Apc User

Ariba Procurement Content™
Catalog User Guide

Release 10s1
Document Version 2
February 2010
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10s1.0271.en
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Using the Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
About Catalog Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
About PunchOut Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Finding and Viewing Catalog Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Searching the Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Refining Your Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Comparing Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Saving Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Working with Catalog Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Working with Partial Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Working with PunchOut Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Working with the Shopping Cart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Saved Shopping Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Workflow of the Shopping Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Understanding the Exit Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Adding Catalog Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Adding Non-Catalog Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Editing Line Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Saving Shopping Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Searching for Saved Shopping Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Deleting Saved Shopping Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Checkout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 2 Procuring Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Introduction to Services Procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Collaboration Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
About Open Bidding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Collaboration Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
About Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Creating a Collaborative Shopping Cart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Collaboration Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Chapter 3 Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
About Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Running Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Prepackaged Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Procurement Content Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Catalog Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide iii

Table of Contents
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
iv Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog
• “Overview” on page 5
• “Finding and Viewing Catalog Items” on page 11
• “Working with the Shopping Cart” on page 21
Overview
Your catalog contains items available from the suppliers with whom your company has negotiated
purchasing relationships. In some cases, links in the catalog let you punch out directly to a supplier’s Web
site to add items to your shopping cart.
Depending on your application configuration, you might go to the Catalog Home page when you start the
purchasing process, or you might have to click a link to view and shop from the catalog. A typical Catalog
Home page might look as follows:
Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 5

Overview Chapter 1 Using the Catalog
Any shopping carts saved in previous sessions are displayed in the Saved Shopping Carts page. You can
access the saved shopping carts page by clicking on the Saved Shopping Carts link in the top-left corner of the
catalog home page. A typical Saved Shopping Carts page might look as follows:
For more information on Shopping Carts, see “Working with the Shopping Cart” on page 21.
By default, a category-oriented view of the Catalog Home page is displayed.
Click Suppliers in the Browse By field in the upper right corner to display a supplier-oriented overview of your
catalog:
6 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog Overview
Click Categories to switch back to the category-oriented view.
You have various options to find items. For example, you can search the catalog using the Search feature and
Search Options in the search bar. You can narrow your search by supplier from the left panel or you can find
items from your favorite item list. If you want to buy items that are associated with a contract, you can find
those items or suppliers though the Contract pull-down menu in the left panel.
About Catalog Kits

Catalog kits are items in your application’s catalog that are bundled together into one unit, such as, a group
of items that are always ordered for new employees. When you order from the catalog, you order a kit as one
item. However, it might appear in the shopping cart as a list of separate items.
Items in a kit can be configured to be required or optional. You can delete optional items after adding the kit
to your shopping cart, if you do not need them.
If items are configured as kit-only items, they can be ordered in a kit but not separately.
You can copy a catalog kit, and you can copy a line item in a kit if it is not defined as a kit-only item.

About PunchOut Items

Punch out means being redirected to the supplier website to order items. When you return from the
supplier’s site, the PunchOut items you added appear in your shopping cart. Non-PunchOut items are items
in your locally created and maintained catalog (local catalog items). For non-PunchOut items, you do not
transfer to a supplier website.
Typically supplier sites have different flows when it comes to adding PunchOut items, but all sites allow you
to shop for items and return to your shopping cart.
PunchOut items are indicated with small arrows in front of the item name. For example:
Your catalog might be configured for store level PunchOut. In this case, you do your searching and selection
of items on the supplier’s website.
Alternatively, your catalog might be configured for a more detailed PunchOut. For example, if you search
the catalog for a particular item, and matches are found in a supplier’s PunchOut catalog, you can view the
supplier’s PunchOut catalog to see store, aisle, shelf, or item level results that represent different granularity
in item grouping for browsing. For example:
Catalog items configured for item level PunchOut are identified with a Buy from Supplier button on the
catalog search results page. When you click the button, you punch out to the supplier’s website and can place
your order there. For example:

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog Overview
Ariba procurement solutions allows you to request the latest price and availability updates from suppliers at
frequent intervals for item-level punchout catalogs. A user belonging to the Customer Catalog Manager
group can configure the frequency at which the request needs to be sent to the supplier.
When a status update is received from the supplier, it is displayed as a highlighted text against the item. For
example:
For catalogs that have the Hide Punchout Item Prices option set to Yes, a highlighted text is displayed
indicating that the price is available from the supplier. For example:

PunchOut Catalog Restrictions

Your company might receive discounts and special prices when you order items from the suppliers’
PunchOut catalogs. If you make changes to PunchOut items in your order, you must return to the suppliers’
websites to do so, since your changes might affect the discounts or special pricing applied to the final order.
Deleting PunchOut items can also affect the final cost of your order.
The actions you can take on PunchOut items previously added to a request depend on how the supplier has
configured the PunchOut catalog. For example, you can return to a PunchOut catalog to edit and delete items
if the supplier has enabled those actions, or you might only be able to view descriptions of the items.
About Contracts
A contract is an agreement between a buying organization and a supplier that identifies the terms for
purchasing goods and services repeatedly over time. A contract enables a buying organization to negotiate
discounts based on a volume or dollar amount of future purchases, and provides a supplier with a more
regular stream of sales, along with the ability to more accurately forecast demand for its products. For
example, a company that expects to steadily add staff over a period of two years might negotiate a contract
with a supplier to provide office furnishings as needed over that period. The company can negotiate a
discount based on its guarantee to purchase everything from that supplier, and the supplier can better manage
its inventory and forecast sales based on a known level of future business.
When you shop for items, you can select a contract associated with your purchase. When you select a
contract, the items available are limited to those items covered by the contract. You can also use contracts as
a refinement criteria when you search for items. In this case, after you have searched for items, you can
select a contract to view the items in the contract.If you do not manually apply a contract to your purchase
and you select items that are associated with a contract, the contract terms are applied automatically when
you add the item to the shopping cart.
W To select a contract:
1 In the Contract search area on the left hand panel, click the menu arrow:
2 Choose a contract from the list, or choose Search for more to select a different document.

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog Finding and Viewing Catalog Items
Finding and Viewing Catalog Items

This section describes strategies and procedures for finding and viewing catalog items and includes the
following topics:
• “Searching the Catalog” on page 11
• “Refining Your Search” on page 12
• “Comparing Items” on page 14
• “Saving Searches” on page 15
• “Working with Catalog Favorites” on page 15
• “Working with Partial Items” on page 19
• “Working with PunchOut Items” on page 20
Searching the Catalog

The search option contains two fields. The one on the left is a category menu, where you can narrow your
search by pre-defined categories, and the field on the right allows you to enter specific text strings to search.
For example, you might search the Computers and IT Equipment category and filter the search with the
string ergonomic keyboard.
W To search a catalog:
1 Use the category menu to select a specific category, or select All Categories if you are not sure which
category to search.
2 To narrow the search to items names and descriptions within a category or all categories, enter a search
string in the text box. You can enter from 3 to 200 characters.
3 Click Search.
You enter a partial string (a stem), to do a wildcard search for items containing those characters. For
example, the string bat might return items like bat (baseball), batter (pancake), battery. Any punctuation in
search strings is treated as white space. This includes punctuation marks like commas, dashes, parentheses,
and quotes, as well as special characters like asterisks and percent signs.

Finding and Viewing Catalog Items Chapter 1 Using the Catalog
If you enter a search string such as ergonomic keyboard, the result might look like the following sample:
Notes:(See numbered callouts, above.)

1 Total number of items found.
2 The catalog page hierarchy. Click any link in the trail to move to a different level of the hierarchy.
3 Allows you to sort by different criteria. This setting is retained between searches.
• Relevance sorts the items with the best or most complete string match near the top.
• Price sorts the least expensive items near the top.
• Best selling sorts the popular items near the top.
• Name sorts the list alphabetically by name.
4 You can toggle the display between the details view, as shown, and a thumbnail view. This setting is
retained between searches.
5 Icons facilitate to symbolically identify a group of items.
6 Options enables you to search by supplier or manufacturer part number, to save search criteria, or use a
saved search. If you select Supplier Part #, the search bar expands and the Supplier Part # search field
appears. If you also choose Manufacturer Part #, the field also appears, as shown in the following graphic.
Refining Your Search

If your search has results, the left-hand panel contains links you can use to refine the results of your search
further based on keywords, category, supplier, manufacturer, price, associated contracts, or favorite items.
When you refine a search, the number of items found is updated.

Suppose your search for an ergonomic keyboard resulted in 50 items found. You can then refine your search
results using the criteria in the left hand panel, by selecting a price range. You can further refine your results,
by supplier. To go back to a previous page to use different refining criteria, click on the links in Your search
path to move to a previous level in your search hierarchy.

Comparing Items
You can compare two or more items that you are interested in purchasing. This might be helpful, for
example, if you need to decide how to prioritize an item’s price and lead time against other possible
alternatives.
W To compare two or more items:

1 On the search results page, click the check box for each item you want to compare.
2 Click Compare.
3 Click Add to Cart to add an item to the shopping cart.
4 Click Done to return to the search results page.

Saving Searches
W To save the current search:
1 In the search results page, click Options.
2 Click Save current search in Saved searches.
3 Enter the name for your search and click Save. Your search will subsequently appear in Saved searches
under the Options link.
Working with Catalog Favorites

If you plan to order an item frequently, you can add it to your favorites list. You can then quickly search for
your favorite items in the left hand panel and add them to your shopping cart.
Favorite items are organized in folders. Depending on your group membership, favorite folders can also be
made public, so that you can share your list of favorite items with other users.
If you search for favorite items in your favorite item folder on the catalog home page, Ariba Procurement
Content displays all items in that folder. If you first search for items using the search options on the search
bar, or you select items by supplier from the left hand panel, and you then select a favorite items folder, your
favorite items act as a refinement to your previous search.
For example, you have a favorite folder containing three items from three different suppliers. On the catalog
home page, you click one of the suppliers on the left hand panel. The results page displays all items from the
catalog for that supplier. If you then select items from your favorite folder, you refine your search to display
only the one favorite item for that supplier.

W To add an item to your favorites list:

1 On the catalog page add one or more items to your cart.
• To add a single item, click the item’s Add to Favorites.

• To add multiple items, click the check box for each item and then click Add to Favorites link at the top or
bottom of the list.
2 Click Add to Favorites to open the Favorites options menu.
3 Click Add to add the item to your default favorites folder. A star appears to designate this item as a
favorite. To view the newly assigned favorite, in the left-hand panel of the search results page, in the
Favorites pull-down menu, choose My Default Folder. Your newly assigned favorite appears.
Click Add To Folders to add the item to a specific folder. For more information, see “To add an item to a
specific folder:” on page 17.
For information on how to organize your favorite item folders, see “To organize your favorite items and
folders:” on page 18.
W To search for items using favorites:

1 On the left hand panel, expand the Favorites drop-down menu.
2 Click a favorite item folder. If an item’s description or price has changed after it was added as a favorite, it
is updated with current information when you add it to the shopping cart.

W To add an item to a specific folder:

1 Click Add To Folders from the Add to Favorites menu. The Add Favorites To Folders page appears.
2 Click the check box against the folder you want to add the item to and then click Add. To return to the Add
Items page without saving changes, click Cancel.
W To add a new favorites folder:

1 On the Add Favorites To Folders page, click New Folder. The Add New Favorites Folders page appears.
2 Enter a name for the folder, for instance, Simple Business Cards.
3 To make the folder and its content available to other users, select the check box in the Public column.
If you make the folder public, click the select link in the Public To Groups column to select the groups to
which you want to make the folder available.
To let other groups add items to the folder, select the check box in the Public Add column.
To let other groups delete items from the folder, select the check box in the Public Delete column.
4 Click OK to create the new folder and add the favorite to it. To return to the Add Favorites to Folders page
without creating any new folders, click Cancel.

W To organize your favorite items and folders:

1 From the Add to Favorites link, click Organize Favorites. The Organize Favorites page appears:
2 To move an item from one folder to another, drag the item from its current location to its new folder. For
instance, drag Business Cards into Fancy Business Cards.
3 To expand or collapse a folder, click the arrow next to the folder name.
4 To delete an item or folder, select its check box, then click Delete.
5 To edit a folder, select its check box, then click Edit Folders. The Edit Favorites Folders page appears.
To change the name of a folder, you enter the new text over the selected name of the folder, for instance,
Fancy Business Cards could become Exquisite Business Cards.
To enter a new name for the folder, you enter the text over the NewFolder string, for instance Mundane
Business Cards.
Only the user who created the folder has access. Check the appropriate boxes to add public access.
(You must belong to the Purchasing Agent group in order to use the following settings.)
• Public – Gives access to all users.
• Public to Groups – Displays a selection box to choose groups that are allowed access.
• Public Add – Allows the public users to Add to this folder, but not delete.
• Public Delete – Allows the public users to delete from this folder, but not to add.
To disallow the placement of a favorite in a folder whose name you have changed, deselect the check box
for the favorite, for instance Business Cards.
6 Click OK to save your changes and return to the Organize Favorites page.
7 Click Done to return to your catalog search results page.

Working with Partial Items

A partial item is a catalog item that requires additional information after you add it to your cart.
Temporary labor is an example of a partial item. When you first display temporary labor items in your
catalog, little detailed information appears for those items.
After you add a partial item to your cart, you must specify additional information about that item, as shown
in the following example.

For temporary labor, you need to add information such as the rate of pay, the date employment begins, the
job title, and any specific skills required.
Working with PunchOut Items
Adding PunchOut Items

Depending on your catalog configuration, you either punch out to the supplier’s website to search for items
(store level punchout), or you search your local catalog for items and then punch out to the supplier’s
website to add the item to your shopping cart (item level punchout). Catalog items configured for item level
PunchOut are identified with a Buy from Supplier button on the catalog search results page.
What you see on the supplier’s website depends on the supplier, but when you have selected your items,
added them to the supplier’s shopping cart, and checked them out, the selected items are returned to Ariba
Procurement Content.
For more information on punching out, see “About PunchOut Items” on page 8.
Notes:
• When you punch out to a supplier’s site, you can click Close Punchout Catalog Shopping Session in the upper
right of the page to exit the supplier site without adding an item to your shopping cart.
• You cannot add multiple item level PunchOut items to your shopping cart in one transaction from the
catalog search results page by clicking on the Add to Cart button. However, depending on how your catalog
is configured, you might be able to shop for multiple items by punching out to the supplier’s website,
searching for items and then add them to the shopping cart.
Editing and Deleting PunchOut Items

Deleting PunchOut items might affect the cost of other PunchOut items added to your shoppingcart. For
example, if you order two items with an agreement that if you buy one you get the second at a 50% discount,
and then you delete one, the cost of the other item must be calculated differently.
If you want to delete only a portion of the PunchOut items from a supplier, you need to do that from the
supplier’s website. If you want to delete all items from a supplier, you can do that from Ariba Procurement
Content.
W To delete all PunchOut items:
In the Shopping Cart, select the check box for all items from that supplier, then click Delete. A confirmation
message is not issued before the items are deleted.
W To delete selected PunchOut items:
On the Shopping Cart, click the check box for the item you want to delete, then click Delete. On the Delete
Line Item page, click one of the following:
• Delete to delete all items from this supplier
• Edit to punch out to the supplier’s website where you can delete selected items from your shopping cart.
• Cancel to cancel the action and return to your shopping cart.

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog Working with the Shopping Cart
Editing PunchOut Items

Your company might have agreements with suppliers for discounts on items from the suppliers’ catalogs. To
change PunchOut items in your shopping cart or requisition, you must return to the suppliers’ website, since
changes may affect the discounts applied to the final orders.
W To edit PunchOut items:

1 On the Shopping Cart, click the check box for the item you want to edit and click Edit.
2 On the item review page, click Edit in the Edit this PunchOut catalog item link.
3 Make your changes on the supplier’s website.
Working with the Shopping Cart

Whenever you add a catalog or non-catalog item to your cart, the shopping cart page is displayed. The
shopping cart page allows you to review your items, edit or delete items, and check out. You can access your
shopping cart any time by clicking Shopping Cart on any of the catalog pages:
When the shopping cart is displayed, enter a name for the shopping cart. It is not mandatory to enter a name
for the shopping cart, but is recommended as it makes retrieving saved shopping carts easier.
Note: A new shopping cart is created when you punchin to the Ariba procurement solution.

Working with the Shopping Cart Chapter 1 Using the Catalog
The following picture illustrates a shopping cart:
To Do This... Click...
Continue shopping. Back To Catalog or Add from Catalog
Add items that are not in the catalog. See “Adding Non-Catalog Items” Add Non-Catalog Item
on page 26.
Return the shopping cart to your procurement system. Checkout
Toggle the item view. If you are in detailed view, you can review Show Details/Hide Details
additional item properties.
Delete an item from the shopping cart. See “Editing and Deleting Click the item’s check box and click
PunchOut Items” on page 20. Delete.
Update the shopping cart’s total amount when you change the quantity of Update Total
one or more items.
View the confirm exit page. See “Understanding the Exit Options” on Exit
page 25.
Saved Shopping Carts

After you have finished adding items to your shopping cart, you can return to your external procurement
system with the shopping cart, or choose to save it in the Ariba procurement solution and then return to your
external procurement system.

Saving shopping carts in the Ariba procurement solution allows you to return later and complete the
shopping process. You can access the Saved Shopping Carts page by clicking the Saved Shopping Carts link in
the top-right corner of the catalog home page.
A typical Saved Shopping Carts page might look as follows:
The saved shopping carts page lists all the carts saved earlier. Here, you can select a saved shopping cart and
click Edit to continue shopping or click Delete to delete the shopping cart. To return to the catalog home page,
click Back to Catalog.
You can also search for a saved shopping carts using the search filters provided. For more information, see
“Searching for Saved Shopping Carts” on page 28.
Workflow of the Shopping Process

The workflow of the shopping process generally involves the following steps:
1 Punchin to the Ariba procurement solution.
The Catalog Home Page is displayed. To view the Saved Shopping Carts page, click Back to Catalog.
2 Browse the catalog to add items to the shopping cart or add non-catalog items to the shopping cart.
If you are in the saved shopping carts page, select a shopping cart and click Edit to continue shopping.
3 Checkout to your external procurement system if you are done adding items.
Clicking Checkout returns the shopping cart contents to your external procurement system.
4 If you do not want to checkout the shopping cart to your external procurement system, click Exit.

In the Confirm Exit page you can choose to:

• Return to the shopping cart to continue shopping
• Delete the cart and return to your external system
• Save the cart and return to your external system
• Delete the cart and go to the catalog home page
• Save the cart and go to the catalog home page
The following diagram illustrates the shopping process:

Understanding the Exit Options

When you click Exit in a shopping cart, the following page appears:
Clicking This... Does this...

Continue Shopping Returns to the current shopping cart.
Delete Cart and Exit Deletes the cart in the Ariba procurement solution and returns to your
external procurement system.
Save Cart and Exit Saves the cart in the Ariba procurement solution and returns to your external
procurement system.
Delete Cart and go to the Deletes the cart and returns to the catalog home page. A new shopping cart
Catalog Home is created when you return to the catalog home page.
Save Cart and go to the Saves the cart and returns to the catalog home page. A new shopping cart is
Catalog Home created when you return to the catalog home page.
Adding Catalog Items
Adding Local Catalog Items

Local catalog items show an Add to Cart button on the catalog search result page. Enter the quantity that you
want to order, and click Add to Cart to add the item to your shopping cart. To add multiple items, select the
check box for each item, then click Add to Cart at the top or the bottom of the items list.

For more information on how to add PunchOut items, see “Adding PunchOut Items” on page 20.
Adding Non-Catalog Items

If you can’t find what you need in the catalog, you can create non-catalog items by describing what you need
so that a purchasing agent can locate and order the items for you. Non-catalog orders can take longer to
process than catalog orders.
W To add a non-catalog item to your cart:

1 On the catalog home page, or the catalog search result page, click Create Non-Catalog Item.
2 Supply the following information:
For this option... Do this...

Full Description Enter a description of the item.
Commodity Code Select a commodity code from the available choices, or click Search for more to select
a different commodity code.
Account Type Select an account type from the available choices.
Supplier Select a supplier from the available choices, or click Search for more to select a
different supplier.
Contact The value for this field changes depending on the supplier you choose.
Click the contact name to see details for that person.
Click select to select another contact for the supplier you chose.
Supplier Part Number Enter the Supplier Part Number for the item.
Supplier Auxiliary Part ID Enter the Supplier Auxiliary Part ID for the item.
Quantity Enter the quantity of the new item you are adding.
Unit of Measure Select a unit of measure from the available choices, or click Search for more to select a
different unit of measure.
Price Enter the item price, or an estimated price. The total value of the shopping cart
determines the default approvers, who must have a price to approve the request.
If you change the price or quantity, click Update Total to update the shopping cart total
Select a currency from the available choices, or click Other to select a different
currency.
Amount This is a read-only field that is updated when you click Update Total.
3 Click OK. The item is added to your shopping cart.
Editing Line Items

You can edit line item properties and details, such as order quantity, supplier, or item description for an item
from the Shopping Cart page. The attributes you can edit depend on the type of item:
• For catalog items, you can edit the order quantity;

• For non-catalog items, you can edit all of the item’s properties you specified when you added the item;
• For partial items, you can edit the quantity and any additional item details required to place the order.
See “Editing and Deleting PunchOut Items” on page 20 for information on how to edit PunchOut items.
W To edit or review the properties of a line item:

1 From the Shopping Cart page, click the check box for the item you want to edit, then click Edit.
The Edit Line Item page appears as follows:
2 Edit the properties. For instance, you can change the number of items by typing in a new value in the Qty
field.
3 You can also review details concerning the UOM, commodity code, and supplier for an item by clicking
on the respective links for those fields.
4 Click OK to save the change and return to the previous screen, or Cancel to return to the previous screen
without saving changes.
W To edit additional line item details for partial items:

1 From the Shopping Cart page, click the check box for the partial item you want to edit, then click Edit.
2 On the Edit Additional Item Details page, enter information specific to the item you are ordering such as
price, unit of measure, your direct phone, URL, translation, title or position, E-mail address, whether to
include a logo on the item, fax number, first and last name.
3 Click OK, and then Save to associate the additional line item details with your order.
4 Click Cancel to return to the Shopping Cart without saving your changes.
Saving Shopping Carts

After adding items to the shopping cart and naming it you can choose to checkout to your external
procurement system or save the cart in the Ariba procurement solution.
When saving a cart you can also choose to return to your external procurement system or return to the
catalog home page after saving the cart.
W To save a shopping cart

1 Click Exit. The Confirm Exit page is displayed.
2 Click the relevant Save option.

Searching for Saved Shopping Carts

In the Saved Shopping Carts page you can search for carts using the available search filters.
Enter relevant values against one or many fields and click Search.
.
You can search using the following search filters:
Search Filter Description

Date Created The date the shopping cart was created. You can select any one of the available
options or select Custom and enter a From and To date.
Description (any line item) Description of any line item.
ID The shopping cart ID.
Non-Catalog Item (any line Select wether you want to search for shopping carts that contain non-catalog items or
item) not.
On Behalf Of The name of the user on whose behalf the shopping cart was created. Click Select
and then select a user from the list.
Price (any line item) The price of any one of the line items that is within a specified range. Enter values
for the price range.
Shopping Cart Name The name of the shopping cart.
Supplier (any line item) The supplier of any one of the line items.Click Select and select supplier from the
list.
Total Cost The total cost of the shopping cart that is within the specified range.Enter values for
the total cost range.
All the search filters are not displayed by default. You can configure the search filters that are to be displayed
by adding or removing the filters.

W To configure the search filters:

1 Click Add/Remove Search Filters on the top right corner of the table.
The Search Filters page is displayed as follows:
2 Select to check the boxes against the search filters that you want to be displayed.
3 Click OK.
Deleting Saved Shopping Carts

You can delete shopping carts in the Ariba procurement solution. After deleting a cart you can either return
to the catalog home page or return to your external procurement system. You can also delete shopping carts
directly from the saved shopping carts page.
W To delete a shopping cart

1 Click Exit. The Confirm Exit page is displayed.
2 Click the relevant Delete option.
W To delete a shopping cart from the Saved Shopping Carts page

1 Select the shopping cart and click Delete. The confirm delete popup window is displayed.
2 Click Yes to delete the cart.
Note: You cannot delete shopping carts that contain line items in collaborating state.
Checkout
After you have added items to your shopping cart and want to return the cart to your external procurement
system, click Checkout.
When you checkout a saved shopping cart, the cart is no longer available in the saved shopping carts page.


Chapter 2 Procuring Services
• “Introduction to Services Procurement” on page 31

• “Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts” on page 34
Note: Information in this chapter only applies if Ariba Services Procurement is installed and configured on
your system.
Introduction to Services Procurement

Service procurement items are catalog items that are controlled by a category definition. The category
definition, or category, allows your administrator to specify fixed, negotiable, or maximum values, groups,
policies, and other settings to govern the procurement of specific types of line items, such as consulting
services, temp labor, print services, and others. The category also specifies extra fields to display for that line
item.
Your administrator can also configure items to require collaboration with a supplier to define the details of
the item before an order can be placed. Collaboration can be configured for any item controlled by a
category.
This section includes the following topics:

• “The Collaboration Process” on page 31
• “About Open Bidding” on page 32
• “The Collaboration Team” on page 33
• “About Milestones” on page 34
The Collaboration Process

When you add a collaborative item to a shopping cart and submit the shopping cart, a collaboration request
is created for each invited supplier on that item, and then sent to them on the Ariba Supplier Network (Ariba
SN). The supplier views the collaboration request in the online Inbox on Ariba SN, reviews the details, and
responds either by declining the request or by submitting a proposal, which contains the details of how they
will fill the request. For example, if the line item is for a contractor to work as an administrative assistant, the
supplier’s proposal might contain the names of proposed candidates, their resumes, and hourly rates.
After suppliers submit their proposals, you review them on the Collaboration tab of the shopping cart in
Ariba Procurement Content. You can further negotiate a proposal or send questions to the suppliers using the
message screen on the Collaboration tab. Suppliers can send messages back and respond with additional or
amended proposals. You need to login directly to Ariba Procurement Content to view the collaboration tab in
the shopping cart.
Note: Only the collaboration team members can directly login to Ariba Procurement Content. Users can
access Ariba Procurement Content only through a link from their external procurement system.

Introduction to Services Procurement Chapter 2 Procuring Services
When a proposal is satisfactory, you can accept that proposal. The remaining proposals are automatically
rejected. If all line items on the proposal have the Allow Partial Acceptance property set to Yes in the
category definition, you can accept individual line items instead of the entire proposal. The information from
the accepted proposal is merged into the shopping cart, and the shopping cart moves to the Collaboration
Completed status.
If a shopping cart contains one or more collaborative items, all items on the shopping cart must wait for
collaboration to end. If you want to order time-sensitive items that are not collaborative in nature, ensure that
you order such items on a separate shopping cart.
In addition to the regular shopping cart statuses, collaboration requests include the following statuses:
• Collaborating, which occurs during the collaboration phase
• Collaboration Completed, which occurs when collaboration ends.
Note: Category items can be configured to control who is allowed certain actions, such as limiting who can
end the collaboration, or who can invite additional suppliers at various stages of the collaboration process.
See the Ariba Procurement Data Import and Administration Guide for more information.
About Open Bidding

When collaborating with suppliers, you can set up an open bidding process in which competing suppliers see
certain information about each other’s proposals, helping you drive down the purchase price.
The collaboration process is essentially a bidding process: a collaboration request you send to a supplier is a
bidding invitation, and a proposal a supplier submits in response to the request is a bid. Any counter proposal
you submit is also considered as a bid on behalf of a supplier. Bids are made in response to line items on the
original shopping cart.
For information on configuring open bidding by category definition files, see Ariba Procurement Data
Import and Administration Guide.
Bidding Information (Per Item)

The following bidding information can be made visible to suppliers:
• Lowest Amount: The lowest amount (sum of all line items) of all bids in the same bidding session. If
more than one bid has the same low amount, the one that was submitted first is considered the lowest.
• Price: The line-item price in the lowest bid.
• Lowest Supplier: The name of the supplier with the lowest bid.
• Proposal Rank: The relative position of a bid among all others in the same session.
• Supplier Rank: The relative position of a supplier among all others in the same session.
Multiple Choices in a Bid

Temporary labor items can have more than one contractor candidate entered in a proposal. If there are more
than one candidate in a proposal, the candidate with the lowest rate is selected when calculating the bid
ranking.

Chapter 2 Procuring Services Introduction to Services Procurement
Bidding Transparency
You set bidding transparency when you create a collaborative shopping cart. Transparency determines how
much bidding information is available to the supplier. Setting the transparency involves choosing a bidding
type, which impacts the available bidding properties.
A bidding type encapsulates bidding property fields in a single object. Frequently-used sets of bidding
properties can be preset and saved as named objects, so that future setup is a simple “select” operation.
There are three kinds of bidding types:
Bidding Type Description

System Configured at the site level, and available to all users.
In the default configuration, the following system bidding types are provided. Your site may be
configured with additional or different bidding types:
• Closed: No bidding fields are visible to the supplier.
• Open - Amount: Lowest Amount and Price are visible to the supplier.
• Open - Amount, Rank: Lowest Amount, Price, Proposal Rank, and Supplier Rank are
visible to the supplier.
• Open - Amount, Rank, Supplier: Lowest Amount, Price, Lowest Supplier, Proposal
Rank, and Supplier Rank are visible to the supplier.
New Created by a user on a per-collaboration (one-time) basis. A new bidding type cannot be reused
in future collaborations.
None Do not make any bidding information available to suppliers.
The Collaboration Team

Typically, approval rules determine which users are on the collaboration team, but you can also add users to
or delete users from the approval flow just like any other shopping cart. During collaboration, you add users
to the existing team. The team is identified by the users who appear in the approval flow between the Begin
Collaboration and End Collaboration approval nodes. The approval nodes for collaboration team members
are always watcher nodes, and any new approvers added to the collaboration team are added as watcher
nodes.
Collaboration team members can:

• Login directly to Ariba Procurement Content.
• Search for collaborative shopping carts.
Note: Only members belonging to the Query Shopping Carts group can search for shopping carts from
the Search portlet on the homepage.
• Use the commands on the Collaboration tab, including accepting and rejecting proposals, sending
messages to suppliers, and ending collaboration.
• Receive notifications during the collaboration process. Collaboration team members receive notification
when the shopping cart goes into collaboration. They can view the shopping cart by clicking the
Collaborating link on the navigation pane in your application.

Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts Chapter 2 Procuring Services
About Milestones
A milestone is a type of item you can add to a shopping cart. It usually specifies a set of conditions or
requirements that must be met by a supplier to satisfy the terms of the shopping cart. The successful
completion of a milestone typically results in a payment to the supplier. A milestone item must first be
defined at the category level for it to be available in your catalog.
You itemize a milestone by adding individual line items. The items you add to a milestone are for
informational purposes. For example, if you have a three-phase project to outfit an office space, the first
milestone might include items like cubicles and office chairs, the second milestone might include items like
telephones and computers, and the third milestone might include items like white boards and markers. At
each milestone completion date, you can then verify that the appropriate items have been delivered and
installed as agreed.
If you add a labor item during milestone itemization, and that labor item is configured with a candidate, the
candidate portion is not displayed on the milestone itemization page and you cannot add labor items during
milestone itemization.
You can itemize a milestone when you create a shopping cart, or you can have a supplier itemize a milestone
during the collaborative phase. The amount of the milestone is the total amount of the itemized items. You
can only itemize a milestone as the requestor if the item has the setting Collaborate = No. If the setting is
Collaborate = Yes, then it is up to the supplier to itemize the milestone in a proposal.
The milestone item appears on the shopping cart as a single line item; the itemized items can be viewed in
the line item details. Only the single milestone line item appears on the order generated from the shopping
cart; the itemized items do not appear on the order. During collaborative invoicing, compliance is enforced
for the total milestone amount, not for the itemized line items.
The Risk Premium field allows you to specify the percentage over what is itemized which the supplier will
be paid if they are able to complete the milestone by the completion date. For example, if all the line items
add up to $1000, and the Risk Premium is 10%, then the total amount paid to the supplier is $1100 if the
milestone was met.
Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts

This section includes the following topics:
• “Creating a Collaborative Shopping Cart” on page 34
• “Responding to a Proposal from a Supplier” on page 37
• “Revising, Adding, or Canceling a Collaboration Request” on page 37
Creating a Collaborative Shopping Cart

Creating a collaborative shopping cart includes selecting the items from the catalog, adding and itemizing
milestones, and adding approvers to your collaboration team.
W To create a collaborative shopping cart:

1 Locate a collaborative item in your catalog, then click Add to Cart.
The options available for an item vary according to how that item has been configured for your site.
However, the Invited Supplier option is required for all collaborative items.

Chapter 2 Procuring Services Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts
2 Set the item-specific options as required. For example, set the start and end dates and the pay rate for a
temporary labor item.
3 You can invite additional suppliers to participate in the bidding, or remove suppliers from the list of
participants. In the Invited Suppliers section, click Change.
4 In the Add to Currently Selected list, click the check box for each supplier you want to add.
In the Currently Selected list, clear the check box for each supplier you want to remove. You cannot remove
required suppliers.
5 Click OK.
6 If available, use the Bidding Type menu to select the bid information visible to suppliers. Depending on
how the category definition that controls this item is configured, bidding type might not be a visible field
available for editing, or you could see different bidding type selections:
• None: No bidding type is selected and no fields are visible to the supplier.
• Closed: No bidding fields are visible to the supplier.
• Open - Amount: Lowest Amount and Price are visible to the supplier.
• Open - Amount, Rank: Lowest Amount, Price, Proposal Rank, and Supplier Rank are visible to the
supplier.
• Open - Amount, Rank, Supplier: Lowest Amount, Price, Lowest Supplier, Proposal Rank, and Supplier
Rank are visible to the supplier.
• New: Create a new bidding type for this collaboration request only. Depending on options available to
you, you can select the following bidding properties: Show Lowest Amount, Show Price, Show Lowest
Supplier, Show Rank, Show Supplier Rank, Hide Before First Bid.
Note: A new bidding type cannot be reused in future collaborations and is not visible to other users.
If you want to view the options defined for a bidding type, or edit the options for a new bidding type you
created, first click on the bidding type in the Bidding Type pull-down list to display it, and then expand
the pull-down list again and click View/Edit Details ...
Note: You cannot edit system bidding types.
7 Click Calculate to update values and compliance information for the item based on the information you
enter.
8 When you have configured all the options for the item, click OK.
9 Add summary and shipping information, and attachments, and enter comments as necessary.
You can add other collaborative or non-collaborative items to the shopping cart at this point, including
milestones (see “Adding Milestones” on page 36). Click Add from Catalog to add a catalog item. Click Add
Non-Catalog Item to add a non catalog item.
You can also edit, copy, and delete items. Click the check box for an item, and then click Edit, Copy, or
Delete to take the desired action.
Note: Attachments are not sent to your external procurement system when you checkout the shopping
cart.
10 Click Submit.

Adding Milestones
W To add a milestone to a shopping cart:

1 From the shopping cart Summary tab, click Add from Catalog.
2 In the catalog search field of the Add Items page, enter milestone, then click Search.
3 Click Add to Cart for the milestone item you want.

The options you have to set depend upon how the milestone item has been configured.
For example, the IT Consulting Milestone item lets you enter text for the project description and the
expected deliverables, add attachments, select start and end dates, select the project type and pricing
structure, and select the person you want to verify the milestone.
The Direct Placement Itemize Milestone item lets you select a supplier, choose whether the item is
collaborative, select a completion due date, select the person whom you want to verify the milestone, and
choose whether the milestone can be itemized.
For information about itemizing a milestone, see “Itemizing a Milestone” on page 36.
4 Click OK. The item is displayed on the Summary tab.
Itemizing a Milestone
Note: Depending on the category configuration for the milestone, you might not be allowed to itemize a
milestone.
W To itemize a milestone:
1 On the Additional Line Items Details page, set the Itemize Milestone option to Yes.
2 In the Itemize Milestone option, click the Itemize link.
3 Click Add from Catalog to add a catalog item to the milestone.

Click Add Non-Catalog Item to add a non-catalog item to the milestone.
4 Click Done. The itemized milestone is displayed on the Summary tab of the Checkout page.
The Collaboration Phase

When a shopping cart has entered the collaborative phase, the status changes to Collaborating and the
suppliers identified on the shopping cart can then respond. You can respond to each supplier’s proposal,
modify your original request, or propose alternative requests for negotiation. Messages and proposals
between the suppliers and the collaboration team are exchanged until a proposal is accepted and the
collaboration phase is ended. The shopping cart status becomes Collaboration Completed. For information
on how suppliers respond to your collaboration requests, see the Ariba SN Transactions Guide available at
Help@Ariba from your Ariba SN account.
After the collaboration is completed the collaboration items remain in your To Do list until you archive them
as you would do with other approval requests. For information on archiving items, see the Ariba
Procurement Getting Started User Guide.

Chapter 2 Procuring Services Creating and Working with Collaborative Shopping Carts
Responding to a Proposal from a Supplier

When a supplier has responded to a collaboration request with a proposal, the shopping cart is updated with
the information added by the supplier.
W To respond to a supplier’s proposal:

1 Login to your Ariba Procurement Content account and search for the collaboration shopping cart.
Note: Only members belonging to the Query Shopping Carts group can search for shopping carts from
the Search portlet on the homepage.
2 Click Please Respond for the supplier to which you want to respond.
3 Click Detail for a line item to see the details of the supplier’s proposal.
4 Click Reject Proposal to send the shopping cart back to the supplier for further collaboration.
Click Accept Proposal to accept the terms of the supplier’s bid. If required, you can withdraw your
acceptance later as long as the shopping cart is in Collaborating status.
5 If you accept the proposal, do one of the following:
• Click OK to keep the shopping cart open for further collaboration with other suppliers.
• Click Finish Collaborating to close the shopping cart for any further collaboration.
Revising, Adding, or Canceling a Collaboration Request

When viewing proposals on the Collaboration tab, or when viewing the details of a collaboration request,
you can revise the collaboration request and resend it to the supplier, or you can create an alternative request
that is sent in addition to the original. Revised and alternative requests do not go through the
pre-collaboration approval flow again.
When you create an alternative request, the original request is still active. If you want to replace the original
request with the alternative request, you should cancel the original request.
When you revise a request, you can no longer accept any proposals that were sent for the original request.
Any proposals the suppliers are currently composing in response to the original request become obsolete.
Note: You cannot modify policy items such as the bill rate or experience level. The initial limits specified
when the adding the line item to the shopping cart are used throughout the collaboration process. When
modifying a policy item, the value is reset to the original value when submitting the edited item. You can,
however, create an alternative request with different policy item values and then cancel the original request.
W To revise a request:
1 Login to your Ariba Procurement Content account and search for the collaboration request.
2 Click the item for the supplier for which you want to revise your request, and then choose Revise Request
from the Actions pull-down menu. You can revise your request any time during the collaboration phase.
3 You can only edit requests for items that are included in the proposal. Select Included from the Selection
dull-down menu if not already selected, and then click Edit on the same menu. Alternatively, click the item
description.
4 Edit the request and click OK.
5 Click Next to complete and submit your modified request.

6 Click Back if you want to review all the requests for your collaborative shopping cart or make additional
changes.
W To add an alternative request:

2 Click the item for the supplier for which you want to create an alternative request, and then choose
Alternative Request from the Actions pull-down menu. You can add requests any time during the
collaboration phase.
3 You can only create alternate requests for items that are included in the proposal. Select Included from the
Selection dull-down menu if not already selected, and then click Edit on the same menu. Alternatively,
click the item description.
4 The original request item values are displayed. Make changes and click OK.
5 Click Next to complete your request. Click Submit.
6 Click Back to review all the requests for your collaborative shopping cart or make additional changes.
W To cancel a collaboration request:

2 Click the item for the supplier for which you want to cancel a request, and then choose Cancel Request
from the Actions pull-down menu.
3 Provide a reason for the cancellation, and an optional comment.
4 Click OK. The request is removed from your collaboration page.
Completing Collaboration
When you accept a supplier’s proposal, you can choose to keep the shopping cart open for further
collaboration with other suppliers or choose to close the shopping cart for any further collaboration.
W To finish collaboration
Note: Only collaboration team members can login directly to Ariba Procurement Content.
2 Click Finish Collaborating.
3 Click Submit. The shopping cart moves to the Collaboration Completed status.
4 From your external procurement system access the Saved Shopping Carts page.
5 Choose the shopping cart and click Edit.
6 Click Checkout to return the shopping cart to your external procurement system.
Note: Attachments are not sent to your external procurement system when you checkout the shopping
cart.

Chapter 3 Reporting
• “About Reports” on page 39

• “Running Reports” on page 39
• “Prepackaged Reports” on page 41
Note: Reporting data from your Ariba Procurement solution is updated at intervals, rather than in real time. It
might take up to six hours for the data from your latest transactions to appear in reports.
About Reports
You can run reports to analyze buying and spending patterns for yourself, your department, or your
company. Before you run a report, you can specify basic filters, and advanced filter and display options, to
better focus the report results.
Report results can be displayed in Excel or CSV format, and presented as a bar graph or pie chart. Whenever
possible, values are calculated using historical conversion rates; otherwise, current conversion rates are used.
If your company has also enabled euro-equivalent reporting, multiple columns of currency data appear.
The prepackaged reports listed in this section are available if you are in either the Repor User group or the
Report Manager group. For more information, such as how to change filters when generating these reports
and how to view the data in different ways, see the Ariba Reporting and Analysis Guide.
Running Reports
The best way to become familiar with the reports is to work with them. In addition to the standard data fields
associated with each of the supplied facts, many of the reports contain user-defined fields based on these
data fields. In some reports, the data has been constrained to illustrate a type of analytical report. For
example, sometimes unclassified data has been excluded from the pivot table view for easier recognition of
other trends.
W To run a report:
1 In the Navigation Panel, click Manage > Prepackaged Reports. Depending on your site configuration, you
may see different report categories.

Running Reports Chapter 3 Reporting
2 Click the arrow next to a category to see a list of the reports in that category.
3 Click the link for a report name to see the available options.
4 Select an action from the pop-up menu.

• Click Open to display the Refine Data panel for that report.
• Click View Details to see an overview of the report and its version history.
• Click Export to export the report to Excel or a CSV file.
• Click Copy to create a copy of the report in a destination folder.
5 If you Click Open, enter data in the Refine Data panel, then click View Report.
Click Background to run the report in the background.

Chapter 3 Reporting Prepackaged Reports
The following section describes the prepackaged reports.
Prepackaged Reports
This section contains descriptions of the following types of reports:
• “Procurement Content Reports” on page 41
• “Catalog Reports” on page 41
Procurement Content Reports

The following reports are provided in the default configuration:
This report… Displays…

Catalog vs. Non-Catalog items A summary of Catalog vs. Non-Catalog items checked out by Supplier and
Manufacturer
Checkout Summary A summary of items checked out by Supplier, Commodity and Manufacturer.
Purchase Price Variance by Analyzes the commodity price variances for items by suppliers over time.
Commodity
Shopping Cart Trend by Asummary of items added to a user’s shopping cart by commodity.
Commodity
Shopping Cart Trend by Supplier Asummary of items added to a user’s shopping cart by supplier.
Spend Concentration Analysis by Analyzes commodity spend at the part level, calculating the total number of
Commodity parts purchased and average spend per part.
Top items purchased by A list of the top items purchased/ checked out by Punchout vs. Contained by
Punchout vs. Contained Supplier, Commodity and Manufacturer
Total number of items purchased A list of the total number of items purchased/ checked out within a time frame
by Supplier and Manufacturer
Catalog Reports
Catalog Aggregation
This report is used to analyze catalog composition at the top level by identifying supplier commodity
coverage or commodity overlaps. The report generates a summary of the number of active catalog items per
supplier across the various commodities. The data is refreshed every sunday.
You also must belong to the Customer Catalog Manager group to access the catalog reports.

Prepackaged Reports Chapter 3 Reporting

Glossary
active approver
The user who must currently take action on a request. Most requests require approval by one or more
approvers. There can be more than one active approver at a time.
approvable
Any document type that may require approval based on approval rules so that the request can be processed.
catalog kit
Catalog items in the Ariba Procurement Content product catalog that are bundled together into one unit.
Catalog kits contain associated or related items from the same or different suppliers. When ordering from the
product catalog, users order the catalog kits as one item, but can also view and delete non-required
individual items from a catalog kit before ordering. Each catalog kit is assigned its own ID, description, and
supplier part # because the kit itself is an individual item in the product catalog.
contract
A legal document that allows a buying organization to establish a commitment with a supplier to purchase
goods or services repeatedly over time. Contracts can be specific or open-ended.
contract request (CR)

A request to create a contract. The contract is created when the request is fully approved.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, such as PeopleSoft, are used to integrate finance and human
resources departments, and enable manufacturing groups to handle transactions such as order processing and
production scheduling. Ariba applications interface with these ERP systems, leverage the Internet and
corporate intranets, and empower companies to manage their operating resource-related spending.
groups
Group membership enables users to perform specific tasks in the end-user and Ariba Administrator
interfaces. For example, only users belonging to the Purchasing User group can create requisitions. Ariba
Procurement Content also uses groups in the approval flow of approvable documents.
A group that is assigned to another group is called a child group. A child group inherits all the privileges of
its “parent” group.

Glossary
parametric data
Parametric data may be included in your company catalog for certain types of items. When you select the
search option called Type Name, when parametric types exist in the catalog, they are listed in the Type Name
pull-down menu. When you select a parametric type, the associated refinement fields appear and can be used
for additional searches.
partial item
A catalog item imported into Ariba Procurement Content with some fields missing. You can search for and
order these items from the Ariba Procurement Content product catalog. When you order a partial item (add
the item to the shopping cart), you are prompted to fill out the required missing fields, turning the
partially-specified item into a fully-specified catalog item. A catalog file can contain both fully-specified and
partially-specified items.
preferred supplier
A supplier with whom your company has a contract. Preferred suppliers are based on contracts on the
supplier-level, the commodity-level, or the item-level. When you are choosing a supplier in Ariba
Procurement Content, if your company has a contract with a supplier, the supplier is marked with:
• Contracted Supplier if the supplier has a supplier-level contract with your company.
• Contracted For This Commodity if the supplier has a commodity-level or item-level contract that includes the
current commodity.
• Contracted For Other Commodities if the supplier has a commodity-level or item-level contract that does not
include the current commodity. (The contracted items are outside of the current commodity.)
public favorites
A group of catalog items that have been marked as favorites and made accessible to specific users. When
public favorites folders are created, the creator specifies which groups of people can view the folder, as well
as add favorite items to the folder, and delete items from the folder. For example, a administrative user might
be able to view public favorites, but not have access to add or delete items; while a manager might be able to
view the items as well as add items as necessary.
You must have proper authorization to create and manage access to public favorites folders.
punch out
The process of temporarily leaving Ariba Procurement Content to access a supplier’s online catalog. When
you return from the supplier’s site, the item(s) you added appear in the shopping cart.
Your company has agreements with suppliers to receive discounts and special prices when you order items
from the supplier’s PunchOut catalog. If you decide to make changes to any PunchOut items, you must
return to the supplier’s website to do so, since your changes may affect the discounts or special pricing
applied to the final order
44 Ariba Procurement User Guide

Glossary
stem
The leading alphanumeric characters used in catalog searches. When stemming is used in free text searches,
the search results include all catalog items containing the stem. For example, entering “battery” returns a
catalog item called “batteries.”
When searching by supplier part number for items in the catalog, you can enter a part number stem to search
for all items whose supplier part numbers begin with the stem. For example, enter “BTM” to find supplier
parts in the same sequence, such as “BTM00057, BTM00060, BTM00106, BTM00107”.
Value Added Tax (VAT)

A general consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services at each stage in the production
and distribution chain. In those countries that impose VAT, many business expenses include a VAT and
reclaiming this tax is a critical component of expense management. Travel and Expense can be configured to
capture VAT amounts on expense reports.
watcher
A user included in the approval flow for a request, and who can receive notification messages related to the
request, but who is not required to approve or deny the request. For example, an IS administrator might be
included as a watcher on all requests for new computers, to help plan in advance the workload required to
install the computers.
webinfo
When viewing catalog items, the webinfo (icon) appears beside the catalog item price to indicate that more
information is available from the manufacturer’s web site. Click to display information from the web site.
wildcard
No special wildcard characters are necessary. Wildcard searching happens automatically in the following
ways:
• For text search fields (such as keyword, exact phrase, and exclude word), automatic wildcard searching
happens at the end of the word. When you enter a minimum of three consecutive characters, the search
retrieves items that begin with the characters in the order entered. For example:
• Enter batter to retrieve battery and batteries.
• Enter manag to retrieve management, manager, and managing.
• Automatic wildcard searching does not happen at the beginning of a text field. That is, if you enter
attery you will not retrieve battery.
• For other fields (such as supplier part number and manufacturer part number), automatic wildcard
searching happens at the beginning and end of the string. When you enter a minimum of three consecutive
alphanumeric characters, the search retrieves all part numbers that contain the alphanumeric characters in
the order entered. For example:
• Enter 343555 to retrieve 343555, 3343555, 3435556, and an infinite number of items containing
343555.
• This will not retrieve 343, 355, or 555 because only part numbers containing the entire sequence of
search numbers will match.
Ariba Procurement User Guide 45

Glossary
• You cannot search for numbers such as 35 because a minimum of three consecutive alphanumeric
characters are required.
Notes:
• By default, you must enter a minimum of three consecutive characters, but your company can set a
different minimum. See your system administrator for more information.
• To find a single part number, enter the part number in quotes. For example: “123-456”.
• A trailing “s” is omitted from wildcard text searches that contain at least 4 characters. For example: a
search for pencils would retrieve number 5 pencil.
• Punctuation marks such as dashes, quotes, percent signs, asterisks, and parentheses are disregarded unless
they are part of a search string that you enter in quotation marks.
46 Ariba Procurement User Guide

Index
A comparing items 14
active approver 43 complex categories 31–37
adding creating
catalog items to the shopping cart 26 collaboration team 33
items to a specific folder in favorites 17 creating collaborative shopping carts 34
items to your favorites list 16 CSV format for reports 39
new favorites folders 17
non-catalog items to your cart 26
E
PunchOut items 8
additional line item, editing 27 editing
approvers additional line item details 27
active 43 line items 26
properties of a line item 27
editing items after collaboration 34
B Excel spreadsheets 39
bidding
information (per item) 32
F
multiple choices 32
open 32 favorites list
transparency 33 adding folders 17
organizing 18
favorites, catalog
C working with ??–18
Catalog Home 5
catalogs
H
about 5
comparing items 14 How-to
editing, PunchOut items 21 add a non-catalog item to your cart 26
favorites ??–18 add items to folders 17
items, adding to favorites 16 add items to your favorites list 16
items, adding to the shopping cart 26 add milestones to a shopping cart 36
kits 7 compare items 14
ordering from 26 create a collaborative shopping cart 34
PunchOut items 8 delete PunchOut items 20
restrictions, PunchOut 10 edit a line item 27
searching 11–14 edit line item details for partial items 27
collaboration edit PunchOut items 21
editing items after 34 itemize a milestone 36
team 33 organize favorite items and folders 18
collaboration process 31 respond to a collaborative shopping cart 37
collaboration team 33 respond to a supplier’s bid 37
creating 33 run a report 39
privileges 33 save searches 15
collaborative purchase shopping carts search for items using favorites 16
responding 36 search your catalog 11
collaborative shopping carts
creating 34
proposals 31

Index
I Invoice Summary 41
itemizing milestones 36 Invoice Summary by Contract 41
items prepackaged 41–??
comparing 14 responding to
collaborative shopping carts 36
proposals 37
K supplier’s proposals 37
reviewing
kits, catalog 7
properties of a line item 27
L
S
line items
searching
editing 26
catalogs 11–14
lowest amount 32
shopping cart
lowest supplier 32
working with 21–27
supplier rank 32
M supplier’s proposal, responding 37
milestones
itemizing 36 W
working with 34
working with
multiple choices in a bid 32
complex categories 31–37
milestones 34
N shopping cart 21–27
non-catalog items, adding 26
O
open bidding 32
ordering
catalog items 26
P
prepackaged reports 41–??
price (bidding information) 32
privileges, collaboration team 33
properties of a line item, editing or reviewing 27
proposal rank 32
proposals
collaborative shopping carts 31
responding 37
PunchOut items
adding 8
editing 21
purchase shopping carts
collaborative 34
R
rank
supplier 32
reports
about 39
Invoice Accrual 41

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Ariba Procurement Content™

Catalog User Guide

Chapter 1 Using the Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2 Procuring Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide iii

iv Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 5

By default, a category-oriented view of the Catalog Home page is displayed.

6 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Click Categories to switch back to the category-oriented view.

About Catalog Kits

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 7

About PunchOut Items

8 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 9

PunchOut Catalog Restrictions

10 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Finding and Viewing Catalog Items

Searching the Catalog

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 11

Notes:(See numbered callouts, above.)

Refining Your Search

12 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 13

W To compare two or more items:

3 Click Add to Cart to add an item to the shopping cart.

4 Click Done to return to the search results page.

14 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

2 Click Save current search in Saved searches.

Working with Catalog Favorites

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 15

W To add an item to your favorites list:

• To add a single item, click the item’s Add to Favorites.

W To search for items using favorites:

16 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

W To add an item to a specific folder:

W To add a new favorites folder:

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 17

W To organize your favorite items and folders:

7 Click Done to return to your catalog search results page.

18 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Working with Partial Items

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 19

Working with PunchOut Items

Adding PunchOut Items

Editing and Deleting PunchOut Items

W To delete all PunchOut items:

W To delete selected PunchOut items:

20 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

Editing PunchOut Items

W To edit PunchOut items:

3 Make your changes on the supplier’s website.

Working with the Shopping Cart

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 21

The following picture illustrates a shopping cart:

Return the shopping cart to your procurement system. Checkout

Saved Shopping Carts

22 Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide

A typical Saved Shopping Carts page might look as follows:

Workflow of the Shopping Process

Ariba Procurement Content Catalog User Guide 23

In the Confirm Exit page you can choose to: