Users are unsure whether to contact SAP Ariba Customer Support or their customer directly when they have a question or encounter an issue related to their SAP Ariba account or transactions. They need clear guidance on which party to approach for different types of queries

The issue occurs within the SAP Ariba Network

A user will typically encounter this issue when they have a specific problem. The steps to reproduce the user's confusion are:

1. A supplier logs into their SAP Ariba account.
2. The user identifies a common business issue. For example:
   • They cannot find a Purchase Order they were expecting from a customer.
   • An invoice they submitted has been rejected and they do not know why.
   • They want to know the payment status of an approved invoice.
   • They have a question about a specific requirement in a sourcing event.
   • They are not an administrator and need to have their user permissions changed.
3. The user decides to seek help. They look for a general "Help" or "Contact Us" option within the platform.
4. The user is presented with generic support options (like the Help Center or a general SAP Ariba support contact) without immediate, context-sensitive direction that differentiates between customer-specific issues and platform issues.
5. The user, lacking clear guidance, incorrectly selects a point of contact. For instance, they contact SAP Ariba support for one of the transactional issues listed in step 2.
6. The support representative (from SAP Ariba or the customer) who receives the inquiry is unable to resolve it and must redirect the user to the correct party, delaying the resolution.

The system lacks a clear, readily accessible guide that explicitly outlines the distinct support responsibilities of SAP Ariba and the customer's internal business units. Users are not immediately aware of which issues fall under SAP Ariba's platform support versus which are related to their customer's specific business processes and transaction management (such as invoice content, payment status, purchase order details, and sourcing event specifics)

SAP Ariba Customer Support can help you understand how to use your account, but your customers are best qualified to explain what they need according to their own internal business processes.

The following information can help you determine when to contact SAP Ariba and when to contact your customer.

Contact your customer if you have questions about the following areas:

1. Invoice payments

• After you submit an invoice, your customer receives the invoice and begins to process it. Your customer updates the invoice status and can let you know when to expect payment.
• Your payment does not go through Ariba, unless your customer uses AribaPay.

2. Invoice rejections

• Your customer rejects an invoice when it doesn't meet their requirements.
• Your customer can then tell you how to correct your invoice.

3. Missing purchase orders or purchase order details

• If you can't find a purchase order, your customer can confirm that it was sent to the correct account.
• If the information on your purchase order is incorrect, your customer needs to issue a replacement order.

4. Sourcing event content

• Your customers use Ariba Sourcing to build an event based on the information they want from you.
• For clarification on specific questions in the event, it is best to contact the event owner directly.

Contact your account administrator if you have questions about the following areas:

1. Your account settings

• If you are an administrator, you control the settings for yourself and all other users on your company's account.
• If you are not an administrator, contact your account administrator for assistance with requesting additional permissions, resetting your password, and configuring other user settings. To find out who your administrator is and how to contact that person, click your initials in the upper-right corner of your account and select Contact Administrator.
• If you are not sure who to contact at your customer's organization, you can find the appropriate contact information in your account.

If you have questions about anything not covered in the areas listed above, you can browse or search the Help Center to find information related to navigating, using, or understanding your SAP Ariba account. Here are some more useful links:

SAP Ariba Help Center

How do I contact my customer?

How do I contact the owner of a sourcing event?

SAP Business Network for Procurement & Supply Chain > Administration (Buyer & Supplier Account Administration)
Strategic Sourcing > Sourcing Events