Electronically integrating your order and invoice capabilities over the Ariba® Network is a great way to cut costs and processing time while positioning yourself as an e-savvy seller. And with 93 percent of Ariba sellers still relying on email and fax, offering electronic services gives you a distinct competitive advantage as well.
If you need external IT assistance to move forward-and want help finding vendors with the expertise you need-the Ariba Supplier Solution Provider Sales & Marketing Program is the perfect solution. Launched in mid-May, this valuable new program is designed to facilitate productive intercompany collaboration, a core goal of the Ariba Commerce Cloud. By using it, you can quickly connect with the organizations best suited to handle your business commerce integration projects.
What Benefits Does the Program Provide?
The Ariba Supplier Solution Provider Sales & Marketing Program saves you time and effort by giving you immediate access to qualified vendors with proven capabilities. Rather than spending endless hours up front vetting potential providers from a large pool, you can focus your resources on getting the project done.
Outsourcing projects to Ariba Supplier Solution Providers gives you a cost-effective, scalable option for your integration initiatives, since you don't have to meet a minimum spending amount to use them. And since Ariba Supplier Solution Providers are eager to win and keep your business, they'll devote extensive resources to complete your project-so you enjoy a shorter time to benefit. If geographic proximity is important to your initiative, the program offers value there as well, since Ariba Supplier Solution Providers are based in multiple countries worldwide.
In turn, companies that receive the Ariba Supplier Solution Provider designation benefit by gaining greater exposure to sellers interested in their services. The result is a win-win connection that helps you as well as the program participants.
How Does the Program Work?
Companies that wish to be validated as Ariba Supplier Solution Providers must first apply to the program. Ariba then assesses their ability to provide one or more of the following services:
- Purchase order EDI integration
- Purchase order cXML integration
- Ariba PunchOut™ support
- Website development
- eInvoice EDI integration
- eInvoice cXML integration
Companies that pass the review process receive the appropriate Ariba Supplier Solution Provider designation(s) and are listed on ariba.com, supplier.ariba.com, and Ariba Discovery,™. You can access the list and contact validated businesses directly to discuss your project parameters.
How Do I Choose Between This Program and Ariba Supplier Consulting?
Ariba Supplier Consulting resources are channeled primarily towards sellers who have earned Ariba Ready™ status or are launching more complex, large-scale integration projects. As a result, non-Ariba Ready sellers or those with small to midsized initiatives-e.g., ones that require only one or two connections-may have to wait to receive service. The Ariba Supplier Solution Provider Sales & Marketing Program is designed to fill that gap, expanding the options available to every seller and enabling you to get your solutions to market quickly and easily.
If you're uncertain which type of support is best for your project, the supplier account management team can help you determine the right path to take.
A Strong Beginning
"We prominently displayed the Ariba Supplier Solution Provider logo in front of our booth at Ariba LIVE, and we're including it in our marketing collateral and website as well. Partnering with Ariba through this program gives us greater credibility when talking with suppliers who want to connect with their Ariba customers." Jack Mulloy, CEO, PunchOut Catalogs |
The Ariba Supplier Solution Provider Sales & Marketing Program has attracted strong interest from a variety of companies, with five organizations already validated and many others undergoing review. A dozen initial charter members are expected to be validated by mid-August, with continued growth expected. Current members include:
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New members are excited about the value the Ariba Supplier Solution Provider Sales & Marketing Program will provide. PunchOut Catalogs, which earned validation in all six service areas, has already started to realize benefits. "We began using the program logo at Ariba LIVE™, and we definitely met a lot of strong leads there that we're pursuing," says Jack Mulloy, CEO of PunchOut Catalogs. "We're confident that suppliers in the Ariba community will get the right level of visibility from the program and be a strong channel for us from a growth perspective."
Charter member marketingunity, a web-based collaborative software specialist based in the United Kingdom, also expressed optimism about the pluses of becoming an Ariba Supplier Solution Provider. "We're really excited about this new relationship, as it represents a genuine win for all parties involved," says James Evason, chief technology officer. "Suppliers entering the Ariba Network will be able to integrate their systems quickly and cost-effectively; both they and their customers will benefit from faster and more efficient completion of business transactions; and Ariba will benefit as their network will become an even more attractive way for their buyers and suppliers to do business."
How to Get Started
To learn more about the program, connect with existing members, or find out about becoming an Ariba Supplier Solution Provider yourself, simply send an email inquiry to supplierprograms@ariba.com.
This article is part of the current issue of Ariba Supply Lines. Ariba Supply Lines is a quarterly newsletter that provides valuable tips, best practices, and the latest thinking to take your online business relationships with your buying customers to the next level.
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