Ariba 14s Sourcing Release Guide

Document Version: 4 – September 2015
Ariba 14s Sourcing Release Guide

Ariba Contract Management
Ariba Sourcing
Ariba Supplier Information Management
Ariba Supplier Information and Performance
Management
Content
Enhanced Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
About This Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Changes to Existing Functionality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Functional Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
User Interface Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Backward Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
User Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Searching for Documents, Projects, or Organizations Using a Simple Free-Text Search. . . . . . . . . . . 10
Specifying Field-Specific Search Criteria for Documents, Projects, or Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Adding Permission-Based Criteria to a Project or Document Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Editing the Search Criteria of a Saved Project or Document Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Renaming a Saved Search for Projects or Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Deleting a Saved Search for Projects or Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Sourcing Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
About This Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Workflow Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
User Interface Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
User Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Creating Sourcing Requests from the Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Creating a Sourcing Project From a Sourcing Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Reporting Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
New Sourcing Request Fact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Ariba Sourcing Integration to SAP ERP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Notifications for Sourcing Requests and Projects Created from Sourcing Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Information for Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
User Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Creating a Sourcing Project From a Sourcing Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating a Sourcing Event From a Sourcing Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Awarding an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Integration with External Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

2 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Content
Site Configuration Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Microsoft Office 2013 Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

About Microsoft Office 2013 Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Ariba Web Services for Supplier Master Data Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Workflow Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Administrator Interface Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Information for Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
User Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Marking Supplier Profile Questions for Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Enabling Supplier Organizations for Data Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Administrator Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Configuring the Feature Using Supplier Integration Configuration Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Using Certificate Based Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Using Shared Secret Based Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Revision History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Content © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 3
Enhanced Search
About This Feature [page 4]
Changes to Existing Functionality [page 5]
User Tasks [page 10]
About This Feature

With the release of 14s Sourcing, Ariba will begin a scheduled, phased rollout of a new search architecture for
sourcing, contract management, and supplier management data.
This feature is available in:
● Ariba Sourcing Basic and Professional

● Ariba StartSourcing
● Ariba Contract Management
● Ariba StartContracts
● Ariba Supplier Information Management
● Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management
● Ariba Spend Visibility
This feature includes the following enhancements:
● The improved search architecture enables faster, more efficient searching than before.
● A free-text search field enables users to perform a partial word search across all searchable fields and
documents.
● Simplified search pages make it easier for users to find the information they're looking for.
The Enhanced Search feature will be rolled out to customers in phases, several customers at a time, after 14s
Sourcing is released. We will notify you three days before enabling the Enhanced Search feature for your site.
Access to your Ariba solution will not be interrupted.
The simplified search pages are available to users only after the data in the site has been upgraded to the new
search architecture.
New sites deployed after the Release 14s Sourcing general availability date that include Ariba Strategic Sourcing
and Contract Management Solutions will use the new search architecture and user interface from the start and will
not require upgrading.
Enabling This Feature
This is an out-of-the-box feature available to all customers. It requires no action to configure it.

4 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Enhanced Search
Ariba will communicate a schedule for your company's upgrade before upgrading your site.
Prerequisites
This feature is available only after the strategic sourcing and contract management data in your site has been
upgraded to the new search architecture.
Limitations
The speed of searches in pop-up choosers (for example, searching for a value in a Supplier chooser) is the same
as it was in previous releases.
While most new data that is created or updated in the user interface is available for searching more quickly than
before, some data is still processed according to a fixed schedule. The following data might not be available for 2-3
hours after the data is updated:
● Data that was updated as part of a mass edit operation

● User replacement throughout projects and documents
● Imported data
● Data updated via the Ariba Integration Toolkit, web services, and internal scheduled tasks
● Imported legacy contracts
● The default values of newly added custom fields in projects and supplier profile questionnaires, and removal of
custom field values
● Changes to project document content or attributes when searched for using a free-text search on projects;
and changes to projects when searched for using project field filters in a document search
Occasionally, a large document might not be available immediately for searching. There is no set size that
determines how quickly a document will become available.
Searching using wildcards is not supported.
Because Ariba is upgrading customer sites in phases, the existing product documentation still reflects the
previous search functionality. The documentation will be updated after the Enhanced Search feature is enabled on
all sites. Until then, information about this feature is covered only in this release guide.
Changes to Existing Functionality

The Enhanced Search feature introduces several changes to the way searches work.

Enhanced Search © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 5
Functional Changes
Most searches produce the same search results as before. However, some searches produce slightly different
results than in previous releases.
The new search architecture includes the following changes:
● With free-text search, when you enter a string to search for, the Ariba solution looks in all searchable fields for
words or groups of words that begin with the search strings you entered. The free-text search always performs
a begins-with, partial word search. Each group of characters in the search string is treated separately. For
example, if the search string is RF Proj, the results include projects and documents with a matching string
such as RFQ Project, RF Analysis Project, and RFQ Proj, but not ARF Proj.
● Searching using wildcards is not supported.
● Free-text search always includes searching document contents. Previously, users had to select the option to
include document contents.
● Free-text search is now supported in supplier and supplier profile questionnaire searches as well as in project
and document searches.
● Free-text searches for suppliers find matching organization IDs as well as matching values in all other
searchable fields. So, even though you cannot add a search filter specific to organization IDs, if you enter an
organization ID in the free-text search, the search results will include suppliers with the ID you entered.
● When searching on ID fields, users can specify a search string that is three or more characters long.
Previously, search strings for ID fields had to be at least four characters long.
● In free-text search and in most text fields, when you enter a search term, the search engine stems the word by
analyzing whether it ends in letters that might form a common suffix, and then stripping those letters out of
the search term before running the search. In English, the characters that are stripped from the end of a
search term are: e, ed, es, ing, ly, s, and y (which is changed to i).
● The NEAR operator is not supported in the new search architecture.
● Using parentheses to group criteria is not supported in the new search architecture.
Due to the changes in functionality listed in this section, search results from saved searches might include slightly
different matches than before. For example, because there is no longer an option for performing whole-word
searches, any saved searches that were configured as whole-word searches now find begins-with, partial matches
as well.
User Interface Changes

The Enhanced Search feature includes changes to the Search content item on the dashboard, all Search pages,
and the display of search results.
The Search content item on the dashboard now includes a free-text search, which searches in all fields and in
document contents. Previously, the Search content item included specific fields for searching. For example, if the
user chose to search for sourcing projects, the fields ID, Title, and Keywords were provided.

The following figure shows the Search content item in this release, along with the Search content in previous
releases, for comparison:
Figure 1: Changes to Search on the Dashboard
The following figure shows a Search page in this release:
Figure 2: The Search Page
The top of the Search page includes a welcome message with a link to a tutorial about how to search.
The following changes have been made to the Search Filter section of the Search page for all types of searches:
● The Search button is now next to the first search filter.

● Initially, the Search page includes only one filter option, a free-text search. The + and - buttons enable users to
add and remove specific fields to use as search criteria. Following are helpful hints for adding filters:
○ On Search pages, when a user clicks the + button to add a filter, the Ariba solution adds a commonly used
search filter (such as ID) to the page.

○ A pull-down menu on the search filter enables the user to select a different field. The fields are listed
according to the frequency with which they are used as filters. The most frequently used filters appear at
the top of the list. (The order changes over time to reflect the filters typically selected by the user.)
○ At the bottom of the search filter list is an Others option, which enables users to select multiple fields at
one time. The Others option opens a dialog box that lists all the available fields in alphabetical order.
● The Search Options link is now called Options. The Options menu includes the permission options and the
advanced options. Previously, the Search Options menu also included the fields users could add as search
filters. Those fields are now accessible via the + buttons.
The following changes have been made to the Search page for project and document searches:
● Previously, due to performance issues, the Search page for projects and documents included the following
pairs of options:
○ Whole word search (faster) and Partial word search
○ Search only attributes (faster) and Search attribute fields and document contents
Now, these options have been removed because they are no longer needed.
● The Permission field that used to be displayed in the Search Filter section of the Search page has been
moved to the Options menu, accessible from the Options link in the upper right corner of the Search page.
Figure 3: Permission Search Criteria

● For users with access to templates, the Display Only field that enabled users to find either projects or
templates has also been moved to the Options menu.
● The View All Saved Searches link that opened the Saved Searches page is now the Manage Saved Searches
link. This is because users can now delete and rename searches from the Saved Searches page.
● The Vault and Knowledge Areas links have been removed.
● For users with access to templates, the Templates link has been removed. Users can access templates by
selecting Manage Templates from the command bar.

Previously, the Search Suppliers and Customers page included a green section on the right side of the page, titled
Need to Find New Suppliers Quickly, which included a link to Ariba Discovery. Now, a smaller Ariba Discovery
section is at the top of the page and is titled Find new suppliers in as little as two days. The following figure shows
the Search Suppliers and Customers page in this release:
The following changes have been made to the display of search results:
● Previously, to scroll through search results, users had to scroll the table of search results within the Search
page, or click an option to enable scrolling on the entire page. Now, users can scroll the entire window by
default. The option to choose table scrolling has been removed.
● In supplier searches, users are consistently returned to search results when they click the Back button in the
browser after viewing the details of a specific search result. Previously, the browser Back button behaved
inconsistently, especially with supplier searches.
The following changes have been made in the management of saved searches:
● The View All Saved Searches link is now called Manage Saved Searches.
● The Saved Searches page, accessible from the Manage Saved Searches link, now includes buttons for
renaming and deleting searches.

Backward Compatibility
When a site is migrated to the new search architecture, users might notice a change to the filters on their Search
pages.
After the upgrade, all Search pages initially include only the free-text search option. The upgrade process does not
retain search filters that users added to their Search pages before the upgrade. For example, if a user added a
Commodity filter to the Search page for contract requests, that filter will no longer be displayed after the upgrade.
Users can choose to add filters, and once added, those filters are retained unless the user removes them, as in the
previous release.
The upgrade process retains saved searches; saved searches created before the upgrade will still be available after
the upgrade is complete. Saved searches might return different results from the previous release. For more
information, see Functional Changes [page 6].
User Tasks
Some tasks related to searching and saved searches have changed.
Searching for Documents, Projects, or Organizations Using a Simple Free-Text Search [page 10]
Specifying Field-Specific Search Criteria for Documents, Projects, or Organizations [page 11]
Adding Permission-Based Criteria to a Project or Document Search [page 11]
Editing the Search Criteria of a Saved Project or Document Search [page 12]
Renaming a Saved Search for Projects or Documents [page 12]
Deleting a Saved Search for Projects or Documents [page 13]
Searching for Documents, Projects, or Organizations Using

a Simple Free-Text Search
You can use a free-text search to perform a partial-word search across all searchable fields and documents.
Procedure
1. Perform one of the following actions:
○ In Search on the dashboard, select the type of project or document you want to search for, or select
Suppliers and Customers to search for an organization.
○ On the command bar, click Search and select All, Any Document, or a specific project or document type
from the pull-down menu.
2. In the search text box, enter the text to search for.

3. Click Search.
Specifying Field-Specific Search Criteria for Documents,

Projects, or Organizations
You can search using specific fields and criteria, rather than performing a free-text search on all fields and
document contents.
Procedure
1. Display the Search page using either of the following methods:
○ In Search on the dashboard, select the type of project or document you want to search for, and click
Search.
2. Click the + button to add a field to search on.
A field is added to the search page. By default, the first time you add criteria, the Ariba solution adds the most
commonly used field.
3. If you want to search using a different field, click the field’s pull-down arrow, and select a different field.
Selecting Others from the pull-down menu opens a window where you can select multiple fields to include.
4. Enter the value to search for.
5. To add another field, click a + button.
Clicking the + button at the top of the page adds a new field to the bottom. Clicking the + button in one of the
criteria rows adds the new field below that row.
6. To remove a field, click the - button in the row for that field.
7. After entering all the criteria you want, click Search to run the search.
Adding Permission-Based Criteria to a Project or Document

Search
You can perform a search based on the type of permission you have for a project or document. For example, you
can search for projects you own or projects you have permission to view, among others.
Procedure

○ In Search on the dashboard, select the type of project or document you want to search for, and click
Search.
2. On the Search page, click the Options link in the upper right corner, and select the permission criteria to add
to the search.
Editing the Search Criteria of a Saved Project or Document

Search
You can open a saved search to add or remove search criteria. When you edit a saved search, you can then run it,
save it as a new search, or update the existing search with the changes.
Procedure
1. Open the saved search using one of the following methods:
○ In the Search content item on the dashboard, click the name of the saved search to open it.
○ On the Search page, click the name of the search in the left navigation panel to open it.
○ Open your personal workspace, navigate to the saved search, click it, and choose Open.
2. Modify the search criteria as desired.
3. Perform one of the following actions:
○ To perform the search using the modified search criteria, click Search.
○ To save the search using the same name, overwriting the original saved search, click Save Current
Search. Review the details of the search, and click OK.
○ To save the criteria as a new search, click Save as New Search. Enter a name for the new search, and click
OK. When you save modified search criteria as a new search, the original saved search remains
unchanged.
Renaming a Saved Search for Projects or Documents

You can rename a saved search using the Manage Saved Searches link on the Search page.
Procedure
○ On the dashboard, in the Search content item, select the type of project or document you want to search
for, and click Search.

2. Click the Manage Saved Searches link in the upper right corner of the Search page.
The Saved Searches page opens.

3. Select the search you want to rename, and click the Rename button.
The Save Search page opens.

4. Modify the name of the search, and click OK.
The search is renamed.

5. Click Done to close the Saved Search page.
Deleting a Saved Search for Projects or Documents

You can delete a saved search using the Manage Saved Searches link on the Search page.
Procedure
○ On the dashboard, in the Search content item, select the type of project or document you want to search
for, and click Search.
2. Click the Manage Saved Searches link in the upper right corner of the Search page.
The Saved Searches page opens.

3. Select the search you want to delete, and click the Delete button.
A page opens, showing the details of the search you are deleting.
4. Click OK.
The search is deleted.

5. Click Done to close the Saved Search page.

Sourcing Request
A new workspace, Sourcing Request, is available in the Ariba sourcing dashboard, which facilitates any user in an
organization that has enabled Ariba SourcingProfessional solution, to request a sourcing project.
Workflow Overview [page 15]
Reporting Changes [page 18]
About This Feature
With 14s Sourcing release, a new workspace, Sourcing Request is available in Ariba Sourcing dashboard. This
workspace facilitates users who do not have the permission to create a sourcing project, to record their
requirements in a sourcing request. After a sourcing request has been approved, the sourcing manager or any
user who holds the permission to create a sourcing project, can create a sourcing project, based on the
information in the sourcing request. Sourcing requests usually contain a subset of the information used in a
sourcing project and can now include the ability to create a sourcing project from the information provided.
This is an out-of-the-box feature available to all customers in the sites that has enabled Ariba Sourcing
Professional. It requires no action to configure it.
Prerequisites
Ariba does not provide a default template for creating a sourcing request. You have to create sourcing request
templates or customize the out-of-the box sourcing request template to suit your requirements. The out- of- the-
box sourcing request template can be used only for sourcing requests that are created out of integration of SAP
ECC and Ariba Sourcing solution. If you want to use the default sourcing request template, copy the template,
rename it and also make sure that you delete the External Origin condition in the Conditions tab before publishing
it. You can also modify the team, the tasks, and any other aspect of the template to suit the approval flow and
other business requirements.

14 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Sourcing Request
This feature has no impact on backward compatibility.
Workflow Overview
Workflow of this feature is as follows:
1. User creates a sourcing request using the Sourcing Request link on the Ariba Sourcing home page.
2. The sourcing request created is routed to sourcing managers based on the header fields such as
Commodity,Regions, Departments or template conditions or the team rules functionality.
3. The sourcing manager reviews the document and approves it.
4. After approval, the Sourcing Project document appears on the Documents tab of the Sourcing Request
page.
5. The commodities and other details specified in the sourcing request are copied into event (sub-project). You
can also request approvals from users, if required.
6. If items and suppliers are included in the sourcing request, they are copied to the subsequent sourcing
projects (events).
7. After updating the event with the required details, the event is published.
This feature allows all sourcing users to record their purchase requirement in a sourcing request from which a
sourcing project can be created.
A new workspace named Sourcing Request has been added to the Common Actions panel of the Ariba Sourcing
Home Dashboard.
User Tasks
The following procedures provide details regarding the creation of a sourcing event from a sourcing request.

Sourcing Request © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 15
Creating Sourcing Requests from the Dashboard
All users can create a sourcing request from the dashboard, regardless of their group membership. A sourcing
request can be used to store event information that is propagated to a sourcing project or event created from the
request.
Prerequisites
You must have a project template for creating a sourcing request from the dashboard. When creating a sourcing
request from the dashboard, you cannot use the template provided for creating sourcing requests with the SAP
ERP integration. The template used to create a sourcing request from the dashboard must meet the following
requirements:
● The value of Origin field must be Ariba.

● The template must not have the visibility condition (Origin)is equal to(External)) (IsExternalOrigin
condition) . This condition is present in the template for sourcing requests created using the SAP ERP
integration feature.
Procedure
1. Click Create Sourcing Request from the Common Actions panel of the dashboard.
The Create Sourcing Request page opens.

2. Enter the details of your requirement.
3. Select the sourcing request template.
4. Click Create.
The Sourcing Request page opens in Full View .

5. (Optional) By default, the sourcing request contains a Sourcing Request Items document that can store
event information (rules, team, suppliers, and content. Information in the Sourcing Request Items document
is propagated to the event or project created from this request. If the sourcing request is created from the
dashboard, you can edit the Sourcing Request Items document.
Note
If the sourcing request was created from the SAP ERP integration with Ariba Sourcing feature, you cannot
edit the Sourcing Request Items document.
a. Under the Documents tab, click the Sourcing Request Items document. Select Action View
Details .
The Sourcing Request Items document opens.
b. Select Actions Edit .
The Edit Event page opens.

c. Enter a description and specify values for Base Language, Currency, and Commodity as appropriate.
Click OK.
You can enter information for the Sourcing Request Items as you would for an event, beginning with the
event rules.
6. View and submit the tasks under the Tasks tab. Click on a task name and select View Details. Complete tasks
assigned to you.
By default, sourcing requests have an Approval for Sourcing Request approval task. This task is created for
the entire request; when it is approved, a placeholder for a sourcing project becomes visible under the
Documents tab and a sourcing event can be created. By default, the Approval for Sourcing Request task has
an empty approval flow and will be automatically approved when it is submitted. If you do not want this task to
be automatically approved, edit the task and add approvers to the flow before submitting it.
Next Steps
In most cases, a sourcing subproject will be visible in the Documents tab after the approval task for the request is
approved. A user with the ability to create sourcing projects can click on this subproject and create a sourcing
project (full sourcing project or quick project).
Creating a Sourcing Project From a Sourcing Request
Context
Search for the sourcing request in the Ariba Sourcing home page. The ID and name of the sourcing request
required for search are available in the notification you have received from Ariba
Procedure
1. Open the Sourcing Request.

2. Go to the Tasks tab to review and approve the sourcing request
3. Review the documents available under the Documents tab.
4. Approve the Sourcing Request or send it for further approval.
After the sourcing request has been approved, the Sourcing Project document appears on the Documents
tab of the Sourcing Request page.
Note
The values of the fields received from the cXML document such as Company Code, Purchasing
Organization, Purchasing group, and Payment Terms are populated by default. These fields are not
editable by all users. Only members belonging to the Integration Protected Fields Editor group
can edit the values of these fields.

5. Open the Sourcing Project from the Documents tab.
The Create Sourcing page opens.

6. Select the appropriate template for the sourcing project.
7. Enter the details of the project you want to create.
8. Choose the sourcing project template and click Create.
A Sourcing Project is created.

9. A Sourcing Project is created.
You can create a quick project or a full project from a sourcing request.
Reporting Changes
A new reporting fact, Sourcing Request, is available as part of the Sourcing Request feature.
New Sourcing Request Fact
You can monitor your company's sourcing request activity with the Sourcing Request fact.
About Sourcing Request
This reporting fact is available in:
● Ariba Sourcing Professional
Source of Data
The Sourcing Request fact contains data from individual sourcing requests created in your site or in integrated
third-party ERP systems.
Level of Data
Sourcing Request data is loaded at the header level, meaning that there is one record per sourcing request.

Frequency of Data Loads and Data Retention
Your site queues a new data load six hours after the successful completion of the previous load. Because of
interruptions to data loads and staggering in data load queues, it might take longer than six hours for new data to
be available in reports. It generally does not take longer than ten hours. The data is retained indefinitely.
Access Control
Sourcing Request data is subject to reporting data access control; see the Ariba Reporting Fact Reference for
details.
Typical Uses
Business analysts run reports on Sourcing Request data to:
● Track sourcing your company's sourcing request activity

● Analyze the sourcing pipeline from sourcing request to event to contract
● Identify bottlenecks in processing sourcing requests
● Track savings performance across sourcing requests, savings forms, and events or sourcing projects
● Aggregate sourcing requests by suppliers or cost centers to discover opportunities for proactive sourcing
programs
● Compare sourcing requests and related events with supplier risk or performance metrics
Pre-Defined Measures
Measure Description
Baseline Spend The baseline spend for the sourcing request.
Project Count The number of sourcing request projects.
Targeted Savings % The average targeted savings for sourcing requests.

Row, Column, and Page Hierarchy Fields
Dimension Hierarchies
All Owners Management

Users
Based on Project... Project Configuration

Project Name
Commodity Commodity
UNSPSC
Due Date Calendar

Fiscal
Month
Year
End Date Calendar

Fiscal
Month
Year
Event Type Event Type
Is Test Project Is Test Project
Load Create Time Load Create Time
Load Update Time Load Update Time
On Time/Late On Time/Late
Organization Department
Owner Management
Users
Parent Project Project Configuration

Project Name
Planned End Date Calendar

Fiscal
Month
Year
Process Process

Dimension Hierarchies
Planned Start Date Calendar

Fiscal
Month
Year
Process Process
Project Project Configuration

Project Name
Region Region
Start Date Calendar

Fiscal
Month
Year
State State
Status Status

Row, Column, and Page Fields
Field Group Field
All Owners Cost Center

Creation Date
Is Active
Manager (L1)
Manager (L10)
Manager (L11)
Manager (L12)
Manager (L2)
Manager (L3)
Manager (L4)
Manager (L5)
Manager (L6)
Manager (L7)
Manager (L8)
Manager (L9)
Manager Id (L1)
Manager Id (L10)
Manager Id (L11)
Manager Id (L12)
Manager Id (L2)
Manager Id (L3)
Manager Id (L4)
Manager Id (L5)
Manager Id (L6)
Manager Id (L7)
Manager Id (L8)
Manager Id (L9)
Manager Password Adapter (L1)
Password Adapter
User
User ID

Field Group Field
Based on Project... Project Id

Project Name
Project Type
Project Type Id
Template Id
Template Name
Commodity Commodity
Commodity (L1)
Commodity (L2)
Commodity (L3)
Commodity ID
Commodity ID (L1)
Commodity ID (L2)
Commodity ID (L3)
UNSPSC
UNSPSC (L1)
UNSPSC (L2)
UNSPSC (L3)
UNSPSC ID
UNSPSC ID (L1)
UNSPSC ID (L2)
UNSPSC ID (L3)
Description Description
Due Date Date

Fiscal Month
Fiscal Quarter
Fiscal Year
Month
Quarter
Year
End Date Date

Fiscal Month
Fiscal Quarter
Fiscal Year
Month
Quarter
Year
Event Type Event Type

Event Type
Execution Strategy Execution Strategy

Field Group Field
Is Test Project Is Test Project
Load Create Time Load Create Time
Load Update Time Load Update Time
On Time/Late On Time/Late
Organization Department
Department (L1)
Department (L2)
Department (L3)
Department (L4)
Department (L5)
Department Id
Department Id (L1)
Department Id (L2)
Department Id (L3)
Department Id (L4)
Department Id (L5)
Origin Origin

Field Group Field
Owner Cost Center

Creation Date
Is Active
Manager (L1)
Manager (L10)
Manager (L11)
Manager (L12)
Manager (L2)
Manager (L3)
Manager (L4)
Manager (L5)
Manager (L6)
Manager (L7)
Manager (L8)
Manager (L9)
Manager Id (L1)
Manager Id (L10)
Manager Id (L11)
Manager Id (L12)
Manager Id (L2)
Manager Id (L3)
Manager Id (L4)
Manager Id (L5)
Manager Id (L6)
Manager Id (L7)
Manager Id (L8)
Manager Id (L9)
Password Adapter
User
User ID

Field Group Field
Parent Project Project Id

Project Name
Project Type
Project Type Id
Template Id
Template Name
Planned End Date Date

Fiscal Month
Fiscal Quarter
Fiscal Year
Month
Quarter
Year
Planned Event Type Event Type

Event Type
Planned Start Date Date

Fiscal Month
Fiscal Quarter
Fiscal Year
Month
Quarter
Year
Process Base Process ID

Process
Process (L1)
Process (L2)
Process Id (L1)
Process Id (L2)
Process Status Process Status
Project Project Id
Project Name
Project Type
Project Type Id
Template Id
Template Name
Project Id Project Id
Project Reason Project Reason

Field Group Field
Region Region
Region (L1)
Region (L2)
Region (L3)
Region (L4)
Region (L5)
Region Id
Region Id (L1)
Region Id (L2)
Region Id (L3)
Region Id (L4)
Region Id (L5)
Start Date Date

Fiscal Month
Fiscal Quarter
Fiscal Year
Month
Quarter
Year
Detail Fields
Field
Project Name
Start Date
Status
State
Owner
Multi-Fact Relationships
The following table shows multi-fact relationships for the new Sourcing Request fact with join fields for each fact
combination.

This fact... Joins at these [fields]... With these facts [and fields]...
Contract Request (Procurement) [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

● Form [Parent Agreement]
● Form Detail [Parent Agreement]
● Project Task [Project Id]
● Savings Form [Project Id]
● Contract Request (Procurement)
(Parent) [Project Id]
● Contract Request (Sales) (Parent)
[Project Id]
● Contract Workspace (Internal)
● Contract Workspace
(Procurement) (Parent) [Project
Id]
● Contract Workspace (Sales)
● General Contract Workspace
● Project (Parent) [Project Id]
● Sourcing Project (Parent) [Project
Id]
● Sourcing Request (Parent)
[Project Id]
● SPM Project (Parent) [Project Id]
● SQM Project (Parent) [ProjectId]
[ERP Supplier Id] ● Supplier/Customer [ERP Supplier

Id]

Contract Request (Sales) [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]
● SPM Project [Project Id]

Id]

Contract Workspace (Internal) [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

[Project Id]
Id]
● Sourcing Project [Project Id]
[Project Id]

Id]

Contract Workspace (Procurement) [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]

Id]

Contract Workspace (Sales) [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]
[ERP Supplier] ● Supplier/Customer [ERP Supplier

Id]
Event Level Summary [Event Information] ● Event Item Summary [Event

Information]
● Event Participation [Event
Information]
● Supplier Participation [Event]
[Project Id] ● Sourcing Project [Project Id]

● Sourcing Request [Project Id]

General Contract Workspace [Project Id] ● Contract Clause [Project Id]

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]

Id]

Project [Project Id ] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]
● Supplier/Customer [Project Id]
Project Task [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
● Contract Request (Sales) [Project
Id]
[Project Id]
● Contract Workspace (Procurement)
[Project Id]
[Project Id]
[Project Id]
● Project [Project Id]
● SPM Project [Project Id]
● SQM Project [ProjectId]
[Document Id] ● Document [Document Id]
Savings Allocation Details [Project Id] ● Sourcing Project [Project Id]

[Savings Form ID, Project Id] ● Savings Form [Savings Form,

Project Id]


Id]
Savings Form [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
(Procurement) [Project Id]
[Savings Form, Project Id] ● Savings Allocation Details

[Savings Form ID, Project Id]
[Document Id] ● Document [Document Id]
Sourcing Project [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
Id]
● Event Level Summary [Project Id]
● Savings Allocation Details [Project
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]

Sourcing Request [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
Id]
● Event Level Summary [Project Id]
● Savings Allocation Details [Project
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]
[ERP Supplier ID] ● Supplier/Customer [ERP Supplier

Id]

SPM Project [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
● Contract Workspace (Procurement)
● Form [Parent Agreement Id]
● Form Detail [Parent Agreement Id]
Id]
[Project Id]

Id]
SQM Project [Project Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[Project Id]
Id]
Id]
[Project Id]
[ERP Supplier ID] ● Supplier/Customer [ERP Supplier

ID]

Supplier/Customer [ERP Supplier Id] ● Contract Request (Procurement)

[ERP Supplier Id]
● Contract Request (Sales) [ERP
Supplier Id]
[ERP Supplier Id]
(Procurement) [ERP Supplier Id]
● Contract Workspace (Sales) [ERP
Supplier Id]
● Event Participation [ERP Supplier
Id]
● General Contract Workspace [ERP
Supplier Id]
● Savings Form ERP Supplier ID]
● Savings Allocation Details [ERP
Supplier Id]
●
● Sourcing Request [ERP Supplier
Id]
● SPM Project [ERP Supplier Id]
● SPQ Project [ERP Supplier ID]
● Supplier Participation [ERP
Supplier Id]
[Project Id] ● Project [Project Id]

Ariba Sourcing Integration to SAP ERP
This integration feature allows direct integration of SAP ERP with Ariba SourcingProfessional.
Workflow [page 40]
Information for Users [page 43]
Integration with External Systems [page 45]
Site Configuration Options [page 46]
Reporting [page 47]
Troubleshooting [page 47]
About This Feature

This feature enables direct integration of SAP ERP with Ariba Sourcing Professional, allowing the creation of
sourcing events in Ariba Sourcing Professional, based on the information received from the SAP ERP system.
SAP ERP Central Component buyers send RFQ documents to Ariba Sourcing through Ariba Network. An adapter
facilitates out-of-the-box integration of the RFQ documents and the RFQ results in a sourcing request in Ariba
Sourcing. The sourcing manager reviews and approves the sourcing request, and creates and publishes a sourcing
event. Suppliers bid for the event and after bidding is complete, the event is awarded, and the award is sent back
to SAP ERP Central Component. The award creates either a purchase order or an outline agreement (value or
quantity contract) in SAP SAP ERP Central Component .
This feature is available in Ariba Sourcing Professional.
This feature is disabled by default. To enable the integration of SAP ERP with Ariba Sourcing Professional please
have your Designated Support Contact log a service request and an Ariba Customer Support representative will
follow up to complete the request.
The feature is fully functional with the release of Cloud Integration 5.0. Refer to the Cloud Integration guide for
more details.

Ariba Sourcing Integration to SAP ERP © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 39
Prerequisites
● SAP PI (Process Integration) version 7.1 or later, required for mapping various integration scenarios.
● SAP ERP Central Component 6.0 version or later.
● Supplier information across Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Network, and SAP ERP Central Component has to be
synchronized while awarding the event.
● Customers using the reporting feature (available on the Reports tab) must customize the Ariba Sourcing
solution to allow rendering of new report columns to accommodate the line item entries received from the
cXML document. Perform this customization prior to enabling this feature.
Limitations
● When multiple events are created from a single sourcing request, copying of the line items to the events are
allowed only from the original (parent) sourcing request.
● The integration supports only one template and that template is used to create all sourcing requests.
Workflow
1. SAP ERP Central Component ECC sends out RFQ data required to create a sourcing project through SAP PI.
2. The adapter converts the RFQ data to a QuoteRequest cXML document.
3. The QuoteRequest cXML document is sent to Ariba Sourcing through the Ariba Network.
4. The cXML document results in a sourcing request in Ariba Sourcing. The sourcing request contains the
header-level data, line-level data, supplier data, and any attachments received from the cXML document.
5. The sourcing request is routed to the appropriate sourcing manager based on the header fields such as
Commodity, Region, Department, and so on.
6. The sourcing manager reviews and approves the sourcing request and decides the appropriate template or
method for sourcing the items.
7. The sourcing manager creates the sourcing project as a sub-project of the sourcing request and publishes the
event.
8. Suppliers bid for the event and after bidding is complete, the event is awarded to the supplier.
9. When the sourcing event completes, Ariba sends the award information back to SAP ERP Central Component
in the QuoteMessage document. The QuoteMessage document contains detailed information about the
winning bid and the supplier.
10. The QuoteMessage response creates either a purchase order or an outline agreement (value or quantity
contract) in SAP ERP Central Component .

40 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Ariba Sourcing Integration to SAP ERP
Note
Template with the ID SYS0220 named as Sourcing Request Template is used for sourcing requests created
from the integration.

The following sections describe the functional changes and user interface changes..
● The Overview tab of the project creation page now includes an Origin field which indicates the source of the
project.
● The new fields received from the cXML document, such as Company Code, Payment Terms, Purchasing
Group , and Purchasing Organization , are now available on the Create Sourcing page. Line level field items,
such as Item Category ,Incoterms , Material Code , Material Group , Plant, Requisition ID , Requisition Item
Number , RFQ ID and RFQ Item Number are also available on this page.
● The Award Scenario page now includes two new fields, Document Type and Document Category .
Notifications for Sourcing Requests and Projects Created

from Sourcing Requests
Ariba Sourcing sends email notifications to all active team members of sourcing requests and projects created
from integration with SAP ERP when certain events occur.
The email notifications specific to sourcing requests and sourcing projects created from sourcing requests use
event notification template variables but cannot be customized.
Ariba Sourcing sends email notifications for sourcing requests and sourcing projects created from sourcing
requests when:
● Ariba Sourcing receives a cXML document from the SAP ERP requesting a sourcing request (a new
QuoteRequest message) and a sourcing request is created inAriba Sourcing. By default, Ariba Sourcing
sends the following notification to members of the Sourcing Manager system group:
[Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title]: Send Notifications for New Sourcing

Requests
Title: Send Notifications for New Sourcing Requests
Description: Notify sourcing managers when a new Sourcing Request is created
from the data received from the external integrated system.
This email originated from the Ariba system used by Buyer Organization and was
originally sent to: user@email
System Reference: Click Here to access the system.

● Ariba Sourcing receives a cXML document to update a sourcing request and the sourcing request has not
been approved. Ariba Sourcing updates the sourcing request (including any line item changes) and sends the
following notification to active team members of the sourcing request:
Sourcing request [Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title] was updated by the

originating system.
● Ariba Sourcing receives a cXML document to delete a sourcing request and the sourcing request has not been
approved or it has been approved but the sourcing event has not been created. Ariba Sourcing cancels the
sourcing request and sends the following notification to active team members of the sourcing request:
Request to cancel the Sourcing Request [Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title]

was received from the external
integrated system. The Sourcing Request was cancelled.
● A sourcing request is approved. Ariba Sourcing sends the following notification to the approval task owner
using the project email template for approved tasks (the template Task - Sent to the approval task owner
when the task is fully approved). The default subject line for this template is:
[Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title]: [Task.Title] was fully approved.
For information about customizing project email templates, see the Project Administration Guide.
● A cXML update request is received after the event is created. Ariba Sourcing sends the following notification to
active team members of the event:
A request to update event [EVENT_TITLE] was received from the originating system.
Click Here to review the changes.
If the event is any non-final state (draft, published but not closed or awarded), Ariba Sourcing creates a new,
draft version of the event with the changes and clicking the link in the notification opens the new version of the
event. If the event has been awarded or closed, Ariba Sourcing rejects the update request and clicking the link
in the notification opens the last published version of the event.
● A cXML cancel (delete) request is received and the event is any non-final state (draft, published but not closed
or awarded). Ariba Sourcing sends the following notification to active team members of the event:
A request to cancel the Sourcing Project [Workspace.InternalId]

[Workspace.Title] was received from
the external integrated system.
Please cancel the Sourcing Project [Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title].
● A cXML cancel (delete) request is received after an event is awarded or closed. Ariba Sourcing rejects the
cancellation request because the event is in the Completed state and sends the following notification to active
team members of the event:
A request to cancel the Sourcing Project [Workspace.InternalId]

[Workspace.Title] was received from
the external integrated system but was ignored because the Sourcing Project
[Workspace.InternalId] [Workspace.Title] was already Closed.

Information for Users
The following sections provides information on (a) the vendor synchronization required in awarding an event
created from a sourcing request and (b) the default approval flow and workflow in the sourcing request template
for externally generated sourcing requests.
Vendor Synchronization:
A vendor is a supplier in the customer’s backend system. Vendors are identified on Ariba Network with unique
Vendor IDs. A buying organization stores details of their vendors in their ERP systems. The vendor ID on Ariba
Network typically reflects the vendor ID used in the ERP system. If the award message sent out from the Ariba
Sourcing does not reach the SAP ERP system, the buyer must upload vendor information to the Ariba Network
using their Ariba Network account. After the upload, they can assign Supplier Enablement activities containing
specific tasks and start the enablement for selected vendors. First, a trading relationship request email is sent out
to these vendors. After they register and accept the Terms of Use, a dedicated supplier account is created on
Ariba Network and a relationship is automatically established with the buying organization that sent the request.
If the supplier is invited for the sourcing project and is awarded, and if there is no Vendor Key in Ariba Network for
that supplier, the award message is parked in the Ariba Network. Then, an email is sent out to the buyer
administrator who can enter the Vendor Key in the Ariba Network, after which, the award message is routed to the
SAP ERP. For more details, see the help topic Working with Vendors: Ariba® Network Supplier Enablement
Automation Guide available on the Administration tab of Help@Ariba.
Approval Flow of Sourcing Request Template:
If the sourcing manager is required to modify the header level fields like Region, Department or Commodity Code
or upload additional documents needed for approval of the sourcing request, the sourcing manager can use the
Prepare Sourcing Request task available in the Sourcing Request Template . This task, Approval for Sourcing
Request allows the sourcing manager to submit the sourcing request for approval. However, as there are no
additional approvers for this task, the task is automatically approved. After the sourcing manager submits the
task, the status changes to Approved and the Sourcing Project document is displayed on the Documents tab of
the Sourcing Request Template.
User Tasks
The following sections provides you with the steps to create a sourcing project and a sourcing event from a
sourcing request and also describes how to award an event.
Creating a Sourcing Project From a Sourcing Request
Context
Search for the sourcing request in the Ariba Sourcing home page. The ID and name of the sourcing request
required for search are available in the notification you have received from Ariba

Procedure
1. Open the Sourcing Request.

2. Go to the Tasks tab to review and approve the sourcing request
3. Review the documents available under the Documents tab.
4. Approve the Sourcing Request or send it for further approval.
After the sourcing request has been approved, the Sourcing Project document appears on the Documents
tab of the Sourcing Request page.
Note
The values of the fields received from the cXML document such as Company Code, Purchasing
Organization, Purchasing group, and Payment Terms are populated by default. These fields are not
editable by all users. Only members belonging to the Integration Protected Fields Editor group
can edit the values of these fields.
5. Open the Sourcing Project from the Documents tab.
The Create Sourcing page opens.

6. Select the appropriate template for the sourcing project.
7. Enter the details of the project you want to create.
8. Choose the sourcing project template and click Create.
A Sourcing Project is created.

9. A Sourcing Project is created.
You can create a quick project or a full project from a sourcing request.
Creating a Sourcing Event From a Sourcing Project
Procedure
1. Open the Sourcing Project.

2. Go to the Overview tab and select Actions> CreateEvent to create a sourcing event.
3. On the Create New page, specify the required details and click Create.
4. Select the type of event you want to create.
5. Select the appropriate template and click Create.
6. Specify the required details and click Publish.
The event is published and suppliers start bidding.

Awarding an Event
Context
The sourcing owner invites suppliers manually. However, if the supplier who was awarded the contract does not
have an active relationship with the buyer on Ariba Network or if the supplier does not have a valid Vendor Key, the
award message does not reach SAP ERP system. For more information, refer Information for Users [page 43]
Procedure
1. Create an Award Scenario after you receive the bids from suppliers.
2. Enter the Name of the scenario.
3. Select the Document Type from the pull-down menu.
The Document Type specifies the follow-on document created from the sourcing project. The documents can
be a Purchase Order or a Contract Agreement.
4. Select the Document Category from the pull-down menu.
The values are NB Regular PO, WK Value Contract, and MK Quantity Contract. These values are
configurable.
5. Select the line items and the suppliers to award.
6. Click Award.
7. Go to Actions Send Quotes to External System
The award is sent to SAP ERP system.
Integration with External Systems

Sourcing requests are built on the cXML data received from the SAP ERP system and the Ariba Sourcing Request
template. An out-of-the-box sourcing request template with ID SYS0220 is available with this release.
QuoteRequest and QuoteMessage cXML Document
Buyers send a cXML QuoteRequest document, which contains specific information needed to create a sourcing
request, from their ERP system to Ariba Sourcing through the Ariba Network. Ariba Sourcing creates a sourcing
request and invites suppliers to participate based on the criteria specified in the cXML QuoteRequest document
and the sourcing request template. Bids are sent back to the SAP ERP system through the cXML QuoteMessage
document.
Before events are published, the following information must be included in the event in addition to the data from
the SAP ERP system:
● Event open date and time

● Event close date and time

● Items
● Suppliers
Site Configuration Options

The following lists the configuration settings to enable the integration between your SAP system and Ariba
Sourcing Professional:
1. Contact your Ariba Customer Support to enable the integration for your site. Customer Support enables the
integration by running the scheduled task, EnableSourcingERPIntegration
2. Ariba Network Configuration: New extrinsic fields have been added to cXML to accommodate the new fields
that are being sent from SAP ECC to Ariba sourcing (QuoteRequest message) and back (QuoteMessage). The
extrinsics defined at header level are:
○ CompanyCode.Id
○ CompanyCode.Name
○ PurchasingOrganization.Id
○ PurchasingOrganization.Name
○ PurchasingGroup.Id.
○ PurchasingGroup.Name.
○ PaymentTerms.Id
○ PaymentTerms.Name
The following extrinsic are defined at line item level :
● Plant.Id
● Plant.Name
● MaterialGroup.Id
● MaterialGroup.Name
● ItemCategory
● MaterialCode.Id
● MaterialCode.Name
● Incoterms.Id
● Incoterms.Name
● RequisitionId
● RFQId
● RequisitionLineItemNumber
● RFQLineItemNumber
Note
The attributes openDate and closeDate in QuoteRequestHeader are left blank and any value sent in cXML will
be ignored. These fields are populated in Ariba Sourcing.

Reporting
A new fact name, Sourcing Request has been added For more information on reporting, refer New Sourcing
Request Fact [page 18]
Troubleshooting
The following table lists the issues you may encounter and the probable reasons. Please contact Ariba Customer
Support if you encounter any of these issues.
Table 1: Common Issues
Issue Probable Reason for the Issue
cXML document is not received on Ariba Network. Issue with Ariba Network Adapter for SAP Netweaver. Contact
Ariba Customer Support.
Sourcing request is not received in Ariba Sourcing. Scheduled task EnableSourcingERPIntegration did not run
successfully.
cXML document originated from SAP ERP is not received in The Ariba Sourcing Request template is not activated.
Ariba Sourcing.
The award results sent from Ariba Sourcing did not reach SAP The supplier who was awarded the event does not have an ac
ERP. tive relationship with the buyer on the Ariba Network and/or
the supplier does not have a valid Vendor Key.

Microsoft Office 2013 Support
Ariba Sourcing and Contract Management solutions now support Microsoft Office 2013.
About Microsoft Office 2013 Support
Release 14s Sourcing supports Microsoft Office 2013 in Ariba Sourcing and Contract Management solutions, in
addition to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 which were supported earlier.
This is an out-of-the-box feature available to all customers. It requires no action to configure it.
Limitations
The feature does not support Microsoft Project 2013. However, Ariba will continue support of the previously
supported versions of Microsoft Project.

48 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Microsoft Office 2013 Support
Ariba Web Services for Supplier Master Data
Integration
This feature enables integration of supplier data between Ariba Sourcing solutions and external systems using
Ariba Network directory.
Workflow Overview [page 50]
Information for Users [page 52]
Administrator Tasks [page 53]
About This Feature

This feature is available in:
● Ariba SourcingBasic
● Ariba SourcingProfessional
● Ariba Contract ManagementBasic
● Ariba Contract ManagementProfessional
● Ariba Supplier Information Management
● Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management
This feature enables integration of supplier data between Ariba Sourcing solutions and external systems using
Ariba Network directory. This feature also allows management of supplier master data across different systems
and allows suppliers to maintain data self-service. The scope of the integration includes modification of supplier
organizations, profile data, and business contacts. Ariba Commerce Cloud profiles for suppliers can also be
retrieved by external systems.
The Ariba Network directory is an Ariba Network application that provides access to external systems to the
supplier data stored in Ariba Network through APIs. The Ariba Application March 2015 release included Ariba Web
Services for Master Data Integration that allows customers to integrate supplier data from Ariba Sourcing and
Ariba Network directory to any external systems.
This feature is disabled by default. To enable and configure the feature, see Configuring the Feature Using Supplier
Integration Configuration Page [page 53] .

Ariba Web Services for Supplier Master Data Integration © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 49
Adapter support for this feature will be made available as part of the Ariba Cloud Integration releases. Please
contact your Ariba Account Manager for more information on integration services.
Prerequisites
● Your Ariba Customer Support Representative must configure an end point to exchange internal messages
with Ariba Network.
● The supplier integration end point configuration parameters must match the information for the business end
point configured for your Ariba Network account.
● Customers must write an application using the AribaWeb Services for Master Data Integration APIs to
exchange data between Ariba and the external system. For more details on APIs, refer the Using Ariba Web
Services for Master Data Integration with Supplier Data guide available with the Ariba Application March 2015
release.
Limitations
The APIs cannot be used to delete a supplier organization on the Ariba server.
Workflow Overview
The high level workflow of data transfer between Ariba Sourcing and external system is as follows:
1. Ariba Sourcing buyer chooses to integrate a supplier to the external system.

2. Ariba Sourcing sends a notification to the Ariba Network directory informing this action.
3. The adapter invokes the Ariba Network directory API to obtain the common profile and Ariba Sourcing to
obtain the extended profile of the supplier.
Note
Ariba does not provide an out-of-the-box adapter with this release.
4. Adapter combines this data and send the supplier profile to the external system.
5. The external system checks the incoming details.
6. If the data belongs to an existing supplier, the data is merged to the existing profile, else, a new profile is
created.

50 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Ariba Web Services for Supplier Master Data Integration
Note
The method of handling data differs for different external systems. Therefore, the above mentioned process
is not true to all external systems.
7. The external system may send the external system ID of the supplier to Ariba.
The following sections describes the user interface changes to support this feature.
The following are the user interface changes
● The table menu at the top right of the Supplier Profile Questionnaire page has a new menu item, Integrated
with external system where external systems is the name of the name configured for the external system.
● The Integrated with column displays the options of integrating the profile question to the selected external
system.
● The Actions menu in the Organization Profile page has a new menu items that allows the buyer administrator
to integrate suppliers to the external system.
● The Organization Profile page displays the system name with which your site is integrated.
Administrator Interface Changes
● A new link, Supplier Integration Configuration has been added to the Integration Manager section of Ariba
Sourcing Administration page.
● The Supplier Integration Enabled check-box on the Supplier Integration Configuration page indicates
whether supplier integration is enabled in the site or not.
● The Authentication pull-down menu has been added to select the method of authentication.
● The Shared Secret mode of authentication has new fields to enter the ID and Password and the field to
confirm the password.
● The text box to enter the Certificate when certificate method of authentication is selected.

Information for Users
Audit Logging
All data exchange through WebServices are logged on the History tab of the Supplier Workspace.
Impact on Ariba Network Directory
Ariba Network directory is the Ariba Network application that provides external systems access to supplier data
stored in the Ariba Network through APIs. Ariba directory acts as the middleware for data synchronization with
Ariba Sourcing solutions.
User Tasks
The following procedures provides you with the step by step details of :
● Marking supplier profile questionnaire for integration with external systems.

● Enabling supplier organizations for integration wth external systems.
Marking Supplier Profile Questions for Integration
Procedure
1. Go to Manage> Supplier Knowledge > Supplier Profile Questionnaire

The Supplier Profile Questionnaire page opens.
Note
Contact Ariba Customer Support to have the Integrated with option visible for supplier profile questions.
2. Go to Actions Edit Content .

The Integrated with column appears on the Supplier Profile Questionnaire page. The Integrated with
column displays the radio buttons you can select to indicate whether you want to integrate each question with
the external system or not.
3. Choose your option.
4. Indicate your choice for each profile question.
5. Click Publish
The Confirm Publish page opens. The page lists the profile questions which have changed.

6. Click OK to confirm.
The supplier profile questions which you selected to integrate with the external system is sent to Ariba
Network directory.
Enabling Supplier Organizations for Data Integration
Procedure
1. Navigate to the Organization Profile page for the supplier.
2. Choose Actions Supplier Integration Enable
The Supplier Integration Status becomes Pending. After data exchanges with Ariba Network and the external
system are complete, the status becomes Integrated.
Note
Members of groups such as Event Administrator, Commodity Manager, Customer Administrator, Supplier
Manager, Category Manager and CustomerUserAdmin can perform this action.
Administrator Tasks
The following sections describes the steps for :
● Configuring the feature using the Supplier Integration Configuration page.

● Various methods of autheticating the external systems.
Note
Members of groups, Customer Administrator and Integration administrator can perform these actions.
Configuring the Feature Using Supplier Integration

Configuration Page
Context
This feature is configured using the Supplier Integration Configuration page from the Integration Configuration
section of the Ariba Administration page.

Procedure
1. Go to Integration Manager Supplier Integration Configuration.
The Supplier Integration Configuration page opens. The Supplier Integration Enabled check box indicates
whether supplier integration is enabled in the realm.
2. If Supplier Integration Enabled is checked, click the selection box to enable supplier integration functionality.
3. Enter the name of the external system to which your organization has to be synced, in the External System
Name text box.
Two methods of authentication are available for this feature:
○ Using Shared Secret Based Authentication [page 54]

○ Using Certificate Based Authentication [page 54]
Using Certificate Based Authentication
Procedure
1. In Ariba Administrator, under Integration Manager , click Supplier Integration Configuration link.
2. Under Authentication Method , select Certificate from the pull-down menu.
3. In the Certificate Content field, paste a Base64 encoded certificate..
4. Click Save.
When you are configuring certificate-based authentication for the first time, there is no backup certificate. If
you provide a new certificate in place of the current certificate, then the current certificate is configured as the
backup certificate. The Ariba solution uses the backup certificate to authenticate messages if authentication
with the primary certificate fails. If the backup certificate has expired, then it is not displayed on the user
interface. For more information, see the Using Ariba Web Services for Master Data Integration with Supplier
Data guide.
Using Shared Secret Based Authentication
Procedure
1. In Ariba Administrator, under Integration Manager, click Supplier Integration Configuration link.
2. Under Authentication Method , select Shared Secret from the pull-down menu.
3. Enter the ID and the Shared Secret twice to confirm it.
4. Click Save.

Revision History
The following table provides a brief history of the updates to this guide. Ariba updates the technical documentation
for its On Demand solutions if
● software changes delivered in service packs or hot fixes require a documentation update to correctly reflect
the new or changed functionality
● the existing content is incorrect or user feedback indicated that important content is missing
Ariba reserves the right to update its technical documentation without prior notification. Most documentation
updates will be made available in the same week as the software service packs are released, but critical
documentation updates may be released at any time.
Month/Year of Update Updated Topic Short Description of Change
May 2015 n/a New Guide.
June 2015 Enhanced Search Updated the Limitations section.
August 2015 About SAP ERP Integration with Ariba Added information about update and cancel QuoteRequest
Sourcing documents.
Enhanced Search Added information about stemming in the Functional

Changes section.
Notifications for Sourcing Requests New topic.

and Projects Created from Sourcing
Requests
September 2015 Enhanced Search Updated various sections to reflect lack of support for wild
cards.

Revision History © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 55
Important Disclaimers and Legal Information
Coding Samples
Any software coding and/or code lines / strings ("Code") included in this documentation are only examples and are not intended to be used in a productive system
environment. The Code is only intended to better explain and visualize the syntax and phrasing rules of certain coding. SAP does not warrant the correctness and
completeness of the Code given herein, and SAP shall not be liable for errors or damages caused by the usage of the Code, unless damages were caused by SAP
intentionally or by SAP's gross negligence.
Accessibility
The information contained in the SAP documentation represents SAP's current view of accessibility criteria as of the date of publication; it is in no way intended to be a
binding guideline on how to ensure accessibility of software products. SAP in particular disclaims any liability in relation to this document. This disclaimer, however, does
not apply in cases of wilful misconduct or gross negligence of SAP. Furthermore, this document does not result in any direct or indirect contractual obligations of SAP.
Gender-Neutral Language
As far as possible, SAP documentation is gender neutral. Depending on the context, the reader is addressed directly with "you", or a gender-neutral noun (such as "sales
person" or "working days") is used. If when referring to members of both sexes, however, the third-person singular cannot be avoided or a gender-neutral noun does not
exist, SAP reserves the right to use the masculine form of the noun and pronoun. This is to ensure that the documentation remains comprehensible.
Internet Hyperlinks
The SAP documentation may contain hyperlinks to the Internet. These hyperlinks are intended to serve as a hint about where to find related information. SAP does not
warrant the availability and correctness of this related information or the ability of this information to serve a particular purpose. SAP shall not be liable for any damages
caused by the use of related information unless damages have been caused by SAP's gross negligence or willful misconduct. All links are categorized for transparency (see:
http://help.sap.com/disclaimer).

56 © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. Important Disclaimers and Legal Information
Important Disclaimers and Legal Information © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. 57
www.ariba.com
Copyright © 1996–2015 Ariba, Inc. All rights reserved.

This documentation, as well as the Ariba solutions, software and/or
services described in it, contain proprietary information. They are
provided under a license or other agreement containing restrictions
on use and disclosure and are also protected by copyright, patent
and/or other intellectual property laws. Except as permitted by such
agreement, no part of the document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or
inaccuracies that may appear in the documentation. The
information contained in the documentation is subject to change
without notice.
Ariba and Ariba products and services mentioned herein as well as
their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Ariba, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Please see
http://www.ariba.com/legal/trademarks for additional trademark
information and notices.
Ariba Sourcing solutions (On Demand and software) are protected
by one or more of the following patents, including without limitation:
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,199,050; 6,216,114; 6,223,167; 6,230,146;
6,230,147; 6,285,989; 6,408,283; 6,499,018; 6,564,192; 6,871,191;
6,952,682; 7,010,511; 7,072,061; 7,130,815; 7,146,331;
7,152,043;7,225,152; 7,277,878; 7,249,085; 7,283,979; 7,283,980;
7,296,001; 7,346,574; 7,383,206; 7,395,238; 7,401,035; 7,407,035;
7,444,299; 7,483,852; 7,499,876; 7,536,362; 7,558,746; 7,558,752;
7,571,137; 7,599,878; 7,634,439; 7,657,461; 7,693,747; 8,364,577;
and 8,392,317. Patents pending.
Other Ariba product solutions are protected by one or more of the
following patents:
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,199,050, 6,216,114, 6,223,167, 6,230,146,
6,230,147, 6,285,989, 6,408,283, 6,499,018, 6,564,192, 6,584,451,
6,606,603, 6,714,939, 6,871,191, 6,952,682, 7,010,511, 7,047,318,
7,072,061, 7,084,998; 7,117,165; 7,225,145; 7,324,936; 7,536,362;
8,364,577; and 8,392,317. Patents pending.
Certain Ariba products may include third party software or other
intellectual property licensed from a third party. For information
regarding software or other intellectual property licensed from a
third party, go to http://www.ariba.com/copyrights.cfm.

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Document Version: 4 – September 2015