Recognizing integration concepts for direct material sourcing in the SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite

To use Direct Material Sourcing in SAP Ariba, you must import bill of materials (BOM) documents and other data from an external system to SAP Ariba. BOM documents from SAP ERP contain references to SAP ERP material master data (such as plant and supplier information), so if you import BOMs from an SAP system, you must also import SAP material master data. You can optionally map information from the external systems to DMS fields.

Integration of master data, bill of materials (BOM), and purchasing info record (PIR) is done via the SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network (formerly known as the Cloud Integration Gateway, or CIG).

See below a list of the SAP ERP data and the corresponding exports.

To integrate materials, your site must be configured to use the SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network to integrate with SAP ERP.

SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway provides value in three ways:

• Simplicity: It offers three simple steps for integration: configuration, extension, and testing. Integration is performed in a matter of minutes and there are over 200 prebuilt integration points available.
• Self-service: It provides a self-service wizard to manage the integration process using step-by-step guidance.
• Speed: It allows for quicker deployment times by providing automated testing and embedded monitoring for free. There is no license cost.

In the context of direct material sourcing, customers will be able to integrate their direct materials from SAP S/4HANA to SAP Ariba Sourcing. Once materials are available, buyers can organize sourcing events (RFI, RFPs and Auctions) and invite suppliers to bid. Using the SAP Business Network, suppliers can bid on the materials. Once the event is over, buyers use different scenarios to award the event or create follow-on documents. Depending on the integration set up, after the sourcing process is over, the award data can be exported and sent to the ERP as a:

• Purchase Info Record
• Purchase Order
• Scheduling Agreement
• Outline Agreement

• Import BOMs and SAP material master data into SAP Ariba to enable Direct Material Sourcing.
• Integration uses the SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network.
• Buyers use integrated materials to organize sourcing events and award processes in SAP Ariba Sourcing.
• Award data can be sent to ERP as Purchase Info Records, Purchase Orders, or Agreements based on integration setup.