Optimizing Auctions and Procurement Processes for a Global Manufacturer with SAP Ariba

Our customer can actively conduct e-auctions to choose the best supplier, spending less time on the procurement procedure agreement

Client

The client is a global manufacturing company operating across multiple regions and managing a complex supplier landscape to support its production and procurement activities.

Challenge

To support sourcing and purchasing operations, the client had previously implemented SAP Ariba Sourcing for tenders and auctions, as well as SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing to manage purchases and invoice processing.

As the business continued to grow, procurement processes became increasingly complex. Although SAP Ariba was already in place, many workflows were complicated, inconsistent across regions, and contained unnecessary steps. In particular, the client faced difficulties related to fragmented procurement practices, limited standardization of templates and approval processes, and insufficient usability for business users. Conducting tenders and auctions required excessive manual effort, while agreement management and document approvals were time-consuming and prone to delays.

To address these challenges, the client needed to simplify and reconfigure existing SAP Ariba processes, standardize procurement workflows across regions, improve the user experience, and enable more efficient supplier selection through centralized and transparent e-auctions.

Solution

LeverX reconfigured and enhanced the client’s existing SAP Ariba solutions to simplify procurement workflows and standardize sourcing and purchasing processes across regions.

The LeverX team was responsible for:

• Reworking and simplifying procurement, tender, and auction processes.
• Redesigning and standardizing sourcing workflows in SAP Ariba Sourcing.
• Developing and configuring procurement templates, including RFI, RFP, RFQ, and agreement templates with an NDA.
• Organizing and supporting e-auctions, including the setup of multiple auction types.
• Enhancing SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing functionality to support purchasing, invoicing, and service procurement scenarios.
• Implementing and configuring SAP Ariba Guided Buying to improve usability and support category-based procurement.
• Rolling out updated SAP Ariba functionality to additional countries and supporting further rollout planning.
• Providing ongoing system configuration support and adjustments during the project.

Technology Stack

The solution is built on SAP’s cloud-based procurement stack, ensuring standardization, transparency, and scalability of sourcing and purchasing processes across regions.

Procurement and sourcing platform: SAP Ariba Cloud

SAP Ariba Cloud serves as the core platform for managing end-to-end procurement processes, including sourcing, purchasing, supplier interaction, and invoice processing, within a unified cloud environment.

Sourcing and auctions: SAP Ariba Sourcing

SAP Ariba Sourcing is used to manage tenders, RFx processes, and e-auctions. The solution supports transparent supplier selection, standardized procurement templates, agreement management, and multiple auction formats.

Purchasing and invoice processing: SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing

SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing supports operational procurement processes, including purchase requisitions, purchase orders, shipment notifications, invoice management, goods receipt tracking, and compliance with supplier requirements. The solution also enables service procurement scenarios.

User experience layer: SAP Ariba Guided Buying

SAP Ariba Guided Buying, as an add-on to SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing, provides a simplified and intuitive user interface for business users. It supports category-based procurement, guided purchasing scenarios, and controlled buying processes across regions.

Enterprise integration: SAP ERP

SAP Ariba solutions are integrated with the client’s SAP ERP system to ensure consistent master and transactional data, seamless document exchange, and end-to-end procurement process execution.

Results

The client now actively conducts centralized tenders and timely auctions with SAP Ariba Sourcing. This allows them to quickly compare offers from suppliers, monitor and manage each stage of procurement procedures, and attract new suppliers with the required qualifications. Integration of SAP Ariba with SAP ERP supports data accuracy, real-time visibility into spend, and synchronization of procurement and financial processes.