SMEs Must Catch Up With SAP Ariba

According to the SME barometer of the German Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), SMEs are still struggling with deficits in the digitalization of their purchasing processes - despite initial progress. In fact, even simple orders, for example for PC accessories, often resemble bureaucratic marathons. This ranges from entering purchase requisitions via email or Excel to delayed approvals and the uncontrolled payment of supplier invoices via distributed budgets. Added to this is maverick buying - i.e. purchases outside of defined processes. This leads to extra work, higher costs, errors and compliance risks. The BME SME Barometer calls on SMEs to push ahead with digitalization in purchasing as a matter of urgency. After all, increasing geo-economic competition, the instability of supply chains and economic uncertainties mean that there can be no further delay. 

Efficiency and compliance 

Central platforms that allow procurement and supplier management to be fully automated and clearly structured offer a forward-looking approach. This increases efficiency and transparency and reduces costs and process error rates. At the same time, the risk of breaches of the increasing regulatory requirements that oblige companies to comply with human rights and environmental standards along their supply chains is reduced. In addition, users, buyers and suppliers benefit from improved collaboration. SAP Ariba is a cloud-based solution that is modular and scalable and can be tailored to individual purchasing requirements. It is therefore advisable for companies to start with SAP Ariba Guided Buying. This is a catalog solution that enables end-to-end and intuitive procurement processes at the click of a mouse - quickly and conveniently, just like in an online store. Built-in guidelines and approval processes ensure that purchases comply with company specifications.

SAP Ariba opens up additional optimization opportunities in the area of supplier management. The Supplier Life-cycle and Performance (SLP) module enables structured and fast supplier onboarding and centralized master data maintenance, and supports compliance with company-wide specifications when selecting and managing suppliers. With Ariba Supplier Risk, risks can be continuously monitored and integrated directly into the procurement processes - including automatic warnings and targeted supplier segmentation according to risk potential.

Scalability with Ariba

As the company grows, SAP Ariba grows with it: The sourcing module supports the implementation of structured tenders and the objective comparison of offers. Ariba Contract Management digitizes the entire contract process - from creation and coordination to approval. Companies are closely networked with their suppliers via the SAP Business Network, which connects more than eight million trading partners worldwide. This allows processes to be significantly accelerated, risks to be reduced and collaboration to be sustainably improved. Experience shows that SMEs in particular are reluctant to implement digitization projects due to a lack of human resources and in-house expertise. Fear of change also sometimes plays a role. This is where it can help to bring a consulting partner like Apsolut on board. As an SAP Gold Partner, Apsolut has extensive expertise and experience and has developed best practices for Ariba implementation in numerous customer projects: from strategic consulting and customized architecture concepts to implementation and change management.

Procurement Bot

Apsolut can also score points with its own smart add-ons, which supplement the Ariba standard according to individual customer requirements. For example, the Apsolut Procurement Bot supports automated order creation, while the "Copilot for SAP Ariba" accelerates the creation of free text orders. Both solutions use artificial intelligence. The Apsolut eSignature Connector for DocuSign simplifies the electronic signature of SAP ERP documents.

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