Under certain conditions, company policies enforce a bidding process for certain categories. Such policies also impact functional buyers, so a process must exist within guided buying that aligns with the following principles: smart, quick, and simple.
Users fill out a request form that captures their input for the request for quotation (RFQ) process. Customer administrators create supplier and touch policies that determine the scenario to be triggered and how much sourcing professionals' involvement is required.
Note
For some scenarios, your company will require an SAP Ariba Sourcing license.There are four types of scenarios available:
Self-Service Scenario
The self-service scenario does not require approval, and the form is immediately sent to the suppliers. The requester manages the collaboration entirely. The RFQ becomes a request after the casual user accepts one of the quotes. The request will follow the approval process configured in SAP Ariba Buying solutions. Such RFQs are meant for known services or goods where additional details are not required.
Low-Touch Scenario
The low-touch scenario requires a small amount of procurement department involvement. Low-touch RFQs are ideal for mid-range purchases where you're willing to give most of the control to casual users or functional buyers. Users still fill out a form in guided buying to kick off the process. They also choose suppliers on the form. After users submit the form, the RFQ event is created automatically in SAP Ariba Sourcing but not published. When suppliers respond with quotes, sourcing team members can review them, but it’s up to the requester to award the business to a supplier. After users accept a quote, the quote information is used to create a request automatically in guided buying. The request is subject to the active requisition approval process in SAP Ariba Buying solutions.
High-Touch Scenario
The high-touch scenario requires more involvement from the procurement department. High-touch RFQs are ideal for large, infrequent purchases or for situations where users don't know which supplier to choose on the request form. Like the self-service and low-touch scenarios, casual users or functional buyers fill out a form in guided buying.
After users submit the form, the RFQ event is created automatically in SAP Ariba Sourcing but not published. The sourcing team manages the bidding process and makes all choices regarding event timelines, invited suppliers, event content, and so on. After they award the event, guided buying displays the results, and the casual user can create a request for the winning quote. The requisition is subject to the active requisition approval process in SAP Ariba Buying solutions.
Sourcing Request Scenario
The sourcing request scenario requires the most involvement from the procurement department. Sourcing requests are ideal for very large purchases. After users submit the form in guided buying, a sourcing request is created automatically in SAP Ariba Sourcing. A sourcing request is used to request a sourcing project that the procurement department will run entirely. The rest of the scenario is similar to the high-touch one.
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Suppliers must have an SAP Business Network account to respond to RFQs.Play the video to learn about tactical sourcing scenarios in guided buying and how to submit a self-service RFQ to suppliers.