What is the difference between a blanket purchase order (BPO) contract and a non-BPO contract?

The main difference between BPO and non-BPO contracts is the workflow:

• You send a BPO to a supplier through the SAP Business Network. Your supplier views the BPO in their Workbench and creates an invoice using PO-flip.
• For non-BPO contracts, the supplier accesses your Ariba Procurement Solution to create the invoice.

There is one exception to the PO-flip option for BPO contracts: if you allow collaborative invoicing on the contract, suppliers select the BPO in the Workbench and must punch in to your site to create an invoice. As long as the contract is non-collaborative, the BPO works the same way as a purchase order.

BPOs also require you to set a maximum limit. If the maximum limit is 0, the BPO closes automatically.

Purchasing > Contract Compliance