SAP Ariba
Onboarding Resource Center
The onboarding resource center is designed to lead you to a successful implementation. These technical and business resources will guide you at every stage of your implementation project from project kick-off to go-live. You will have access to knowledge base articles, best practices, service offerings, and training videos.
Welcome
You’ll receive your SAP Ariba URL credentials from the SAP Ariba administrator and you may familiarize yourself with your new SAP Ariba environment.
One person in your organization is assigned as a designated support contact (DSC). There are two levels of DSC access: basic and full. The differences between these are as follows:
- Basic: Grants the ability to search, display, and read information on SAP Ariba Connect, receive notifications, view product documentation, perform searches, access training sites, and view and submit enhancement requests
- Full: Same as basic with the ability to log service requests and download SAP Ariba software
For more information on the DSC roles and responsibilities, please visit the DSC Getting Started portal.
To understand how to work with SAP Ariba customer support, please watch this Working with SAP Ariba Customer Support video.
SAP-User (S-User) Authorization
Get your initial credentials and S-user authorization. Log into the systems which have been provisioned for you at contract start date in order to ensure a frictionless project start.
Many of the resources you need can only be accessed with your S-user ID. For new customers, SAP will create S-user IDs for the SAP software recipients. Your company's user administrators can then request additional S-user IDs and assign the required authorizations.
Welcome eBook
Our e-book introduces you to a wealth of knowledge, resources, tools, training, and support. You’ll find useful information and access to a variety of assets, contacts, and communities that help your users get up and running with SAP Ariba solutions.
Training
We have many outlets of information available. Many offerings are self-service as well as the option to purchase assistance from several teams available to support you. As part of your SAP Ariba subscription, you’re entitled to professional training provided by our training center. These training sessions are delivered as a webinar that someone within your organization may attend.
The training course to which you’re entitled is listed in the solution deployment description under Training Services.
For dates and availability, you can visit the following link:
- Training dates
- Once you’ve identified the dates for the course, you can register via registration form and send it to SAP Ariba Training.
Customer Hub
The SAP Ariba Customer Hub is an array of resources, events, and portals you may access to learn more about using SAP Ariba solutions and network.
Support
Your S-user ID is required for SAP Ariba support.
Guidance and Enablement
As you prepare yourself for the deployment, ensure you've received your login credentials and are able to log into the site; received your network details; and created your DSC.
Each solution includes solution deployment descriptions delivered by SAP Ariba shared services. (Your S-user ID is required.)
For example, if we open the deployment description for sourcing, we see
- Deployment phases
- Activities and limitations scopes
- Services timeline
- Project resources
- Training services
All services are delivered remotely. Strategic sourcing solutions, such as sourcing, contracts, supplier lifecycle, and performance don't include technical or project management services; these services are provided by your implementation partner or contracted separately via a services order form from SAP Services.
Also, sourcing solutions don't include enablement services for suppliers; this is the responsibility of the customer, the partner, or specialized services to assist with enabling upstream suppliers and may be purchased by SAP Ariba services.
Deployment Overview
These materials will help you with your deployment methodology, processes, and solution. You'll be guided through a strategic sourcing deployment.
- Stages of deployment
- Deployment planning and timeline
- Additional services
- Prework document review
- Deployment overview
Partner Selection
Finding the right partner is essential to your project's success.
Depending on the services you've contracted, you'll have SAP Services or a partner delivering on-site consulting as well as project management services.
- The PM is responsible for creating and managing the program schedule, coordinating SAP Ariba resources across workstreams, and preparing and participating in weekly status meetings.
- The on-site consultant works with the client to understand current business processes and provide recommendations and leading practices on configuration design as well as assisting in deliverables and testing.
- The SAP Ariba deployment lead is responsible for providing functional knowledge of SAP Ariba software capabilities, configurations per the deployment description, and assisting with testing and demonstrations.
- The customer success team coordinates with internal teams, promotes adoption of SAP Ariba solutions, and provides assistance with training and events throughout your journey.
Project Progress
From time to time, you'll need to contact SAP Ariba customer support to assist with queries or issues that arise.
SAP Ariba Best Practices Center services are available to help with greater adoption and sustainable results from SAP Ariba solutions by providing access to product and business process expertise. The center leverages best practices knowledge within each solution area to provide strategic advice and coaching and knowledge transfer, allowing you to drive adoption and use all features of SAP Ariba solutions to meet your business requirements.
This support is delivered through strategic coaching and guidance. SAP Ariba Best Practices Center services provide
- Coached sourcing event
- Workshops
- Strategic guidance
- Adoption metrics development
- Reporting guidance
- Primary point of contact
- Meetings with a designated service representative at mutually convenient times
As part of a new subscription, you're entitled to post-deployment support allocated as a variable number of contact hours based on the purchased products. This support is available until the end of the first term of your contract.
As you get more familiar with the SAP Ariba solutions and start using them in the context of your business needs, you'll want to learn more about each solution so it may be used to its full potential.
Go-Live Preparation
As you prepare for your deployment go-live, consider the following:
- Have you gone through a go-live checklist with your deployment team?
- Has the targeted go-live date changed?
- Is there a date set up for the go-live call?
- Have you been introduced to your best practices center contact?
- Have you moved your project documents to your own repository?
- Have you checked out SAP Ariba Connect?
SAP Ariba services are available to consult and provide expert level guidance when moving from deployment into implementation. Depending on your individual situation or scenario, after a short consultation, we'll identify and schedule the right services to meet your needs. Our expertise is in project design, performance, migration, roll-out, and value realization across sales, service, and experience management areas. We're committed to helping our customers reduce time-to-value, transform their front office, and derive the maximum value from our solutions.
Master Data Services–One aspect to consider is your master data management. Managing your master data in the correct format is key to a successful go-live. Bad data quality is a common show-stopper that prevents customer success. SAP Ariba has professional services to help you manage your data.