In the past, the role of procurement was simple and straightforward. It involved adhering to the five key principles of procurement: right quality, right quantity, right place, right time, and right price. However today, buyers need to approach their purchasing decisions in a more comprehensive and thoughtful manner. They must consider how they buy, who they buy from, and the broader impact of their choices. While the five fundamental principles still hold true, there are additional factors at play that require a more elevated buying experience. Considerations of these factors will prepare you for the future of purchasing.
For instance, personal online buying has become increasingly convenient, allowing us to easily find and purchase the goods we need. In turn, modern business buyers and procurement professionals expect a similar experience that caters to their individual preferences and roles. They desire a personalised and predictive buying experience that offers suggestions based on their specific needs. Moreover, they seek intelligent recommendations that enable them to make informed decisions while considering the sustainability and environmental implications of their purchases.
Elevating the Guided Buying Experience
To meet these expectations, SAP Ariba includes a guided buying capability that sets the standard for purchasing goods and services. The latest advancement is the introduction of Buying 360, which enhances the buying experience by making it more predictive, personalised, and sustainable.
Through Buying 360, buyers are directed to relevant goods and services based on their roles and their organisation’s procurement and sustainability policies. This targeted approach makes procurement more strategic and effective. Furthermore, the seamless integration between SAP Ariba solutions and SAP S/4HANA ensures a smooth fulfilment process by converting purchasing requests into purchase orders and tracking their progress.
It’s worthwhile noting that SAP plans to launch the new Buying 360 capability in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition in the third quarter of 2023. Existing SAP Ariba Buying customers can access the Buying 360 capability through the standard SAP Ariba Buying cloud upgrade process. By incorporating these advancements, CJV Partners is committed to elevating the guided buying experience and empowering businesses to make more informed, sustainable and impactful purchasing decisions.
Introducing a Personalised and Adaptable Purchasing Experience
Powered by SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) services, the Buying 360 capability is designed to revolutionise the buying process, ensuring utmost flexibility.By harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent recommendations, and machine learning, Ariba 360 offers a comprehensive view of the buyer’s purchases and their alignment with their organisation’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.
Tailored to Your Needs
With the Buying 360 capability, SAP Ariba Buying and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition combine to offer an individualised buying experience, customised to suit each user’s role. As soon as users log in, they are greeted with a user-friendly interface that guides them to goods and services based on their specific role and their organisation’s procurement and sustainability policies.
Anticipatory Suggestions
Through the power of AI and machine learning, the Buying 360 capability provides intelligent recommendations, empowering users to make well-informed decisions tailored to their roles. The user interface has been thoughtfully designed to display these recommendations at the right time and in the right place, such as in catalogues, contracts, marketplaces, or even as spot quotes. By automating these processes, the manual effort required by buyers is reduced. Future updates to SAP Ariba include adding features that assist buyers in making purchases that comply with their business’s procurement and sustainability policies.
Here are some of the predictive functionalities available through the standard SAP Ariba Buying cloud upgrade process, with future availability planned for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition:
• “Recommended for You”: Guided buying is immensely valuable for users who have a clear idea of what they need. However, sometimes additional information is required. Leveraging AI and algorithms, the Buying 360 capability understands the user’s role, as well as the roles of their peers, to provide recommendations based on what individuals in similar positions have ordered.
• “Intelligent Search”: Users simply enter a search term, and our Intelligent Search 3.0 scours connected marketplaces and supplier catalogues to present the best options. This ensures relevant entries that are sorted and personalised according to their specific roles.
• “Also Bought Together”: After selecting an item, the system displays other products that colleagues have purchased alongside that item. These suggestions are based on previous shopping carts and utilise a robust machine-learning algorithm.
As businesses adapt to changing needs and priorities, the guided buying capability will also evolve. Organisations face the challenge of striking a balance between cost savings and the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions. To assist them in this endeavour, future releases will offer sustainability information, such as carbon footprint, packaging footprint, and energy consumption.
The Future of Purchasing
In the past, purchasing decisions were primarily driven by price and policy. However, future purchasing requires a personalised approach tailored to the individual user, predictive capabilities to reduce manual effort and a strong focus on sustainability.
We believe that the Buying 360 capability represents the next phase in the evolution of SAP’s guided buying services. As new capabilities continue to be introduced, we will maintain our emphasis on the individual’s buying needs, the organisation’s objectives, and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspirations of both, providing a holistic, 360-degree view of the purchasing process.
