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SAP Value of UpgradeSAP Supplier Relationship Management

Optimizing Procurement and Sourcing for Better Compliance, Efficiency, and Control

Table of Contents4 Quick Facts

5 Efficient,Flexible, andComprehensive ProcurementProcesses

6 NewBusinessBenefitsThat DeliveraWholeNewLevel of ValueReduce Total Cost of Ownership

Improve Enterprise Processes and Visibility

Increase and Facilitate Contract Compliance

Optimize Services Procurement

Streamline Sourcing Activities

7 NewFunctionalityImproving CoreProcurementOperationsUser Interface

Operational Procurement

Self-Service Procurement

Plan-Driven Procurement

Services Procurement

Catalog Management

Centralized Sourcing

Centralized Contracts

Supplier Collaboration

Supplier Evaluation

17 TechnicalBenefits: EasierUpgrades,HarmonizedUI,FlexibleWorkflowEasier Upgrades with Enhancement Packages

Harmonized User Interface Across SAP SRM and Other SAP Applications

Business Rule Framework Workflow Technology

Shift to Web Dynpro for ABAP

Enterprise Services

18 LearnMoreAboutSAPSRM

PrefaceThis SAP Value of Upgrade brochure summarizes the key business benefits and new functionality of the SAP® Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM) application 7.0 release, including enhancement packages 1 and 2. If you are cur-rently using SAP SRM 5.0 or SAP SRM 6.0, or are not yet using the enhance-ment packages, this document is written specifically for you. It gives you some possible reasons to consider upgrading to SAP SRM 7.0 and implementing the enhancement packages.

If you are currently using a release earlier than SAP SRM 5.0, please contact your SAP sales representative for information on the benefits of upgrading from your existing release to SAP SRM 7.0 with enhancement packages 1 and 2. This document will still give you some insight into the benefits of the very latest release, but it does not describe all of the benefits and functionalities of SAP SRM 7.0 – just the change from SAP SRM 5.0 to SAP SRM 7.0 with enhance-ment packages 1 and 2.

This document also can’t replace a detailed analysis of the specific value of upgrading to the current release of SAP SRM for your individual business situa-tion. However, it can facilitate a detailed discussion of your situation with an SAP representative.

Quick FactsBusinessChallenges

• Minimize paper-based transactions • Eliminate risk of procurement

noncompliance • Standardize and centralize processes • Realize savings from spot sourcing and

contracted discounts

KeyFeatures • Operationalprocurement – Acceler-

ate processes, shorten the order cycle, and foster standardization

• Catalogmanagement – Avoid maver-ick buying, improve compliance, and allow users to search among millions of items in seconds

• Centralizedsourcing – Reduce costs and cycle times, improve sourcing pro-cess transparency, and facilitate bid-ding competition among suppliers

• Centralizedcontracts – Extract maxi-mum value from negotiated agree-ments by enabling better contract compliance and execution

• Servicesprocurement – Manage resources, reduce costs, and improve procurement processes

• Suppliercollaboration – Link suppli-ers to your purchasing processes

• Reportingandanalysis – Capture, consolidate, and present data across the enterprise

BusinessBenefits • Reduceprocesscostsandpurchas-ingprices through directed employee-based shopping

• Acceleratecycletimes by automating procurement processes

• Unifydisconnectedapplicationsanddata sources with a flexible platform

• Realizeexpectedcontractdiscounts and real-time sourcing opportunities

• Streamlinetheprocurementprocess and achieve data visibility

ForMoreInformationVisit us online at www.sap.com/srm.

SummaryThe SAP® Supplier Relationship Manage-ment (SAP SRM) application helps you streamline operations, improve purchas-ing compliance, and enhance cost man-agement. As a result, you can manage spending while maintaining access to high-quality products and a reliable supply base.

http://www.sap.com/lines-of-business/procurement/srm/index.epx

5SAP Value of Upgrade –OptimizingProcurementandSourcingforBetterCompliance,Efficiency,andControl

SAP has adopted an approach to deliver-ing new functionality for the SAP Business Suite applications via enhancement pack-ages. These packages enable you to take advantage of the latest functionality with-out disruption to your business, keeping your total cost of ownership (TCO) low. Currently there are two enhancement packages available for SAP SRM 7.0. Throughout this document, references to SAP SRM 7.0 should be understood to include both the application and the two enhancement packages.

Key investment areas for the current release of SAP SRM include:

• Nondisruptive delivery of new functionality

– Offers a stable core and reduced upgrade costs by using enhance-ment packages for delivering new functionality

• Enhanced usability through flexible user interface technology

– Provides flexible user interface, roles, and work lists across the SAP SRM and SAP ERP applications

• Centralized sourcing – Delivers enhanced sourcing func-

tionality to support better negotia-tions with suppliers and enable the initiation of sourcing events directly from SAP ERP

• Centralized contracts – Centralizes contract management

by offering a single contract as a source of supply for SAP SRM and SAP ERP

• Services procurement – Enables you to source service requi-

sitions created in SAP ERP as well as facilitate service-related supplier collaboration

The latest release of the SAP® Supplier Relationship Manage-ment application (SAP SRM), part of the SAP Business Suite family of business applications, delivers a fully integrated procure-to-pay solution for automating core procurement processes. In addition to helping you optimize the efficiency of your procurement organization, SAP SRM 7.0 provides a customizable user interface, flexible user-role definitions, and clear insight into spend and supplier data.

Efficient, Flexible, and Comprehensive Procurement Processes

STREAMLINESOURCINgACTIvITIES

SAP SRM 7.0 gives you improved control over bid and auction activities; this is enabled by major enhancements that bring greater insight and discipline to your sourcing organization. The application includes enhanced bidding functionality to facilitate easier comparison and award-ing of bids, such as expressive bidding for suppliers, a bid comparison view, and bid tracking, versioning, and withdrawal func-tions. You can improve the speed and efficiency of auctions by allowing the mar-ket to determine final prices. And finally, because the software improves accuracy, accountability, and transparency through-out processes, you benefit from more fair and flexible sourcing.

You can also increase clarity in sourc-ing processes with online chat function-ality, which enables you to instantly address supplier inquiries.

INCREASEANDFACILITATE CONTRACTCOMPLIANCE

SAP SRM 7.0 provides expanded func-tionality that improves contract compli-ance, control, and efficiency. Contract management processes are integrated end to end and enable you to set up and maintain a single, global contract as a source of supply within SAP SRM and SAP ERP. This not only increases effi-ciency but also eliminates the risk of employees using out-of-date contracts.

In addition, you can enforce compliance with contracts by giving global users access to all of your operational contracts through a central, online repository. As a result, you can enjoy significant savings through extended contract enforcement. The application also facilitates better communication by using collaboration rooms accessible to internal and external users.

OPTIMIzESERvICESPROCUREMENT

SAP SRM 7.0 supports services procure-ment with improved, collaborative func-tionality and enhanced integration with SAP ERP. You can procure service types commonly used in major industries, such as time-based and deliverable-based services.

Using a collaborative negotiation plat-form for buyers and suppliers, you can electronically request quotes for services and related goods from various suppli-ers, compare spot bids, and negotiate more effectively. At the same time, you benefit from enhanced sourcing func-tionalities and supplier collaboration, which enable you to define requirements more accurately and align resources to those requirements more closely. The application helps you simplify compli-ance enforcement and reduce depen-dence on manual, offline, and otherwise inefficient processes, as well as better manage your total spend.

REDUCETOTALCOSTOFOWNERSHIP

SAP SRM 7.0 enables you to reduce the TCO of your SAP investment. By deliver-ing new functionality in these convenient packages, SAP gives you the flexibility to select just the features required by your business – rather than having to include all available enhancements. As a result, you can leverage innovation without dis-ruption to your business environment, efficiently adapting your business in response to change.

IMPROvEENTERPRISEPROCESSESANDvISIBILITy

With SAP SRM 7.0, users throughout your enterprise have access to all of the infor-mation, insight, and processes they need, which facilitates strategic business deci-sions across the organization. A stream-lined, intuitively navigated user interface improves cross-enterprise visibility, facili-tates a wide range of activities, and offers a common look and feel for all users. You can also personalize the user interface for specific job and task demands – further increasing efficiency and effectiveness and the overall user experience.

With this release and current enhance-ment packages, you also gain unified access to functionality and information across SAP SRM and relevant data in SAP ERP. The software provides a single, consolidated view of the procure-to-pay process, one view for all purchase orders and queries, and a comprehensive ser-vice access area that consolidates access for each user in a personalized dashboard based on what’s relevant to his or her role. This is driven by harmoni-zation of users and roles across all the SAP Business Suite applications.

New Business Benefits That Deliver a Whole New Level of Value


SAP has made substantial investments to improve the overall functionality of SAP SRM – for example, in terms of the user interface and core functions used to support daily activities, such as sourc-ing and procurement. In addition, sub-stantial investments have been made to further harmonize SAP SRM with SAP ERP to achieve procurement excellence. The following sections summarize these enhancements and their overall business benefits.

USERINTERFACE

The improved user interface in SAP SRM 7.0 includes an updated, user-friendly work center. This can be personalized to help make it easier for individual users to navigate. New interface functionality accelerates and automates supply man-agement processes and helps deepen supplier relationships. Leveraging this better user experience, you’ll realize ben-efits summarized in the following table.

New Functionality Improving Core Procurement Operations

NeworEnhancedFunctionality BusinessBenefits

Personalized,IntuitiveUserExperience

• Common look and feel and consistent navigation throughout the application

• End-user profiles that define role-based access and enable users to see personalized information at a glance, trigger actions, and readily access services and documents

• Work center portal that gives buyers access to well-organized and relevant information, services, and documents

• Self-service procurement user inter-face providing a Web-like shopping experience with improved user guid-ance and information provisioning

• Rapid user adoption and high level of acceptance due to enhanced user experience and ease of use

• Increased productivity that results in faster, easier access to information

• Reduced training time and costs • High degree of automation and end-

user self-service

greaterUserEfficiencyandFasterTaskCompletion

• Enhanced task management through improved access to the universal work list for consolidated workflow items, alerts, and notifications across all SAP® applications, as well as a per-sonal object work list for activities spe-cific to the SAP Supplier Relationship Management application – all with a single, click-to-launch action

• Streamlined purchase-order, query, and search processes

• Ability to define regularly used queries and reports

• Streamlined shopping cart navigation and single-screen information presentation

• Increased efficiency and productiv-ity of users performing daily tasks, such as issuing purchase orders, confirmations, invoices, and sup-plier performance questionnaires

• Accelerated order processing and query changing

• Rapid, personalized access to important information, including tasks and relevant data

• Faster shopping cart processes to support a more efficient procure-ment process

OPERATIONALPROCUREMENT

With SAP SRM 7.0, requisition and pur-chase-order processes are faster, more efficient, and less prone to error. Advanced requisition functions enable enhanced team purchasing, easier configuration of delivery dates, and multiple approaches to efficient handling of general ledger accounts. Purchase order processing is enhanced through convenient access to purchase orders and related documents. The following table outlines high-level functions and benefits that are shared by all areas of operational procurement, including self-service procurement, plan-driven procurement, and services procurement.


EnhancedRequisitionHandling

• Team purchasing • Delivery date configuration • Multiple approaches to general ledger

account handling • Line-item approvals • User-friendly approach to finding

default account codes • More flexible accounting controls • Account assignment category of

“unknown” now supported for local shopping carts and external require-ments, so the requisitioning process is no longer stopped

• Shorter order cycles through the reassignment of tasks

• Increased flexibility • Support for sophisticated procure-

ment processes • Greater compliance assurance

through more specific approvals • Streamlined requisitioning to effi-

ciently purchase goods and services • Ability to meet varied corporate

strategies and facilitate compliance • A more complete central sourcing

solution with the ability to source most requirements in SAP SRM with the “unknown” account assignment category

StreamlinedPurchaseOrders

• Ability to quickly look up previously generated purchase orders and other documents

• Simple cut-and-paste functionality to rapidly create new purchase orders and other documents

• Ability to use Microsoft Excel (2007 and higher) to upload and download data from purchasing documents, such as central contracts, purchase orders, requests for X (RFx), RFx responses, and auctions

• Quick access to past documents to support replication of best practices

• Improved efficiency and time savings • Greater ease of use with minimal

user training thanks to familiar Excel upload and download

• Development skills not required to design custom Excel templates


SELF-SERvICEPROCUREMENT

Procurement departments are often burdened by the administrative tasks involved in the procurement of routine maintenance, repair, and overhaul items and services, such as office supplies, machine parts, janitorial goods, repairs, and professional services. Centralizing the purchasing process means that your procurement department will likely get bogged down in organizing and process-ing requisitions and answering queries about the status of transactions. These routine tasks prevent your staff from focusing on strategic issues. At the same time, paper-based processes are slow, error prone, and costly. Transaction costs are often extremely high in comparison with the value of the goods and services purchased. And they impede transpar-ency, preventing corporate decision makers from understanding the impact of purchasing choices and making it diffi-cult to consolidate purchasing power across the enterprise.

Self-service procurement functionality within SAP SRM 7.0 empowers your employees to create and manage their own requisitions. The software provides a convenient procurement environment, enabling every employee in the enterprise to search for and buy items while helping to ensure that transactions comply with corporate purchasing policies and inter-nal controls. Costs are cut, cycle-time delays are shortened, and errors that arise from paper-based processes and inefficient communication with suppliers are reduced. Equally important, decen-tralization of the transaction processing enables you to reduce overhead and allows purchasing professionals to focus on managing relationships instead of transactions.

New features and innovations support-ing self-service procurement are sum-marized in the table.


• Enhanced authorization concept, invoice accuracy, and support of flexible integration scenarios

• Storage of transactional data and other related procurement documents (powered by the SAP NetWeaver® Folders Management application) in one central folder

• Automatic back-end enterprise resource planning purchase order or contract creation based on an accepted quote in the SAP® Supplier Relationship Management application

• Ability to use alternate items to fulfill purchase requisition orders

• Self-service procurement user inter-face providing Web-like shopping expe-rience with improved user guidance and information provisioning

• Increased level of compliance across all sourceable products and services

• Improved availability and quality of purchasing documents, reducing maverick purchasing

• Support of simplified, integrated processes to streamline the entire procure-to-pay cycle

• Flexible purchasing processes to meet demand

• Greater efficiency due to improved ease of use

• High level of user acceptance • High degree of automation and end-

user self-service

PLAN-DRIvENPROCUREMENT

Plan-driven procurement supports the automated procurement of goods, which is especially important for the procure-ment of direct materials. In a highly inte-grated procurement process, demand for materials can come from several dif-ferent planning applications that reside outside of SAP SRM. These applications may include material requirements plan-ning applications for production plan-ning; automated production systems for advanced, constraint-based planning; project applications for project planning; or plant maintenance applications for maintenance and repair planning.

SAP SRM 7.0 supports a plan-driven procurement scenario that links and uses many processes in the value chain. It integrates requirements with sourcing, order management, contract manage-ment, collaboration, costing, and pay-ment. Demand from production is transferred to SAP SRM through an open XML interface. And you can automati-cally assign contracts to demand, trigger, and send out a purchase order.

New features and innovations support-ing plan-driven procurement are summa-rized in the table.


• Better identification and automated handling of exception situations

• Improved ability to effectively source a competitive offer and maintain quality standards – even in a rush-order situation

• Ability to transfer SAP® ERP applica-tion purchase requirements contain-ing attachments to the SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM) application

• Enhanced integration with SAP ERP regarding text transfers, revisions, and PO transfer consistency checks

• Use of direct materials scenario in the classic deployment

• Increased scope and depth of com-pliance, even as exceptions occur

• Ability to speed up the sourcing process during material shortages

• Improved quality of products purchased

• Increased delivery reliability for cus-tomer orders

• Flexibility to create direct material purchase orders either in SAP SRM or the back-end enterprise resource planning system

With SAP SRM 7.0, users throughout your enterprise have access to all of the information, insight, and processes they need, which facilitates strategic business decisions across the organization.

SERvICESPROCUREMENT

Services procurement is often seen as complex and not standardized, because the requirement of a service is typically undefined in quantity, duration, and price at the point of purchase. This assump-tion implies that the service is not speci-fied until the supplier confirms it. This ambiguity is one reason that, while other categories of spend have uncovered sig-nificant cost-saving potential in the pur-chasing process, services have generally not been considered part of cost-saving measures.

With SAP SRM 7.0, you can manage resources and monitor costs over the entire range of services. The software supports analytics, sourcing, contract management, and supplier collaboration so you can optimize services procure-ment processes. Functionality covers a wide range of procured services, such as planned and unplanned maintenance, temporary labor, and construction. New features and innovations are summarized in the table.



• Support for service types commonly used in major industries, such as time-based and deliverable-based services

• Support for complex nature of services, including model specifications and service hierarchies

• Ability to leverage information con-tained in contracts to help ensure compliance with approved suppliers

• Specialized service-delivery manage-ment within supplier self-service, enabling supplier-initiated service entries, lump-sum services, and tracking of contractual limits

• SRM-MDM catalog access for pur-chaser and bidder as a repository for service specifications

• Central contracts enabled for complex services, including hierarchical service specifications and upload of service structures to procurement catalogs

• Greater control and visibility over total spend

• Support for advanced demand aggregation and spot-bidding capabilities

• Simplified compliance enforcement • Enhanced supplier collaboration • Centralized repository of services

capabilities for improved process efficiency and accuracy

• Central contract management for complex services

• Reduced maverick spending for services, resulting in better price negotiation and compliance

SAP SRM 7.0 provides a single, consolidated view of the procure-to-pay process, one view for all purchase orders and queries, and a comprehensive service access area that consolidates access for each user in a personalized dashboard.

CATALOgMANAgEMENT

In SAP SRM 7.0, enhancements to catalog management functionality allow you to quickly load files directly from suppliers or from the SRM-MDM catalog repository. You can also import content such as purchase records, contracts, and other related material masters from SAP ERP – quickly and efficiently. The software also makes it easier for you to interface with supplier contracts, manage images, con-solidate and approve content, and publish on the Web. Once catalog content is pub-lished, users enjoy a best-in-class perfor-mance and search experience.

New features and innovations support-ing catalog management are summarized in the following table.


EasierLoadingofCatalogFilesfromSuppliersandSAP®Applications

• Ability to import content from the SAP® ERP application, such as purchase information records and contracts

• Enhanced contracts interface in the SAP Supplier Relationship Manage-ment application

• Simplified image management for catalog items

• Ability to publish content on the Web • Easier content consolidation and

approval • Ability to upload sustainability attri-

butes from the new vendor-material sustainability information record in SAP ERP 6.0, enhancement package 6

• More accurate and timely catalog content

• Superior management of catalog data that saves time and lowers costs

• Enriched product content that offers users clear, accurate choices

• Ability to provide wider access to cat-alog items through Web publishing

• Enhanced catalog content management

• Assurance that sustainability crite-ria are considered when searching and displaying catalog items

SupportforMasterDataManagementHierarchies

• Support for services-related hierarchies

• Corresponding changes to the Open Catalog Interface for supplier-provided content

• Extended support for the complexi-ties of services procurement

• Lower cost of creating and main-taining catalog data

EnhancedUserInterface

• Running total for shopping cart included on all screens

• Improved message handling, including status and warning messages

• Customizable user interface (empty tabs and fields are automatically hid-den when not required by user, and images can be displayed or hidden)

• Advanced search functionality

• Increased user productivity and efficiency

• Faster issue resolution • Faster user access to information,

data, and views that are relevant to them

• Ability to provide better access to goods and services for purchase

Self-service procurement functionality within SAP SRM 7.0 empowers your employees to create and manage their own requisitions, while helping to ensure that transactions comply with corporate purchasing policies and internal controls.

CENTRALIzEDSOURCINg

Support for centralized sourcing helps procurement professionals find the best source of supply – for example, through spot bidding, reverse auctions, and demand aggregation activities. Suppliers are invited to sourcing events (such as requests for quotation and reverse auc-tions) to exchange information, collabo-rate on documents, submit quotes, and negotiate terms. Completion of the sourcing process results in the creation of operational contracts or purchase orders for procurement execution.

SAP SRM 7.0 provides live-auction func-tionality and brings insight and discipline to sourcing practices. For example, the software supports “request for” docu-ments and competitive bidding events. And new functionality facilitates improved competition and flexible sourcing, which increases accuracy, accountability, and transparency throughout the sourcing process, as shown in the following table.



EfficientRequest-for-x(RFx)BidProcessing

• Response modification within RFx doc-uments, such as suppliers suggesting alternate, supplemental, or substitute items down to the line-item level

• Enhanced analytics to support bid selection, such as a bid comparison view and weighted scoring

• Creation of a temporary contact person for a bidding event

• Chat functionality between buyers and suppliers

• Enhanced bid tracking, versioning, and withdrawals

• Ability to limit bids to one per company • Electronic confirmation of bidder’s

participation • Online, offline, and surrogate bid

submissions • Offline bidding enabled via SAP® Inter-

active Forms software by Adobe • Bidding in alternative currencies • Award, contract, and PO integration • New streamlined user interface for RFx

response comparison • Support for two-envelope bidding to

separate technical and commercial bids for independent evaluation

• Tender fee collection prior to allowing bidders to view or create a bid response

• Technical separation of RFx and RFx response (bidding outside of firewall)

• User interface and performance improvements in sourcing cockpit

• More efficient and fair bidding process

• Faster, easier viewing and compar-ing of bidding-process results

• More agile, adaptive sourcing • Enhanced supplier and buyer com-

munication and internal and external collaboration throughout the negoti-ation process

• Fewer errors and incorrect bids • Support for companies’ specific

sourcing strategies • Access to an auditable trail of sup-

plier participation for internal and external compliance activities

• Widening of the competitive market by enabling varied bid submissions

• Faster sourcing cycles that minimize supplier training

• Support for sourcing events for a geographically dispersed supply base

• Shorter supply cycle times and reduced process costs

• Reduction of non-value-added steps by allowing configuration of fields needed for response comparison

• Ability to independently evaluate technical and price components of individual bids

• Higher security standards in the RFx process

• Ability to keep suppliers outside the firewall for greater security

• Improved system performance


EnhancedAuctionManagement

• Real-time auction monitoring and bidding

• Creation of temporary contact person • Dutch auction functionality • Ability to view all award-relevant infor-

mation and actions on a single screen

• Faster auction resolutions for sourc-ing events

• Flexible auction management • Faster auction resolutions or lower

prices for sourcing events • Enhanced usability through a stream-

lined user interface

DeeperIntegration

• Integration of demand requirements and contracts in multiple back-end applications

• Single contract as a source of supply between the SAP® Supplier Relation-ship Management (SAP SRM) and SAP ERP applications

• Simplified global sourcing through unified information

• Reduced procurement costs through tight integration between SAP SRM and SAP ERP

EnhancedRFxCreation

• Creation of RFx out of shopping cart by end user – approvals managed in parallel

• Creation of RFx from scratch for ser-vices with hierarchical structures

• Ability to use Microsoft Excel (2007 and higher) to upload and download data from purchasing documents, such as central contracts, purchase orders, RFx, RFx responses, and auctions

• Purchasers enabled to make modifica-tions to correct shopping cart data from sourcing cockpit

• New, flexible graphical search in sourc-ing cockpit to enable purchasers to easily determine how they will process incoming requests

• Better control and compliance by engaging suppliers early to reveal true price before approval

• Better model of RFx processing and compliance

• Improved ease of use using Excel to upload and download, requiring minimal user training


SAP SRM 7.0 supports a plan-driven procurement scenario that links and uses many processes in the value chain. It integrates requirements with sourcing, order management, contract management, collaboration, costing, and payment.

CENTRALIzEDCONTRACTS

SAP SRM 7.0 provides you with tools for centralized, systematic contract manage-ment. Through tight integration with SAP ERP, you can use a single contract as the source of supply for your purchases. Based on the purchase requirements, SAP SRM identifies the optimal contract to fill the need while taking into consider-ation such factors as price, delivery times, and location. It can also account for differ-ent types of discounts, such as value discounts, quantity-based stepladder dis-counts, group discounts, or rebates based on released values. These functions are used together to automate contract com-pliance, helping you extract the most value from expertly negotiated agreements.

New functionality regarding centralized contracts is summarized in the table.

15


• Single, central contract in the SAP® Supplier Relationship Management application that is shared via integra-tion with the SAP ERP application

• Multiple alert thresholds, such as expi-ration date, target value, and target quantity

• Ability to determine payment terms on a line-item level

• Ability to determine currency on a con-tract distribution level

• Contract cockpit that enables efficient searches for existing contracts

• Automated update of source list and info record from central contract

• Central contracts enabled for complex services, including hierarchical service specifications and upload of service structures to procurement catalogs

• Embedded analytics for contract per-formance and contract management

• Ability to use Microsoft Excel (2007 and higher) to upload and download data from purchasing documents, such as central contracts, purchase orders, RFx, RFx responses, and auctions

• Support for greater compliance between negotiated terms and operational contracts

• Improved visibility into and manage-ment over contracts

• Flexible contract management • Enhanced global supplier

negotiations • Fast, more-efficient access to rele-

vant contract information • Central contract management for

complex services • Reduced maverick spending for

services, resulting in better price negotiation and compliance

• Improved ease of use using Excel to upload and download, requiring minimal user training


SAP SRM 7.0 provides you with tools for centralized, systematic contract management. Through tight integration with SAP ERP, you can use a single contract as the source of supply for your purchases.

SAP Value of Upgrade –OptimizingProcurementandSourcingforBetterCompliance,Efficiency,andControl

SUPPLIERCOLLABORATION

The supplier self-service functionality built into SAP SRM 7.0 enables suppliers to access supply-side transactions and other relevant information. They can also update their catalog data, process acknowledgments, track payment status, suggest changes to orders, and receive information on inventory and supply-and-demand plans. The result is reduced pro-cess costs, increased automation, and transparency into the procurement pro-cess. Suppliers can also respond to ser-vices procurement–related requisitions.

New features supporting supplier col-laboration are summarized in the table.

SUPPLIEREvALUATION

SAP SRM 7.0 enables you to better man-age suppliers – the key to improving qual-ity, enhancing collaboration, and reducing supplier risk. The software eases clerical and administrative burdens with numer-ous supplier evaluation methods, such as event-triggered surveys, ad hoc surveys, and quantitative questionnaires. Flexible reporting and response monitoring enable you to improve operations, ulti-mately reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

New features supporting supplier eval-uation are summarized in the table.


• Ability to submit services procurement requisition responses, confirmations, and invoices

• Supplier-provided catalog content

• Enhanced supplier collaboration • Assurance of up-to-date, accurate

catalog items


• Multiple supplier evaluation methods, including event-driven, ad hoc, and quantitative evaluation surveys

• Predefined key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluation templates

• Grouping and weighting function for score analysis based on commodity type and participating internal department

• Alerts for low supplier performance scores

• Integration with the SAP NetWeaver® Business Warehouse component for data consolidation and reporting

• Effective tracking of numerous KPIs related to supplier performance, such as on-time performance, qual-ity, and user-determined qualitative items

• Support for standardized, best-practice supplier evaluations

• Sophisticated performance analysis • Risk mitigated by enabling immedi-

ate corrective action plans for low-performing suppliers

• Consolidated view of supplier performance

From a technical perspective, the latest release of SAP SRM and its enhance-ment packages offer substantial benefits over previous releases, including:

• Easier and less costly upgrades • A new user interface (UI) that’s consis-

tent with all other SAP Business Suite applications

• Support for flexible workflow processes • An architecture based on Web Dynpro

development environment for the ABAP® programming language

• Support for enterprise services to support key interfaces with other SAP applications

EASIERUPgRADESWITH ENHANCEMENTPACKAgES

As part of SAP Business Suite, SAP SRM 7.0 delivers enhancements via convenient packages that are readily consumed. Enhancement packages 1 and 2 are already available. The packages let you leverage new functionality and SAP inno-vations without disrupting existing func-tionality or investing in costly upgrades that reduce TCO. When you activate an enhancement package, you can choose the specific functions you want to implement.

HARMONIzEDUSERINTERFACEACROSSSAPSRMANDOTHER SAPAPPLICATIONS

SAP SRM offers a harmonized UI across multiple SAP applications, including SAP ERP. The application includes a universal work list that users can configure and use to retrieve data within SAP SRM and other SAP applications. For example, a buyer can query purchasing data across

SAP SRM and SAP ERP from a single launch point. Additionally, users gain access to purchasing-related activities within SAP SRM through a personal object work list. This is made possible through a homogenous user interface for object work lists across application roles.

Key benefits of this harmonized user interface include:

• Improved usability and process efficiency enabled by a common pro-curement user interface and cross-application search functionality

• Faster access to – and a comprehen-sive overview of – the work environ-ment and all related business objects

• Easier access to up-to-date information

BUSINESSRULEFRAMEWORK WORKFLOWTECHNOLOgy

SAP SRM 7.0 contains new business rule framework workflow technology. This provides you with the flexibility to create workflow processes specific to your busi-ness needs. If necessary, you can main-tain your former business workflow solution even when you upgrade to the SAP SRM 7.0 release.

SHIFTTOWEBDyNPROFORABAP

SAP SRM 7.0 contains new architecture based on Web Dynpro for ABAP, which simplifies making changes to the user interface. For example, you can edit field names and locations, and you can hide entire areas of a screen. You can even make certain fields read-only for specific users. By modifying the user interface, you can customize the user experience and improve usability.

ENTERPRISESERvICES

Enterprise services make it possible to transfer data smoothly from one applica-tion to another. The result is an uninter-rupted flow of information and accurate and timely access to data. SAP SRM 7.0 supports enterprise services to enable the following:

• Transfer of an SAP ERP purchase request to SAP SRM

• Creation of an SAP SRM sourcing request from an SAP ERP purchase request

• Distribution of a central contract between SAP ERP and SAP SRM

• Transfers relating to services procure-ment activities between SAP ERP, SAP SRM, and supplier self-service functions


Technical Benefits: Easier Upgrades, Harmonized UI, Flexible Workflow

SAP SRM 7.0 and its enhancement pack-ages enable you to integrate and opti-mize procurement processes across the enterprise. With its new and enhanced functionality, you can innovate and grow your business, as well as expand and deepen your supplier relationships.

The new functionality available in SAP SRM 7.0 facilitates communication within your enterprise and across your supplier network. This enables you to improve sourcing strategies, accelerate and auto-mate processes and cycle times, unify disparate data and applications, evaluate and track suppliers, reduce costs, and improve performance. You can also real-ize sustainable results in reporting, sup-plier management, invoice management, centralized sourcing, operational pro-curement, centralized contract manage-ment, and catalog management functions.

With SAP SRM, you have an enter-prise-wide solution that closes the loop on supplier relationship processes in an end-to-end manner – and ultimately transforms purchasing and supplier management operations and organiza-tions. For more information about SAP SRM, please contact your SAP customer engagement manager or visit us online at www.sap.com/srm.

Learn More About SAP SRM

SAP SRM 7.0 enables you to better manage suppliers – the key to improving quality, enhancing collaboration, and reducing supplier risk. Flexible reporting and response monitoring enable you to improve operations, ultimately reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

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