New Ariba SN Release Delivers Greater Ease-of-Use, More Flexibility

Ariba® Supplier Network— (Ariba SN) Release 41, slated for availability in fall 2005, will offer a wide range of new features designed to significantly improve usability and enhance the user experience. Ariba draws on extensive feedback from suppliers to ensure that the release would meet supplier needs. "Feedback from our suppliers indicated that they wanted improved ease-of-use, clearer navigation and increased flexibility. Ariba SN41 addresses all these areas and a lot more," says Ariba group marketing manager Rob Mihalko.

Improved Usability
One key area of improvement is simpler supplier registration and configuration. Registration has been transformed into a short, two-step process, and configuration pages are now combined to provide a clear view of all settings for a particular business function.

The release also offers an enhanced and more automated catalog validation process. Suppliers will qualify their catalogs for individual customers based on parameters established in buyer profiles. The new process will catch most errors up front-resulting in cleaner catalogs and significantly lower cycle time for both suppliers and buyers.

The ability to upload comma-separated value (CSV) invoices to Ariba SN is another exciting new feature, allowing suppliers to choose this user-friendly format in addition to the existing Ariba® PO-Flip™, cXML, or EDI options. Files can contain multiple invoices and may be created in a text editor, spreadsheet application (such as Microsoft Excel), or directly from a supplier's accounts receivable system. Note that your customers must configure their accounts for this feature. Contact your customers to inquire if they plan to enable this feature.

Faster Payment and Easier Discounting
Included in the release is a new "dynamic discounting" feature that gives suppliers the flexibility to offer their customers discounts in exchange for early payment. Buyers can specify discount rates and days for processing payments, and suppliers select specific scheduled payments for early settlement.

"One of the key ways suppliers want us to help them improve their trading relationships with buyers is by enabling them to get paid more quickly," Mihalko explains. "This feature lets suppliers get paid faster at a discount, based on mutually agreeable terms with their buyers." Dynamic discounting will work with Ariba Buyer release 8.2.2 as well as later releases.

Meeting Supplier Needs Worldwide
The new release will automatically provide free eSignature capabilities on all invoices containing a European Union ship to, sold to, or bill to address-eliminating the fee formerly required for this service. "Suppliers in different regions of the world can have unique needs. Ariba will consider implementing features to meet the needs of different regions", Mihalko says. "Digital signatures are a requirement for exchanging electronic documents in the EU, which is why we've made them part of our standard offering."

These and many other features in the new release will contribute towards making Ariba SN the most customer-friendly supplier network available, Mihalko believes. "Our goal is to provide a welcoming experience to all suppliers while helping them improve trading relationships as their business grows."