Requesting a New Supplier

Use these steps to create a supplier request when you want to work with a supplier that’s not in your organization's vendor database.

While you're creating an internal supplier request, SAP Ariba searches the database to see if there are any existing suppliers with the same information and identifies potential duplicates. If the supplier you're requesting already exists in your site, you can cancel the request.

You can save an internal supplier request as a draft to exit the form without losing your current answers. You can complete and submit a draft supplier request later or discard it.

Once you have submitted a supplier request, you cannot delete it.

Steve Jones is an IT manager at the buying organization NSM Global. He recently attended a trade show and met some new vendors he wants to start working with.

In this video, you'll watch a demonstration of Steve creating an internal supplier request.

1. On the dashboard, choose Create → Supplier Request.

2. Enter information in the supplier request form.

3. If SAP Ariba identifies any existing suppliers that match the information in your request, perform the following actions:

   1. Choose See duplicates.

   2. Review potential duplicate suppliers. If you agree with a suggested match, choose Cancel request. If you do not think any possible matches are the same supplier, choose Close.

4. Perform one of the following actions:

   • To submit the request for approval, choose Submit.
   • To save the request as a draft to finalize and submit later, choose Save.
   • To cancel the request, choose Cancel, then choose Confirm.

In this exercise, you'll request a new supplier as a business user.

1. On the dashboard, choose Create → Supplier Request.

2. Fill out the supplier request form using the following data:

   Field Name	Value
   Supplier name	PLC Enterprises
   Street	752 Enterprise Rd
   City	Chicago
   Postal Code	60606
   Country/Region	United States
   State/Province/Region	Illinois (IL)
   Supplier contact first name	Denise
   Supplier contact last name	Armstrong
   Supplier contact email address	darmstrong@plc.com
   Business justification for new supplier	This is a diverse supplier

3. Choose Submit.

4. After receiving confirmation that your request was submitted, choose Done.

If your organization requires you to match potential new suppliers to the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) supplier database before creating a request, you create an internal supplier request using D&B lookup.

To create a supplier request using Dun & Bradstreet lookup, you search for the supplier you want to request in the D&B database. If the supplier is in the D&B database, you select it and then fill out the request form. D&B information for supplier name, address, and Dun & Bradstreet ID (D-U-N-S number) are automatically added to the request form.

If you don't see the supplier you want to request in the D&B database, you can perform one of the following actions:

• Ask the supplier to register with D&B. Once they've done so, you can create the request by selecting the supplier in the D&B search.
• Fill out the request even though you can't find the supplier in the D&B database. In this case, the supplier probably isn't registered with D&B, and the supplier request includes questions about why you need an exception to your organization's general requirement that all suppliers have D-U-N-S numbers. Provide the supplier name and address information that would otherwise automatically be added to the request by D&B. Depending on your organization's processes, approval of requests for suppliers that aren't registered with D&B can be different.

1. On the dashboard, choose Create → Supplier Request with D&B Lookup.

   The following screenshot illustrates step 1:

   

2. Open the Search by list and select one of the following options:

   • D-U-N-S Number
   • Supplier Name
   • Business ID (Tax ID, VAT ID, Other ID)
   • Email or Website
   • Phone Number

3. Enter search criteria and choose Search. Some options require you to specify the supplier's country or region. An asterisk indicates the required fields for each option.

4. Review the list of suppliers in the D&B database that match your search criteria and perform one of the following actions:

   • If you see the supplier you want to request in the list, select them and choose Next.
   • If you don't see the supplier you want to request in the list, and you don't want to ask the supplier to register with D&B before you create a request for them, choose Can't find supplier.

   The following screenshot illustrates steps 2 through 4:

   

5. Enter information in the supplier request form. D&B data automatically fills in answers for supplier name, address, and D-U-N-S number.

   The following screenshot illustrates step 5:

   

6. If SAP Ariba identifies any existing suppliers that match the information in your request, perform the following actions:

   1. Choose See duplicates.

   2. Review potential duplicate suppliers. If you agree with a suggested match, choose Cancel request. If you do not think any possible matches are the same supplier, choose Close.

7. Perform one of the following actions:

   • To submit the request for approval, choose Submit.
   • To cancel the request, choose Cancel.

Suppliers who want to do business with your organization submit external supplier requests when they want to introduce themselves.

External supplier request projects aren't available by default and are only available in sites where the feature is enabled. As part of external supplier request enablement, SAP Ariba Support provides your organization with an external supplier request URL that is specific to your site. This URL allows suppliers to access your site's external supplier request form as guest users for the strictly limited purpose of completing the form. Your organization can provide this URL to potential new suppliers through specific outreach programs, by publishing it on a website, or through other means. Suppliers can create external supplier request projects by accessing the external supplier request URL, completing a ReCAPTCHA verification, and filling out and submitting the external supplier request form.

Rita Machado is a sales representative for Acme Business Solutions, a company that sells IT equipment and software. She wants to start doing business with NSM Global, so she’ll create an external supplier request to introduce her organization.

In this video, you'll watch a demonstration of Rita creating an external supplier request.

1. Access the external supplier request URL provided by the buying organization.

2. Complete the ReCAPTCHA verification.

3. Enter information in the supplier request form.

4. Perform one of the following actions:

   • To submit the request for approval, choose Submit.
   • To cancel the request, choose Cancel.