SAP extends open access to SAP Ariba Discovery through the end of 2020

SAP, the global leader in enterprise application management software, said this week it is extending open access to SAP Ariba Discovery, a business-to-business e-commerce offering designed to connect buyers and suppliers on a single network, from June 30 to December 31.

SAP Ariba Discovery allows any buyer to post immediate sourcing needs and to enable any of the four million suppliers on the Ariba Network to respond with their ability to deliver the goods and services required. These services are have been available free of charge since March 10, in response to the uncertainty of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. SAP said this initiative is part of a larger commitment to maintain reliable and transparent supply chains in a time of such uncertainty.

SAP officials said that the open access to SAP has had a “tremendous impact on connecting buyers and suppliers and keeping supply chains intact during the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, they added that going back to March 10, when the offering was made available for free, new buyer registrations are up 484%, with new supplier registrations up 3,966%, and supplier responses to buyer postings up 424%. SAP said these figures are in comparison to the pre-promotion period, from January 1-March 9.

“COVID-19 disrupted global supply chains more significantly than most businesses have ever experienced,” said Chris Haydon, president, SAP Procurement Solutions, in a statement. “Companies realize now more than ever the power of procurement, digital networks and the ability to find new sources of supply quickly. We are extending this offer to continue to accelerate connections between buyers and suppliers and to help ensure supply needs are fulfilled as quickly as possible during this challenging time.”

There is no shortage of examples of how SAP Ariba Discovery is continuing to prove to be beneficial to shippers.

It cited how Abu Dhabi, UAE-based agribusiness Al Dahra was in need of storage options for grain in desert conditions. After posting its sourcing need on SAP Ariba Discovery, the company  received responses from 142 global suppliers in less than three days and was subsequently able to find the storage supplies it needed to avoid shipment delays and people could get the food they need.

An earlier example is from early April, when New York City started to see its number of new coronavirus cases increase by the day. SAP said that Heath Layfield, chief digital officer of Ram Tool and Supply, was seeking 500 beds for a temporary hospital, to treat coronavirus patients, that the Alabama- based construction company was helping to build outside New York City to treat patients stricken with the coronavirus. Through the SAP Ariba Network, Layfield’s group was able to secure 500 beds from Joerns Healthcare in 30 minutes.

SAP also said that the open network drove a 24-hour turnaround on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) orders for nurses via the SAP Ariba Spot Buy in the Premikati Marketplace, an offering on the SAP Ariba Network that simplifies procurement processes and acts as a subset of the marketplace that hosts and manages supplies on behalf of the supplier community.

While it is hard to compare the coronavirus pandemic to other situations, SAP’s Haydon told LM in a recent interview that while things now are clearly different when compared to the global financial crisis in 2008, there are some similarities to at least the recessionary impact, with some of the same behaviors, including temporary labor levels dropping off, a slowing of new orders, contingent workers laid off early, a drop off in sourcing events, and a month-long lag or more for advanced shipping notices.

“We are seeing many of these same patterns now as the magnitude and scope continues to unfold,” said Haydon.

Going forward, Haydon said there are many emerging schools of thought, as things relate to procurement and logistics.

“Will we see more of a focus on local supply chains or more micro supply chains, as companies may not want to concentrate on geographies, whether that means local or international,” he observed. “There are some analyses and questions focused on how to provide supply chain insights on a regional basis. The trend will probably accelerate as there is no doubt that some of the tariff and trade enactments over the last 18-to-24 months have also willfully made corporations look at how they source within their logistics infrastructure in a different way. It is also a question of how you move some portions from higher-risk impact to total landing cost restrictions. There is a megatrend to that.”