What is the Ariba Network? 

The Ariba Network is a hosted service that enables suppliers and buyers to form relationships and conduct transactions over the internet.

As a supplier, you might already have an existing relationship with a customer who invites you to form a relationship on Ariba Network. As a buying organization (buyer), you use Ariba Network to enable electronic processing of orders and invoices with your existing suppliers. You might also search for new suppliers on SAP Ariba Discovery.

After a supplier accepts an invitation, the buyer can see the supplier’s catalogs and place orders. Suppliers receive the orders and can then create and send order confirmations, advance ship notices, and invoices if the buyer accepts these documents. The buyer can then send payment documents (remittance advices) to the supplier to document the payment transfer.

A supplier is an organization that sells any type of product or service. Suppliers can have more than one account, with each one possibly connecting to different buying organizations. Suppliers use the Ariba Network to:

• Access a network of high-volume buying organizations.
• Connect with specific buying organizations that are interested in the supplier’s products or services.
• Publish catalogs containing information and pricing that is customized for specific customers.
• Categorize products and services so that customers can find them when searching by category.
• Select a routing method for the documents that best fit the supplier’s business needs—suppliers can receive documents through email, fax, online (using your Ariba Network inbox and outbox), cXML, or EDI, and send documents from their online outbox or through cXML or EDI.
• Conduct transactions electronically by sending purchase order confirmations, invoices, and other documents. Ariba Network provides fast transmission, tracking, and processing of transactions.

When suppliers set up their Ariba Network account, they provide extensive information about their company—from the company address to the specific business policies. To communicate product and service offerings to buying organizations, suppliers can store catalogs on Ariba Network using one of several different formats. Alternatively, suppliers can specify a link that enables customers to punch out from their procurement systems to their website and shop for products and services there.

For more information on fees to use the Ariba Network, please review Do I have to pay to use Ariba? 

For additional information you can also check our Portal (Ariba Network Portal for Suppliers) where you would find information about Ariba, Billing and helpful articles explaining how to manage your Ariba Account.

SAP Ariba Supply Chain Collaboration
SAP Business Network