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Discovering Site Management

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe how to import and export data.
Explain how to monitor user activity with the Audit Log and User Sessions tools.

Overview of Site Manager

Site Manager is an area of the Ariba Administrator menu that contains several tasks that allow administrators to perform management functions for the overall site. These include:

Data Import/Export
- Import and export data into the site
Scheduled Tasks
- Run scheduled tasks
Audit Log
- View user activity
User Sessions
- View and disconnect user sessions

Title	Description
Data Import/ Export	This area will give you a list of the tasks that can be used to import and export site configuration data such as commodity codes, units of measure, internal and external users, groups, regions, currency conversion rates and much more. This is where the bulk of changes to master data will occur.
Scheduled Tasks	This area gives visibility into certain scheduled tasks that are set to run in the background to trigger various events within SAP Ariba. For example, a scheduled task is responsible for checking the due dates of tasks and sending overdue notifications. Scheduled tasks are also responsible for updating the status of a contract workspace from Active to Expired. While there aren’t many actions an administrator can take within this area, they can view the scheduled tasks that are set to run and what they’re responsible for updating and when the next run time is.
Audit Log	This gives access to the administrator to check the history of all activity within the site. This includes the creation of new organizations, users, imports of data, when a user logged in or out, and errors that occurred within the system.
User Sessions	This area of the site gives the administrator insight into which users are currently logged into the system and whether or not they are active within the system. There is not really much need to check on this as an administrator unless there are particular users that you need to check up on to see if they’re logged in or not. It could also be used to disconnect a users session if they are hung up on a particular page. There are usually other methods of ending a session for a user, however, other than ending it through user sessions such as closing the browser page.

Data Import/Export Overview

There are several links to Data Import/Export, depending on what kind of data you are working with in the Administration user interface.
Within each link, there is an Import tab and an Export tab.

The Data Import/Export options can be found under Site Manager, User Manager, and Integration Manager areas of the Administration page. When accessing through Site Manager, the administrator will have access to all of the data import/export tasks available, rather than only those tasks pertaining to the particular area in which they were located. For example, if Data Import/Export is accessed through User Manager, only those tasks pertaining to users will be shown.

It is recommended to first export the data that will be modified and save a copy of this export. This will ensure that the current data in the site is backed up should any issues arise during the import. After saving the backup file, export the data again and begin your modifications. Exporting a new copy of the data ensures that the backup file will be maintained as it was when exported, before any modifications to the data are made.

Import	Export
Use Import for data you want to load into SAP Ariba. There are 4 options when importing data – Load, Create, Update Only, Deactivate.	Use Export for data you want to review and modify for re-import. To export the data to a spreadsheet, simply click the Export button. Once the data is in the spreadsheet, you can modify it and re-import it to update multiple records at once.

Import Options

Import Options	Description
Load	Creates and modifies objects in the database using values in the data file. If an object in the data file doesn't already exist in the database, it's created. If an object in the data file already exists in database, it's modified using the value in the data file.
Create	Creates new objects in the database using values in the data file. If an object in the data file already exists in the database, it's not modified.
Update Only	Modifies existing objects only in the database using values in the data file. If an object in the data file doesn't already exist in the database, it's not created. If you don't want to modify a particular object, don't include it in the data file. This operation can cause deactivated objects to be reactivated.
Deactivate	Deactivates objects in the database based on objects in the data file. If you don't want to deactivate a particular object, don't include it in the data file.

Import Errors

After an import task runs, if there were no errors, the Error Details tab will not be visible.
The exclamation point in the Completed(!) status indicates that there was a problem with the import.
Click the hyperlink in the Status column to see the details and view the Error Details tab for information.

After importing a file, you can check the status of the import by clicking the Update Status button. The following four statuses are possible:

In Progress: The import task is currently being processed by the system and has not yet completed

Error: There was an error during the import that caused the system to be unable to process the import task

Completed(!): The system was able to upload the majority of data and complete the import task, however there may be errors or things that were skipped

Completed: The import task was fully successful

The exclamation point after Completed indicates that there was a problem with the import. Click the status to see the details. This page will show you a summary of how many records were updated, created, or inactivated. Click the Error Details tab to view the information on the problem. The Common Data Import and Administration guide provides information on checking these errors.

If there were no errors, there is no Error Details tab.

Updating/Modifying Data Process

The step-by-step process to update or modify data is displayed

Data Dictionary

The Administration tab displaying Data Import/Export.

Microsoft Excel workbook with multiple worksheets
Each worksheet describes an import or export file
- File name
- Field names and descriptions
- Data type
Index of each worksheet included in the data dictionary

Within Site Manager, you have access to Data Import/Export. This area of the site contains files that can be exported, updated, and imported back into the system to provide more accurate data. These files need to be in a specific format so that when you import them back into the system, the data is handled appropriately.

The data dictionary will provide you with a guide as to what needs to be included in each import file to ensure successful loading. It contains a template for each export and each import task to provide you with the data you’ll need when working with the data import/export tasks.

The data dictionary can be downloaded from your site by going to Manage → Administration → Site Manager → Data Import/Export. On this page, there will be a link to download the data dictionary. This can be saved to your computer to be used over and over again.

There is also an Index tab that will provide you with a list of each file available in the data dictionary for an easier way to find and reference the task you’re looking for.

Import Enterprise Users

Enterprise users are users who are part of your internal organization. Each enterprise user must have a user account. The Group columns on the Enterprise Users worksheet are Boolean values that indicate whether the user belongs to a specific group. For information about how to assign existing users to groups, see Editing Users.

Login ID: A unique internal identifier (from 1 to 50 alphanumeric characters) for the enterprise user, for example, bbell. This is the name the user enters when logging in to your site.

Note

For security reasons, this field cannot contain an apostrophe.

Full Name: The enterprise user’s full name, for example, Bill Bell. This is the name that appears in the user interface.

Email Address: The enterprise user’s business email address. Do not provide a personal email address. The user’s email address must contain a valid domain name, even in test environments. (The domain name is the part of the email address that appears after the @ sign.)

Phone: The enterprise user’s telephone number, for example, 415-555-1234.

Fax: The enterprise user’s fax number, for example, 415-555-1212.

Default Currency: The enterprise user’s preferred currency for displaying monetary values, for example, USD. Your site uses the default currency if the enterprise user’s preferred currency is not set. You must use a currency code defined on the Reference - System Level Codes worksheet.

Preferred Locale: The enterprise user’s preferred locale, for example, en_US. When an enterprise user logs in, the preferred locale determines the formats of currencies, dates, and numbers. The corresponding language appears in the user interface only if the translation is available and installed. Enterprise users can change their preferred locale by modifying their user preferences. You must use a locale code defined on the Reference - System Level Codes worksheet in the Buyer Modification Template.

Importing Departments

SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing uses departments to identify internal business units for projects. For example, you can run a project on behalf of the department named "Sales." Departments can be hierarchical. For example, the department named "Sales" might be a sub-department of the department named "Corporate."

Import Commodity Codes

You define commodity codes on the Commodity Codes worksheet.

Domain - The name of the classification system, for example, UNSPSC. For custom commodity codes, specify CCC or any other value you’d like.

Note

Commodity code domains must be in lower case.

UniqueName - The unique name of the commodity code, for example, 1410.

Name - A description of the commodity code, for example, "Paper materials". This is the description that appears in the user interface. You can define translations for commodity code descriptions.

ParentUniqueName - The unique name of the parent commodity code. This column defines hierarchical relationships between commodity codes. If the commodity code is not part of a hierarchical system, or if it is the top-level parent node in a hierarchical system, you can leave this column blank.

The sample data on the Commodity Codes worksheet defines "All" as the top-level parent commodity code. Do not remove this code. It is required, even if you are not defining hierarchical commodity codes.

Import Currency Conversion Rates

You define currency conversion rates on the Currency Conversion Rates worksheet. If you have more than 65,535 records to import, define the data in a CSV file. A Microsoft Excel file cannot contain more than 65,535 rows. You can use the data import task Import Currency Conversion Rates (CSV). Currency conversion rates are used in multi-currency events and in projects that have base currencies other than the site’s base currency. For example, a user in Europe may have their base currency as EUR. A user in the US might view this project and want to see the currency in USD. If you have a currency conversion rate for USD to EUR and EUR to USD, then the users will be able to view the project in their currency.

The import file for currency conversion rates requires the following information:

FromCurrency: The currency code of the currency from which the monetary value is converted, for example, USD. You must use a currency code defined on the Reference - System Level Codes worksheet.

ToCurrency: The currency code of the currency to which the monetary value is converted, for example, EUR. You must use a currency code defined on the Reference - System Level Codes worksheet.

Rate: The currency conversion rate, which is a decimal value. For example, 0.6924 or 1.916.

Date: The date the conversion rate goes into effect. Use the following date format: day month date hh:mm:ss year. For example: Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 2025

Import Regions

The Import Region Codes section is highlighted on the Data Import/Export page.

The Excel file contains the following fields:

Parent Region – It’s an unique identifier for the parent region. It accepts the string data type. It has a maximum string length of 50 characters. It’s an optional field because some region can have a parent region and others not.

Description – It contains a description of the region. It accepts the string data type. It has a maximum string length of 510 characters. It’s an optional field and can be empty.

Region – A unique string identifier for the region. It accepts the string data type. It has a maximum string length of 50 characters. It’s a required field and cannot be empty.

Data from Other Sources

SAP Ariba provides the following options for integrating your SAP Ariba solutions with your company’s ERP systems:
- Manual import and export of data files from SAP Ariba user interface
- Automated file transfer using Integration Tool Kit (ITK)
- Real-time data transfer using SOAP Web Services
- HTTP requests – this method is supported only for SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing projects
- APIs available through the SAP Ariba API portal
The mechanism you use depends on the type of data you want to transfer between SAP Ariba and your company’s other systems.

Manual import

Manual file import and export is used to transfer data files from the user interface. There are permissions needed to access different import/export tasks so one user may not have access to all the same tasks that another user has. The location of the particular data import/export task you are looking for may also vary, depending on the type of data.

Automated file transfer

You use the SAP Ariba Integration Toolkit to automate transfer of CSV files between SAP Ariba Spend Management and external systems. The SAP Ariba Integration Toolkit is made up of two tools:

Ariba Data Transfer Tool: A command-line utility that facilitates CSV file transfer in batch mode between SAP Ariba Spend Management and your ERP system, manually-maintained data, or some other system.
The DB Connector: A command-line utility that bridges the gap between the SAP Ariba Data Transfer Tool and JDBC-based ERP systems.

Real-time data transfer

SAP Ariba Web Services enable you to exchange data between SAP Ariba Contracts or SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing and other systems, such as ERP systems, for real-time data integration. In most cases, the SAP Ariba Web Services are used between the SAP Ariba solution and an intermediary Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) system that handles web service communication for an ERP system. For simplicity, the term EAI system is used in this chapter to refer to either an EAI or an ERP system. SAP Ariba Web Services use the W3C SOAP messaging framework to exchange messages over HTTP or HTTPS. If you are using an outbound web service (a service initiated by the SAP Ariba solution), SAP Ariba strongly recommends that you use SAP Ariba Web Services over an HTTPS link to the EAI system.

Mapping Data Load Types to Sources

The various options available for importing data vary by type is displayed.

The options available for importing data vary by type. The guide Quick reference guide to integration methods for sourcing, contract, and supplier data (available in the product help) lists the supported methods. This can change over time, so refer back to that guide for an updated list.

HTTP Requests

Along with ITK and SOAP web services, HTTP requests can also be used to create projects and import/export data for sourcing projects. This works by sending a HTTP request to SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing to create a Strategic Sourcing Project. The next time the user logs in, there will be a project there for them to configure. You can also configure the request to include a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to define the team as well as an optional ZIP file which can also add attachments to the new project. You can also use HTTP requests for event data import. Once the request is run, users will be prompted to create an event based on the imported files from the HTTP request. For this to work, the HTTP request uses your SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing URL and realm ID to send the files you want to import.

Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled tasks are processes that run on a regular basis in the background:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
Scheduled tasks are responsible for triggering email notifications, updates to fields on projects, task status and so much more. From time to time, Customer Support may ask you to run one of these scheduled tasks when troubleshooting an issue.
Administrators will have access to these tasks.

It is also helpful having access to this area to see when the scheduled task is scheduled to run. For example, you may encounter a contract workspace whose expiration date has been reached but the status of the workspace is still shown as Published rather than Expired. This is because there is a scheduled task that runs to check the expiration date field on contract workspaces and switch the Status field from Published to Expired. Administrators can go check the scheduled tasks to confirm this is the reason.

Audit Log

Ariba Administrators can use the audit log to:

Monitor user login activities
Monitor actions performed by users
Search activities based on several filters

This option is only available to users who have the Customer Administrator permission.

Besides viewing currently active user sessions, users with the Customer Administrator permission can also view the specific activities one or more users are performing on your site.

Under Site Manager, click the Audit Log link. The system will then display this Audit Log Filters available to help narrow down the search results for specific activities. There is a List All option, however, depending on how many entries there are, the list may be too large to display in it’s entirety. For this reason you can use the search filters below to narrow the search:

Id: The unique audit event ID. The reference number can be used when reporting the issue to SAP Ariba. This is the number displayed on a screen when you see ‘We’re sorry, a system error has occurred’. Providing this number to SAP Ariba Support helps them to quickly locate the error and begin investigation of the issue.

Date: The date and time the action occurred. You can search by a specific date and time or you can use the available options in the drop down of Today, Yesterday, This Week, Last Week and so on. These options are there to make searching by date a little easier.

Event Type: The logging category.

Real User Effective User: The name of the user who performed the action. In most cases, the Real User and Effective User will be the same. These may be different when ariba system performs an action on behalf of a user, such as an Integration Event also known as an import task. It can also be different when one user performs an action while acting as another.

Description: A description of the action.

The Customer Site and Node fields are for internal use only.

When searching the Audit Log as an administrator, the best options are to search by the date until you become familiar with the way the SAP Ariba system defines the event type for different types of activities within the system. As a best practice, once the results are returned, export all rows to Microsoft Excel using the Table Options menu. This will allow you to filter through the data to search for specific results.

User Sessions

When a user logs in to the site, a user session is created. Administrators with the appropriate access can:
- View users who are currently logged in to your site
- Disconnect users
- View user activity
This option is only available to users who have the Customer Administrator permission.

The user sessions area allows the administrator to view which users are currently logged into the site and how long they’ve been idle. The administrator also has the ability to end user sessions but if the administrator chooses to end a particular user’s session, that user receives no warning and may lose work that hasn’t been saved. This area of the site won’t be needed frequently, but it is helpful to know as an administrator that you can monitor current user activity.