Confirming quality: Ariba enhances spend management in Supplier Network
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 10/1/2008 10:06:00 AM
As the world becomes increasingly flat, few things are more critical to the success of any business than finding the world’s best suppliers. Spend management solutions provider Ariba says the latest release of Ariba Supplier Network 46, its Web-based business commerce and collaboration platform, builds on robust functionality developed over the last decade with new capabilities that will fuel greater collaboration among buyers and suppliers globally—including a supplier discovery service, transaction dashboard, and invoice quick enablement.
“Globalization creates unprecedented opportunities for buyers and suppliers to connect and transact business,” says Bob Solomon, senior VP, Ariba Supplier Network. “To maximize these opportunities, companies must have access to leading-edge tools that enable them to optimize and manage trading relationships across multiple geographies using a common platform.”
For example, using the new supplier discovery service, buyers can identify world-class partners to support their business strategies. And suppliers can tap new, qualified business opportunities using expanded supplier profile attributes that enable them to outline their capabilities in greater detail.
Equipping suppliers to transact business electronically remains a significant challenge for companies of all sizes. Expanding on its robust supplier enablement capabilities, Ariba has added invoice quick enablement features to Ariba Supplier Network 46. Now buyers can quickly on-board suppliers that invoice them but do not typically receive a purchase order by automatically enabling them as soon as they are ready to generate an invoice. Companies using ERP systems to manage invoices can seamlessly connect to the Ariba Network and realize the value of this and other features that the Ariba Network provides.
Leveraging a new dashboard that provides a view into transaction activities, suppliers can more effectively manage the life cycle of orders and invoices and respond more quickly to customer needs. Using a single interface, suppliers can easily find purchase orders that have not been fully invoiced, create invoices, search for new orders, find changed orders, handle rejected invoices, and correct invoice errors.
With increased visibility, suppliers can drive better usage and greater value from the Ariba Network.
“In a global economy, collaboration isn’t just prudent, it’s critical to success,” says Solomon. “Through its Supplier Network, Ariba will continue to deliver the features and functionality that companies need to connect with key trading partners, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and ultimately, capitalize on opportunities for growth.”
