Migrating to Ariba Spend
Management 9R1
White Paper
Adam Aniz S
Karthick ST
Manufacturing - Ariba
Migrating to Ariba Spend Management 9R1
Adam Aniz and Karthick ST
Confidentiality Statement
Copyright 2003 Tata Consultancy Services. All rights reserved
No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed in any form by any means
without prior written authorization of Tata Consultancy Services.
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Migrating to Ariba Spend Management 9R1
Adam Aniz and Karthick ST
Abstract
This whitepaper describes technical aspects of working with Ariba Client Automation.
Ariba Client Automation provides a seamless integration between the Ariba application
and the users machine. This high interactivity environment allows the following to
occur:
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About the Author
Adam Aniz has
Worked in Ariba Space for more than 3 Years.
Expertise on Ariba Suite & has implemented 9r1 for Cummins.
Served as technical advisor for various Ariba projects across TCS.
Been in panel for special recruitment drives for Ariba.
Worked on various RFPs & RFIs on Ariba Space.
Karthick ST has
Worked in Ariba Space for more than 3 Years.
Played Instrumental role in various migration projects
Worked as technical lead for Buyer module in Ariba.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 6
TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM ................................................................................................................... 7
9R1 SUITE ARCHITECTURE................................................................................................................... 8
OPEN INTEGRATION.................................................................................................................................. 11
MIGRATION OF TIBCO EVENTS TO FILE CHANNEL EVENTS.................................................. 13
INTEGRATION OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 13
INTEGRATION TASK WITH ORACLE FINANCIALS ...................................................................................... 14
ABOUT INTEGRATION TASKS .................................................................................................................... 14
Export Task ......................................................................................................................................... 14
Transactional Data Import Tasks ....................................................................................................... 15
ARIBA 9R1 FUNCTIONALITY ENHANCEMENTS............................................................................ 16
ENHANCED FEATURES OF ARIBA 9R1 ............................................................................................ 16
USER INTERFACE ...................................................................................................................................... 18
SAFE CUSTOMIZATION ............................................................................................................................. 19
GROUPS, ROLES AND PERMISSIONS .......................................................................................................... 19
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................... 20
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 21
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Introduction
The 9r1 release of Ariba Spend Management ushers in a new era for Ariba customers
who have long benefited from the leading spend management platform either installed
on-premise or hosted by Ariba. This release brings together the advancements that
Aribas on-demand Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) customers have enjoyed in terms of
usability, configurability, and scalability with the flexibility of deployment options that
our on-premise customers require. Customers looking to leverage the latest advancements
in spend management functionality and technology to capture more spends under
management and continues down the path of reducing costs should seriously consider
upgrading to 9r1.
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Technology Platform
As with any release, we have updated the 3rd party technology platforms that certify to
take advantage of the improvements in features, performance and support. As these
technologies and products evolve, we look to certify or maintain compatibility within an
acceptable time period. For 9r1, this list is maintained in the iConnect support portal.
When migrating from previous releases to 9r1, you should ensure there is platform
compatibility for migration. For example, a newer version of a database may be certified
in 9r1, but not supported for migration as it may not have been certified for an earlier
release that has already been retired. If you have any questions regarding platform
support for migration, please contact your Ariba representative.
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9r1 Suite Architecture
The 9r1 release brings together all Ariba Spend Management solutions onto the same
technology platform. No longer will you have to employ different technical skill sets to
implement, manage, and integrate solutions across the suite. By moving to a common
technology platform, integration of information among the suite becomes much easier as
solutions share more common attributes and data structures.
More importantly, we have reduced the number of instances to manage when deploying
the entire set of Ariba Spend Management solutions. Before 9r1, you would have to
manage four separate, but integrated solutions, each with its own database instance.
Communication and synchronization of data required many-to-many integrations among
the various solutions, and ownership of master data was dependent on which solutions
were implemented.
Ariba 4r4 / 8.2.2 Suite Architecture
With 9r1, the number of instances has been reduced from four to two, with Ariba
Analysis, Ariba Sourcing and Ariba Contract Management (formerly known as
Ariba Contract Workbench) all now sharing the same upstream instance.
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Simplified Suite Architecture in 9r1
Suite integration is simplifiedonly a single integration between the upstream
solutions and Ariba Buyer is required. In the full suite integrated scenario, the
ownership of shared master data goes to the Ariba Buyer instance. For more information
on suite integration, please refer to the Ariba Suite Integration Guide for 9r1.
Suite Integration Comparison between ASM 4r4 and 9r1
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While these architectural advancements bring many benefits, upgrading customers should
understand the impact of the changes to the suite architecture. While Ariba Contract
Management, Ariba Category Management and Ariba Analysis had already leveraged
the same platform as Ariba Buyer in previous releases, Ariba Sourcing was on a different
platform that required a unique set of skills to implement, customize, and manage.
For 9r1, Ariba Sourcing was rebuilt from the ground-up, taking advantage of customer
experience and input to incorporate the latest best practices in managing sourcing
projects and events. Several of these changes in functionality and approach also
required changes to how Ariba Sourcing stores information, which means that not all
data will migrate to 9r1. This information is documented in the Ariba Sourcing 9r1 Data
Migration Changes spreadsheet available on iConnect. When planning for your 9r1
upgrade, make sure you understand what can and cannot be migrated and plan
accordingly.
These changes to Ariba Sourcings data model also imply that clean data is mandatory
for a successful migration to 9r1. Data corruption that may have occurred in the past
and could be tolerated in Ariba Sourcing 4r4 may not be acceptable in Ariba Sourcing
9r1. You should allocate time and resources in your upgrade plans to fixing potential
data issues as they come up. We also suggest that you plan for sufficient time to have
one or more migration dry runs to ensure the process runs successfully.
Ariba Analysis also underwent some changes as a result of the consolidation of platforms
in 9r1. Migration will require a full export/import of data and reports when upgrading.
For more information regarding the 9r1 migration process, please refer to the Ariba
Upstream Platform Migration Guide and the Ariba 8.2.2 to 9r1 Buyer Migration Guide.
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Open Integration
Ariba has long been the leader in the XML-based integration across the Internet, with
the sponsorship of cXML as the lingua franca of cloud commerce. As adoption of
XMLbased document exchange has grown as technology and protocols have matured,
Ariba has adopted a standards-based web services approach for integration with legacy
systems, along with continued support for file-based integration..
Web services are Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that can be made available
over a local network or a wide area network such as the Internet. Usually the
mechanism to exchange information is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
commonly used by websites to display content.
In previous releases, Ariba leveraged TIBCO technology to provide integration with
legacy ERP systems. While many customers have leveraged our pre-packaged
integrations, other customers have asked for us to integrate with the Enterprise
Application Integration (EAI) platform on which they have standardized internally. Most,
if not all, EAI vendors now support web services out-of-the-box, and 9r1 can connect
with these integration platforms today.
For customers who do not want to use web services, Ariba will continue to support
filebased integration. Access to these files is facilitated through the Ariba Integration
Toolkit, which is new for 9r1. The Integration Toolkit has the flexibility to connect
directly to the database of your ERP system via Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) or
give you access to the flat files directly.
9r1 Integration Architecture Now Supports Web Services
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Ariba uses this new infrastructure to support integration with SAP, PeopleSoft
and Oracle E-Business Suite. If your organization is currently using the
TIBCO-based integration technology to integrate with your ERP system(s), you
should plan for an integration migration as a part of a 9r1 upgrade effort. The
migration effort is a manual process, and you should ensure that you have resources
experienced with TIBCO participating. Additional effort should be allocated for
customized integrations.
For more information, please refer to the Ariba Integration Toolkit Guide and the
Ariba ERP Integration Guides for Oracle, SAP and PeopleSoft.
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Migration of Tibco Events to File Channel Events
Integration Overview
Ariba Buyer integrates master data and transactional data with the Oracle Financials
application through the File channel using the Integration Toolkit. The Integration
Toolkit is an Ariba-developed middleware hat comprises the Data Transfer Tool and the
DB Connector.
Ariba Buyer integrates data with Oracle Financials through the File channel, which uses
the Data Transfer Tool and the DB Connector tool to move data into and out of Oracle
Financials database tables.
Data import integration events import information from the relevant CSV export files
from Oracle Financials database tables using the DB Connector. Export integration
events export CSV files to Oracle interface tables through the DB Connector. Oracle
provides a set of standard interface tables for receipt and invoice transaction integration.
Ariba provides a custom set of interface tables for purchase order integrations.
Thus the Ariba Integration Toolkit is made up of two tools:
The Ariba Data Transfer Tool, a command-line utility that facilitates CSV file transfer
in batch mode between your Ariba system and your ERP system, manually-maintained
data, or some other system.
The DB Connector, a command-line utility that bridges the gap between the Ariba Data
Transfer Tool and JDBC-based ERP systems.
The following graphic provides a high-level overview of how data flows between your
Ariba system and an external ERP system through the DB Connector and the Ariba Data
Transfer Tool:
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Integration Task with Oracle Financials
Ariba Buyer performs the following integration tasks with Oracle Financials:
Importing master data
Importing Transactional ID/Error data
Importing Remittance information
Exporting Ariba Buyer purchase orders
Exporting Ariba Buyer changed and canceled purchase orders
Exporting Ariba Buyer receipts
Exporting Ariba Buyer invoices
Ariba Buyer integrates with the following Oracle Financial versions:
Oracle 11i
Oracle 12r (12.0.4)
About Integration Tasks
Data is moved into and out of Oracle Financials through the DB Connector tool, which
downloads (imports) or uploads (exports) CSV files. This section lists and describes the
export and import tasks performed during Oracle Financials integration.
Export Task
Ariba Buyer supports the following kinds of export (push) tasks:
Purchase order exports: This task is executed to export fully approved purchase orders
in an active or FROZEN state. If the order is a CC:DO (carbon copy direct order), it is
exported as a FROZEN order. If the change/cancel order feature is enabled in your
configuration, all purchase orders are exported in the FROZEN state.
Changed/canceled purchase order exports: This task is executed to export changed and
canceled purchase orders, if this feature is enabled in your configuration (available only
for Oracle 11i and above). Ariba Buyer exports the changed or canceled purchase order
to the interface table. The concurrent program moves it from the interface table to Oracle
only if the status of the original purchase order in Oracle is FROZEN.
Receipts exportsThis task is executed to export Purchase Order lines items received
in Ariba Buyer.
Payment Exports - This task is executed to export the purchase order and non-purchase
order based invoices and credit memos created in Ariba Buyer. The DB Connector
exports data into interface tables for concurrent programs to process.
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A purchase order export works as follows:
1 When a requisition becomes fully approved on Ariba Buyer, the Ariba Buyer ordering
rules convert the requisition into one or more purchase orders.
2 The Data Transfer Tool runs the export integration events (as scheduled), which
transfer the exported CSV files to an appropriate location on the DB Connector. The DB
Connector then reads the CSV files and moves the data to Oracle Financials (writes into
the Interface tables)
3 An Oracle Financials concurrent program validates and exports the data from the
interface tables to the base table. This concurrent program runs on a predefined schedule,
or database triggers can call it. The data sits in the tables until the next time the Oracle
Financials concurrent program runs.
4 The status of the Purchase Order ID import integration task determines whether the
purchase order has been exported successfully to Oracle Financials.
Transactional Data Import Tasks
Ariba Buyer supports the following transactional data imports:
Purchase Order ID: Imports information about purchase orders that have been exported
to Oracle Financials.
Purchase Order Error: Imports failed purchase order export event information.
Change and Cancel Purchase Order ID: Imports information about changed and
canceled orders that were exported to Oracle Financials.
Change and Cancel Purchase Order Error: Imports failed change and cancel purchase
order export event information.
Receipt ID: Imports back the information about receipts that have been exported to
Oracle Financials.
Receipt Error: Imports failed receipt export event information.
Payment ID: Imports back the information about payments that have been exported to
Oracle Financials.
Payment Error: Imports failed payment (invoice) export event information.
When the Ariba Buyer import task is run:
1 The scheduled DB Connector downloads (or exports) the CSV files from Oracle
Financials using SQL queries with incremental logic.
Note: The SQL queries for every transaction are configured as separate tasks in the DB
Connector. Therefore, you must run the transaction import event separately for each
transaction ID or Error data that you want to import into Ariba Buyer.
2 The Data Transfer Tool then runs the import task at scheduled intervals to upload the
transactional data into Ariba Buyer.
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ARIBA 9R1 FUNCTIONALITY ENHANCEMENTS
ENHANCED FEATURES OF ARIBA 9R1
The purpose of the table below is to highlight key areas of improvement in Aribas 9r1
version as compared to v8.2.2 and the resulting impact to CLIENT users.
Feature
Easytouse
and
Configurable
Dashboardstyle
Home
Page
Description
Users can customize and
configure their home page to
best display the information that
is critical to their roles.
Enhanced UI
Threeclick Requisitioning
Process: Users can now
identify, compare and select
products more effectively,
moving from search through
requisition in just three
clicks.
Unified look and feel across Ariba
applications,
persistent navigation bar
Improved
Catalog Search
and Usability
The following search
improvements are now available:
Product comparison
Public favorites
Keyword extraction
Thumbnail view of search
results
Fuzzy search
Kitting enhancements
Users are provided an option to
have
custom/latest pricing applied to
the requisition
whenever there is a change in
the price of a
catalog item.
Users can now create negative
receipts to correct errors
in receipt amounts or quantities
(this is NOT rejecting a
receipt).
Negative
Receiving
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Client Impact
User adoption Users are used
to the Swoosh screen as
a home page. Change
management will be required to
demonstrate the benefits of the
dashboard style home
page. Impact: Low
User adoption Currently in
8.22, the requisitioning
process is Add Title, Add Items
then checkout. 9r1 will
have users search for items first,
add additional
information through a summary
page and submit. This
process is similar to what users
are used to doing.
Impact: Low
CLIENT users use the catalog
search function in a
limited fashion today. Most high
utilization catalogs are
punchouts where the searching is
completed on the
suppliers website. Impact: Low
Users receive orders in Ariba.
Currently, once items are
received, the amounts cannot be
lowered. This
functionality will assist with
getting items correctly
received and reduce invoice
exceptions. Impact: Low
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Improved
Configurability
and
Administration
Administrators can more easily
configure and manage
Ariba solutions with capabilities
such as:
Safe customization New
workspace for
making customizations to the UI.
CSV Files: Many updates to
fields in CSV files
for loading both master data and
Ariba Buyerspecific
data. Consult the new data
dictionary
to make applicable changes.
Supplier management
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Ariba developers can modify
the UI through an
online user interface making
customizations easier
to maintain. Impact: High
During the upgrade, CSV files
will need to be
updated to new object model
increasing upgrade
timeline. Impact: Low
Currently Suppliers are
managed through the CSV
files in v8.22. In 9r1, the same
CSV files will
continue to be used for regular
maintenance. The
new Supplier Management
Admin UI can be used
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User Interface
Usability has long been a focus for Ariba and its solutions, and with 9r1, our on-premise
and hosted customers can now take advantage of the advancements in usability that
Aribas SaaS customers already enjoy. As soon as you log into Ariba Spend Management
9r1, you see a new dashboard that brings together the entire suite.
Global navigation has been completely revised with the addition of a command bar with
menus and tabs that allows users to navigate among features and functions. In addition,
content that used to be managed by folders have now been reorganized to house common
content throughout the entire suite. Global searching has also been improved, and saved
searches are more easily accessible. These dashboard templates can be administered
centrally.
Existing Ariba users will need to be trained on these changes. However, the new user
interface should reduce the need for upfront training, as it embodies the best practices
currently used when navigating your favorite websites. For more information regarding
user interface changes in 9r1, please refer to the Ariba Upstream Platform Release
Guide and the Ariba Buyer Release Guide.
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Safe Customization
Aribas on-premise and hosted customers have long enjoyed the ability to change
(customize) many aspects of Ariba Spend Management solutions to meet their unique
requirements. With that flexibility, however, come the headaches around supporting
customized code, applying patches and upgrading to new releases.
These invasive customizations, such as core code modifications, are not possible with
Aribas SaaS solutions, so we developed a framework on which the more-common
changes can be made without resorting to customizations. These types of changes are
called Safe Customizations.
With the alignment of our SaaS and on-premise solutions with the release of 9r1, Aribas
on-premise and hosted customers can now take advantage of Safe Customizations in their
own environment. The following metadata changes are supported:
Creation of new flex fields, with the use of template fields and safe properties
Configuration and customization of shipped safe fields
Addition of constraint conditions (visibility, validity, editability) to flex and safe fields
Specification of initial values to flex and safe fields
The benefits of using Safe Customizations are clear: these changes can be more easily
migrated to future Ariba releases and will not generally be impacted by hotfixes.
Furthermore, leveraging this standard framework will ensure configuration consistency.
Upgrading customers should evaluate whether their current customizations can be
migrated to the Safe Customizations framework, though current customizations will
continue to be supported. For more information on Safe Customizations, please refer to
the Ariba Spend Management Customization Guide.
Groups, Roles and Permissions
Ariba Spend Management 9r1 includes best practices groups, roles and permissions
that are based on our customers experiences with using and managing our solutions.
When upgrading to 9r1, you are given the choice to use the groups, roles and
permissions that we provide, or to continue using your own configuration. We
recommend that you review these new groups, roles and permissions that we have
provided with 9r1 to determine if your organization can benefit from using them.
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Conclusion
The Ariba Spend Management 9r1 release is a significant advancement in usability,
scalability and configurability. With the significant changes in this release, it becomes
even more important to understand the impact of architectural changes and functional
enhancements before embarking on an upgrade.
It is requisite to completely review the 9r1 documentation in detail, and paying close
attention to the Ariba Upstream Platform Migration Guide, Ariba Upstream Platform
Release Guide, Ariba 8.2.2 to 9r1 Buyer Migration Guide and Ariba Buyer Release
Guide which help ensure that your customer is prepared for 9r1.
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References
[1] www.connect.ariba.com
[2] www.knowledge.ariba.com
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