SAP Ariba is a powerful procurement tool.  Microsoft Teams is an easy to use collaboration tool. Together, they create a unified and efficient environment to streamline the requisition process.  That’s right, SAP Ariba and Microsoft Teams have been seamlessly integrated to streamline your collaboration and communications. Introducing Nitor CONNECT. 

Collaboration is a powerful tool for any procurement organization. Connecting end users with procurement specialists streamlines procurement activities, keeps the lines of communication open, and ultimately leads to a stronger relationship between procurement professionals and the individuals they serve.

In the past, this has been achieved using disparate communication methods, but with Nitor CONNECT, collaborative procurement becomes as simple as opening a chat window.

But First. A Story.

It’s a common scenario. A requisition is submitted for approval. The first approver has questions, so they add a comment to the requisition. No one has their notifications turned on, so a few days later the requester happens to see the comments and responds. Again, there is not a notification indicating a response.

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A few days later, the first approver receives an e-mail telling them their approval is overdue. Now, the collaboration moves to e-mail. Emails go out to the requester asking the same questions (that were already asked in the requisition). Finally satisfied with the answers, the first approver clicks “approve”.

Now the approval splits out to three separate budget approvers. Approver #1 and #2 were expecting the requisition, but Approver #3 has no idea why their budget is being charged, so they click “deny”. Back to the beginning.

The requester talks to Approver #3 in person (requiring a meeting) and explains why their budget is being charged. Now the requisition must be resubmitted. The first approver quickly approves via e-mail. The budget approvers also click “approve”. Things are looking good!

But now, the director must approve. She has the same questions as Approver #3 but doesn’t see the history of the conversations. She doesn’t have access to the e-mails and chats that led to this point. She asks the same questions via chat. Satisfied with the answers, she clicks “approve”. The PO is cut two weeks late, and there is a risk of causing a disruption in operations.

Fast forward six months, someone needs to see exactly why this requisition was approved. They have the same questions as everyone else, but once again, they don’t see any of the history.

About Nitor CONNECT  

Nitor CONNECT seamlessly integrates SAP Ariba and Microsoft teams to create a hub for team collaboration, communication and documentation storage during the source-to-settle process. Nitor CONNECT streamlines chats, training materials and documentation to create efficiency and support accuracy in the source-to-settle process.  With the increase in unified collaboration and communication, you can expect:

• A reduction in the number of meetings, saving time and money
• Improved compliance with centralized documentation
• Faster time-to-decision
• Reduced email/phone traffic
• Quickly stay connected to procurement activity through Microsoft Teams video chat, text chat, notifications on approval flows
• Take advantage of all Microsoft Teams functionality while using SAP Ariba
• Seamless integration using native APIs to other internal applications, connecting your entire enterprise in a single interface
• Higher adoption rates and improved compliance with a faster time to decision
• Empower remote workforce to stay connected to day to day operations
• A reduction in time looking between several applications due to the integrated file storage

Who can Benefit from Nitor CONNECT?

If your team uses SAP Ariba Buying & Invoicing and Microsoft Teams, Nitor CONNECT is for you.

Now, let’s return to our initial story. With Nitor CONNECT, the entire process looks something like this:

The requester submits the requisition. The approvers are notified in Microsoft Teams that they are the next approvers in the chain. They can access SAP Ariba from a tab in the Team created for the requisition. They have questions. So, they simply ask their questions in Microsoft Teams. The questions are quickly answered via chat. Our first approver clicks on the SAP Ariba tab and approves.

Budget Approvers #1 and #2 approve just like in the first scenario, and Budget Approver #3 sees the conversation that has already occurred. They have a few additional questions. This time, they ask via Microsoft Teams, and once satisfied with the answer, approve just the same.

Now it’s time for the director. She is notified via Microsoft Teams that she is the next approver in the chain. But this time the history is there for her to see. She can quickly see the answers to her questions and approves right from Microsoft Teams.

The requisition is approved on time and the PO is cut.  Fast forward six months, when someone needs to understand why the requisition was approved. They simply click the link in the requisition comments and view the archived Team in Microsoft Teams – where all the conversation history is still present.

How Can I Get Nitor CONNECT?

Visit the Nitor App Center at nitorapps.com for more information.

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