Implementing and Managing Demand Aggregation

1. To enable Demand Aggregation in a realm, access the Intelligent Configuration Manager (ICM), and set the parameter Application.Purchasing.EnableDemandAggregation to Yes.

   Partners or customer support must enable this feature. You can submit a Service Request with customer support at Support.Ariba.com.

2. Next, configure the relevant CSV files:
   • DemandHoldingRule.csv​
   • DemandAssignmentRule.csv
   • ​DemandAggregationRule.csv

To finalize purchases and manage aggregated requisitions, users must be added to the following groups.​

• Purchasing Agent: To view the Purchasing Workbench and aggregate the items held for consolidation.​
• Purchasing Manager: To view the Purchasing Workbench and manage the aggregation activities.​

​For generic variant realms (realms connected to a generic Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system), one or more Purchasing Agents must be assigned as responsible users for each Purchasing Unit.

1. Identifying Items for Demand Holding Rules

   Buyers analyze purchasing history to identify common items for aggregation, such as the Rayovac batteries, and configure Demand Holding Rules in SAP Ariba to mark them as held in new PRs.

2. ​Configuring Demand Assignment Rules

   Demand Assignment Rules assign held items like Rayovac batteries to specific purchasing units based on categories. Each purchasing unit is responsible for aggregating and managing held line items assigned to them.​​

3. Setting Up Demand Aggregation Rules

   Demand Aggregation Rules in SAP Ariba are set to group items like Rayovac batteries when they reach a threshold, facilitating bulk purchasing and negotiation.

4. Monitoring and Adjustments

   The procurement team reviews and adjusts the rules as needed, ensuring they meet XYZ Corp's procurement objectives and that items like Rayovac batteries are effectively managed for cost savings and efficiency.

• Demand holding rules identify requisition line items to be held for aggregation and auto-aggregation.
• ​Assignment rules assign the held line items to purchasing agents.​
• Aggregation rules group the held line items marked for auto-aggregation.​
  • A scheduled task converts these groups into aggregated requisitions.​
  • The task can be scheduled to run daily, weekly, or on another schedule as desired.

Demand holding rules identify requisition line items to be held for aggregation and auto-aggregation.​

​For example:​

Demand holding rules flag the Rayovac Batteries line items in the purchase requisition as items to be held for potential aggregation, preventing immediate processing and allowing for the possibility of bulk order consolidation.​

​Demand holding rules are configured using the Import Demand Holding Rules integration task using the DemandHoldingRule.csv file.

Demand assignment rules determine which requisition line items are allocated to specific purchasing agents based on predefined criteria.​

​Assignment rules are invoked when a requisition is submitted and when it gets fully approved.​

​SAP Ariba Buying compares the line item's fields' values with those defined for the rules and assigns the line item to the specified purchasing agent if the values match.​

For example:​

Demand assignment rules guide these Rayovac batteries line items from a specific purchasing unit to a purchasing agent, based on the items commodity code, ensuring they are managed by the team or department best equipped to handle their procurement.​

Demand assignment rules are configured using the Import Assignment Rules for Demand Aggregation integration task using the DemandAssignmentRule.csv file.

Demand aggregation rules determine the settings for auto-aggregating held line items and validating manually created aggregated requisitions.​

​For example:​

Demand aggregation rules group the Rayovac Batteries line items from multiple purchase requisitions, enabling the procurement team to combine these into a single larger order.​

Demand aggregation rules are configured using the Import Demand Aggregation Rules integration task, using the DemandAggregationRule.csv file.

In the DemandAggregationRule.csv file, specifying Yes or No for selected fields dictates the grouping criteria for these line items.​​

For instance, if the Supplier and ShipTo fields for a particular purchasing unit are set to Yes, held line items within that unit are grouped by their purchasing agent, and then by their supplier and shipping locations, provided they are marked for auto-aggregation.​​

This systematic approach allows for streamlined creation and submission of aggregated requisitions based on the defined criteria.​​

Only one aggregation rule per purchasing unit, company code, or business unit is allowed, although the file can contain multiple rules for different units.

Based on the configuration presented in the following example table, the Rayovac Batteries, when held for aggregation within the purchasing unit IN001 and sharing the same purchasing agent, supplier, and ship-to location, will be auto-aggregated into the same requisition, maximizing efficiency and potential volume discounts.

Only one aggregation rule per purchasing unit, company code, or business unit is allowed, although the file may contain multiple rules for different units.

Informational Message: For more information about what data must be included in the DemandHoldingRule.csv, DemandAssignmentRule.csv, or DemandAggregationRule.csv files, refer to the Data Dictionary in your realm.

To integrate with SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing to send sourcing requests for aggregated requisitions, the Application.Procure.EnableSourcingForAggregatedRequisitions parameter must be enabled through the Intelligent Configuration Manager (ICM).​

To enable SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing to receive requests from SAP Ariba Procurement, the EnableSourcingForProcurement scheduled task must also be run in SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing.​