SAP Ariba SNAP Overview

[sujit1977]

Hi,

Today we will look at some of the features and benefits of SAP Ariba SNAP solution.

About myself

My name is Sujit Tiwari. I am an SAP Ariba Consultant and I have been working in the procurement domain for the last 16 years and in SAP Ariba consulting practice since 2014. I have worked in SAP Ariba upstream and downstream modules such as contract management, supplier lifecycle and performance, catalogues and the procure to pay process along with cloud integration gateway methodology for on demand projects / implementations.

Why SAP Ariba SNAP ?

SAP Ariba SNAP solution is my focus area for today's discussion because of its unique approach for SME businesses. SAP has identified the need of its small and mid sized customers who would like to understand the working of an SAP procurement solution before migrating for full fledged solution such as SAP Ariba strategic sourcing suite. Rapid time to deployment and immediate ROI ( return on investments ) comes as one of the strongest benefits of this solution.

This would help them to understand how to control spend, manage cash flow and implement compliance across all categories. This also helps customers to automate time consuming processes such as moving from paper invoices to automated 3 way match over SAP business network. This is not just beneficial for the customers who benefit with supplier discounts and decrease the overall cost of purchase but suppliers as well who get acquainted to more and more customers over the
SAP business network and can grow into big businesses using this platform.

This creates a win - win situation for both customers and suppliers.

 

We will look at the following aspects -

 

1] What is SAP Ariba SNAP ?

2] Features of SAP Ariba SNAP

3] Personas

4] Design and configuration activities

5] Implementation Process

6] Resources ( roles and responsibilities )

7] Categories included

8] Learning Resources

9] Conclusion

 

1] What is SAP Ariba SNAP

SAP Ariba SNAP is Buying and Invoicing solution developed by SAP for SME ( Small and Medium Enterprises ) / mid sized companies and businesses. It is preconfigured with inbuilt / predefined categories. Therefore, the scope of customization is limited ( minimal ).

The average deployment time for SAP Ariba SNAP is 12 weeks.

 

2] Features of SAP Ariba SNAP

a] The solution is preconfigured. Support is available right from the beginning ( including best practices ).

b] It is compliant with contract spend.

c] Real time budget check functionality is available in the solution.

d] Provides access for buyers to marketplace with more than 15 million SKUs.

e] Eliminates paper invoicing processes.

f] Supplier registration is enabled via Ariba network ( now known as SAP business network )

g] Three bids and a buy process is enabled.

h] SAP Ariba SNAP solution is ERP agnostic ( meaning compatible with all ERPs, such as SAP, Oracle and Peoplesoft ).

 

3] Personas

In order to ensure a successful implementation of a procurement solution, folloing personas ( stakeholders ) need to be involved in the 4 stages of PERD ( Prepare - Explore - Realize - Deploy ) -

 

a] End User ( Buying channels and landing pages need to be understood correctly )

b] Procurement ( Proper understanding of procurement process flow and goods receiving process )

c] AP ( accounts payable ) / Finance ( Understanding of accounting principles, tax engines, invoice country rules etc. )

d] IT / Admin ( Understanding of integration methods and master and transaction data management )

e] Supplier ( Correct understanding of supplier enablement process, organization of supplier  to ensure that supplier understand all the registration and transaction aspects regarding the SAP business network )

 

4] Design and configuration activities

SAP Ariba supports the following activities as part of the initial design, setup and configuration -

a] Loading baseline configuration template and any associated master data.

b] Configuration of cloud service parameters according to customer's requirement.

c] Load SAP Ariba managed data files.

d] Configuration of integration parameters.

e] Support the following geographic and organizational scope :

• A maximum of 3 countries


• A maximum of 3 languages

f] Resolve testing issues related to configurations made up SAP Ariba.

g] Migrate SAP Ariba system configuration from the test environment to the SAP Ariba cloud service production environment.

h] Transition to cloud service support.

 

5] Implementation Process

The 12 week implementation process is divided into six 2 weeks sprints. Each sprint has different goals ( targets ).

• Sprint 1 - Readiness check


• Sprint 2 - Configuration process


• Sprint 3 - Content creation


• Sprint 4 - Validation process


• Sprint 5 - Production


• Sprint 6 - Adoption

Personas explained in point 3.

Each sprint incorporates a persona overview and a recommended workshop with all the details / requirements discussed and documented.

 

6] Resources ( roles and responsibilities )

a] Project Manager - To confirm customer goals and project scope, set up status meetings, coordinate activities and inputs from SAP Ariba resources / consultants, ensure timely project communications, identify and escalate issues and risks ( as applicable ).

b] Functional consultant - To propose cloud service configurations and service requirements, review functional ( process ) requirements and propose options / alternates ( as applicable ), creation of functional design documents ( FDD ), support testing phase.

c] Technical consultant - To support customer on SAP Ariba master data and transactional data integrational capabilities, unit testing for customizations and builds, support test phase, execute cut over activities for go live.

d] Test manager - To coordinate SIT ( System Integration Testing ) and UAT ( User Acceptance Testing ) between customer team and SAP Integration team

e] Change manager - To set up / organize CAB ( Change advisory board ) meetings and plan, analyse, communicate all change / upgrade activities.

From the customer side resources such as Program sponsor, Program manager, Business lead , IT lead, Procurement lead and ERP / Accounts Payable roles are also critical in terms of providing inputs/ requirements to SAP Ariba implementation team and providing signoff at every phase so that the project moves smoothly across all stages.

Customer training is a very important aspect as this gives insight of the UI ( user interface ) and system set up to the client and end users. The standard approach followed here is train the trainer ( it means the customer / client team which has been trained by SAP Ariba will in turn train others in the customer organization and same approach will continue till all the users are trained ).

 

7] Categories included

Following are some of the categories included with SAP Ariba SNAP :

a] IT goods and services

b] Office supplies

c] Marketing services

d] Travel

e] Facilities and maintenance

 

8] LEARNING RESOURCES

For detailed learning please go through the course TAR950 in SAP Learning Hub

https://www.youtube.com/user/aribanism

 

9] Conclusion

For SAP Ariba SNAP ( like any other standard implementation project ) to be implemented successfully and timely it is important that all the teams ( customer / client , system integrators and suppliers ) are connected over all the discussions and activities.

• Requirements should be clear.


• Fit - gap analysis should be in place.


• There should be timely communication of all actions / activities.


• All the risks should be recognized and mitigated.


• Systems should be tested properly and all the required approvals / signoffs should be provided in a timely manner.


• Most importanly the entire process needs to be documented and saved in sharepoint ( repository ) with access to all stakeholders.