased by SAP 4.5 years ago
Focuses on source to pay process
Facilitates collaboration between buyers and suppliers
4 major business processes shown in Figure 1
Figure 2: Source: SAP Ariba
Customer base are global buyers, with revenue $1B and above
Connect with vendors on network
Full of companies that have SAP and non-SAP
Companies choose to do business based on business processes/products exchange
Sellers use various technology – largest sellers to single employee service companies
Customers are buyers and sellers
Figure 3: Source: SAP Ariba
Ariba fits in supplier strategy of network
Ariba has 4K employees; it is 1/20th size of SAP
Connect buyers and sellers
Ariba is pure cloud software
Buyers – focus on procure and settle component
Supplier – allow suppliers to market to community of buyers, settle on payments
Establish collaboration network
Direct materials, indirect material, contingent labor with Fieldglass, Travel with Concur, integrated with SAP and non-SAP – open network, API technology
Figure 4: Source: SAP Ariba
Figure 4 is an architecture slide
Most companies start with an ERP software on left of Figure 4
As buyers, find suppliers to do business with them
Collaborate via Ariba network
Facilitates documents and data
Digital catalog, like e-commerce
Buyer completes requisition in Ariba, turns to purchase order to supplier that comes across digitally (less expensive)
Supplier can invoice once ship
Buyer can pay supplier
Network extension applications
Partner ecosystem
1 trillion in commerce
2.5 million sellers
Key processes are on the right of Figure 4
Ariba discovery – buyer can post a need, suppliers can supply
Digital efficiency; using digital product catalog, selecting the right price on the purchase order
Closed loop on PO to invoice- PO flip – seller to press a button to turn into invoice – invoice is generated from purchase order
Communication layer – invoice received, approved, – samples of digital messages
Figure 5: Source: SAP Ariba
2.5 million companies with over 1 trillion in business
Open ecosystem
Aspirations in 2020 are shown in Figure 5
Mission is to be innovation leader with the customer in the digital economy
Hashtag used is #makeprocurementawesome – commitment to buyers and sellers to make opportunity to do business ‘awesome’
Figure 6: Source: SAP Ariba
Figure 6 shows the Ariba journey, starting in 1996
In 1999 prior to IPO, added Ariba Network on premise
In May 2012 SAP announced buying Ariba
Under SAP, took advantage of open partner ecosystem
Quarterly release
Released SpotBuy to buy non-contracted goods
Attendee comment: “We use Spot buy internally at SAP – its awesome – If we cant find something in our shopping catalog we can source from places like eBay”
AribaPay – an expanded way for buyers to pay suppliers
Open up customers to be a crowd-sourced
Everything is cloud-only
Viewed as a new startup inside SAP, rolling out new solutions quickly
Figure 7: Source: SAP Ariba
Figure 7 shows Ariba going from an on-premise platform to a cloud platform
2007-2012 moved some on-premise to cloud, some are mixed
Sunset on-premise application; do not sell it any more
Figure 8: Source: SAP Ariba
Build, buy or partner?
Digital futures – 4 categories
AI – system communicates with you proactively (at home talk to Alexa)
Machine learning is more interactively – watch what you do, learn your patterns; noticed that you purchased x, do you need new x?
IoT – internet capable; talk from device; a product reorders itself
Figure 9: Source: SAP Ariba
Big event in Las Vegas
Figure 10: Source: SAP Ariba
Source, procure to pay, world’s largest network
Direct materials, indirect materials, MRO (all devices, tools, maintenance oriented goods),
contingent labor (with help from Fieldglass), travel, which may be Concur
Question & Answer
Q: How does the Ariba interact with your existing CRM system?
A: Ariba is a platform for buyers and sellers; CRM would be used for sellers to manage customers
Q: Can you give an overview of the services integration and Contract Management integration.
A: Services side – buyer purchase service – discovery, post RFP on sourcing tool, and go in discovery tool to open to suppliers they don’t know
Once contract established, contract management tool in the cloud to manage
Q: Does SAP Ariba work as a internal reimbursement system? Could you please show us a simple SAP Ariba process?
A: SAP system can connect directly network or employee is in the Ariba Cloud, create requisition, workflowed (integration with SAP), once approved, create purchase order, flows from Cloud to the network, copy of PO back to ERP system, invoice from Cloud to ERP, SAP approves, then scheduled for payment
Direct SAP integration may be different; employee may be inside SAP, enter PO in SAP, press send, from SAP ERP to Ariba as a PO
Q: When will the next Ariba Roadmap be available?
A: Great question; Ariba platform has a fluid ongoing roadmap – reach out to Ariba contact for roadmap – comes out for every release; typically release quarterly