Describing SAP Ariba Central Procurement

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Watch this video for an overview of the SAP Ariba Central Procurement.

Large enterprises often have dozens to hundreds of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. These systems are not connected, which creates difficult to access, siloed data. Moving these disparate systems to SAP Central Procurement previously required SAP S/4HANA or RISE with SAP, but that is no longer the case. SAP ECC customers and others can gain access to SAP Central Procurement, private cloud edition, without first starting an SAP S/4HANA implementation.

The flexibility offered by the private cloud edition of SAP Central Procurement can help organizations reduce the complexity of multiple back-end systems and move toward digitalization while keeping an eye on their budget. It also enables them to continue using familiar systems without facing the disruption of migrating to a new technology.

With SAP Central Procurement, you can bring disparate processes under consistent, centralized control. Now you can take the processes managed in each disconnected system and manage them from the Central Procurement Solution. So while every individual transaction is still processed within each individual back-end system with each individual business unit, you have central control of everything from requisitioning to analytics. Yet you can still offer each business unit the flexibility to make purchases when they need it.

• There’s no risk of slowing down each team or losing local control – if there’s a need for a business unit to make a purchase within their system, they can do it.
• And the central team still gets the data and visibility.

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 4 of the Course Diagrams PDF.

Procurement via disconnected systems creates inefficiency, inaccuracy, and unnecessary complexity. This occurs as a result of:

• Different buyers unknowingly work with the same suppliers.
• Policies, controls, and discounts don’t get applied consistently company-wide.
• Disjointed data constrains spend visibility.
• Centralized category/contract managers have to use multiple systems.

SAP Central Procurement offers centralization of procurement functions without the costs and complexities of change and offers the following features:

• Deliver complete transparency to improve negotiations and foster demand aggregation
• Give lead buyers single view and access into requisitions, orders, status, and spend
• Orchestrate operational contracts across the entire enterprise
• Deliver global control and visibility, while transacting in local backend systems

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 5 of the Course Diagrams PDF.

What are the reasons for customers with a multi-ERP Procurement Landscape to buy Central Procurement?

They want to achieve:

• Cost saving
• Better risk management and reporting
• Increase compliance
• Operationalize category management structure
• Streamline supplier engagement
• Increase efficiency implementing shared services

Central Procurement will transform the operating model of category managers, lead buyers, contract managers and SSC personnel.

SAP Central Procurement is particularly valuable if:

• You’re running multiple instances of SAP ERP and/or non-SAP ERP instances.
• You have no procurement visibility across multiple ERP instances
• Diverse ERP landscape with different brands, versions, customizations, workflows, and processes
• Off-contract spend due to contracts tied to individual ERP instances
• Lost savings due to missing out on economies of scale and leveraging procurement across all ERP instances
• Limited spend analytics
• Difficulties integrating new (acquired) business units and their backends

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 6 of the Course Diagrams PDF.

It's like a Remote Control for Procurement

Large enterprises often have dozens to hundreds of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. These systems are not connected, which creates difficult to access, siloed data. Moving these disparate systems to SAP Central Procurement previously required SAP S/4HANA or RISE with SAP, but that is no longer the case. SAP ECC customers and others can gain access to SAP Central Procurement, private cloud edition, without first starting an SAP S/4HANA implementation.

The flexibility offered by the private cloud edition of SAP Central Procurement can help organizations reduce the complexity of multiple back-end systems and move toward digitalization while keeping an eye on their budget. It also enables them to continue using familiar systems without facing the disruption of migrating to a new technology.

With SAP Central Procurement, you can bring disparate processes under consistent, centralized control. Now you can take the processes managed in each disconnected system and manage them from the Central Procurement Solution. So while every individual transaction is still processed within each individual back-end system with each individual business unit, you have central control of everything from requisitioning to analytics. Yet you can still offer each business unit the flexibility to make purchases when they need it.

• There’s no risk of slowing down each team or losing local control – if there’s a need for a business unit to make a purchase within their system, they can do it.
• And the central team still gets the data and visibility.

It’s like a remote control for procurement.

• You can centrally manage key procurement steps and information, sharing data back and forth and essentially directing each unique process and system spread across your company from one central place.
• And you don’t have to go through the work of harmonizing supplier, material or any other master data for requisitions and POs – your data stays where it is.
• SAP Central Procurement is particularly valuable if:
  • You’re running multiple instances of SAP ERP and/or non-SAP ERP instances.
  • You have no procurement visibility across multiple ERP instances
  • Diverse ERP landscape with different brands, versions, customizations, workflows, and processes
  • Off-contract spend due to contracts tied to individual ERP instances
  • Lost savings due to missing out on economies of scale and leveraging procurement across all ERP instances
  • Limited spend analytics
  • Difficulties integrating new (acquired) business units and their backends

Natively integrated with SAP ERP, SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA. This means that SAP Central Procurement is the only solution that is natively integrated to systems touching 77% of GDP transactions. Additionally, central procurement can leverage procurement data from non-SAP systems.

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 7 of the Course Diagrams PDF.

Central procurement can either be enabled on an existing SAP S/4HANA or SAP S/4HANA Cloud system, or deployed as new, dedicated SAP S/4HANA system.

Refer to the following diagram for information on when to position the different deployment options.

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 8 of the Course Diagrams PDF.

The figure below shows the deployment architecture for two scenarios when you can:

• Drive procurement transformation journey in parallel to S/4HANA migration
• Start procurement transformation journey post S/4HANA migration

The diagram on the left shows the incorporation of a new SAP S/4HANA system, private cloud edition inside the customers environment. But it is also possible to use existing infrastructure like an existing SAP S/4HANA public cloud system, which is productive on e.g. finance, procurement and HR to implement Central Procurement without any disadvantages.

To view this diagram in detail, refer to page 9 of the Course Diagrams PDF.