Connect, Transact, and Partner on Shared Processes Through the SAP Business Network for Procurement

To thrive in a networked economy, you need to collaborate with your trading partners across an intelligent business network. Such a network is critical for adapting to changing market dynamics and future-proofing businesses. It’s foundational for creating resilience against global disruptions and ensuring the flexibility to adapt new business models – all while doing business as sustainably as possible.

The SAP Business Network is a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform that connects people, processes and systems across multiple enterprises, digitalising transactions and creating transparent, resilient and sustainable supply chains.

Engage With Your Suppliers Through a Single Network 

SAP Business Network for Procurement enables buyers and suppliers to collaborate on both direct and indirect procurement transactions, strengthen their supplier relationships and discover new business opportunities. Buyers can gain process efficiencies with automation and standardised workflows that benefit both buyers and suppliers, achieve greater procurement collaboration and visibility and increase spend compliance with configurable business rules and network validation. This enables them to find new sources of savings and spur greater diversification within their supply base.

However, there are four individual sub-components within the network that requires suppliers to register with individually; SAP Business Network Discovery, Ariba Proposals and Questionnaires, Ariba Contracts, SAP Business Network.

Setting Up A Trading Partner Account – The Options

Trading partners, depending on their transactional document count and transactional spend with the buyer organization, have different needs and goals when adapting to a cloud-based transaction process. For that reason, SAP Business Network provides all trading partners with the option to choose between two different types of accounts: Enterprise or Standard account.

Enterprise Account

An enterprise account allows trading partners to receive extended support and truly automate their business by integrating their ERP and SAP Business Network solutions with customers to create efficiency and collaboration in end-to-end transaction processing.

• Receive extended priority support
• Fully integrate your ERP
• Get dedicated support on publishing catalogs
• Improve supply chain collaboration
• Get full access to activity reporting, KPIs, and benchmarking

Account types can be upgraded or downgraded at any time though a simple managed process

Drive Network Adoption Through Supplier Onboarding

To maximize the benefits of the SAP Business Network it is imperative to successfully onboard your trading partners. Supplier onboarding is an overarching definition of the process of registering, qualifying and enabling suppliers to transact electronically, and can be broken down into two distinct areas; Supplier Registration and Supplier Enablement.

The Five Pillars of Supplier Onboarding Excellence

Successful supplier onboarding is based on several key pillars that guide its implementation and effectiveness. It is crucial that these pillars are not considered in isolation but rather viewed as an integrated, end-to-end process. This process should be seamlessly integrated and regularly reviewed to drive continuous improvement.

 Organizations that embrace these core principles of supplier onboarding can develop a robust and efficient supplier partnership that aligns with their business objectives. This alignment drives maturity and enhances efficiency and performance, enabling organizations to optimize their procurement practices and ultimately contribute to their overall business success.

Supplier Enablement is the Cornerstone of Onboarding

Whilst ensuring that your trading partners are registered appropriately on the SAP Business Network, you will only realize the true value once they are using the platform and transacting electronically. As they famous proverb states, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.”, however effective supplier enablement will help you drive increased adoption through effective engagement and support.

A critical principal to adopt with enablement is not to treat all trading partners the same. Instead look to segment them into groups based on both your and their needs, and then adopt an appropriate enablement plan. Using a supplier segmentation approach will allow you to focus your resources more effectively, allocating both time and effort where it will produce the best returns.

Once you have established an appropriate flight plan, incorporating both the implemenation waves and the enablement approach, you can roll-out the two workstreams simultaneously.