Businesses require visibility, transparency, and control over their supply chains and procurement processes. This need has driven rapid growth in the supply chain and procurement software market, which now offers many more options than in the past.
SAP Ariba is a leading spend management platform and a key part of SAP’s supply chain digitization offering. However, while it may be the best choice for some organizations, could one of the innovative alternatives to SAP Ariba help your business achieve its strategic procurement goals?
In a quickly evolving landscape, procurement leaders should evaluate their current solutions and consider a variety of modern, flexible, and less expensive alternatives.
What is SAP Ariba?
SAP Ariba is a comprehensive, cloud-based procurement platform with a suite of solutions to digitize and automate the source-to-pay process, from strategic sourcing and contract management to purchasing, invoicing, spend management, and supplier collaboration.
Founded in 1996, Ariba pioneered B2B e-commerce and procurement software. The company went public in 1999 before being acquired by SAP in 2012 for $4.3 billion. Now known as SAP Ariba, it is a pivotal component of the SAP Business Network.
One of SAP Ariba’s key strengths is its ability to handle direct and indirect procurement on a single platform. Its sourcing tools help identify cost-saving opportunities, assess market dynamics, and develop informed strategies. Robust contract management capabilities allow teams to standardize processes, collaborate with suppliers, and achieve best-value agreements.
Reasons You Might Need a SAP Ariba Alternative
Although SAP Ariba is among the most widely used sourcing, procurement, and spend management solutions, it isn’t universally admired. It has a number of reported shortcomings, many of which are shared with other solutions in the space.
- Complex User Interface: Users find the interface cumbersome and not user-friendly, making navigation and task execution difficult.
- Manual Data Entry: Suppliers often need to manually input invoice data, which is time-consuming and error-prone.
- Integration Challenges: Integrating SAP Ariba with other systems, such as ERP solutions, is often complex and problematic.
- High Costs: High subscription and transaction fees can be burdensome for smaller businesses.
- Poor Customer Support: Users report difficulties in obtaining prompt and practical support, exacerbating issues when they arise.
- Lack of Training Resources: Procurement professionals have complained about a lack of adequate training and onboarding resources, leading to a steep learning curve for new users.
- Reporting and Analytics Limitations: Users desire more advanced customization options and greater report creation flexibility.
- Charging SAP Ariba Users’ Suppliers: Numerous businesses have complained that SAP forces them to pay to transact with customers who use SAP Ariba to manage procurement, including complaints of supplier fee increases with inadequate justification.
The most significant shortcoming of SAP Ariba is its complex user interface. Complexity leads to inefficiencies and frustration among users, who struggle to navigate the system and perform necessary tasks. The interface slows down business operations and increases the likelihood of errors, particularly in data entry and processing. These issues result in delayed procurement processes, increased operational costs, and strained supplier relationships for businesses.
SAP Ariba Alternatives
Vroozi
Vroozi is a cloud-based procure-to-pay (P2P) and spend management solution designed to simplify and automate the entire procurement process. Focusing on user-friendly interfaces and AI-powered automation, Vroozi offers a comprehensive platform that streamlines purchasing, enhances spend analytics, and ensures compliance with supplier contracts and procurement policies.
Vroozi was founded in 2012 to “consumerize” B2B commerce by providing a modern, mobile-first procurement experience. The company initially launched its Vroozi Catalog and Marketplace solutions, allowing businesses to centralize supplier catalogs and content in a digital B2B marketplace. Over time, Vroozi expanded its offerings through continuous innovation, developing a full suite of procure-to-pay software that uses AI and machine learning capabilities.
Key features include:
- Intuitive B2B marketplace for centralized and guided purchasing from approved suppliers
- Purchase request and purchase order automation
- A full range of P2P solutions in a single cloud platform
- AI-powered invoice automation and intelligent process orchestration
- Seamless integration with leading ERP and financial systems like SAP, Oracle, and NetSuite
- Comprehensive spend analytics and reporting capabilities
- Mobile-friendly interfaces for on-the-go procurement
Vroozi’s strengths lie in its user-centric design, robust automation capabilities, and seamless integration with existing business systems. The platform’s modern interfaces and consumer-like shopping experience drive high user adoption rates, while its AI-powered automation streamlines processes, reduces errors, and enhances spend visibility.
Coupa
Coupa is a Business Spend Management (BSM) platform designed to provide visibility and control over spending. One of Coupa’s key strengths is its procurement functionality. It offers an intelligent intake system that guides employees to preferred products and services with discounted pricing and favorable terms. It also provides a centralized shopping experience, allowing users to easily compare items across suppliers and helping to prevent rogue spending.
While Coupa is a popular SAP Ariba alternative, it’s not the right platform for every business. Its user interface and overall usability are a common focus criticism. Many users find the UI cumbersome, outdated, and not intuitive or user-friendly. The navigation and process flows have been described as confusing, making it difficult to find features and complete tasks efficiently.
Implementation and training are also cited as potential drawbacks. The implementation process for Coupa is described as lengthy and resource-intensive, often taking several months and requiring significant change management efforts.
Zycus Source-to-Pay
Zycus Source-to-Pay aims to automate the procurement process from sourcing to payment. Founded in 1998, the platform’s roots lie in the company’s early work in spend analysis and supplier management.
The main features of Zycus Source-to-Pay include streamlined sourcing and supplier identification, inventory management, AI-based spend classification capabilities for managing procurement data, AI-driven invoice processing and management, and cognitive analytics for procurement insights.
While the platform offers extensive configuration and customization options, this can lead to a steeper learning curve, especially for complex modules. The modular structure may also result in higher upfront costs than pre-packaged alternatives.
JAGGAER
JAGGAER ONE was founded in 1995 as SciQuest, originally an eCommerce exchange for laboratory supplies. It then focused on eProcurement software and rebranded as JAGGAER in 2017 to reflect its expanded procurement solutions. Today, JAGGAER serves enterprise customers in industries including manufacturing, healthcare, education, and government.
JAGGAER ONE provides spend analytics to identify cost-saving opportunities, supplier management to build more strategic vendor relationships, and sourcing to streamline procurement processes. The platform’s main strength is integrating these features for centralized visibility and control across the procurement lifecycle.
Potential downsides of JAGGAER ONE include its complexity, which can make the system challenging to navigate. JAGGAER is aimed at large enterprise businesses; mid-sized and small businesses may struggle with the complexity and fail to take full advantage of the features they pay for.
Medius
Medius is a cloud-based solution that automates and optimizes purchasing processes and accounts payable (AP) processes. Founded in 2001, Medius has expanded from its initial focus on AP automation to offer a range of spend management capabilities. The platform includes AI-powered AP automation for touchless invoice processing, comprehensive spend analytics, and integrated procurement and supplier management tools.
Users appreciate the intuitive interface and the ability to manage procurement and AP tasks within a single platform. However, some users have reported that the initial setup can be complex. Additionally, while Medius provides robust functionality, it may have higher upfront costs than simpler alternatives.
Esker
Esker provides AI-driven process automation solutions for finance, procurement, and customer service professionals. The platform is designed to streamline source-to-pay (S2P) and order-to-cash (O2C) cycles.
Esker was founded in 1985 in Lyon, France, by Jean-Michel Bérard. Initially focused on helping businesses deliver documents electronically, the company expanded globally in the early 1990s and went public on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1997. Esker has continuously evolved, moving to the cloud in 2007 and integrating AI and machine learning technologies in recent years.
Esker’s strengths lie in its robust automation capabilities, user-friendly interface, and integration with existing ERP systems. However, as with many procurement automation solutions, Esker users have noted that the initial setup can be complex, and the extensive configurability options may be challenging for new users to manage.
Is Vroozi the Best SAP Ariba Alternative for Your Business?
Vroozi is a complete procure-to-pay solution for businesses of all sizes. Our modular cloud-based platform includes:
- An intuitive digital marketplace and supplier portal
- Custom approval workflows
- Procure-to-pay automation
- eProcurement and accounts payable invoice automation
- Powerful spend analytics and reporting
- Digital payments
To find out if Vroozi is the right SAP Ariba alternative for your business, experience a live version of the app or request a personalized walkthrough from one of our team members.
