Describing SAP Ariba 2505 Release Features

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe new or changed features for SAP Ariba Supplier Management in the SAP Ariba 2505 release.

New User Group: SM Advanced Configuration Access

Business Details

This feature introduces a licensed user group named SM Advanced Configuration Access in SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance with authorizations for advanced administrative functions and configurations. SAP Ariba recommends that you assign the new user group to your internal users or certified partners to fully utilize the advanced self-service configuration capabilities that this user group provides.

As part of this release, seven existing supplier management features that were previously SAP-controlled, can now be enabled in your site by members of the new user group by going to ManageSM AdministrationConfiguration Parameters. Note that members of existing groups such as Customer Administrator or SM Ops Administrator can also separately enable these parameters.

Note

Users in your organization can be assigned to the new group only by a Customer Administrator.

Members of the new user group have access to administrative and configuration tasks only under SM Administration, which is a collection of actions for managing functionalities related to suppliers. These actions can include importing supplier data, setting configuration parameters, configuring supplier data integration, and so on.

Members of the new user group can't place internal supplier requests if that's the only group they are assigned to. To be able to place supplier requests, members of the new user group must also be members of the group Supplier Request Manager or SM Ops Administrator. Similarly, to be able to create registration, qualification, or disqualification projects, members of the new user group must also be members of the relevant user groups (such as Supplier Registration Manager or SM Ops Administrator) that can create such projects.

SM Administration Tasks Accessible by the New Group

In general, the tasks that are available in SM Administration depend on your organization's SAP Ariba solution package, the features that are currently enabled in your site, and your user permissions.

The following table describes tasks that are accessible by the new user group:

TaskDescription
Data import or exportImport and export supplier-related data.
Default field valuesSet default field values to meet ERP requirements.
ERP IntegrationConfigure integration with an SAP ERP system.
Integration statusMonitor inbound and outbound integration messages and troubleshoot errors.
Mass inviteOnboard large numbers of suppliers at once by issuing mass registration invitations.
QuestionnairesImport external registration questionnaire data.
Inactive SuppliersInactivate or reactivate suppliers.
Auto migrationAutomatically migrate supplier organizations and supplier profile questionnaires.
Cancel qualificationCancel in-progress qualification projects.
Template upgradeUpgrade supplier registration or modular questionnaire projects to the latest template version.
Config

Configure Dun & Bradstreet integration.

Note

The Config task is visible in your site only if an administrator in your organization configures the feature with your Dun & Bradstreet Data Integration Toolkit user ID and password.

Advanced view configurationManage access to project advanced view by project type and control which permissions allow advanced view access.
Reports

Download vendor onboarding reports. This vendor onboarding report is also available as a supplier data snapshot.

Note

This option is visible only if SM Reports is enabled in SM AdministrationFeature control.

Config Fields

Specify fields to be included in the Supplier Data API with Pagination data export.

Note

This option is visible only if Configurable data fields is enabled in SM AdministrationFeature control.

Service AdminAuthorize access to Supplier Data API with Pagination clients using v3 or below of the API. v3 is deprecated, and client applications using later versions of the API can use realm query parameters to authorize access.
Configuration ParametersManage configuration parameters for supplier-related features and functions.

Group Licensing Information

Any user who belongs to the new user group SM Advanced Configuration Access, is counted as a licensed user in SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance. Therefore, members of this group require paid licensing.

Note

Subscriptions in SAP Ariba strategic sourcing solutions include a specific number of licensed users. Team members are not counted as licensed users. Group membership determines whether a user is considered a chargeable user or a team member.

Changes to the User Interface

  • The new user group SM Advanced Configuration Access is now displayed in the Users - Add or Remove Groups For User dialog box, which is displayed when customer administrators create or edit users or groups.
  • If a user is assigned to the user group SM Advanced Configuration Access alone (and not to any other group that has access to the Create menu), they won't be able to access the Create menu on the Supplier Management home page.
  • The only menu item under Manage that can be viewed and accessed by users assigned to the new group alone is SM Administration. The Administration menu option under Manage is inaccessible to users who are assigned to the new group alone.

Implementation Details

Configuration

Some of the functionality for supplier management is controlled by self-service configuration parameters in ManageSM AdministrationConfiguration Parameters, which members of the Customer Administrator and SM Ops Administrator groups can set. Now, this feature adds the following new configuration parameters. Members of the new user group SM Advanced Configuration Access can also set the desired parameters here.

Configuration Parameters in SM Administration

Parameter NameDefault SettingDescription
Application.SM.Vendor.EnableSupplierFullNameFalse

Adds a supplier full name field with a default length of 140 characters. The value in this field shows in the user interface of SAP Ariba applications and is split into the four individual name fields for integration.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-14213: Enable supplier full name in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.Bank.HideSWIFTCodeinBankAccountQuestionsFalse

Enables hiding of SWIFT Code in Bank Account questions.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-28926: Enable hiding of Swift Code in Bank Account questions in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.Registration.EnableCustomSendersforSupplierRegistrationInvitationsFalse

Enables registration managers to choose requesters for supplier registrations and shows the requester as the sender in registration invitations.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-20904: Enable custom senders for supplier registration invitations in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.Contact.EnableSupplierContactNameDisplayWithFamilyNameFirstFalse

Displays supplier contact names in reverse order, with family name first, then middle name (if any), then first name, in the user interface and email notifications.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-15622: Enable supplier contact name display with family name first in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.SupplierRequest.EnableExternalValidationofSupplierCreationFalse

Enables a final validation of supplier requests in an integrated SAP MDG(S) system before supplier creation.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-5694: Enable external validation of supplier creation in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.SupplierRequest. EnableBusinessUnitSpecificNotificationsForExternalSupplierRequestsFalse

Enables display of business unit (department) name rather than the buyer organization's name in the external supplier request and in related notifications to suppliers and approvers.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-6380: Enable business unit-specific notifications for external supplier requests in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Application.SM.Registration.EnableStatusTrackerForRegistrationInvitationsFalse

Enables a status tracker for email invitations for supplier registration, which shows when invitations are sent, opened, or bounced.

Note

Enabling or disabling this parameter requires a corresponding change to SM-5116: Enable status tracker for registration invitations in Intelligent Configuration Manager. Always enable or disable both together.

Effects on Existing Data

The new user group SM Advanced Configuration Access is available in your site only if you have an active SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance entitlement.

Availability of the New User Group

EntitlementIs the SM Advanced Configuration Access Group Available?
Only SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and PerformanceYes
Only SAP Ariba Supplier RiskNo
Only SAP Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management (new architecture)No
SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance with SAP Ariba Supplier RiskYes

Technical Details

Product

SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance

SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite

EnablementAutomatically On
Reference NumberSLP-2101
User TypeBuyer

Ability to Purge Inactivated Modular Questionnaire Data

Business Details

This feature enables the users to select the data to purge older questionnaire templates for multiple suppliers. This functionality is essential for removing unwanted versions of questionnaire.

This feature gives you two options:

  • Keep the latest version active while making all previous versions eligible for date-based purging
  • To purge complete modular questionnaire with all it versions

The purge operation deletes older versions marked as inactive from the system.

Implementation Details

General Prerequisites

  • For SAP Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management, this feature requires the "new architecture".
  • If the status is Approved, Denied, Expired, or Expiring, you cannot proceed with deactivation.

Business End User Tasks

In order to inactivate the questionnaire:

  1. Download the file.
  2. Mark the column inactivateOldQuestionnaireResponseVersion to TRUE in order to keep the latest version of the questionnaire OR mark the column inactivateCompleteQuestionnaire to TRUE in order to purge all the questionnaire versions.
  3. After making the columns inactive and importing the file, the records are now ready for the date based purge operation.
  4. If all the modular questionnaires in a process have been purged, the process should be canceled.

You can choose to keep the latest version of the questionnaire or inactivate all versions. Please note that you can only perform one operation at a time.

Note

You can select up to 1,000 records at a time for data import to inactivate them.

Technical Details

Product

SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance

SAP Ariba Supplier Information and Performance Management

SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite

EnablementAutomatically On
Reference NumberSLP-2207
User TypeBuyer