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Implementing Best Practices

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to implement best practices for reporting in SAP Ariba Procurement

Frequency of Reporting

The frequency with which reports are generated and reviewed plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of a procurement strategy. The right frequency ensures that you are working with the most current data, allowing for timely decision-making. The frequency should align with the organization's goals and the specific metrics being monitored.

Balance is key! Too frequent reporting can be overwhelming, while too infrequent can lead to outdated information.

Establishing Frequency

Daily reports: These might include critical approval delays or urgent compliance issues.

Weekly/Monthly reports: These could focus on ongoing procurement activities like spend analysis or supplier performance.

Data Validation

Data validation is a critical step in the reporting process. Incorrect or incomplete data can lead to flawed insights and poor decision-making. Ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the data is crucial.

SAP Ariba offers various features that can be used to implement data validation rules which may reduce the amount of manual validation needed.

Methods for Data Validation

Automated checks:

SAP Ariba provides features for automated data validation including (but not limited to):

Catalog validation rules:

Catalog validation rules are sets of conditions that ensure the items in a catalog meet specific criteria, such as price limits or supplier qualifications.

After running catalog usage reports, you can apply these rules to filter out non-compliant items, ensuring that only validated items are considered in future procurement decisions.

Catalog validation rules:

Receiving types define how goods or services are received and verified upon delivery, such as through visual inspection, quantity count, or quality tests.

By comparing receiving types with actual receiving reports, you can identify discrepancies and improve the accuracy of your receiving and payment data.

Approval rules:

Approval rules specify the conditions under which a purchase requisition or order must be approved, such as spending thresholds or departmental authorizations.

After running approval reports, you can refine these rules to eliminate bottlenecks and ensure that only validated transactions proceed to the approval stage.

Manual checks:

Periodic manual reviews should complement automated checks to ensure data integrity. Running key reports can help to address any glaring issues that may be missed through automated checks and validation.

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