Integration services

The Challenge

Ariba is a leading E-procurement vendor, and corporate clients enjoy its ability to manage and control spend across a wide range of products from over 300,000 Suppliers.

Many of the products they supply can be held in catalogues, but of course bespoke products, and complex categories like print need to be specified and quotes obtained before Ariba can record the purchase. To achieve that, Ariba supplies an interface that allows transactions to be sent ( ‘ punchout’ ) to third party software that can obtain prices and return them to Ariba via ‘punch-in’.

Marketingunity has extensive capabilities and experience of integrating to Ariba in this way, which delivers a number of benefits to both Ariba buyers and also suppliers. These include: –

The range of products under control can be extended to complex categories like print. These form a signficant percentage of corporate spend, and therefore an opportunity to achieve massive savings.
Integration automates transactions, minimising risk and delay. As a result, time-critical purchases such as marketing collateral can be completed faster for rapid delivery. Suppliers can also get paid faster.
Integration reduces administration overheads, making the transaction cheaper for all parties.
Why use Marketingunity?

Prior to becoming part of SAP, Ariba identified the desirability of integration and ran a program to encourage it called the Ariba Supplier Solutions Provider (ASSP) program. This identified and accredited companies with proven ability to integrate with the ASN.

Marketingunity was the first accredited ASSP in EMEA. We have proven Ariba integration skills, having established successful links with the Ariba Supplier Network, which are in daily use by a number of major worldwide corporations.

Marketingunity offers a range of integration solutions and services, which combine to form a total solution to each requirement.

The Ariba Adaptor
The Ariba Adaptor provides a proven method for suppliers to link their catalogues to the Ariba Network and make it fast and seamless for Ariba buyers to do business with them. It is Ariba PunchOut Level 1 and 2 enabled ‘out of the box’.

For suppliers that no existing online ordering capability, the Ariba Adaptor provides one that can begin taking business from the ASN right after installation. No IT skills or development effort is needed – Suppliers simply have to load their products into an Adaptor Catalogue.

Suppliers that already have an existing system can implement the Ariba Adaptor alongside it, and use it as for selected products and customers. That means they can avoid the delay of linking their own system to the ASN, together with the potential lost business.

Of course, integration of the Ariba Adaptor and existing system may still be desirable, which is where marketingunity’s integration skills and experience can help. By utilising our skills, Suppliers avoid the need to run their own integration project, with all the attendant costs, delays and risks.

Of course, taking orders is only one function that needs to be automated if the goal is ‘end-to-end’ streamling of business transactions.

Another is E-invoicing, which is increasingly seen as important to all parties. Our integration skills can help there too, by integrating Suppliers financial systems with Ariba, to speed invoice processing, minimise risk of error, and delays in securing payment.

Marketingunity Integration Benefits
Fastest-possible time to ‘go-live’ for new Suppliers and Buyers, benefitting both parties.
Rapid, risk-free and cost-effective processing of business transactions with minimal manual overheads.
Sophisticated ‘Ariba-accredited ’ Level II PunchOut capability ‘out of the box’.
Business continuity whilst any required bespoke Integration takes place.