SAP Community - SAP Ariba Invoice Management

Creating a Digital Thread: Streamlining Price Compliance with SAP Ariba

2024-05-07T09:27:30.807000+02:00

Price compliance is a key priority for procurement organizations. SAP Ariba Procurement offers features to ensure organizations make purchases at negotiated prices and terms. Integration between sourcing, contracts, purchase orders, and invoices is essential for adhering to negotiated prices throughout the procurement process. This blog explores how SAP Ariba products start that digital thread that creates a strong linkage for price compliance.

In our previous blog, we discussed sourcing principles for creating a fair and equitable marketplace. We recommend creating events with line items to begin price compliance. While it may seem easier to send suppliers RFPs via Excel or Outlook, line items in Sourcing offer more than you might realize.

Integration of line item details can occur at various stages post-award, directly from Sourcing to your ERP, from your Contract to ERP, from Contract to Ariba Catalog, or from Contract to Invoice. Integration depends on the integrations you enable and the buy channel that supports the goods or services requested.

SAP Ariba products integrate as a suite from S2P, and have seamless integrates to support buying from within your SAP ERP systems and the SAP Business Network, offering several benefits:

Consistency and accuracy across procurement processes.
Reduced manual effort and minimized errors.
Efficient tracking and monitoring of price compliance metrics.
Enhanced visibility into procurement spend and contract utilization.

To optimize price compliance, organizations should:

Analyze historic spend data for opportunities in buy channel efficacy.
Understand robust data integration between SAP Ariba products and SAP ERP systems.
Conduct regular audits and reconciliation of line items across procurement documents.
Provide training and guidance for procurement teams on maintaining price compliance for various buy channels.

Now that you have your Line Items ready to Award in Guided Sourcing, let’s review the various options for compliance:

Line Items in Sourcing: In SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing, line items capture detailed information about products/services, quantities, and negotiated prices. Integration with SAP ERP updates Purchase Info Records, automatically populating purchase orders and reducing errors. Next, let’s review how Ariba Contract Compliance can ensure compliance.

Transferring Price Compliance From Contracts: SAP Ariba Contracts integrates with SAP ERP to transfer price information from sourcing events to contract documents. Contract Line Items Document (CLID) aligns with sourcing line items, ensuring consistent pricing and terms, streamlining contract creation in SAP ERP.

If you would like to purchase from SAP Ariba, the Contract Terms document can create a Catalog Item for users to create POs from. Let’s review some options for Contract Compliance through Ariba Catalogs or Invoices:

Contract Terms: Integration with Purchase Orders: After a supplier is chosen in SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing, line item details go to the Contract Workspace for operationalization. Users can create an operational Contract Terms document to ensure price compliance in purchase orders. This can create a catalog item in Ariba to create a PO that complies with the terms of the contract!

For other types of contracts, it may make more sense to simply allow suppliers to submit an invoice against the contract terms. Let’s talk about Invoice against contract next.

Contract Terms: Ensuring Compliance in Invoices: Contracts can be created to ensure compliance with recurring spend without a PO. Invoices reconcile line items against the Contract Terms, detecting discrepancies and enforcing adherence to negotiated prices. This works well with services that need to happen and the time for creation and approval of a PO is not possible. These Contract Terms can allow the supplier to invoice against the contract without a PO.

SAP Ariba Suite Integration with or without ERP integration can transfer agreed upon pricing and terms from Sourcing to Contracts to Buying to Invoicing and ensure procurement objectives are achieved. SAP Ariba products offer the tools and features needed to build a solid base for price compliance, promoting accuracy, efficiency, and transparency across the procurement process.

For further discussion on enhancing your price compliance using these integration methods, please reach out to your CSP, who will connect you with the appropriate SAP resource.

Pricing Procedures in Accounts Payable

2024-05-20T13:16:23.324000+02:00

Introduction

The Blog “Pricing Procedures in Accounts Payable” is the learning outcomes from SAP INSIDE TRACK KOLKATA 2024. I have attended and participated as a volunteer in SAP INSIDE TRACK KOLKATA 2024, (27TH APRIL) and this SIT helped me to understand the different dimensions of Pricing procedures used in accounts payable. The speaker sessions of this event have discussed how the concept of Pricing Procedure has been developed in SAP and what are the core components used in defining pricing procedures in accounts payable. I have learned how pricing procedures will work in real-time business scenarios and the cruciality of configuring Pricing procedures in SAP.

Concept:

In Finance term, Pricing is the methodology to determine incurred cost components to process the finished goods and services from raw materials. In SAP, Pricing enables determination of actual value of goods and services to be produced or sold by considering all cost components.

In Accounts Payable, different cost components Base price of raw materials, freight, surcharges discounts and taxes are associated with finished goods and services production. Under Pricing Procedure, Consultant can define each and every cost component associated with Production of goods and services using SAP’s standard conditions or creating custom condition as per business requirements.

Pricing Procedures is the dynamic features of SAP MM Components that allows to consider all cost components with unique condition type and determine the net price of the goods and services.

Scope:

As discussed in earlier, Pricing is crucial methodology to determine cost associated with manufacturing or production or purchase and sales of goods and services. Hence, Pricing procedures has been used in different modules in SAP like Material Management, Sales and Distribution, Real Estate and Flexibility Management, Treasury and Risk Management and Controlling. In accounts payable (purchasing), Pricing Procedures is responsible for cost associated from procuring the raw materials to process the finished product.

Overview:

Components of Pricing Procedures

There are different key components associated with Pricing Procedures from Accounts Payable Prospectives.

Condition Type

As discussed in earlier Pricing Procedures considers different cost elements involved in procurement and production of goods and services. In SAP, every cost element has defined as unique condition type like discounts, freight, and surcharges. A unique condition type featuring below components.

Condition class: Condition class has been used as grouping functionality that allow system to control each condition type separately. For an example, Discount or Surcharge condition class allows system to group condition type having characteristics of discounting factors.

Calculation type: This is one of the crucial components of Condition type that define basis of calculation like quantity, percentage, or formula.

Condition category: Condition category allows to classify different condition type based on the nature of cost components like Base Price, Input Tax or Output Tax.

Rounding rule: The scope of rounding rule applies while small price difference has taken place in the transaction. By defining this parameter, Condition type has rounded off the value of small price difference in a form of rounding up, rounding down or commercial.

Accrual Key: It is a feature of condition type that allows to navigate a statistical condition type to determine separate accounts.

Group Condition: This feature allows to use a single condition type by multiple times in a single document.

Maintaining Condition table

This feature allows to create a Condition type by combining different fields or variables like tax code, country code, Company code, plant and other variable and same are used in Pricing procedures whenever the condition type being used in the transaction. For an example, a condition type for Tax classification might be used different key combination like Tax Code, Country Code, Plant, Business Place or Vendor.

Access sequences

Access sequences is one of the crucial controlling parameters used in pricing procedures. The key concepts of access sequences is determining the most appropriate and relevant condition record from the combination of Condition table. A single access sequence does contain multiple condition table based on business requirements. For an example, if a single access sequence has 3 different condition table, system will search all 3-condition table based on the sequence defined in access sequence.

Condition Record

In condition record, different pricing elements like Prices, discounts and surcharges has been stored with regards to Condition type for a specific timeline.

The variable maintained in the condition record has been derived via access sequence and condition type.

For an example, Condition record for Taxes has been maintained and if the same condition type getting called during the transaction, then said condition record will be applied during automatic price determination.

Calculation schema, Schema group and schema determination

Calculation schema is a logical structure that integrated with number of pricing condition used in purchasing document. This is also define a sequence or order by which different pricing condition called in a purchasing document. This configuration activity allows system to calculate subtotal, discount or taxes with the help of other parameters like calculation type, base price.

In pricing procedure, there are two Schema group, Schema group Vendor and Schema Group Purchase organization is being used and assigned with Vendor Schema Group is assigned to the purchasing data fields of vendor master record and on the other notes, Schema Group Purchase organization is assigned to Purchase organization in configuration.

By grouping different vendor and purchasing organization into a Schema group, system allow same schema calculation for every vendor or purchasing organization belongs to the same Schema group.

Schema determination is a customizing activity where Calculation schema (Procedure) is assigned to Schema Vendor group and Schema Purchasing Organization. Whenever any vendor or Purchase organization is being used in any transaction (suppose said vendor or Purchasing Organization assigned to Schema group), schema group combination is being fetched and based on the combination automatic pricing executed on purchasing documents.

Summary:

Key takeaways

Pricing is key factor that determine net value of goods and services at the time of procurement and as well as sales.
Pricing Procedures is the key features of SAP used to determine net value of goods and services by considering different cost element during procurement, production, consumption and sales
Different cost components like base price, discounts, surcharges and taxes has termed as Condition type in pricing procedure.
Condition table is the key combination of different fields to trigger pricing procedure for a specific condition type.
Access sequence defines most appropriate and relevant condition record from the combination of Condition table.
Condition record has been derived via access sequence and condition type.
There are two schema group, Schema group vendor and Schema group Purchasing Organization and based on schema determination schema group is getting triggered at the time of automatic pricing determination.

@DataTherapist MM (Materials Management) SAP S/4HANA Finance FIN General Ledger FIN Controlling SAP Tax Classification and Reporting FIN Posting and Taxes SAP Tax Compliance MM Purchasing MAN Material Requirements Planning

@SohamBhKoL

Join Customer Engagement Intiative for Embedded Virtual Card Payments for SAP Ariba Procurement

2024-06-18T12:24:22.927000+02:00

Virtual credit card payments for Vendors/Suppliers using SAP Ariba and SAP Taulia can help stretch your Working Capital by providing "FREE" credit for upto 60 days - the time between card charge and paying the Bank after card statement, and earn cash rebates reducing the cost of the purchase. Virtual card payments are better alternative to Procurement Cards - since it is single use, specific to a Supplier, specific to PO or Invoice, has a maximum amount specified to be charged and offers other payment controls to make transaction secure which can be easily reconciled with Accounts Payable (AP) transaction records.

Help us build the right product for making Virtual Credit Card payments from SAP Ariba, by joining (registering) this Customer Engagement Initiative: Embedded Virtual Card Payments for SAP Ariba Procurement and SAP Business Network using Taulia (https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#campaign/3707)

Virtual cards are becoming increasingly essential in procurement applications like SAP Ariba. Virtual cards are revolutionizing B2B payments by offering a secure, efficient, and transparent alternative to traditional methods like checks or physical cards. Virtual cards are digitally generated, single-use or limited-use credit card numbers used for specific B2B transactions. Like physical cards, they have 16-digit numbers, expiration dates, and CVVs, but exist only online. Businesses can generate virtual cards through online platforms provided by financial institutions or fintech companies. They can set predefined spending limits, vendor restrictions, tie to particular purchase order(s) or invoice(s) or purchasing transaction(s), set activation and expiration dates for each card, ensuring tight control over expenses. Once created, the card details can be used for online payments or through mobile wallets for in-person transactions. Integrating virtual card functionality into procurement applications like SAP Ariba offers a multitude of benefits for both buyers and suppliers, streamlining the procurement process, enhancing security, and boosting overall efficiency.

Depending on the source, there are varying statistics regarding B2B virtual card usage. RFI / Visa study says the global value of virtual card transactions is expected to increase from $1.9 trillion in 2021 to an astronomical $6.8 trillion by 2026 and the global B2B virtual card market is expected to reach a staggering USD 1,291.05 billion (or USD $1.3 Trillion) by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 21.15% (Straits Research).

Benefits for B2B buyers:

Enhanced security: Eliminates risks associated with physical cards, like loss, theft, or data breaches. Each transaction generates a unique number, minimizing fraud exposure.
Improved payment control: Predefined spending limits and vendor restrictions ensure compliance with company policies and prevent unauthorized purchases.
Streamlined reconciliation: Real-time transaction data simplifies expense tracking and reconciliation, saving time and resources.
Faster payments: Virtual cards facilitate instant payments, improving supplier relationships and potentially earning early payment discounts.
Increased transparency: Detailed transaction data provides valuable insights into spending patterns, helping optimize budgets and negotiate better deals with vendors.

Benefits for B2B sellers:

Guaranteed payment: Reduces the risk of bounced checks or delayed payments.
Faster transaction processing: Streamlined payment process leads to quicker funds receipt.
Simplified reconciliation: Virtual cards provide consistent data format for easier reconciliation.
Improved cash flow: Faster payments and reduced manual processing contribute to smoother cash flow management.

Don't delay – register today on Embedded Virtual Card Payments for SAP Ariba Procurement and SAP Business Network using Taulia / https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#campaign/3707 and be a part of the SAP Customer Engagement Initiative Cycle 2 in 2024!

Embracing Sustainability with SAP Ariba

2024-07-04T18:44:39.869000+02:00

Introduction

Sustainability has been defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” by UN World Commission on Environment and Development. In practical terms, it can mean the ability to manage natural resources well over the long term. Better processes & systems can help in managing today's needs without depleting resources or causing harm to the environment, economy, or society. Sustainability involves 3 main aspects of Environment, Socials & Economics.

Environmental Sustainability aims at conserving natural resources, reducing pollution, and protecting ecosystems.
Social Sustainability focuses on human rights, fair labor practices & seeks to ensure that everyone has equal access to resources and opportunities necessary for a healthy and fulfilling life.
Economic Sustainability is about creating systems and practices to balance economic development & resource use while maintaining a healthy environment.

The essence of Sustainability is to create a harmonious balance between these 3 pillars to ensure that current and future generations can thrive without compromising the planet's health or societal well-being.

From an organizational perspective, there is increasing consumer pressure on companies to target Carbon Zero Future. There are more & more regulations (like European Sustainability Reporting Standards or ESRS, Human Rights Due Diligence, Supply Chain Act Germany) to meet targets in line with Paris Agreement & COP26. Investor expectations are rising for significant Scope 3 (indirect emissions) reduction efforts. Up to 90% of a company’s environmental footprint lies in its supply chain – meaning that the supply chain represents a major opportunity for companies to further their environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives. Refer Value chain and supply chain sustainability for details.

The purpose of this post is to highlight the topic of Sustainability for discussions. It provides brief introduction to the subject, touches upon the Sustainability solutions from SAP and provides high level inputs & resources around Sustainable Procurement with SAP Ariba.

SAP & Sustainability

SAP's purpose is to help the world run better and improve people's lives with sustainability at the core. In line with it, SAP offers a wide array of Sustainability solutions for its customers to embrace sustainability effectively. Solutions span across topics like ESG reporting, Climate action, Circular economy, Social responsibility, CSRD & Sustainable procurement. With these solutions, there is an opportunity to positively influence 12 of the 17 UN defined sustainability goals. Some of the prominent sustainability solutions from SAP are as below. These are SAP Sustainability solutions focused around SAP S/4HANA / SAP S/4HANA Cloud and we talk about SAP Ariba related sustainability solutions in the next section.

Green Ledger

It is a solution designed to help businesses accurately account for the carbon they produce across their value chain. It integrates environmental data into financial processes, thus enabling organizations to manage their sustainability performance as effectively as they manage the financials. For quick product overview, refer this 3 minutes video.

SAP Sustainability Footprint Management (SFM)

This solution helps businesses measure, manage, and reduce their environmental impact along the value chain. It enables organizations to calculate and track their carbon footprint, water usage, and other environmental metrics. It is a cloud application running on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). For quick product overview, refer this 2 minutes video.

SAP Sustainability Control Tower (SCT)

It is cloud solution to help businesses monitor and manage their sustainability performance. It helps organizations to track, analyze, and optimize their sustainability initiatives & achieve goals like reducing carbon footprint, delivering on green line performance, and meeting diversity and inclusion targets. For quick product overview, refer this 2 minutes video.

SAP Sustainability Data Exchange (SDX)

It is a solution designed to enable secure and efficient exchange of sustainability-related data between businesses and their partners. It aims to enhance collaboration, compliance & transparency across the entire supply chain by enabling organizations to share and access verified sustainability data seamlessly. It is a based on SAP Business Network & built using the technical framework of GreenToken by SAP.

It standardizes data exchange by following technical specifications of the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) framework of the World Business Council of Sustainable Development (WBSCD). It also offers interoperability with other equivalent networks using WBCSD PACT standards. Companies can use SAP SDX along with SAP Sustainability Footprint Management. Alternatively, if businesses already have a solution that calculates carbon footprints effectively, they can use SAP SDX to share this data securely. For more details on the solution, kindly refer these links.

Quick Product Overview (2 minutes video)
SAP Sustainability Data Exchange
SAP Sustainability Data Exchange

SAP Ariba & Sustainability

Adopting digitalization helps in sustainability by providing the tools and insights needed to operate more efficiently, reduce waste, and make informed decisions that benefit the environment and society. For overall guidance on embracing Sustainability in procurement processes, refer this 10 minutes video.

Using SAP Ariba in itself reduces paper work and help with resource optimization contributing to sustainability. Also, with its wide range of solutions & strong collaboration capabilities, SAP Ariba can help an organization further to achieve its Sustainability goals while working with the supplier base. Additionally, new solutions & features help to take it even further. Below figure attempts to present various ideas through which SAP Ariba can contribute to Sustainability goals.

Embedding Sustainability in Source to Pay Process

Conclusion

In today's world, sustainability is no longer an option but a necessity for organizations aiming to thrive and remain competitive. SAP Ariba provides a platform to help businesses achieve business goals while integrating sustainability into their procurement and supply chain operations. It helps businesses to make informed decisions that positively impact the environment while driving economic value.

By adopting SAP Ariba, digital transformation and sustainability can go hand-in-hand. Organizations can contribute to a more sustainable world and create long-term value for all stakeholders. In summary, embracing sustainability with SAP Ariba is not just about compliance and efficiency, it's about redefining business success in the context of our global responsibility. By embedding sustainable practices into core operations, businesses can pave the way for a more sustainable and prosperous future for all. It can help the world run better and improve people's lives with sustainability at the core.

Consolidated List of Resources

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Note: Kindly refer 'Comments' for updates to the Blog Post. Also requesting readers to enter Comments with info which can be helpful to all.

Important Comments

Enhanced Continuous Quality Check for SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network Now Available

2024-07-10T16:46:41.842000+02:00

“Continuous quality checks” are individual services delivered by SAP Enterprise Support and are available with every cloud subscription. The remote-service reports help you reduce technical risks and identify areas for optimization potential, based on real-life data from your systems or solution.

The revamped Continuous Quality Check (CQC) for deployment readiness for SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network is now available. This CQC is designed to provide an SAP best practice review for key settings in your SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network instance.

View the CQC info sheet for full details.

Solutions Covered by This Service

SAP Ariba Sourcing
SAP Ariba Contracts
SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance
SAP Ariba Supplier Risk NEW
SAP Ariba Buying
SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing
SAP Ariba Catalog
SAP Ariba Invoice Management
SAP Business Network for Procurement
SAP Business Network Commerce Automation NEW
SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration NEW
SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network NEW

Key Benefits

Review current settings, use of features, and enablement of key functions.
Identify concerns, issues and potential risks prior to deployment/go-live.
Receive a detailed service report that highlights key areas for consideration and SAP best practice recommendations.
Optimize the possibility for a smooth start of production.

When to Use

Before the go-live of a new SAP Ariba implementation.
When additional solutions are added to the existing SAP Ariba suite.
As a "health check" for productive SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network systems.

How to Request

Remote Services can be requested via the new Get Support application in SAP for Me (SAP Note 1296527). When submitting your request, please select:

Product: “Continuous Quality Check & Improvement Services”
Product function: “Service request for a Cloud Solution”

If you need assistance in submitting your case, you may contact your local Customer Interaction Center (CIC).
SAP recommends service booking of six (6) weeks prior to go-live date, to allow for the delivery four (4) weeks before your go-live date and provide adequate time to review and implement any SAP recommendations (attempts will be made to accommodate requests made outside this timeframe, but are not guaranteed).
SAP will evaluate if this service is suitable for your business needs.
SAP recommends the service to be performed on the productive tenant, if not available it can be performed on the test tenant.

Achieve More with SAP Enterprise Support Value Maps

Value maps on SAP Community bring together guidance, recommended actions, and supporting resources to help you decide what to focus on next. Don’t forget you can “Request a Call” with one of our topic experts to connect you with the right enablement resources, fast. Explore how SAP technology can transform your procurement operation or make your existing software work harder for you by visiting value maps today!

Got a question about value maps, or our content?

Leverage the “ask questions” feature in the value map or email us:
sapesvaluemaps@sap.com

2408 Edition of the Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network

2024-07-31T15:29:31.880000+02:00

The Readiness@Scale team is pleased to announce that the 2408 release content and UX updates will be are available in the Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network now. This update will showcase the latest content to help you prepare for new innovations, as well as a UX update that enhances site navigation. Additionally, a new Release Checklist will be included to ensure that you are fully prepared to implement new innovations.

2408 Feature Highlights

Here are key feature highlights for the 2405 Release, make sure to check out other key features in the SAP Ariba Key Innovation Highlights Blog:

IM-1428 Master Data Overview in SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management
CIM-431 Extract Multiple PO References at Header Level
CIM-220 Duplicate Invoice Detection
SAS-318 Purchase Requisition Approvals in SAP Ariba Shopping Mobile App
ARI-20913 Supplier Risk Segmentation and Analysis
ARI-23844 Import Country Risk Score to Configure Risk Exposure
CAT-5800 Viewing Supplier Risk Level in SAP Ariba Category Management
CAT-7893 Integrate Cost Structure Data from External Market Intelligence Providers

2408 UX Updates

The 2408 Release will incorporate UX updates based on the feedback received throughout the year. On July 29th, the release navigator will now have a clean & simple homepage with side menu options for easier navigation. The new side menu has 4 different pages to choose from:

Product Specific Content: This is the new landing page of the Release Navigator where users can find updated messages and information in the welcome box, upcoming release dates from the release calendar, and current release related resources broken down by product.
General Users can find general resources that assist with their SAP Cloud Solution like SAP for Me, SAP Activate, SAP Value Maps, and more. This is also where users can find the other Release Navigators.
Get Assistance: You can find navigation tips, the community blog post for the Release Navigator, translation feature, and user feedback.
User Feedback: This is where users can provide feedback on the content being provided, suggestions on the Release Navigator, or any other feedback that one has.

Access Points

Support.SAP.com – Release Ready page

SAP Activate – Roadmap Viewer

SAP Enterprise Support Value Map - SAP Enterprise Support Value Map for Spend Management and Business Network

Making Your Impact

At SAP, we greatly appreciate your input and suggestions. You are invited to submit feedback and suggest topics to be covered through our Topic Request & Feedback Survey. This survey provides you with an opportunity to provide insights on your experience with the release navigator for Spend Management and Business Network, as well as suggestions on how we can further enhance your release experience. Additionally, we encourage you to share your feedback, thoughts, or questions in the comment section below.

Staying Connected

Follow the Spend Management and Business Network and ReadinessS@Scale community tags, and Ryan Russman to stay up to date with the latest blog posts.

Future proofing your business with procurement technology

2024-08-28T01:34:11.187000+02:00

Watch our intro video before you start

What’s Your Procurement Strategy Persona?

Please record your answers offline to define your persona

1. When it comes to choosing suppliers, your priority is:

A) Price and cost savings.
B) Quality and reliability.
C) Innovation and technology.
D) Long-term relationships and collaboration.

2. How do you typically handle contract compliance?

A) We focus on price terms and conditions.
B) We have a robust monitoring system in place.
C) We leverage technology for real-time tracking.
D) We emphasize mutual trust and flexibility.

3. What is your approach to managing procurement categories?

A) Grouping similar products for bulk purchasing.
B) Detailed analysis and specialized management for each category.
C) Using advanced software for dynamic category management.
D) Collaborative planning with suppliers.

4. In terms of supplier risk management, you:

A) Regularly review financial stability and performance.
B) Focus on diversifying your supplier base.
C) Use predictive analytics to foresee potential risks.
D) Build strong, long-term relationships to mitigate risks.

5. What’s your stance on payment terms with suppliers?

A) Negotiating the best possible payment terms to improve cash flow.
B) Ensuring fair and timely payments to maintain good relationships.
C) Utilizing technology to manage and optimize payment schedules.
D) Customizing payment terms based on individual supplier agreements.

6. How do you see the role of AI in procurement?

A) AI can help reduce costs and find the best deals.
B) AI can improve the accuracy and efficiency of procurement processes.
C) AI is crucial for gaining strategic insights and recommendations.
D) AI can enhance collaboration and decision-making with suppliers.

7. When planning for the future, your main concern is:

A) Keeping costs low and maintaining budget control.
B) Ensuring the highest quality of goods and services.
C) Staying ahead of the competition with cutting-edge technology.
D) Building a resilient and adaptable supply chain.

8. What’s your approach to dealing with supply chain disruptions?

A) Having a backup plan and alternative suppliers ready.
B) Focusing on supplier reliability and performance.
C) Utilizing advanced analytics to predict and respond to disruptions.
D) Collaborating closely with suppliers to develop contingency plans.

9. How important is it for you to integrate technology in your procurement process?

A) It’s important for cost tracking and savings.
B) It’s essential for maintaining high standards and efficiency.
C) It’s critical for staying innovative and competitive.
D) It’s valuable for improving supplier relationships and collaboration.

10. What’s your biggest procurement challenge right now?

A) Managing and reducing costs.
B) Ensuring contract compliance and quality.
C) Keeping up with technological advancements.
D) Building and maintaining strong supplier relationships.

Please review your corresponding personality type:

Mostly As: Cost Controller
Mostly Bs: Quality Guardian
Mostly Cs: Tech Innovator
Mostly Ds: Relationship Builder

If you have the same number of answers in two or more personality types, please review all of the videos related to your personalities.

Now you're a step closer towards transforming your procurement organization.

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast: Introduction to the SAP Community!

2024-09-10T17:49:06.821000+02:00

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast Series

SAP Support's Digital Strategy team successfully hosted a live webcast on Aug 22, 2024. During this live session, we covered:

Why and how you should use the SAP Community
How to get registered
Asking questions to find help
Finding and following relevant tags
Commenting & Answering
Blogs on the SAP Community
Gamification, direct messages, and settings
Where to find resources to become an SAP Community super-user!

Watch or rewatch the webcast here (17:45, English)!

Download the slides

Get registered today!

What is the SAP Community and why should you register?

SAP Community Tour

Benefits to joining with absolutely no cost:

Connect and engage with like-minded professionals
Ask questions and share your product knowledge
Participate in discussions with SAP experts
Follow topics that align with your interests and/or location
Learn and stay current on SAP products through blogs
Explore and join groups, events, and fun contests

As a user of SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network, and/or SAP Fieldglass products, check out the Spend Management content page. Here, you can Search, look through the different boards for Q&A or Blogs, see recent feed, find learning material, and more.

Why use the SAP Community for Procurement products?

There are a lot of different Support options and tools available to you, no matter how you use SAP products. Find how-to information, FAQs, Documentation, tutorials, and guided help in our Help Centers for Ariba Suppliers/ Buyers or Fieldglass users.

Getting Support from SAP is easy and useful, but there are times when you want advice or guidance from fellow users. Maybe your site configuration is unique and you want to see how other companies handle a certain site setting, or you are looking for best practices about enabling a new feature, or you're an integrated customer looking for help on multiple SAP solutions.

The SAP Community is completely free to use and offers you a vast network of users and experts!

Your turn!

Subscribe to tags to customize your experience.

Click on one of the tags from this blog directly to start following content, or Subscribe manually:

Visit the SAP Community.
Click Products and Technology > All SAP Managed Tags.
Find and click on a tag you're interested in.
Click Subscribe.

Look for all our tags starting with SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network, and SAP Fieldglass!

Ask questions for help, get advice on best practices, and consult with other SAP users and experts.

A well-written question includes:

Clear & descriptive title
Steps taken that led to your question
Screenshots & specific error messages
Specific details (product version, customizations, roles or user authorizations, etc)
Correct SAP managed tag(s) added
No personally identifiable information (vendor details, user contact information, account numbers, etc)

Share your product knowledge and showcase your expertise by answering questions and commenting.

Follow the SAP Community Rules of Engagement whenever you are participating.

See all our how-to videos

Hope to see you engaging in the Spend Management area of SAP Community soon!

Resources from the webcast:

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast Series

Check out our webcast calendar for upcoming presentations!
Did you miss a webcast? Review our archive for all past content!

How to Use Splunk for Data Analysis in SAP Ariba Applications: A Beginner's Guide. Part 1

2024-10-24T09:51:57.711000+02:00

Introduction

Welcome to the comprehensive beginner's guide on using Splunk for Data Analysis in SAP Ariba Application. This guide is divided into several parts, each providing detailed instructions for understanding the main features and functionality of the Splunk tool. Without further ado, let's embark on the journey to enhance data analysis capabilities in SAP Ariba.

What is the Splunk?

Splunk is an essential data analysis tool that plays a crucial role in aggregating data for analysis and providing logs. Particularly for SAP Ariba, it allows the monitoring of every aspect of the application processes, specifically to procurement and supply chain. By doing so, it can help in tracking and analyzing transaction data, monitoring system performance, identifying security threa, and gaining visibility into operational inefficiencies. Moreover, Splunk provides the capability to proactively identify and resolve issues, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness.

One of the key features of Splunk is that it is comprised of several different applications. These apps essentially consist of a collection of files containing data inputs, UI elements, and knowledge objects. This flexibility with different apps allows for various use cases and user roles to coexist within a single Splunk instance.

Splunk typically retains logs for a period ranging from 90 to 390 days, depending on the data center and the specific index. This ensures that the data is accessible for analysis and reference within the desired timeframe.

The Splunk access URL is determined by the SAP Ariba component and data center.

List of all Splunk and Inspector Links for every component by datacenter

It is important to note that the access to Splunk is only possible with Safeguard account and only SAP employees have access to Splunk tool.

Key components of the Splunk platform

Indexer.

Processes machine data from any source
Parses data by an organized source type (index)
This raw log data is broken up into single events
Events are stored by the index so they can be searched
Run the actual search done by user

Search Head

Allows users to use Splunk Search Processing Language (SPL) to search indexed data
Distributes the search to the Indexers
Extracts field value pairs from events to the user
Can extract additional fields (i.e. regex) or transform data (i.e. stats commands) for results before it is returned to end user without changing the underlying data
Provide tools for reports/dashboards/visualizations

Forwarder

Installed on servers where data originates
Primary way data is supplied to indexers for indexing
Splunk’s Architecture
The Cloud Health 2.0 App
The Cloud Health 2.0 App is one of the key tool within the Splunk platform, utilized by various SAP Ariba teams for analyzing application log data. This app provides support and development teams with the capability to examine log data from any SAP Ariba component
One of the distinguishing features of the Cloud Health 2.0 App is its multitude of customized, pre-extracted and calculated fields, such as AribaThread, AribaPrealm, and Community. These fields are exclusively available within the Cloud Health 2.0 app knowledge object, enabling users to leverage them in search queries.
In addition to field extractions, the knowledge objects within the Cloud Health 2.0 App encompass lookups, fields, and alerts, providing a comprehensive toolkit for effective analysis and monitoring of log data.
The app's value is underscored by the fact that utilizing these specific fields in the default search app of Splunk – the search and reporting app – yields no results unless the corresponding knowledge object exists within it.
Another benefit of the Cloud 2.0 app for users is that all dashboards and alert knowledge objects are shared across global data centers.
Main page
The opening of the cloud health signifies the importance of the application, which is prominently positioned at the top of the black Splunk menu bar. This feature is accessible from any Splunk application, providing users with ease of access. Within the aforementioned bar, users can find the application chooser, which allows for seamless switching between different apps. This centralized location serves as a convenient hub for app navigation.Furthermore, each application contains its own specific navigation features within the bar, ensuring a tailored user experience for each individual app.
If someone were to wish to run a simple, ad hoc search, they could do so by clicking on the search button. This action would subsequently open the search screen in a new tab, displaying a page with the desired results. Users can then input their search criteria into the search bar, beginning with "index equals," followed by the specified index. In some cases, users may also be searching for a specific string of text.
Upon running the search and obtaining results, a bar chart depicting the event timeline will be displayed. This chart effectively illustrates the distribution of events across time intervals. The specific timing of these intervals will adjust dynamically depending on the length of the chosen time frame for the search.
Each individual result is considered an event, with different fields and values attributed to each one. For example, the "host" field is accompanied by a corresponding value. Additionally, there are various job functions located on the top right-hand side of the page.

Search example

The time zone displayed for specific events is based on user preferences and can be adjusted according to individual needs. To do so, simply click on your name, navigate to the preferences section, then select the global settings and change the time zone as desired. This allows users to ensure events and appointments are accurately reflected in their own local time.

Timezone

Search Assistant

The search assistant is a helpful tool that offers various selections and options for completing a search. Users have the ability to select a term from a list, continue typing, and choose between default, compact, or full view. To access or deactivate the search assistant, users must click on their name, navigate to preferences, select SPL editor, and then the search assistant.

Preferences

The compact mode provides command information as users type and displays the last five queries for quick selection. In full mode, the display provides more information and includes more text as well as examples. However, the choice of which view to use ultimately depends on the user's preference.

Search Assistant Compact Mode

Search Assistant Full mode

The next topic for consideration is the selection of time in the Search feature. When it comes to selecting the time, there are several different options available. One option is to select the time from a time picker. Another option is that real-time search is only allowed for Power/Admin users. Additionally, time can be defined in the search query using various options such as "earliest" or "latest." Time notation is also available, with "s" representing seconds, "m" representing minutes, "h" representing hours, "d" representing days, "w" representing weeks, "mon" representing months, and "y" representing years.

Selecting Time in Search

In order to view a specific subset of events using the search feature, users can click on a particular bar. This action filters the search results to display only the events related to the selected bar. To clear the filter, simply clicking on any part of the white space in the bar will remove it.

Search Example

Controlling the jobs allows for various options such as pausing a job while it is still running and stopping a job if needed. Additionally, the default duration for active search jobs is 10 minutes, but they can be shared with others via a URL that remains active for seven days. The search results can be downloaded in different formats such as CSV, JSON, XML, or raw text. There are three different search modes available: fast, which only returns default field data or any required fields for the search; verbose, which returns a large amount of data and may impact search performance if used for large queries; and smart, which recommends field discovery for searches and adds new fields if Splunk determines there is enough data to add them. The smart mode also does not provide event or field data for stats searches. Overall, these options provide flexibility and control in managing search jobs and their results.

Controlling Jobs

In order to access previous job and search history, users can click on the activity section and view jobs by the owner application or status. The search history can be found at the bottom of the search page, where users can expand and view their previous searches. This feature is particularly useful for users who may have forgotten to save a query they ran a few days ago. The search history page is designed to retain data for up to 30 days, allowing users to access any searches conducted within that timeframe.

History

Conclusion

Having finished the basic overview of the Splunk tool and its main features for SAP Ariba data analysis. On next parts will continue to dive to this tool and will talk about Dashboards and Alerts & Schedulated Reports. . The aim of this guide is to be helpful and aid in making comprehensive analysis of any Ariba issues on a daily basis. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, do not hesitate to reach out.

SAP Ariba Sourcing SAP Ariba Invoice Management SAP Ariba Spend Analysis SAP Ariba Supplier Risk #splunk

What's New in 2502 - Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network

2025-01-24T21:33:36.188000+01:00

The Readiness@Scale team is excited to announce that the first release of 2025 is coming up quickly! In 2024, the Release Navigators were accessed over 90,000 times to prepare for SAP releases. Make sure to visit the 2502 edition of the Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network on January 27th for updated release content to ensure a success release. This update will showcase the latest content to keep you informed and prepared for the newest innovations. Access all essential resources in one convenient location for all of Spend Management and Business Network including What’s New Viewer, Release Blogs, Webcasts, Release Calendars, Blogs, Tutorial Videos, and more. Click the link below to easily and efficiently prepare for the 2502 Release!

SC-22437 Decommissioning of Next Gen UI for CLID in SAP Ariba Contracts: This feature removes the ability to use the Next Gen UI for CLID in SAP Ariba Contracts. Customers must use the classic user interface, available by default, to manage Contract Line Items Documents (CLID) in SAP Ariba Contracts.
Depreciation for weak TLS 1.2 cipher suite connections and enable support for TLS 1.3: Starting Friday, January 24, 2025, there will be a change to the SAP Ariba applications and SAP Business Network supported cipher suite connections. On this date, new TLS cipher suite connection security standards will be implemented; support for weak TLS 1.2 connections will end and the support of TLS 1.3 connections will begin.

Making Your Impact

Staying Connected

Follow the Spend Management and Business Network and ReadinessS@Scale community tags, and Ryan Russman to stay up to date with the latest blog posts.

Meet the SAP BTP Services for Spend: SAP Build

2025-02-03T23:33:28.774000+01:00

Welcome to 2025! Near the end of last year, I got to speak about SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) at Spend Connect Live and Virtual and was able to hear from customers firsthand. There were a lot of questions surrounding how SAP BTP can be used for Spend, so this year I am kicking off a blog series highlighting different services offered within SAP Business Technology Platform and how it can be utilized through use cases. In this blog, discover how you can make your procurement experience with Ariba more efficient using Build Process Automation, Build Work Zone, Build Work Zone Advanced Edition, and SAP Build Code.

The Services

Before we look at the highlighted use cases, let us introduce the services:

SAP Build Process Automation handles the entire purchasing process by automating approvals, keeping stakeholders connected, and working with different procurement tools

SAP Build Work Zone provides a unified and user-friendly platform where stakeholders can request, approve, and collaborate on procurement processes, enhancing visibility and user experience. For full customization and a tailored dashboard, SAP Build Work Zone, Advanced Edition is needed.

SAP Build Code facilitates the creation of custom logic, extensions, and backend processes to support intelligent intake forms, data processing, and integration with procurement solutions, ensuring the application meets specific business needs and scales efficiently.

The Use Cases

Automate procurement ordering processes

Manual ordering processes often involve several time-consuming and error-prone processes. Using SAP Build Process Automation and SAP Build Code, you can automate the approval of purchase requisitions, build real-time visibility dashboards for procurement operations, and automate the maintenance of purchase information records within SAP Ariba.

See how Blue Diamond Growers were able to reduce tedious work, increase accuracy, and speed up processing here.

Personalized Digital Workplaces for Procurement Pros

A spend system can consist of several products, making accessing information difficult. Using SAP Build Work Zone, advanced edition and SAP Build Code, you can create a centralized location for easier role-based access to information. Gathering data from SAP Analytics Cloud, you can integrate with different procurement backend systems such as SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA and access all the required information from any device.

See our demo video and how PILLER Blowers & Compressors implemented this use case for their workplace here.

With these two use cases, you can elevate your spend processes to allow you to make better decisions and increase efficiency. To learn more, visit sap.com/btp-for-spend, and look out for the next blog!

SAP Finance and Spend Management - Cloud Onboarding Services

2025-02-13T20:08:36.655000+01:00

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new Continuous Quality Check service (CQC) specifically for Customer Onboarding! Now all customers can request a 1:1 Onboarding session covering important topics such as initial system access and s-user setup, SAP for Me, SAP Support, learning and enablement options, implementation planning, and product innovation.

This offering will be extremely valuable both to new customers looking to kickstart their implementations as well as existing customers who need a refresher. The CQC is currently available for SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass and SAP Business Network. For more information, access the one pager on the CQC page.

How Personal Spending Habits Mirror Enterprise Procurement

2025-09-23T07:27:53.148000+02:00

Introduction

When it comes to managing our personal finances, most of us intuitively follow certain steps to control spending and save more. Interestingly, these same steps closely mirror the structured procurement processes that enterprises use to manage spend at scale.

To illustrate, let’s start with a simple personal example and then see how it aligns with enterprise procurement practices.

Personal Spend and Saving: A Simple Thought Process

Imagine you want to save more money this month. You realize there are two main ways to do that:

Increase your income. ⬆️
Reduce your expenses. ⬇️

Let’s focus on reducing expenses.

This logical sequence helps you save money while still ensuring your family’s needs are met.

How This Mirrors Enterprise Procurement

At the enterprise level, procurement follows the same flow—only it’s structured, automated, and scaled to handle greater complexity.

Personal Spend Example	Enterprise Procurement Process
Classify expenses (e.g., groceries)	Spend Classification: Categorize spend into goods and services like IT equipment, raw materials, or consulting services.
Analyze where you spend the most	Spend Analysis: Identify high-spend areas and uncover potential savings opportunities.
Search for vendors	Sourcing: Conduct market research, invite bids (RFPs), and evaluate supplier capabilities.
Negotiate and select a vendor	Contracting: Negotiate terms (price, quality, delivery) and create legal contracts to formalize agreements.
Receive daily apple delivery	Cataloging & Purchase Request: Maintain supplier catalogs for easy ordering and raise purchase requests as needed.
Receive invoice at month-end	Purchase Order & Receipt: Issue purchase orders, confirm goods/services received, and match them with the invoice.
Pay the vendor	Invoicing & Payment: Process, approve, and execute payments through financial systems.

Conclusion

Managing personal finances may seem worlds apart from enterprise procurement, but the underlying principles are remarkably similar. Both rely on classification, sourcing, negotiation, purchase, and payment to optimize spend while meeting essential needs.

The next time you shop for apples, you’re not just budgeting - you’re practicing procurement on a personal scale.

Tax Code and Amount Not Transferring from SAP to Ariba – Root Cause and Solution

2025-10-07T09:21:44.576000+02:00

In some situations, suppliers are required to upload and submit their invoices directly through SAP Ariba. Once submitted, these invoices are automatically transferred into SAP S/4HANA for approval and posting.

One of the challenges we’ve identified is that suppliers are required to manually maintain the tax code and taxable amount for every invoice uploaded in Ariba. This approach is far from ideal, it increases the risk of discrepancies and inconsistencies across invoices.

In this post, I’ll Walk through a solution to address this issue and make the process more accurate, reliable, and efficient.

The issue arises from missing configuration in SAP and incomplete mapping in the integration between SAP and Ariba. Tax details are expected to be transferred through IDocs; however, in this case, the IDocs are not carrying the tax details,

It is important to note that tax details consist of: Tax code, Tax rate, Taxable amount, and Tax amount.
All of these elements must be accurately transferred and calculated in both SAP and Ariba to ensure the reliability and accuracy of tax invoices submitted by suppliers through the Ariba portal.
Any missing element could potentially lead to the tax details not being transferred accurately.

All Tax details should be transferred from the PO in SAP ERP system to Ariba automatically,

To achieve this, configuration must be done in SAP ERP and in Ariba,

In SAP ERP:

For Material PO: send Tax code, Tax rate and Tax amount under E1EDP01/E1EDPO4 and taxable amount under E1EDP01/E1EDPO5.

E1EDP01/E1EDPO4 should transfer the below details

E1EDP01/E1EDPO5 should transfer the below details

For Service PO: send the Tax code, Tax rate and Tax amount under E1EDPO1/E1EDC01/E1EDC04 and taxable amount under E1EDPO1/E1EDC01/E1EDC05

E1EDPO1/E1EDC01/E1EDC04 should transfer the below details

E1EDPO1/E1EDC01/E1EDC05 should transfer the below details

This configuration ensures that The tax code will be transmitted at the child line-item level of the PO in addition to the main line-item level.

This ensures that tax is calculated for each individual child line item, while maintaining consistency at the main item level.

Please be aware that the configuration of the Tax details at the main item level should remain as well.

The tax structure in the PO as it is sent to Ariba should be reflected as follows:

In Ariba: Mapping is not possible for this via CIG mapping tool; XSLT mapping should be done.

For the service PO: The Payload for the outbound and the pre-processed files of the PO should transfer all tax details as below

               <E1EDC04 SEGMENT="1">
                    <MWSKZ>V4</MWSKZ>
                    <MSATZ>5.0</MSATZ>
                    <MWSBT>25</MWSBT>
                </E1EDC04>
                <E1EDC05 SEGMENT="1">
                    <KSCHL>BASB</KSCHL>
                    <KOBTR>500</KOBTR>
                </E1EDC05>

For Material PO: The Payload for the outbound and the pre-processed files of the PO should transfer all tax details as below

            <E1EDP04 SEGMENT="1">
                <MWSKZ>V2</MWSKZ>
                <MSATZ>5</MSATZ>
                <MWSBT>12.5</MWSBT>
            </E1EDP04>
            <E1EDP05 SEGMENT="1">
                <KSCHL>BASB</KSCHL>
                <KOBTR>0.00</KOBTR>
            </E1EDP05>

In Ariba buyer portal: go to the supplier transaction rules and check the below options.

This ensures that while the tax codes and taxable amounts flow directly from SAP, suppliers are prevented from modifying these details when submitting invoices through Ariba

Benefits of this configuration consists of:

Removes the need for suppliers to manually enter tax details.

Significantly reduces discrepancies and rejected invoices.

What's New in 2511 - Release Navigator for Spend Management

2025-10-28T14:26:00.593000+01:00

We're thrilled to announce the upcoming innovations for our 2511 Release! Our dedicated team has been working tirelessly to ensure you stay ahead with the latest enhancements. Below you can access the Release Navigator for Spend Management and easily locate all essential resources for a successful release, feature highlights for the upcoming release, and ways to connect to stay up to date!

Over the coming months, we'll be revamping and enriching our related content to mirror the newest advancements. Currently users can still access Business Network via the Release Navigator for Spend Management, you will be redirected to the Release Navigator for Supply Chain Management. As this journey continues, SAP Business Network content will begin to migrate from Spend Management communications to Supply Chain Management communications and portals! Dive into the 2511 release details below.

Here are feature Highlights for the 2511 release for SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network. Make sure to read through the blogs to learn more about these features and ensure you are properly prepared for these updates.

Accelerated Release Cycle for SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network Add-On 1.0 for SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC (BPI-596)
AI Copilot Joule in SAP Ariba Supplier Risk (SRISK-1848)
AI Copilot Joule in SAP Ariba Contracts (SCONTR-1279)
Use of Spend Data for AI Recommendations in Category Segmentation (ARBCATA-504)
New Transactional Use Cases for Approvals and Navigational Use Cases for AI Copilot Joule in SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance (SLP-2288)
Spend Analysis Benchmarks — Company vs Industry Performance (ANALYSIS-1324)

Follow the Spend Management and Business Network and ReadinessS@Scale community tags, and Ryan Russman to stay up to date with the latest blog posts.

The 2511 release will incorporate release content updates only. With the migration of SAP Business Network to Supply Chain Management, the Release Navigator for Spend Management will continue to publish content updates but may delay UX updates to help minimize disruption to customers and partners.

Support.SAP.com – Release Ready page

SAP Activate – Roadmap Viewer

SAP Enterprise Support Value Map - SAP Enterprise Support Value Map for Spend Management and Business Network

Making Your Impact

Everything My Mom Taught Me about Change Management for AI in Procurement

2025-11-21T18:17:30.361000+01:00

A Story about Change Done Right

Growing up, our dinner table conversations were a mix of stories about our day. My dad, a computer programmer for a large tech company, would talk about coding languages and mainframes, while my mom would share stories about her accounting role at a regional office for a global organization. Back then, I found myself leaning in whenever she talked about big changes happening at her office.

What struck me, even as a kid, was a clear pattern: when changes were significant, her leadership team went above and beyond to make the office environment collaborative and supportive. They held town halls, brought in specialized trainers, and one memorable summer they even had an ice cream truck visit the office every Friday.

I realize now that her leadership team understood something fundamental, which is that successful change management isn’t just about rolling out new tools, it’s about considering the human impact. My mom happily worked for that organization for years and even recruited me to intern there. That’s the power of thoughtful change management.

So how can you model what my mom experienced when implementing AI in SAP Ariba or SAP Fieldglass? Let's look at the playbook.

Clear Communications: Everyone Deserves to Know the “Why”

The first lesson from my mom's experience was transparency. Her leadership team didn't just announce changes, they explained the "why" behind their decisions and created multiple ways for employees to understand and engage.

When you're implementing AI in procurement, develop a robust communication strategy that addresses where you're deploying it and the rationale behind those choices. Maybe you’re:

Rolling out the AI-assisted SAP Ariba Category Management solution because it saves your team multiple hours per week by automating category analysis, enabling them to become strategic advisors with better data and faster identification of new business opportunities.
Piloting intelligent resume analysis in SAP Fieldglass because it highlights top talent for hiring managers, giving them more time to focus on their core responsibilities while gaining a competitive advantage in talent acquisition.

Be upfront about your reasoning. Use multiple communication channels that feel natural to your organization. Town halls work well for big-picture strategy and allowing open questions. "Ask Me Anything" sessions give employees a safe space to voice concerns. But don't stop there - weave updates into established channels like company newsletters, team meetings, and other standardized communications your teams already utilize and trust.

Most importantly, identify and leverage internal champions early in your communication strategy. These trusted team members can help translate technical concepts into practical benefits and address concerns from their peers’ perspective. When your teams have questions, take the time to answer them thoughtfully. This isn't just courtesy; it's essential for adoption.

Special Training Programs: Don't Skip This Step

Here’s where many organizations stumble. They want to skip comprehensive training and assume people will figure out AI-driven tools on their own. Don’t make this mistake.

First, Get Your Data Foundation Right

Before you can train effectively, you need clean data. AI works best when the underlying data is structured, reliable, and consistently maintained, but many procurement organizations struggle with data that’s scattered across systems. Supplier names often vary between purchase orders and contracts and spend categories don’t align across business units. This fragmentation creates obstacles to adoption.

That’s why you need to start by explaining how AI works within your solutions. When a user sees an AI-generated recommendation in SAP Ariba or an AI-generated statement of work (SOW) description in SAP Fieldglass, they should understand which data inputs created that content and why it matters.

Then, Focus on User Training

With Joule, show users how conversational AI accesses your organization’s information and best practices, demonstrating why instant access to critical data improves their decision-making capabilities
With SAP Ariba, help users understand how market and historical data analysis creates real-time category strategy, supplier insights, and RFP recommendations, enabling them to make confident decisions and respond faster to changing conditions
With SAP Fieldglass, explain how basic project inputs generate comprehensive descriptions for both job descriptions and SOWs, so hiring managers can trust AI-enhanced deliverables while focusing on strategic workforce planning

Finally, Nurture and Support your Champions

Your champions will help drive your success and should also be involved in validating AI recommendations during pilot phases. When they can vouch for the accuracy and usefulness of AI-generated insights, your solutions will be more impactful and their endorsement will carry a lot of weight, just like my mom’s feedback did at her organization. Keep your champions engaged by recognizing their contributions publicly, providing them with exclusive previews of new features, and regularly asking them for their input on product improvements. Personalized attention helps maintain their enthusiasm and advocacy.

Your team won't automatically love new features just because they're AI-driven. You need to train them properly, communicate quick wins clearly, and continuously drive adoption.

Ice Cream for Everyone: The Human Element Matters

That summer, my mom made it her mission to try every flavor from that ice cream truck. She’d come home excited to tell us about both the ice cream and the wins, big and small, that her team was racking up with their new processes. And the best part? The changes let her spend more time digging into the more interesting, complex invoices instead of processing the easy ones that were never flagged.

The small gestures mattered as much as the robust communication plans and training programs, creating an environment where change felt celebratory rather than threatening.

Don't underestimate the human element that comes with any significant change. While AI-enabled solutions like SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass ensure there's always a human in the loop, people still feel natural apprehension about adopting tools that are designed to drive efficiency. They wonder if their expertise will still be valued, if their jobs will change, or if they'll be able to master new ways of working.

Address this directly by highlighting how AI creates opportunities for greater visibility and strategic impact. For example:

Joule eliminates information bottlenecks by making information conversationally accessible. It puts details like purchasing insights and hiring best practices at users’ fingertips.

Sourcing and Bid Analysis Agents in SAP Ariba solutions reduce decision-making stress and increase agility by analyzing market and historical data to create and adapt RFPs in real time. This gives users confidence in purchasing decisions and faster responses to supply chain disruptions while freeing them to focus on negotiations and relationship building.

The SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management solution elevates user roles by automating invoice processing where key thresholds are met. This reduces manual data entry so teams can focus on high-value exception management and build stronger vendor relationships.

AI-assisted SOW creation tools in SAP Fieldglass applications streamline project planning by generating comprehensive descriptions from basic project inputs, enabling hiring managers to create detailed SOWs faster. The tools also drive consistency across templates and projects, which helps users shift from administrative workforce management to strategic talent optimization.

The key is showing employees that AI elevates their expertise rather than replacing it, much like how my mom's new systems and processes made her work more strategic and less manual.

Change Management Best Practices Actually Work

Successful AI adoption follows the same change management approach that worked for my mom's organization years ago: clear communication, comprehensive training, genuine support, and celebration of progress. It’s a timeless template for transformation.

Communicate clearly and frequently about what's changing and why.

Invest in comprehensive training that's tailored for all skill levels.

Create opportunities for feedback and iteration.

Acknowledge that change is challenging and provide support.

Most importantly, keep the human experience at the center of your implementation strategy. Technology should make people's work more interesting and valuable, not more complicated or uncertain.

When procurement professionals can spend less time on data compilation and more time on strategic initiatives, have better insights to inform negotiations, and respond more quickly to business needs — that's when AI becomes fun and transformational.

By getting this right, you ensure that your teams won't just adopt AI, they'll become advocates for it. They’ll share success stories and help scale the transformation across your organization, and they'll talk about how much fun they’re having at the dinner table, just like my mom did.

Ready to optimize your company's approach to AI? Check out the AI-based solutions that are already embedded in your SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass applications on our SAP Business AI for procurement webpage.

Achieving Best-in-Class Invoice Exception KPIs in SAP Ariba Buying & Invoicing

2025-11-24T21:26:12.387000+01:00

One of the clearest indicators of efficiency in an AP organization is the percentage of invoices that can be processed without an exception. Best-in-class performers consistently achieve 85–90% (or higher) invoice-throughput with zero exceptions. Many SAP Ariba customers operate far below that—often without realizing how much time, cost, and user frustration gets tied up in exception handling.

As part of the SAP Ariba Solution Value Advisory team, we work with customers every day to improve adoption and unlock measurable business value. And one consistent theme we see?
Within SAP Ariba Buying & Invoicing or SAP Ariba Invoice Management, when the “invoices without exceptions” KPI is low, it’s usually a sign that key reporting insights or powerful configuration options aren’t being fully leveraged. Many customers set these tolerances and exception rules at their go-live and never revisit them—even as their supplier base, purchasing patterns, and business priorities evolve. The good news is that by analyzing the right reports and adjusting targeted configuration settings, this KPI can be improved quickly and sustainably.

Let’s walk through why this matters, what you should measure, and how to improve it using SAP Ariba best practices.

Why This KPI Matters

Improving your exception-free invoice rate isn’t just about efficiency—it directly impacts:

1. Faster Invoice Cycle Times

Fewer exceptions mean fewer delays. Suppliers get paid quicker. AP teams get out of firefighting mode.

2. Stronger Supplier Relationships

Consistent processing builds trust, predictability, and reduces the back-and-forth inquiries.

3. Lower Operating Cost

Exception handling is expensive. Every unnecessary rework loop adds labor hours.

4. Better User Experience

Buyers, receivers, and AP processors spend less time resolving issues and more time on strategic work.

5. Clean Data Feeding Analytics & Automation

A cleaner invoice process unlocks more opportunities for automation, validations, and future optimization.

Step 1: Measure What’s Really Happening

Before solving problems, you need a clear look at them.

I always recommend customers start by running the following in SAP Ariba:

Exception Reports by:

Exception type
Supplier
Commodity

This gives a precise view of where your exceptions are coming from. Often, 80% of issues originate from 10–15 suppliers or a handful of commodities.

This becomes your roadmap.

How to create a custom SAP Ariba Analytical Report for Invoice Exception by Supplier

Create an Analytical Report

Name it "Invoice Exceptions by Supplier

1. Choose "Invoice Exceptions" as the Main Fact

2. Choose "Invoice" as the Second Fact

3. Choose the Measure "Invoice with Exception Count"

on the 2nd page of the report creation

4. Choose "ERP Supplier" from the Invoice Exception Fact as a Row Field

5. Choose "Invoice ID" from the Invoice Exception Fact and "Commodity L2" (Choose the level you desire) from the Invoice Fact as Data Fields

Run the report

6. Expand "[Invoice Exceptions] Invoice Exception Type" and select an invoice exception to see how many was raised for each supplier.

How to create a custom SAP Ariba Analytical Report for Invoice Exception by Commodity

Create an Analytical Report

Name it "Invoice Exceptions by Commodity

1. Choose "Invoice Exceptions" as the Main Fact

2. Choose "Invoice" as the Second Fact

3. Choose the Measure "Invoice with Exception Count"

on the 2nd page of the report creation

4. Choose "Commodity L2" (Choose the level you desire) from the Invoice Exception Fact as a Row Field

5. Choose "Invoice ID" from the Invoice Exception Fact and "ERP Supplier" from the Invoice Fact as Data Fields

Run the report

6. Expand "[Invoice Exceptions] Invoice Exception Type" and select an invoice exception to see how many was raised for each Commodity L2.

Interpret the Results and Identify Where to Act

Once you’ve run your exception reports by supplier and commodity, the real value comes from how you use the findings. This is where customers often unlock quick wins.

Start by reviewing:

Which suppliers generate the highest number of exceptions
Which commodities consistently trigger the same exception types
Patterns across PO types or line items

In most organizations, a small group of suppliers or categories is responsible for the majority of exceptions. This makes your next steps much more focused and targeted.

Use the Data to Drive Configuration Improvements

If you see that receiving exceptions are concentrated around certain suppliers or commodities, this is a strong indicator that your receiving process may not fit how those suppliers operate. For example, many high-volume, fast-shipping suppliers (office supplies, MRO, janitorial, IT accessories, etc.) ship and invoice so quickly that end users rarely have time to receive the items manually.

This is exactly where SAP Ariba’s configuration options can help.

Step 2: Strategy & Configuration Options to Improve Your KPI

Below are the most effective levers that customers have used to reduce invoice exceptions and move toward best-in-class performance.

1. Use Auto-Receiving for High-Velocity, Low-Risk Suppliers

If you see a high volume of receiving exceptions for certain suppliers—especially those who ship quickly (office supplies, MRO, janitorial, safety, IT peripherals)—auto-receiving can significantly improve your throughput.

Why this works

Many of these suppliers ship and invoice same-day. That leaves almost no time for end users to receive goods manually. Auto-receipt ensures:

Fewer receiving exceptions
Faster invoice processing
Less burden on casual users

How to configure

Auto-receiving can be based on:

Supplier & Supplier Part Number or by only Supplier
Commodity

2. Review and Adjust Tax Exception Tolerances

Tax exceptions are common, especially in jurisdictions where suppliers calculate tax differently or round amounts differently.

How to improve

Review your current tax variance tolerances
Identify suppliers consistently triggering small variances
Adjust tolerances to realistic levels aligned with procurement policy

This can be strategically relaxed only where justified—not globally.

3. Evaluate Shipping Cost Tolerances

Shipping exceptions often occur when:

The supplier charges small shipping amounts not included on the PO
When outside a stated percentage tolerance of the invoice amount

Options

Set reasonable shipping % tolerances
Use flat-rate dollar tolerances for specific suppliers
Update templates for certain commodities where shipping is always variable

4. Leverage Invoice Exception Overrides (By Supplier or Commodity)

This is one of the most under-used but highly effective tools SAP Ariba customers have.

What They Are

Invoice exception overrides allow you to set:

Different tolerance percentages
Different dollar limits

For specific suppliers, commodity codes, or currency.

Why It Matters

Most exceptions are not systemic—they are concentrated. Overrides let you tune the system where the problem exists, without weakening global controls.

Examples

For a trusted supplier with a predictable pattern, allow a slightly higher price variance.
For a commodity where tax always fluctuates (e.g., services), apply more flexible thresholds.
Ensure to adjust amount tolerances per currency

5. Work With Suppliers When Exceptions Follow a Pattern

Sometimes exceptions are not a configuration issue, but a supplier process issue.

Consider supplier-facing improvements such as:

Reinforcing PO-Flip usage
Ensuring suppliers invoice based on PO quantities only
Updating supplier enablement documentation
Aligning catalog pricing with contracts
Negotiating tax and shipping behavior

Remember—suppliers want faster invoice processing too.

Step 3: Communicate Improvements and Track Progress

Once you’ve implemented changes, measure the impact:

Exception rate by supplier month-over-month
Top 10 exception drivers (before vs. after)
Auto-receive success rates
Percentage reduction in tax/shipping exceptions

Customers who follow this approach typically see:

20–40% reduction in exceptions within 90 days
Major improvements in user satisfaction
A measurable boost in straight-through invoice processing

Final Thoughts

Improving your “invoices without exceptions” KPI is not about relaxing controls—it’s about applying the right controls in the right places. The strategies in this article come directly from working with many SAP Ariba customers, across industries, who have successfully increased adoption and reduced AP workload through targeted process and configuration optimization.

If your KPI is below best-in-class, use this as a starting point. A few focused adjustments can create a major lift in processing speed, supplier satisfaction, and AP efficiency.

Non‑PO Invoices: When to Use Them and When Not

2025-12-01T08:12:48.476000+01:00

Invoices submitted without a reference to a purchase order or a contract are common in many organizations. For their lack of reference, they are referred as non-PO Invoices in the invoice processing systems across the AP scope.

Non‑PO invoices solve real problems but also introduce risks. In this short guide I'm trying to explain how often they are used, when they make sense, what risks they represent, and practical actions to be taken by procurement leaders.

How much they’re used

Typical usage of non-PO invoices by organizations lies in 5–30% interval of invoice volume and 5–25% of AP spend. This can differ per industry segments, but higher ratios exceeding 30% may be indicators of slow PO processes, high services spend, many small vendors, or immature procurement systems. For organizations it points to opportunities for improvements in their efficiency and compliance targets.

When non‑PO invoices make sense

There are cases, where non-PO invoices are unavoidable and include number of scenarios that can be handled without loosing control:

Emergency or safety‑critical purchases where creating a PO would cause unwanted delays
Professional services billed on milestones, time & materials, or when scope/price is agreed after work begins
(unless they are covered by contracts to which the invoices could be referring to)
Suppliers that cannot accept POs (small/legacy suppliers in challenging regions)
Very low‑value transactions where PO overhead exceeds benefit
Highly exceptional cases, when PO cannot be created, e.g. system outages, transitions, etc.

When non‑PO invoices are NOT a good practice

Sometimes organizations keep their "long term" legacy practices, because "it is so comfortable to do it our time-proven way". Many opportunities can be missed, more manual effort in the invoice matching activities is required, and organizations tend to run in circles, unable to unlock the trap.

Try to avoid the following (or similar) areas, where non-PO invoices are part of the picture:

Repeat purchases from the same supplier that should be on contract or catalog
High‑value or strategic spend where PO terms protect pricing, delivery and liability
Categories with clear opportunities for consolidation or volume discounts
Environments with known fraud or duplicate payment risk and weak AP controls

When there is an overlay between the existing structured buying channels (catalog/contract spend), or guarding commercial terms (payment/delivery/liability), non-PO invoices can be easily replaced. This will deliver efficiency improvements.

Pros and cons

Decision makers in the procurement organizations might be aware of the positive and negative aspects of the non-PO invoice practice in their purchasing processes. Here is the overview:

Pros
- Speed and flexibility for urgent or complex purchases
- Preserves supplier relationships when suppliers won’t accept POs
- Simpler for T&M or milestone invoicing for services (if tools for contract compliance/services spend are unavailable)
Cons
- Higher maverick spend, weak spend control
- Low visibility into budget, contracts and supplier performance
- Higher AP processing costs and more invoice exceptions
- Increased risk of fraud or duplicate payments
- Slower month‑end reconciliation and weaker sourcing discipline

Practical policy decisions and actions

Define acceptable exceptions
- Publish a short list of allowed cases (emergency, validated supplier, low‑value threshold, services)
- require a business justification field on every non‑PO invoice
Set clear thresholds & approval matrix
- Use amount thresholds tied to approval levels
  (e.g., Dept Manager for <500; Directorfor<5k; Procurement+Finance for larger amounts)
Automate non‑PO workflows
- Force mandatory fields (exception reason, GL code, cost center)
- Route approvals automatically, and capture justification in the AR/AP system
Monitor & report monthly
- Track count and value of non‑PO invoices, repeat suppliers, time‑to‑approval, and % of total AP spend
- Create alerts for repeat non‑PO suppliers
Convert repeat non‑PO spend
- Onboard frequent non‑PO suppliers to catalogs, negotiated contracts or a managed marketplace (SpotBuy) within 60–90 days
Strengthen supplier onboarding
- Ensure vendors used for non‑PO invoices have basic validations (tax forms, bank details, insurance) before payments over a threshold
Balance convenience with control
- Offer low‑friction PO alternatives (catalogs, SpotBuy, pre‑approved templates) to reduce the need of non‑PO invoices
Audit & continuous improvement
- Periodically audit samples of non‑PO invoices for compliance, fraud indicators and opportunities to source differently

Quick target benchmarks

How do you know, where you stand and whether you are successful in achieving your targets? You might want to use this simple guide of measurable process metrics to help you gain visibility of the non-PO invoicing process:

Healthy: non‑PO invoice volume <15% and non‑PO spend <10% of AP
Risky: non‑PO invoice volume 15–30% or non‑PO spend 10–25% — implement remediation plan
Alarm: non‑PO invoice volume >30% or non‑PO spend >25% — immediate controls, audit, and supplier enablement required

Final takeaway

Non‑PO invoices should be a controlled exception, not the norm. Make sure to limit their use with a clear policy, automate approvals and data capture, track them closely, and convert recurring non‑PO purchases into PO‑based channels where better savings, visibility and control can be delivered.

Managing Invoices with SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management

2025-12-26T07:40:54.657000+01:00

Introduction

Managing supplier invoices is much like 'heartbeat' of the Accounts Payable (AP) department. The goal mostly remains the same for all organizations: Accuracy, Speed, and Compliance. The general invoice management lifecycle follows a standard 4-step journey.

Receipt & Capture: Invoices arrive via email, paper, or digital portals. Traditionally, this required manual data entry.
Validation & Matching: Checking if the invoice matches the Purchase Order (PO) and the Goods Receipt (GR). This is '3-way matching'.
Approval Workflow: Routing the invoice to the responsible person for approval based on the department or spend amount.
Posting & Payment: Once approved, the payment process is initiated.

When it comes to SAP, there have been various invoicing solutions with their own strengths. Some details of these can be found in these posts - Invoicing in SAP Ariba & AI in SAP Ariba Invoicing - Intelligent Invoice Conversion.

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management solution is based on cloud-first approach leveraging SAP Business Technology Platform with AI-powered OCR capabilities and multi-system connectivity. It isn't just a digital filing cabinet; it is a central nervous system for Accounts Payable. It takes the 'heavy lifting' out of invoice receipt and lets the AP team focus on strategic cash flow management rather than typing in numbers. It helps the organization to move from a world of fragmented, manual tasks to a centralized, touchless cloud environment. For a quick 1 minute intro, kindly refer SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management Intro Video.

This blog post provides a comprehensive look at the SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management solution and its surrounding ecosystem. It serves as a centralized hub of resources to help understand the core concepts, evaluate the solution for business needs, and navigate the implementation process.

Invoice Management - Challenges & Need for Modern Solution

Following figure explains the typical challenges with traditional Invoice Management solutions/practices in a nutshell.

Invoice Management Challenges

The following table explains the cost implications arising out of these challenges.

Challenges & Cost Implications

Figure below explains the business drivers for modern invoicing solution.

Business Drivers for Modern Invoicing Solution

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management (CIM) - Solution Overview

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management is a cloud-native solution on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) for receiving and managing supplier invoices from multiple connected systems. The solution enables centralized invoice processing with embedded OCR capabilities, automated workflows for approvals or seeking more information, and seamless integration with backend ERP systems. Both PO-Based & Non-PO Invoices are fully supported.

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management must be connected to at least one system, but a combination of multiple system connections is also possible. The following systems can be connected:

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
SAP S/4HANA
SAP ERP
Classic Invoicing Solution (SAP Ariba Buying & Invoicing, SAP Ariba Invoice Management)

For product tour, information sheet, and pricing, kindly refer the page SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management. For complete process overview, kindly refer this 23 minutes video SAP Central Invoice Management - Deep Dive.

Prominent Solution Features:

Multi-Channel Invoice Processing: Supports invoice receipt through file upload, email extraction, structured data inbound API, and Business Network integration.
Embedded OCR Technology: Native optical character recognition capabilities for automated data extraction from paper-based and PDF invoices with drag-and-drop interface.
Centralized Workflow Management: Single worklist for accounts payable teams with visibility across all channels and streamlined processing with prioritization.
Intelligent Automation: Background verification jobs for PO-based invoices with automatic posting or manual adjustment routing based on tolerance levels.
Easy View & Navigation: Supports the display of invoice attachments in a split screen, as well as a seamless navigation to SAP Fiori apps for invoices or SAP GUI transactions from connected systems.
Access Control: Provides various options to authorize specific invoice access to different user groups.Refer SAP Help on SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management for more details.

CIM - Key Components

CIM has 4 key components as seen below.

CIM - Key Components

CIM - Integration Ecosystem

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management can be integrated with systems as depicted in figure below. Kindly refer CIM Architecture & CIM API Reference for more details.

CIM - Integration Ecosystem

CIM - Business Case

Implementation of SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management solution can help manage the challenges and bring in benefits as shown in figure below.

CIM - Business Case

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management - Process Flow

An ideal process enabled by CIM may sound like this:

Company receives a PDF invoice via email. The system automatically extracts the invoice using IRPA Bot, uploads it to Central Invoice Management, and applies OCR to extract supplier data. For PO-based invoices, the system automatically matches against purchase orders and goods receipts. If within tolerance, the invoice posts automatically. If discrepancies exist, it routes to an AP clerk for review through the centralized worklist, where they can make corrections and resubmit for processing. For complete CIM process flow, kindly refer Process Flow Diagram.

Typical stages in the process are:

CIM - Process Stages

For a quick overview of Invoice Upload and Edit process, refer this 3 minutes video. For more details, please refer SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management User Guide. A typical CIM invoicing process flow has been illustrated with screenshots as below.

CIM - Homepage

Manage Supplier Invoices Centrally - List of Invoices

You begin the process by uploading the supplier invoice, single attachment per invoice. It can be manual or can use one of the various inbound channels to automatically upload invoices. Once your invoice has been uploaded, the Document Information Extraction service is used for optical character recognition (OCR). For proper OCR processing, a minimum of 320x320 pixel image resolution is suggested.

You need to select Company Code and then upload one or many Invoice PDF files. You can upload your invoices in XML (for Germany only), PDF, PNG, TIFF or JPEG format. Invoices can also be imported from connected systems. A unique Central Invoice ID is assigned to each Invoice and we also see different Invoice Document Number from the connected system for each.

The filters 'Connected System Name' and 'Company Code' are interdependent. For example, if you select a specific connected system, the values for Company Code include data from the selected Connected System only.

Upload Supplier Invoices Centrally - Invoice PDF Upload

CIM Invoice can have 3 statuses in the app 'Upload Supplier Invoices Centrally'. They are - Draft, With errors, & Posted.

Draft: Some mandatory fields are missing in CIM Invoice and Process Step says 'Manual Adjustment Required'. Some fields can be configured to be auto-filled.
With errors: Invoice was attempted in connected system and has failed validations & needs manual action.
Posted: Invoice is successfully posted in connected system.

For each uploaded invoice, the system logs the time and date of the upload and the user who uploaded the file in the app. The system doesn’t check for duplicates among the uploaded invoices.

Upload Supplier Invoices Centrally - Uploaded Invoice in Draft Status

For invoices intended for a classic invoicing solution (e.g. invoice processing systems such as SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing or SAP Ariba Invoice Management), the file size must not exceed 20 MB (50 MB for SAP connected system).

We need to keep the page or browser tab open while the upload is in progress. You can select a new list of files to upload while the current upload is still in progress. If you enter a new company code and description, they’re applied to the newly selected files only.

The uploaded file becomes an attachment to the draft invoice. After an invoice is uploaded, it's submitted to the connected system for verification. Once you have successfully uploaded your supplier invoice, the Document Information Extraction process starts. Additionally, templates can be used for document information extraction.

Manage Supplier Invoices Centrally - Document Information Extraction

When you view an uploaded invoice, you may notice errors in the information that is extracted and displayed. You can use the Manage Document Information Extraction Templates app to edit the extraction errors in the document. For more details, refer Manage Document Information Extraction Templates.

For Peppol and SAP Business Network invoices, the Document Information Extraction process step is skipped, as the optical character recognition (OCR) and information extraction service is not required.

When using the Document Information Extraction service for the first time, the results may contain mistakes. To improve the information extraction, you must train the system using, for example, templates or other learning methods. If the confidence score of an extracted invoice field is lower than 50%, the field is not saved to the draft invoice in SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management. Document Information Extraction typically provides extraction results for an average document in about 30 seconds.

Manage Supplier Invoices Centrally - Next Process Steps

The invoice 'Process Step' and 'Status' are displayed in the invoice list and on the invoice detail page. Process step describes the current step of the invoice process that is being completed. Within SAP Ariba CIM, the process steps vary depending on whether the received invoice is intended for an SAP connected system or a classic invoicing system. Status describes the processing status of an invoice. For more details on process steps and status, kindly refer Checking Invoice Status and Process Step.

Manual Adjustment Required (Ex. Missing Tax Code)

After Manual Adjustment - Accepted-Posted

Open Invoice - Invoice in the Connected System

SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management - Implementation Considerations

CIM - Integration Scenarios

SAP Ariba CIM provides flexible connectivity options to bridge the gap between various ERPs and invoice sources. The table below explores the potential scenarios, suitable integration methods and data paths for achieving a modernized, centralized invoicing ecosystem.

CIM Implementation Consideration - Integration Scenarios

CIM - Implementation Roadmap

The transition to SAP Ariba CIM can be managed through a structured 4-phase journey. Such roadmap can align high-level strategic objectives with specific technical milestones to ensure a seamless migration. The roadmap shown below can help as a starting point.

CIM Implementation Consideration - Roadmap

CIM - System Setup

With the SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management, you can have 3 SAP Ariba Central Invoice Management tenants: one tenant for production, and up to two tenants for testing. You need to create one different SAP BTP subaccount for each of these tenants.

Activities needed to setup a CIM system have been detailed in the guides below.

CIM - Administration / Configuration

CIM system can be configured further to add new connected systems, schedule import of master data, manage document information templates, set business & validations rules, etc. Screen below shows the different config options available. Kindly refer CIM Admin Guide for further details.

CIM - Administration & Configuration

What's New in 2602, Release Navigator for Spend Management

2026-01-27T00:19:34.668000+01:00

Welcome to Q1 2026! A new year brings fresh innovations, and we’re excited to introduce the 2602 updates for the Release Navigator for Spend Management. This update is all about enhancing content maintenance, helping you stay ahead of the release!

Tool Overview

The Release Navigator for Spend Management is a tool provided by SAP Enterprise Support designed to be your central hub for understanding and managing new software releases for SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network, SAP Fieldglass, & SAP Concur. It allows you to easily locate essential resources for upcoming releases and quickly find cross-solution materials, documentation, webcasts, and more all in one tool!

New & Updated Content:

2602 What's New Viewer
2602 Early Release Webcasts
2602 Community Blogs:
- SAP Supplier Management & Risk
- SAP Procure-to-Order
- SAP Source-to-Contract
- SAP Category Management
2602 Feature Spreadsheet

2602 Feature Highlights:

SAP Ariba Procurement:

Generating Contract Summaries in SAP Ariba Contracts using AI [SCONTR-1266]
Modifying Event Duration and Searching Sourcing Requests Using Joule [SOURCE-2534]
Additional AI Copilot Joule Capabilities for Finding Suppliers, Supplier Contacts, and Supplier Management Projects [SLP-2411]

SAP Business Network:

Mass Aprove Order Confirmation Deviations [CSC-69956]
Sending Additional Address Details from TM to BN4L [FC-282]
Enhancement to Buyer Groups User Interface [NP-69370]

Innovation Schedule

To ensure a smooth user experience, the Release Navigator introduces new user‑experience updates once per year in August, alongside refreshed release content.

The Release Navigator will update automatically over the coming weeks—no action is required on your end.

Disclaimer: These dates are informational only and may change. The Readiness@Scale team has final decisions over any UX modifications.

Connect with Us

Your feedback helps shape future enhancements to the Release Navigator. We invite you to:

Complete our feedback survey
Share ideas or requests in the comments section
Learn more about the Readiness@Scale team
Explore additional content

Thank you for your continued engagement and support.

Best Run,
Readiness@Scale

SAP Enterprise Support

Month	Release Date	Version	Key Features
October 2025	Oct 14, 2025	2510	Automated Allocation of Users to Supplier Invoices Navigation from Draft Invoice to Purchase Order New Business Rules to Handle Variance in Tax Codes or Tax Amounts Notifications for Requests for Information
November 2025	Nov 14, 2025	2511	Communicating Invoice Rejection Reason to a Supplier on the Network Configure Inbound Email App for SAP Ariba CIM Email Notification for Supplier Invoice Rejection Enhanced Business Rule for Supplier Invoice Submission
December 2025	Dec 14, 2025	2512	Localization Support for India Assignment Group/User Determination by Custom Logic Enhanced Supplier Invoice Approval with Decision Tables Export of Invoice Data and Status to an External System

SAP Community - SAP Ariba Invoice Management

Creating a Digital Thread: Streamlining Price Compliance with SAP Ariba

Pricing Procedures in Accounts Payable

Introduction

Concept:

Scope:

Overview:

Components of Pricing Procedures

Condition Type

Maintaining Condition table

Access sequences

Condition Record

Calculation schema, Schema group and schema determination

Summary:

Join Customer Engagement Intiative for Embedded Virtual Card Payments for SAP Ariba Procurement

Embracing Sustainability with SAP Ariba

Introduction

SAP & Sustainability

Green Ledger

SAP Sustainability Footprint Management (SFM)

SAP Sustainability Control Tower (SCT)

SAP Sustainability Data Exchange (SDX)

SAP Ariba & Sustainability

Other Related Topics

1. Sustainable Supplier Finance

2. Solution Extension - Sustainability for SAP Ariba

3. Ecovadis

4. AI & Sustainability

Conclusion

Consolidated List of Resources

Important Comments

Enhanced Continuous Quality Check for SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network Now Available

Solutions Covered by This Service

Key Benefits

When to Use

How to Request

Achieve More with SAP Enterprise Support Value Maps

2408 Edition of the Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network

Future proofing your business with procurement technology

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast: Introduction to the SAP Community!

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast Series

Why use the SAP Community for Procurement products?

Your turn!

Hope to see you engaging in the Spend Management area of SAP Community soon!

Real-Time Support for Procurement Webcast Series

How to Use Splunk for Data Analysis in SAP Ariba Applications: A Beginner's Guide. Part 1

What's New in 2502 - Release Navigator for Spend Management and Business Network

Meet the SAP BTP Services for Spend: SAP Build

SAP Finance and Spend Management - Cloud Onboarding Services

How Personal Spending Habits Mirror Enterprise Procurement

Introduction

Personal Spend and Saving: A Simple Thought Process

How This Mirrors Enterprise Procurement

Conclusion

Tax Code and Amount Not Transferring from SAP to Ariba – Root Cause and Solution

What's New in 2511 - Release Navigator for Spend Management

Everything My Mom Taught Me about Change Management for AI in Procurement

Achieving Best-in-Class Invoice Exception KPIs in SAP Ariba Buying & Invoicing

Why This KPI Matters

1. Faster Invoice Cycle Times

2. Stronger Supplier Relationships

3. Lower Operating Cost

4. Better User Experience

5. Clean Data Feeding Analytics & Automation

Step 1: Measure What’s Really Happening

Exception Reports by:

How to create a custom SAP Ariba Analytical Report for Invoice Exception by Supplier

How to create a custom SAP Ariba Analytical Report for Invoice Exception by Commodity

Interpret the Results and Identify Where to Act

Use the Data to Drive Configuration Improvements

Step 2: Strategy & Configuration Options to Improve Your KPI

1. Use Auto-Receiving for High-Velocity, Low-Risk Suppliers

Why this works

How to configure

2. Review and Adjust Tax Exception Tolerances

How to improve

3. Evaluate Shipping Cost Tolerances

Options

4. Leverage Invoice Exception Overrides (By Supplier or Commodity)

What They Are