Procurement Services, in partnership with University Financial Services and Information Technology Services, has embarked on the implementation of SAP Ariba, a robust e-procurement solution enabling intelligent connections between businesses and suppliers.
The implementation of an improved procurement solution is part of UK’s Our Path Forward Initiative, a financial path to generate the cost savings and process efficiencies necessary to meet our mission. This enhanced procurement tool will help the University:
- Leverage best-in-class technologies to support institutional goals
- Improve the end-user experience with a more streamlined shopping experience
- Expand supplier diversity
- Automate many procurement activities
- Save money and time with decreased occurrences of cost discrepancy
- Support improved data quality and accessibility through intelligent features
What is SAP Ariba?
Ariba is a market leader in e-procurement transformation solutions creating direct, intelligent connections between businesses and suppliers.
UK will implement two Ariba modules:
- Procurement Catalog: creates consumer-like shopping experiences enabling University shoppers an easier way to get what they need from a greater number of common suppliers.
- Commerce Automation: automates the exchange of purchase orders, invoices, and other procurement documents between UK and our suppliers.
Note: University shoppers will interact with the Procurement Catalog module only.
What can users expect from this new experience?
As mentioned above, University shoppers will only interact with the new Catalog module. Ariba’s Catalog is an intelligent solution aggregating current and future e-catalog suppliers into a single punch-out catalog solution. There are a few specific differences between current and future experiences:
What will change?
- Current punch-out catalogs within SRM will be aggregated into a single catalog environment having multiple suppliers and resulting in a streamlined shopping experience. This includes content from current e-catalogs with significant additional products from a number of other suppliers.
- Improvements to invoice discrepancies and resolution.
- Improved automation for Purchase Orders and touchless processing.
What will stay the same?
- Shoppers will access the new, enhanced Catalog environment through the myUK Portal using their existing Shoppers tab and related functionality.
- Shopping cart creation (including Free Text carts functionality), goods confirmations and approval processes will not change.
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There will be no changes to hospital materials requisition processes.
What tasks do I need to know about or perform at Go-Live?
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During their first time access to Ariba, Shoppers may encounter a pop-up blocker message at the top right of their SRM screen. Click on the pop-up blocker and allow all pop-up options for Ariba. This action may need to be performed twice depending on the browser.
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During their first access to Ariba from the SRM Add-Item menu, Shoppers will be presented with a Click-through agreement to accept. It is normal to accept and click through the Ariba agreement. When accessing some Level 1 (L1) e-catalogs on the network, you may also need to accept cookies or agree to individual click-through agreements on your first visit.
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A good first step during your initial visit(s) to the Ariba Network is to identify the Level 1 (L1) suppliers whose catalogs you plan to frequently visit and set them as Favorites. Favorites tiles for each supplier will show in the Favorites panel on your landing page for easy future access to their catalogs. A separate Quick Reference Card is available on the Procurement Services website Learning Page for current suppliers with steps to create Favorites tiles.
When will Ariba Go-Live?
Go-live, originally slated for September 13, 2021, is now scheduled for Monday, September 27, 2021. Be sure to visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page for additional information as the project evolves and for post go-live updates.
Contact and More Information
The project team will continue to update this site and communicate with the University community through various mechanisms. Additional information will be shared regarding the transition, training opportunities, etc. as the project evolves.
Be sure to visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to learn more about the project as it develops. Additional questions and answers will be posted as work progresses along its timeline.
Departmental employees can enroll in the Purchasing listserv to receive email updates regarding the project. To self enroll, send e-mail to LISTSERV@lsv.uky.edu with the following text in the message body: subscribe UKPURCHNEWS The subject line should be blank as well as the rest of the body of the email. We encourage you to forward this to anyone in your area who needs to keep informed about Procurement Services news & information. You may unsubscribe in the same manner, by sending an email with "SIGNOFF UKPURCHNEWS" to LISTSERV@lsv.uky.edu.
If you have any questions, please email UKPurchasing@uky.edu.