PUBLIC

Document Version: 2402 – 2024-01

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading

Partner Portal Buyers
SAP Business Network
© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

SAP Business Network Discovery

THE BEST RUN

Content

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

About the SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
SAP Business Network Discovery profile visibility and notification settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
How to configure your company profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
How to create a company alias. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
How to change SAP Business Network Discovery notification settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

SAP Business Network Discovery postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

About SAP Business Network Discovery postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
RFI's on Ariba Business Network Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
How to create an SAP Business Network Discovery posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
How to manage a posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Managing RFQs on SAP Business Network Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
RFQ postings in SAP Business Network Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Searching for RFQ postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Downloading details of an RFQ posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Generating RFQ reports for buyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Viewing a summary of the responses to RFQ postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Source of attachments added to an RFQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Specifying the RFQ event currency while awarding a bid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Test the RFQ flow using quick enabled test account suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Showing buyer's contact information on the Request for Quote (RFQ) posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Showing the logged-in buyer's RFQs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Previewing the list of invited suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Showing bid details in the supplier's currency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
How to view my RFQ postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Restrictions on Attachments to RFQ Postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
How to download RFQ event details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Creating a Report Template for Generating RFQ Related Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
How to add attachments to an RFQ posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
How to share postings by generating a link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

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 About SAP Business Network Discovery suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Contact suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Supplier responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Side-by-side comparison of bids for RFQs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Viewing the list of uninterested suppliers for RFQs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Awarding supplier responses for RFQ postings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Interaction with suppliers on RFI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reading supplier responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Shortlist one or multiple supplier for a RFI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Not shortlist a supplier for a RFI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Interaction with suppliers on RFQ:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Supplier ratings and references. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
How to invite suppliers using vendor IDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
How to view the list of uninterested suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Configuring the QuoteMessage Flow Rule to Send Supplier Bid Rejection Information. . . . . . . . . . . . 47
How to compare bids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
How to view the bid details in the supplier's bid currency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
How to view a supplier bid trend on an RFQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Previewing the list of invited suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
How to award supplier responses for an RFQ posting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
How to split award on the Compare Supplier Bids page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Finding Suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Rating suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Saving Suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
About the Saved Suppliers Page on SAP Business Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Reviewing and Removing Saved Suppliers on SAP Business Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Messaging suppliers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Asking Suppliers a Question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

Content PUBLIC 3
SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading
Partner Portal Buyers

This guide is for buyers seeking a low-cost way to increase their potential supplier base, reduce the cost of
acquiring and managing suppliers, and increase competition among suppliers.

This guide applies to: SAP Business Network Discovery

 Note

Changes to documentation are imminent. Refer this Help portal for latest developments and updates to
documentation.

Related guides

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Sellers

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

4 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers
SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers

Describe your buying needs and let SAP Business Network Discovery match you to qualified suppliers.

About SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers [page 5]

About SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers

SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers provides a low-cost way to increase your potential supplier base,
reduce the cost of acquiring and managing suppliers, and increase competition among suppliers.

Creating a posting is free and takes only five minutes. SAP Business Network Discovery will match you to
quality suppliers that meet your needs. Matched suppliers will respond to you securely on SAP Business Network
Discovery. You will often get supplier quotes in hours, not days or weeks.

SAP Business Network Discovery provides comprehensive supplier profile information and the ability to interact in
real-time with suppliers you are interested in, helping you to make the right decision fast. Quickly compare qualified
suppliers, then create a shortlist or award business.

With SAP Business Network Discovery, you can make sure you get the most competitive pricing from your supplier
base.

SAP Business Network discovery is part of the trading partner portal now

Since SAP Business Network Discovery is part of the trading partner portal, you can use single portal to create/
manage RFIs from discovery and create/manage RFQs from your ERP (read more about it in Quote Automation
integration Guide).

To begin buying in minutes, click on the posting tab or quick action menu and create postings.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

SAP Business Network Discovery for Buyers PUBLIC 5
The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer
company profile

The information you disclose in your SAP Business Network Discovery profile helps provide suppliers with
additional qualifying information about your company before they respond to your postings.

About the SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile [page 6]

SAP Business Network Discovery profile visibility and notification settings [page 6]

How to configure your company profile [page 8]

How to create a company alias [page 8]

How to change SAP Business Network Discovery notification settings [page 9]

About the SAP Business Network Discovery buyer

company profile
To attract potential suppliers and enable your existing suppliers to plan effectively, ensure that your profile
information is complete and accurate.

Your public profile includes generic company information and a summary of the postings you have created. In
addition to information collected about your SAP Business Network Discovery transaction history, including the
number of postings you have created and the number of postings you have awarded to suppliers. This information
helps provide suppliers with additional qualifying information before they respond to your postings.

SAP Business Network Discovery profile visibility

and notification settings
You can hide your company profile or company name using specific settings on SAP Business Network Discovery.

SAP Business Network Discovery’s visibility and notification settings allow you to:

• Choose whether your company profile is visible to suppliers on postings you create.
Settings on the create posting form allows you to:
• Create a company alias to display when you want to hide your company name in a posting.
• Choose whether to display your contact name on a posting.
• Notification settings allows you to:
• Choose whether you receive email notifications for certain actions and events

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

6 PUBLIC The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile
Profile Visibility

When you create a public posting, your company profile information is visible to suppliers by default.

All supplier organizations can view your company profile by default. Although you can choose to hide your company
profile information, SAP Ariba recommends that you display your company profile information. Displaying
your company profile can help make potential suppliers feel more comfortable with doing business with your
organization, resulting in increased responses to your posting.

Company Alias

When you create a posting you can choose to hide your company name nad instead use an alias. You can enter a
brief but accurate name that maintains anonymity for your company. You might choose to indicate your company
size, region, industry, or certifications in your alias, such as “Silicon Valley Computers” or “Veteran-Owned
Agricultural Supply.” If you don't choose any name, and hide your original company name, our system defaults
your company name to SAP Business Network Discovery Buyer.

Although you can choose to use a company alias, SAP Business Network Discovery Buyer recommends that you
use your actual company name when creating postings. Using your actual company name can help make potential
suppliers feel more comfortable about doing business with your organization, resulting in increased responses to
your postings.

Notifications

SAP Business Network Discovery sends you an email notification about each stages of the event. These
notifications are enabled by default, but can be disabled on the discovery tab under the notification settings.

1. When a supplier responds to my post- This triggers an email every time a new supplier responds to the
postings you have created
2. When a posting is closed- This triggers an email every time a posting is closed
1. When a RFQ is closed (If you have not enabled quote automation for your account this notification will not
appear for your account)
2. When a RFI is closed
3. When a supplier revises the response- This triggers an email every time supplier revises the response to the
postings you have created
4. When scheduled posting is published- This triggers an email when the posting you have scheduled for future
gets published.

SAP Business Network Discovery also sends email notifications to suppliers when you perform certain actions.
Those are available here.

If your organization uses quote automation, then the notifications related to quote automation processes are
available here.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile PUBLIC 7
How to configure your company profile
Ensure that your company profile information is complete and accurate to attract the most qualified suppliers.

Prerequisites

You must have the Company Information permission.

Procedure

1. Click the Account Settings icon, and choose Manage Profile.

2. On the Company Profile page, enter or revise values as necessary and click Save.
3. On the Company Business Information page, enter or revise values as necessary and click Save
4. On Additional Information page, enter or revise values as necessary and click Save.
5. Click Close.

How to create a company alias

Suppliers will see your company alias instead of your actual company name if you choose to hide your company
name during the posting creation process.

Prerequisites

You must have the Company Information permission.

Procedure

1. Click on create posting under quick menu or in in posting homepage .

2. Click hide my company name
3. Enter an alias in the Company Alias field

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

8 PUBLIC The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile
How to change SAP Business Network Discovery
notification settings
By default, SAP Business Network Discovery notifies you when suppliers respond to your postings or send you a
message, but you can configure your notification settings.

Prerequisites

You must have the Company Information permission.

Procedure

1. Click the Account Settings icon, and choose Manage Profile.

2. Click on Notification..
3. Switch to discovery.
4. At the bottom of the page, enable or disable each type of notification as needed.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

The SAP Business Network Discovery buyer company profile PUBLIC 9
SAP Business Network Discovery postings

SAP Business Network Discovery postings enable you to solicit interest among suppliers of specific products and
services on SAP Business Network Discovery.

Structure

About SAP Business Network Discovery postings [page 10]

RFI's on Ariba Business Network Discovery [page 11]

Managing RFQs on SAP Business Network Discovery [page 26]

How to share postings by generating a link [page 37]

About SAP Business Network Discovery postings

Your success on SAP Business Network Discovery largely depends on the quality of your postings.

You will see higher quality results and more supplier responses if you clearly describe your needs. The more
information you provide in your postings, the better their responses will match your needs, allowing you to save
time managing supplier follow-up.

A posting lists the product and service categories, project amount, contract length, and the location where the
business will occur. When you publish a posting, SAP Business Network Discovery sends an e-mail inviting all the
SAP Business Network Discovery suppliers that match the specified product and service category and location to
respond, giving you access to suppliers not in your own supplier database - though you can invite any of your saved
suppliers as well.

When a supplier responds to your posting, SAP Business Network Discovery sends you an e-mail notification. When
you review the responses to your posting, you can also see the supplier’s profile. (The SAP Business Network
Discovery supplier profile includes the details of their qualifications, their average rating, and any references that
other buyer organizations may have provided after successful interactions with them on SAP Business Network
Discovery).

SAP Business Network Discovery allows you to continuously manage your postings after they have been created.
You can edit, close, copy and terminate postings,. SAP Business Network Discovery notifies suppliers when you
take action on a posting that they responded to previously.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

10 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
RFI's on Ariba Business Network Discovery
Helpful hints for creating high-quality RFIs

Get the most out of your SAP Business Network Discovery postings with these guidelines.

Create detailed postings

Choose the specific product and service categories and ship-to or service locations relevant to the posting. make
sure to select all applicable product and service categories. Your posting is matched to suppliers based on the
product and service categories and ship-to or service locations you choose. Supplier matches are also determined
by the supplier preferences you choose.

Keep postings open for at least 5 days

Make sure you give suppliers enough time to prepare an adequate response to your posting.

Include Attachments and pictures of the requirement

Add images or attachment to help suppliers understand the need wherever applicable.

Respond to all suppliers

Suppliers may have put considerable time into preparing their responses. As a courtesy, provide constructive
feedback to all suppliers who took the time to respond, whether you decide to move forward with them or not.
Responding to all supplies will also help you to build a quality reputation, and provides you with a list of back-up
suppliers and potential suppliers for future projects.

Complete the lifecycle of the posting

Make sure to complete the lifecycle of the posting, which means move the posting to shortlisted status. This helps
the supplier to close the loop at their end

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 11
How to create an SAP Business Network Discovery posting
SAP Business Network discovery provides a low-cost way to increase your potential supplier base, reduce
the cost of acquiring and managing suppliers, and increase competition among suppliers.

Overview

Creating a posting is free and takes only five minutes. SAP Business Network discovery will match you to quality
suppliers that meet your needs. Matched suppliers will respond to you securely on SAP Ariba Discovery. You will
often get supplier quotes in hours, not days or weeks. SAP Ariba Discovery provides comprehensive supplier profile
information, helping you make the right decision quickly. With SAP Ariba Discovery, you can make sure you get the
most competitive pricing from your supplier base.

This feature helps you in creating RFIs from your Trading Partner Portal buyer or Trading Partner Portal seller
account.

A Request For Information (RFI) is a real buying opportunity posted by a buyer looking to gather information from
potential sellers in preparation for seller selection. Respond to this RFI for a chance to win new business.

You can create 2 types of RFIs on SAP Business Network Discovery:

Private RFI:

A private posting is created for your own supplier database, these are created to get competitive pricing among the
supplier you have previously interacted with, there can be 3 types of suppliers in your database:

My suppliers: The suppliers which are in trading and sourcing relationship with your organization.

Saved Suppliers: The suppliers which were previously saved by your users

Previous Posting winners: These are the suppliers which participated in the previous postings created for the same
product and service categories and got shortlisted/awarded

Public RFI:

A public posting is created to find new suppliers for your business need, here our system matches the posting with
the relevant suppliers and notifies them. You can also invite any supplier from your database to posting.

Prerequisites

You must have the Create and Manage Postings permissions on SAP Business Network discovery.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

12 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Procedure and Limitations

Below are the different segments that are part of the create posting flow, the relevant validations/limitations have
been highlighted in the validation/limitations column:

Procedure - Create a Posting

1. Click Create Posting on the quick action menu or from the posting homepage
Navigation to posting homepage:
a. Trading Partner Portal buyer: Clicking on the discovery menu
b. Trading Partner Portal seller: Clicking on the discovery menu and selecting the posting sub menu
2. Perform one of the following actions to select the product and service category you are looking for:
Click on add and enter the product and service category in the Product and Service Categories field and
choose from the list of suggested matches that appear as you type.
a. Type the product and service category in the search categories to add, select the categories from
suggestions and click Add.
b. Click on browse ALL categories to Browse and find to select the product or service categories from the
UNSPSC hierarchy (Only L4 selections are allowed)
c. In case you are not sure about the product, type the keyword you want to search with and click on search,
our system will search the relevant keyword in UNSPSC and will display the results, and then you can select any
category from the suggestion.
3. Perform one of the following actions to select the ship-to or service location in which you want the products or
services delivered or performed, click on add:
a. Enter the ship-to or service location in the Ship-to or Service Locations field and choose from the list of
suggested matches that appear as you type.
b. Enter the ship-to or service location from browse all locations and add.
4. (Optional)If you would like to prefer suppliers which are physically present in the ship location, please check
prefer suppliers with a physical presence in the selected location, please take this into consideration that any
supplier who is physically not present in the selected location will not be able to respond to the posting.
5. Write up the appropriate title for the posting
6. Description, describe your requirement in detail, It is a good practice to include as many details in the
Description to get the maximum response and avoid confusion with the suppliers. The ideal length of the
description should be 256 characters or 3-5 sentences.
7. (Optional) Privacy Settings: Please select if you want to hide your company or show your contact details on the
posting, this option is not available for Trading Partner Portal sellers
8. (Optional) Supplier preferences: Select the preference of the suppliers who have marked themselves with
different certifications.
9. Schedule post: In case you want to schedule the posting for the future, by default it is ahead for 24 hours and it
cannot be less than 1 hour.
10. Select the appropriate opportunity amount for the posting, it can be selected as a range or exact amount.
By default t we display the currency of the posting is based on the preferred currency you have set in your
account, in case you have not set it up, we display USD there. You can also choose all available currencies on
Ariba Network from the list.
11. Enter the duration of the contract, in months, in the Contract Length field.
12. (Optional) Click on add images for the posting in case you want to add product images for the suppliers. The
Image format supported are JPG, JPEG, GIF and GIF.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 13
 ○ You can also add documents for more details about the opportunity by clicking on browse in the additional
documents section, and then uploading a file with the name.
○ Files with the following extensions can not be attached to
.adp, .app, .asp , .bat, .cer, .chm , .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .fxp, .hlp, .inf, .in
s, .isp,
.js, .jse, .ksh, .mad, .maf, .mag, .mar, .mas, .mat, .mav , .maw, .mda, .mde, .mdt,
.mdw, .msc, .ms
i, .msp, .ops, .pcd, .pif, .prg, .pst, .reg, .sct, .shs, .tmp, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vs
s, .vst, .vsw, .ws
c, .wsf, .wsh
13. Enter the response deadline, after which bids are not accepted, in the Response Deadline field or click the
calendar and time icon to select the response deadline date and time. The time zone will be by default taken
from your system
14. (Optional) Decision Deadline enter the date on which you plan to announce to finalize the supplier (suppliers)
in the decision deadline section, and click the calendar icon to select the decision date and time. The time zone
will be by default taken from your system.
15. (Optional) If you want to create this posting for humanitarian relief, please enable the same and the current
campaigns going on in that time period.
16. Select whether you want this to be a public or private posting:
Private RFI:
A private posting is created for your own supplier database, these are created to get competitive pricing among
the supplier you have previously interacted with, there can be 3 types of suppliers in your database:
My suppliers: The suppliers which are in trading and sourcing relationship with your organization.
Saved Suppliers: The suppliers which were previously saved by your users
Previous Posting winners: These are the suppliers which participated in the previous postings created for the
same product and service categories and got shortlisted/awarded
Public RFI:
A public posting is created to find new suppliers for your business need, here our system matches the posting
with the relevant suppliers and notifies them. You can also invite any supplier from your database to posting.
17. Inviting suppliers: This is mandatory action if you select private posting and optional if it is public posting. This
action can be used to add the existing supplier from your database and these suppliers will be invited to the
posting.
18. Click on preview and you will see all the details you have provided structured in a way it would be displayed to
the suppliers and when you try to manage it.
19. Click on publish and it displays the top-ranked suppliers which are best suited for your needs, you can view
their profile and invite them to the posting or skip this part.
20.Whether you choose to invite or skip, you will see a post publish a message, you can see how many suppliers
have been invited, the posting ID, a button to go back to the opened postings and email postings to the
suppliers.

Procedure - Schedule a Posting

1. Click Create Posting on the quick action menu or from the posting homepage
Navigation to posting homepage:
a. Trading Partner Portal buyer: Clicking on the discovery menu
b. Trading Partner Portal seller: Clicking on the discovery menu and selecting the posting sub menu

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14 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 2. Perform one of the following actions to select the product and service category you are looking for:
Click on add and enter the product and service category in the Product and Service Categories field and
choose from the list of suggested matches that appear as you type.
a. Type the product and service category in the search categories to add, select the categories from
suggestions and click Add.
b. Click on browse ALL categories to Browse and find to select the product or service categories from the
UNSPSC hierarchy (Only L4 selections are allowed)
c. In case you are not sure about the product, type the keyword you want to search with and click on search,
our system will search the relevant keyword in UNSPSC and will display the results, and then you can select any
category from the suggestion.
3. Perform one of the following actions to select the ship-to or service location in which you want the products or
services delivered or performed, click on add:
a. Enter the ship-to or service location in the Ship-to or Service Locations field and choose from the list of
suggested matches that appear as you type.
b. Enter the ship-to or service location from browse all locations and add.
4. (Optional)If you would like to prefer suppliers which are physically present in the ship location, please check
prefer suppliers with a physical presence in the selected location, please take this into consideration that any
supplier who is physically not present in the selected location will not be able to respond to the posting.
5. Give an appropriate title for the posting
6. Description, describe your requirement in detail, It is a good practice to include as many details in the
Description to get the maximum response and avoid confusion with the suppliers. The ideal length of the
description should be 256 characters or 3-5 sentences.
7. (Optional) Privacy Settings: Please select if you want to hide your company or show your contact details on the
posting
8. (Optional) Supplier preferences: Select the preference of the suppliers who have marked themselves with
different certifications.
9. Schedule post: In case you want to schedule the posting for the future, by default it is ahead for 24 hours and it
cannot be less than 1 hour. Keep it minimum 1 hour ahead.
10. Select the appropriate opportunity amount for the posting, it can be selected as a range or exact amount.
By default t we display the currency of the posting is based on the preferred currency you have set in your
account, in case you have not set it up, we display USD there. You can also choose all available currencies on
Ariba Network from the list.
11. (Optional) Enter the duration of the contract, in months, in the Contract Length field.
12. (Optional) Click on add images for the posting in case you want to add product images for the suppliers. The
Image format supported are JPG, JPEG, GIF and GIF.
○ You can also add documents for more details about the opportunity by clicking on browse in the additional
documents section, and then uploading a file with the name.
○ Files with the following extensions can not be attached to
.adp, .app, .asp , .bat, .cer, .chm , .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .fxp, .hlp, .inf, .in
s, .isp,
.js, .jse, .ksh, .mad, .maf, .mag, .mar, .mas, .mat, .mav , .maw, .mda, .mde, .mdt,
.mdw, .msc, .ms
i, .msp, .ops, .pcd, .pif, .prg, .pst, .reg, .sct, .shs, .tmp, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vs
s, .vst, .vsw, .ws
c, .wsf, .wsh
13. Enter the response deadline, after which bids are not accepted, in the Response Deadline field or click the
calendar and time icon to select the response deadline date and time. The time zone will be by default taken
from your system

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 15
14. (Optional) Decision Deadline enter the date on which you plan to announce to finalize the supplier (suppliers)
in the decision deadline section and click the calendar icon to select the decision date and time. The time zone
will be by default taken from your system.
15. (Optional) If you want to create this posting for humanitarian relief, please enable the same and the current
campaigns going on in that time period.
16. Select whether you want this to be a public or private posting:
Private RFI:
A private posting is created for your own supplier database, these are created to get competitive pricing among
the supplier you have previously interacted with, there can be 3 types of suppliers in your database:
My suppliers: The suppliers which are in trading and sourcing relationship with your organization.
Saved Suppliers: The suppliers which were previously saved by your users
Previous Posting winners: These are the suppliers which participated in the previous postings created for the
same product and service categories and got shortlisted/awarded
Public RFI:
A public posting is created to find new suppliers for your business need, here our system matches the posting
with the relevant suppliers and notifies them. You can also invite any supplier from your database to posting.
17. Inviting suppliers: This is mandatory action if you select private posting and optional if it is public posting. This
action can be used to add the existing supplier from your database and these suppliers will be invited to the
posting.
18. Click on preview and you will see all the details you have provided structured in a way it would be displayed to
the suppliers and when you try to manage it.
19. Click on publish and it displays the top-ranked suppliers which are best suited for your needs, you can view
their profile and invite them to the posting or skip this part.
20.Whether you choose to invite or skip, you will see a post publish a message, you can see how many suppliers
have been invited, the posting ID, a button to go back to the opened postings and email postings to the
suppliers.

Procedure - Saving a Posting in Draft Status

1. Click Create Posting on the quick action menu or from the posting homepage
Navigation to posting homepage:
a. Trading Partner Portal buyer: Clicking on the discovery menu
b. Trading Partner Portal seller: Clicking on the discovery menu and selecting the posting sub menu
2. Perform one of the following actions to select the product and service category you are looking for:
Click on add and enter the product and service category in the Product and Service Categories field and
choose from the list of suggested matches that appear as you type.
a. Type the product and service category in the search categories to add, select the categories from
suggestions and click Add.
b. Click on browse ALL categories to Browse and find to select the product or service categories from the
UNSPSC hierarchy (Only L4 selections are allowed)
c. In case you are not sure about the product, type the keyword you want to search with and click on search,
our system will search the relevant keyword in UNSPSC and will display the results, and then you can select any
category from the suggestion.
3. Perform one of the following actions to select the ship-to or service location in which you want the products or
services delivered or performed, click on add:
a. Enter the ship-to or service location in the Ship-to or Service Locations field and choose from the list of
suggested matches that appear as you type.

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16 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 b. Enter the ship-to or service location from browse all locations and add.
4. (Optional)If you would like to prefer suppliers which are physically present in the ship location, please check
prefer suppliers with a physical presence in the selected location, please take this into consideration that any
supplier who is physically not present in the selected location will not be able to respond to the posting.
5. Give an appropriate title to the posting
6. Description, describe your requirement in detail, It is a good practice to include as many details in the
Description to get the maximum response and avoid confusion with the suppliers. The ideal length of the
description should be 256 characters or 3-5 sentences.
7. (Optional) Privacy Settings: Please select if you want to hide your company or show your contact details on the
posting
8. (Optional) Supplier preferences: Select the preference of the suppliers who have marked themselves with
different certifications.
9. Schedule post: In case you want to schedule the posting for the future, by default it is ahead for 24 hours and it
cannot be less than 1 hour.
10. Select the appropriate opportunity amount for the posting, it can be selected as a range or exact amount.
By default t we display the currency of the posting is based on the preferred currency you have set in your
account, in case you have not set it up, we display USD there. You can also choose all available currencies on
Ariba Network from the list.
11. Enter the duration of the contract, in months, in the Contract Length field.
12. (Optional) Click on add images for the posting in case you want to add product images for the suppliers. The
Image format supported are JPG, JPEG, GIF and GIF.
○ You can also add documents for more details about the opportunity by clicking on browse in the additional
documents section, and then uploading a file with the name.
○ Files with the following extensions can not be attached to
.adp, .app, .asp , .bat, .cer, .chm , .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .fxp, .hlp, .inf, .in
s, .isp,
.js, .jse, .ksh, .mad, .maf, .mag, .mar, .mas, .mat, .mav , .maw, .mda, .mde, .mdt,
.mdw, .msc, .ms
i, .msp, .ops, .pcd, .pif, .prg, .pst, .reg, .sct, .shs, .tmp, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vs
s, .vst, .vsw, .ws
c, .wsf, .wsh
13. Enter the response deadline, after which bids are not accepted, in the Response Deadline field or click the
calendar and time icon to select the response deadline date and time. The time zone will be by default taken
from your system
14. (Optional) Decision Deadline enter the date on which you plan to announce to finalize the supplier (suppliers)
in the decision deadline section and click the calendar icon to select the decision date and time. The time zone
will be by default taken from your system.
15. (Optional) If you want to create this posting for humanitarian relief, please enable the same and the current
campaigns going on in that time period.
16. Select whether you want this to be a public or private posting:
Private RFI:
A private posting is created for your own supplier database, these are created to get competitive pricing among
the supplier you have previously interacted with, there can be 3 types of suppliers in your database:
My suppliers: The suppliers which are in trading and sourcing relationship with your organization.
Saved Suppliers: The suppliers which were previously saved by your users
Previous Posting winners: These are the suppliers which participated in the previous postings created for the
same product and service categories and got shortlisted/awarded

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 17
 Public RFI:
A public posting is created to find new suppliers for your business need, here our system matches the posting
with the relevant suppliers and notifies them. You can also invite any supplier from your database to posting.
17. Inviting suppliers: This is mandatory action if you select private posting and optional if it is public posting. This
action can be used to add the existing supplier from your database and these suppliers will be invited to the
posting.
18. Click on save and exit or click on preview and hit save.

Table 1: Relevance and Limitations

Validation/Limita-
Label Mandatory Description Format tions Comments

Product/Service Yes SAP Business Net- Text There should be a -

Categories work discovery minimum of one
uses UNSPSC product and service
taxonomy to iden- category and it can
tify product and go up to 10 in one
service categories posting.
for every business
A posting should
need, we recom-
always be cre-
mend you to
ated with the L4
please visit https://
UNSPSC product
www.unspsc.org/
and service cate-
for further details.
gory. Please browse
in case you are not
sure about which
category to be se-
lected.

Ship to/Service to Yes Here you select the Text There should be a -
locations location you want minimum of one
the product to be product and service
delivered to or to category and it can
avail of the serv- go up to 10 in one
ices. It can be a posting.
country, a state or
a city name, all over
the world.

Physical Preference No This section deter- Selection Validation is on -

mines if you prefer the supplier side.
suppliers which are Any supplier who
physically present is physically not
in the ship to loca- present at the loca-
tion tion will not be able
to respond to the
posting.

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18 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 Validation/Limita-
Label Mandatory Description Format tions Comments

Posting Title Yes This section is au- Text The title can not -
tomatically popu- be more than 256
lated in the format: characters exclud-
ing "I am looking
I am looking for
for."
"product and serv-
ice category" on
"location"

If you select one

product and service
category.

If you select more

than 1 category
then you can only
see "I am looking
for", and that too is
editable.

Description Yes Free text that will Text - -

allow for autocom-
plete of the com-
modity names as
well as the location
where it is speci-
fied.

Attachments No 2 types of attach- - Size: 10 MB -

ments:
Count: Maximum 5
Product images
Restrict the max
Other documenta- single file size to be
tion 4MB

Restrict the exten-

sion of add image
file to be
‘.png, .jpeg, .jpg, .gi
f’, because jpeg and
jpg is the same.

On the preview
page, the busy
loader added on
the button is better
than added on the
whole page.

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 19
 Validation/Limita-
Label Mandatory Description Format tions Comments

Opportunity Yes Range - Number Digits only are al- Pick the currency
Amount lowed from the profile
Custom
of the user. If no
The amount can
Exact profile currency is
not be less than 1 in
available, USD by
any currency
default with the
The amount can ability to change as
not be more than needed.
99 Billion USD

Scheduled Date No Buyers should have Selection The scheduled date Keep the posting in
the option to create should be mini- preview status till
a posting for the fu- mum 1 hour ahead the open date.
ture.

Contract Length No Should be specified Number Can not be zero or -

in months more than 2 digits

Response Deadline Yes When you want dd MON YYYY Can not be blank -
the posting to be HH:MM AM/PM
Can not be in the
closed and expect <3 letter timezone
past
the suppliers to re- code>
spond before this Can not be the
day and time. same as the Open
date
It is defaulted to
5 days after the
open date and rec-
ommended to keep
it this way.

Decision date No When you want to dd MON YYYY Can not be in the -
make a decision HH:MM AM/PM past
about which sup- <3 letter timezone
Can not be the
plier to go ahead code>
same as the Open
with.
date
It is defaulted to
40 days after the
open date and rec-
ommended to keep
it this way.

It can be blank
if you are unclear
about the decision
date

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20 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 Validation/Limita-
Label Mandatory Description Format tions Comments

Humanitarian Relief No Humanitarian Relief Selection You can not select 2 -

at once

Posting visibility Yes Select whether you Selection If it is a private -

want this to be a posting then mini-
public or private mum one supplier
posting should be invited to
it.

Seller Preferences No Select the prefer- Selection It is recommended -

ence of the sup- to select this before
pliers who have inviting the supplier
marked themselves because if you in-
with different certif- vite the suppliers
ications. and then change
the preference, the
invited supplier list
will become empty.

Privacy Settings No Select if you want Selection It is recommended -

to hide your com- to show your com-
pany or show your pany name and
contact details on contact name for
the posting, this the suppliers, the
option is not availa- suppliers are likely
ble for Trading Part- to respond to a
ner Portal sellers. posting which has
the company name
and contact name.

Next Steps

Once the posting is created, you can manage the posting in the posting homepage.

Related Information

Managing a Posting on posting homepage (Trading Partner Portal buyers and Trading Partner Portal sellers with
buying capabilities)

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 21
How to manage a posting

RFIs in Posting Homepage

SAP Business Network Discovery allows you to continuously manage your postings after they have been created.
You can edit, close, copy and terminate postings.

You can view different posting tiles such as Draft, Open, Closed, and Shortlisted postings. Based on the tiles you
select; you can view the postings as a list view in a tabular format. You can view a maximum of 10 postings per
page.

You can view the following posting tiles on the posting homepage:

All postings:

1. You can find all the postings created by the user in this tile except draft and schedule postings.
2. By default, these postings are sorted with unread responses (maximum unread counts descending), if no
unread responses, then it is sorted by closing soon.

Draft posting:

1. You will find all the postings which has been created and saved as draft status in this tile.
2. By default, the sorting is based on the oldest to newest.
3. The postings are deleted automatically seven days after they were last edited.
4. If the draft is edited and saved again during this time, the time limit is reset to seven days from the most recent
edit date.

Open postings:

1. This tile contains the postings which are in opened state only.
2. Default sorting should be newest to oldest based on the open date.
3. If there are multiple postings posted on the same day then the time of the posting is considered and we display
the most recent once first.

Closed postings:

1. In this tile you can view postings that are automatically closed or manually closed by the user.
2. By default, the sorting is based on open date descending.

Shortlisted postings:

1. In this tile you can view the postings that have been shortlisted (RFI).
2. Then the oldest one (sorting old to new) is displayed first.

Terminated postings:

1. You can view the postings (RFIs) that has been manually updated to terminated status by the user or
automatically terminated by the system.
2. Our system automatically terminates a RFI when it is in closed status for more than 90 days.
3. By default, the sorting is based on open date descending.

Scheduled Postings:

1. The postings which has been scheduled for future using the schedule post button
2. Default sorting on this tile is oldest to newest based on the date they have been created.

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22 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 3. If there are multiple postings posted on the same day then we should consider the time of the posting and
display the most recent once first

Filters Available in each tile

• Title: The search with string type as partial match.

• ID: The search would support both Exact and partial match.
• Posting types:
• RFI
• RFQ
• Posting status: Status of the posting, each tile is locked with status matching with the name of the tile, but in all
postings, you can search the postings with different statuses.
• Posting open Date(When did the posting get published):
• Open date: Drop down as last 24 hours, last 7 days, last 14 days, last 31 days, last 90 days, last 365 days
and custom range.
• Product and service categories:
• List of Product and services categories available.
• Ship to and service location:
• List of Ship to and service location available
• Response Deadline:
• Drop down as next day, next 7 days, next 14 days, next 31 days , next 90 days, next 365 days and custom
range
• Opportunity amount: Can be searched in any currency
• Min amount
• Max amount
• Humanitarian Relief -
• All
• Ukraine
• Turkiye Earthquake

Table 2: Total Number of columns available for you to identify and distinguish among list of postings

Number Title Available by default

1 ID Yes

2 Type (RFI/RFQ) Yes

3 Source (Integration for RFQ, Discovery Yes

for Stand alone Discovery, and Catalog
for Catalogue postings)

4 Open Date Yes

5 Response Deadline Yes

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 23
Number Title Available by default

6 Title Yes

7 Response Count (Total Responses) Yes

8 Unread count (Unread Responses) Yes

9 Visibility (Whether it is a public event or Yes

private event)

10 Status Yes

11 Company Name

12 Contact Name

13 Maximum Opportunity Amount (In case

of exact amount this value is same, in
case of custom range, this value is the
maximum value in the range)

14 Contract Length

15 Decision Deadline

16 Humanitarian Relief

17 Invited Supplier Count

18 Awarded and shortlisted supplier count

19 Status

20 Posting Type (Whether it is a public sec-

tor or private sector posting)

By Clicking the sort/filter icon you can:

1. Decide which columns to be displayed and in which order as per your convenience.
2. Group the columns for better analysis
3. Switch the columns which are associated with dates to date and time.

By Clicking on Export you can export the values in each column to excel (.xlsx format) and use it for reporting.

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24 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Manage Posting Actions

Editing a posting will be only allowed for the postings which are in opened, draft and scheduled state. The editable
segments are:

How to edit a posting

Table 3: How To Edit A Posting

Editable Segments Opened Posting Draft Posting Scheduled Posting

Product and Service catego- No Yes Yes

ries

Ship to and service to location No Yes Yes

Title Yes Yes Yes

Description Yes Yes Yes

Attachments Yes (only adding is allowed) Yes Yes

Opportunity Amount No Yes Yes

Response and decision dead- Yes Yes Yes

line

Schedule post No Yes Yes

Contract Length Yes Yes Yes

Privacy No Yes Yes

Humanitarian Relief No Yes Yes

Supplier Preference No Yes Yes

Prefer suppliers who are phys- No Yes Yes

ically present in the location

Posting Visibility Private can be public but pub- Yes Yes

lic cannot be private

Invited Suppliers Can be added but cannot be Yes Yes

removed

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 25
How to copy a posting

• A posting can be copied, even if the posting is terminated. Applicable for all postings, except those with the
“Open” status. You can click on copy button and it opens a posting webform with all the values.
• If you copy a posting from any status, all the values are copied except the opened date, decision date, invited
suppliers, supplier responses, attachment, and response deadline.

How to close postings

• A posting gets automatically closed when the deadline is crossed, however, you can manually close a posting
by clicking on close for responses.
• Once a posting is closed, it cannot be reopened.
• Once a posting is closed, new suppliers will not be able to respond to it and existing suppliers who have
responded to it will not be able to edit the response.
• When you close a posting the suppliers which are invited/responded to the posting gets notified about the
changes.

How to Terminate postings

• You can terminate the posting only be done when you no longer need the posting.
• A posting must be closed and in scheduled status to terminate it.
• Once a posting is terminated, no further actions are allowed on it.
• Once a posting is terminated, it cannot be reversed.

Managing RFQs on SAP Business Network Discovery

RFQ postings in SAP Business Network Discovery

RFQs in the Posting Homepage

You can view all the RFQs created in posting homepage under discovery menu. RFQs will be available as per their
statuses on below tiles on posting homepage:

All postings:

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26 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
 1. You can find all the RFQs created by your organization under this tile.
2. By default, these postings are sorted with unread responses (maximum unread counts descending), if no
unread responses, then it is sorted by closing soon.

Open postings:

1. You can find all the RFQs which are in opened state in this tile.
2. Default sorting would be newest to oldest based on the open date.
3. If there are multiple postings posted on the same day then the time of the posting is considered and we display
the most recent once first.

Closed postings:

1. In this tile you can view all the RFQs that are automatically closed or manually closed by the user.
2. By default, the sorting is based on open date descending.

Awarded postings:

1. In this tile you can view the RFQs which are awarded by the user.
2. Then the oldest one (sorting old to new) is displayed first.

Terminated postings:

1. When buyers cancels the RFQ in the ERP system, and the ERP system updates the quote request with the
type=delete parameter.
2. These RFQs get updated with terminated status from their original state.
3. You can find these terminated RFQs in terminated postings.

Different Actions on RFQ which move them to different tile on posting homepage

• Whenever you click on an RFQ ID from the any of the tile, they should land on the RFQ view on legacy discovery.
• Whenever you complete the action required on RFQ and click "Back", you will be landing the originating tile on
posting homepage. I.e, if you have clicked on an RFQ from open postings, back button will take you to the open
postings tile.
• When a new RFQ is created and if it is in open or preview state, it appears in the open posting tile on discovery.
• When a RFQ is manually closed or organically closed (by the system when the deadline is crossed), it reflects in
the closed postings tile.
• When a RFQ is updated as 'delete' it moves from previous state to the terminated postings .
• Response count reflects the responses from the supplier, upon clicking those or view responses on the posting,
you will land on the bids page the RFQ. The most important information to be pointed out here is that the new
responses will not be reflected as unread count but those will be reflected as total responses.
• When you partially award or fully award a supplier response, the RFQ moves from closed tile to awarded tile on.

Showing supplier's bidding price trend on an RFQ

In a fast-changing business environment, suppliers can make a large number of bids on an RFQ event. In this
scenario, it is not easy for buyers to visualize the price trend of supplier bids. Buyers can view a supplier's bidding
price trend for each line item and the currency exchange rate during the time of each bid. For each supplier, buyers

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 27
can use the trend charts to see if the suppliers are reducing the prices or if the business environment is conducive
for the suppliers to reduce the prices in which case buyers can decide to extend the duration of the event. From the
graph, buyers can also understand if the supplier bid matches the values specified in the purchase order.

For each line-item, quote automation charts a price trend graph. The horizontal X axis on the graph shows the bid
date timeline and the vertical Y axis shows the unit price of the line-item. Each point on the trend line shows the
following details of a bid:

• Current price according to the current currency exchange rate

• Bid price and the currency exchange rate at which it was calculated
• Quantity of the line item

Splitting an award on the Compare Supplier Bids page

Buyers can compare bids on the Compare Supplier Bids page and directly split the award on this page. On this
page, buyers can compare the supplier bid for each line item using any money-based field like unit price, taxes, and
shipping charges. If there are a large number of bids, buyers can compare any money-related field like unit price for
each line item and award to different suppliers who have bid.

 Example

20 suppliers have bid on an RFQ containing 15 line items. Among the bidding suppliers, supplier A has bid
with the lowest unit price, supplier B has bid with the lowest tax, and supplier C has bid with the lowest freight
charges. In this scenario, a buyer can choose to split the award between Supplier A, Supplier B, and Supplier
C. The buyer can use this feature to find the supplier who has quoted the least unit price for each line item and
award part of the business. Similarly, for each line item, the buyer can find the supplier who has quoted the
least freight charges and award part of the business.

Automatically attaching all the supplier responses in a PDF file when a buyer awards

Buyer administrators can configure a rule such that, when a buyer makes an award, quote automation
automatically attaches all the supplier bids in a PDF file, attaches it to the QuoteMessage cXML document, and

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28 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
sends it to the ERP system. Buyers can use this PDF file for compliance purposes or to maintain a history of all the
supplier bids for future reference.

While awarding the business, quote automation displays the PDF file of responses on the Confirmation window.
Buyers can download the PDF file from this window. On the Confirmation window, buyers can use the attaching a
PDF file functionality to upload a new PDF file. Quote automation replaces the attached file with the new uploaded
PDF file. If for any reason, quote automation fails to automatically attach a PDF file, buyers can still award the
business.

Displaying translated labels of custom fields to buyer users

Buyers can view the translated lables of the custom fields. Quote automation displays the translated labels in the
language specified in the profile of the buyer.

Searching for RFQ postings

• You can search RFQs based on their status on different tiles on the posting menu.
• You can filter all the RFQs by selecting RFQ in type filter and integration as a source in the source filter.
• You can search with posting ID (on discovery) the search box with the exact and partial search.
• You can search with the ID of the RFQ in the tile section.

Downloading details of an RFQ posting

You can download the RFQ details from the Bids tab on the RFQ posting details page in feature to search for RFQ
postings. To search for an RFQ posting, use the event name specified in the cXML QuoteRequest document. On the
Bids tab, when you click the Download Event Details link, SAP Business Network Discovery downloads a CSV file
that contains all the details of the RFQ.

Buyers can download the details of an RFQ event in either a comma separated file or in a semicolon separated
file. On the Lines tab of a posting details page, SAP SAP Business Network Discovery displays a Downoad Event
Details dropdown list which displays the following two options:

• Download as comma separated file

• Download as semicolon separated file

Generating RFQ reports for buyers

You can create a report template for RFQs and run it to generate reports either manually or as per a set schedule.
You can generate the following types of RFQ reports:

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 29
• RFQ response rate - Detail
• RFQ response rate - Summary

Buyers can create these RFQ related report templates on the Reports page of SAP Business Network.

Viewing a summary of the responses to RFQ postings

For each RFQ posting on the postings page of SAP Business Network Discovery, buyers can see a summary of
responses to an RFQ, for example, how many suppliers:

• are notified
This list includes direct invitation and approved match invitations to suppliers.
• have responded
• have not responded
• are not interested
This list displays the details of suppliers who have indicated that they are not interested in bidding.

A summary of such responses helps buyers take decisions such as extending the closing date of an RFQ. Buyers
can also export the supplier responses for an RFQ to a PDF file. This feature helps buyers who do not have a
software tool such as Microsoft Excel to quickly view and compare supplier responses. To export the supplier
responses to a PDF file, on the Bids tab, buyers can click the Export as PDF option of Export supplier responses
dropdown menu.

Quote automation does not display the summary of supplier responses for public match postings.

Source of attachments added to an RFQ

Quote automation displays the source of attachments added to an RFQ so that buyers can identify the source or
sender of an attachment, thereby enabling audit and tracking.

The following table shows how quote automation displays the source of attachments added to an RFQ:

Source of an attachment Display name Example

RFQ from an ERP system Source: System (QuoteRequest) Source: System (QuoteRequest)

Posting configuration template Source: System (posting Source: System (posting configuration)
configuration)

RFQ posting page on SAP Business Uploaded by: <email address of the Uploaded by: [email protected]
Network Discovery user>

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30 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Specifying the RFQ event currency while awarding a bid

When a buyer awards a bid, by default, quote automation generates the award in the currency in which the supplier
has bid. However, during a bid award, buyers can select the currency used when the RFQ was posted. When buyers
select RFQ currency for awarding, quote automation converts the bid values to the RFQ currency according to the
currency exchange rate in SAP Business Network

Test the RFQ flow using quick enabled test account

suppliers

Buyers can use a buyer test account to invite test account suppliers to bid on RFQs. Buyers can also use the buyer
test account to view and perform actions in the Manage Vendors and Active Relationships pages in the Supplier
Enablement tab. Buyers can upload vendors and start the enablement process so that SAP Business Network can
send invites to supplier test accounts and create private test ANIDs.

Buyers can create a buyer test account to perform the following tasks:

• In SAP Business Network, configure quote automation

• Create a posting configuration template
• Upload vendors and start the enablement process
• On the Bids tab, search for test suppliers and invite them to bid on an RFQ. Buyers can search for test suppliers
using the test supplier name or vendor id.

 Note

Once a buyer is logged into a buyer test account in SAP Business Network Discovery, the buyer cannot click on
SAP Business Network to switch to Test mode on SAP Business Network.

Showing buyer's contact information on the Request for

Quote (RFQ) posting

On the RFQ posting details page, buyers can view the details of the buyer subusers who created the RFQs. Buyers
can indicate their contact information with suppliers who may want to seek clarifications. Only direct invitations
and approved matches suppliers can view the contact details of the buyer.

 Note

In the QuoteRequestHeader section of the QuoteRequest cXML document, ensure to specify

quoteRequestCreator in the Role attribute of the Contact cXML tag.

 Sample Code

<Contact role="quoteRequestCreator">

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 31
 <Name xml:lang="en">Buyer Name</Name>
<PostalAddress>
<Street>Street name</Street>
<City>City name</City>
<State>State name</State>
<PostalCode>Postal code</PostalCode>
<Country isoCountryCode="IN">India</Country>
</PostalAddress>
<Email>[email protected]</Email>
<Phone>
<TelephoneNumber>
<CountryCode isoCountryCode="IN">001</CountryCode>
<AreaOrCityCode>80</AreaOrCityCode>
<Number>12345678</Number>
</TelephoneNumber>
</Phone>
</Contact>

Showing the logged-in buyer's RFQs

Buyers can view only those RFQ postings that they have created. In large business organizations, if there are many
RFQs generated within a business unit, buyers can use this feature to see their RFQs.

 Note

The ERP system administrator must map the buyer's SAP Business Network username using
AribaNetworkUserId domain and Identity cXML tag in the From section of the cXML QuoteRequest document's
header.

 Sample Code

<From><Credential
domain="AribaNetworkUserId"><Identity>[email protected]</
Identity></Credential>
<!-- <Credential domain="SystemID"><Identity>ERP</Identity></
Credential>
<Credential domain="VendorID"><Identity>VENDOR</Identity></
Credential> -->
</From>
<To>
<Credential
domain="AribaNetworkUserId"><Identity>[email protected]</
Identity></Credential>
<!-- <Credential domain="SystemID"><Identity>ERP</Identity></
Credential>
<Credential domain="VendorID"><Identity>VENDOR</Identity></
Credential> -->
</To>
<Sender>
<Credential domain="AribaNetworkUserId">
<Identity>[email protected]</Identity>
<SharedSecret>XYZASDF</SharedSecret>
</Credential>

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32 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Previewing the list of invited suppliers

Buyers can preview the list of invited suppliers before the invitations to bid are sent. If required, buyers can directly
remove suppliers from the preview list before sending the invitations.

Buyers can use a buyer test account to invite test account suppliers to bid on RFQs.Buyers can also search for
suppliers using the vendor ID and invite them for bidding. However, quote automation searches for vendor ID only
for those suppliers whose vendor IDs have been uploaded by buyers. Quote automation does not perform the
vendor ID search on public suppliers. On the Invite Suppliers page, the Search as Vendor ID checkbox is enabled
only when the Show my suppliers only checkbox is enabled.

On the Invite Suppliers page, buyers can search for suppliers within their quote groups. If a public supplier is in a
relationship with the buyer and associated with a quote group, then quote automation displays the quote groups. If
the Show my suppliers only checkbox is not checked, public suppliers in quote groups will be displayed.

Showing bid details in the supplier's currency

By default, quote automation displays the supplier bid details in the event currency. However, when buyers
generate a purchase order, the supplier's currency is used in it. Buyers have to recalculate or convert the displayed
currency on the bid details page to understand the amount that they are paying. With this feature, buyers can also
view the supplier bid details in the supplier's currency so that they can take a decision about the competitiveness of
the bid.

How to view my RFQ postings

Context

Buyers can choose to view only those RFQ postings that they have created.

Procedure

1. In SAP Business Network Discovery, click the Postings tab.

2. Select Show my events only checkbox.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the list of RFQ postings that you have created.

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 33
Restrictions on Attachments to RFQ Postings

For Buyers:

• Buyers can add attachments to RFQ postings only if the RFQ is in the preview state and not open for bidding.
• On SAP Business Network Discovery, buyers cannot edit or upload attachments for RFQ postings.
• SAP Business Network supports all file formats for attachments to the RFQ postings, except for the following:
.adp, .app, .asp , .bat, .cer, .chm , .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .fxp, .hlp, .inf, .in
s, .isp, .js, .jse, .ksh, .mad, .maf, .mag, .mar, .mas, .mat, .mav , .maw, .mda, .m
de, .mdt, .mdw, .msc, .msi, .msp, .ops, .pcd, .pif, .prg, .pst, .reg, .sct , .shs,
.tmp, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vss, .vst, .vsw, .wsc, .wsf, .wsh.
• By default, SAP Business Network supports any number of attachments with a maximum combined size of 10
MB per RFQ posting. However, you can increase the attachment limit to a maximum of 100 MB by contacting
your Designated Support Contact to log a service request.

For Suppliers:

• SAP Business Network supports all file formats for attachments to the RFQ responses, except for the following:
.adp, .app, .asp , .bat, .cer, .chm , .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .fxp, .hlp, .inf, .in
s, .isp, .js, .jse, .ksh, .mad, .maf, .mag, .mar, .mas, .mat, .mav , .maw, .mda, .m
de, .mdt, .mdw, .msc, .msi, .msp, .ops, .pcd, .pif, .prg, .pst, .reg, .sct , .shs,
.tmp, .vb, .vbe, .vbs, .vss, .vst, .vsw, .wsc, .wsf, .wsh.
• The size of the RFQ response or the Quote message document, including attachments, that SAP Business
Network can send to an ERP system depends on the value configured for your organization. This size can be
configured to any value between 0 MB and 100 MB.

How to download RFQ event details

Context

Buyers can download all the details of an RFQ event.

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34 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Procedure

1. Access the RFQ posting for which you want to download all the details.
2. On the Lines tab, click Download Event Details dropdown list.
3. Select one of the following options from the dropdown list.
• Download as comma separated file
• Download as semicolon separated file

Quote automation downloads the details of the event.

Creating a Report Template for Generating RFQ Related

Reports
Buyers can generate RFQ related reports if they have the required permissions.

Procedure

1. Choose Reports from the menu bar.

2. Click Create.
3. Enter a unique title that will help you and other users identify this report from a list. For example, “RFQ
response rate - Detail.”
4. Enter a description. The description is useful for identifying the scope and target of the report for all account
users. For example, “Detailed report of RFQ responses.”
5. Select a value from the Time zone drop down list. Date and times in your report file use the time zone you
select here, expressed as GMT +/-. In addition, SAP Business Network uses the time zone to determine the
range of information collected for the report.
6. Choose a language. SAP Business Network uses this language for labels in the resulting report file. It displays
report data in the language in which the information was entered into the system.
7. From the Report Type drop down list, select one of the following reports based on your requirement:
• RFQ response rate - Detail
• RFQ response rate - Summary
8. Click Next. SAP Business Network displays the Schedule page with details for the report type you selected.
9. Click either Manual Report or Scheduled Report. To generate a manual report, go to the Reports page and
click Run. SAP Business Network automatically generates scheduled reports using the frequency that you
specify.
10. If you choose Scheduled Report, SAP Business Network refreshes the page and displays the Scheduling
section. Do the following:
• Select a date range. By default, a scheduled report includes three months beginning with tomorrow’s date.
• Choose a value from the Automatically Run list to set the report generation frequency.
• Enter up to three email addresses, each separated by single comma. SAP Business Network sends a
notification to these addresses when the report status is Processed.

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 35
11. Click Next.

The Criteria page appears.

12. From the Date Range drop down list, select the required time period.
13. From the Business Unit drop down list, select the required business unit.
14. From the RFQ Status drop down list, select the required status.
15. Click Submit.

SAP Business Network puts your report into the queue. You can view and download it when its status is
Processed.
16. To view and download the report, select the report template and click Download. Click one of the following:
• Open to view the report. Your browser starts Microsoft Excel and displays the report.
• Save to save the report to your computer.

How to add attachments to an RFQ posting

Context

Buyers can add attachments to an RFQ posting both at the header level and the line-item level. For more details on
attachment to an RFQ posting, see Restrictions on Attachments to RFQ Postings [page 34].

Procedure

1. Click the Postings tab.

2. Click the title of the RFQ posting for which you want to add attachments.

The posting details page appears.

3. To add attachments at the header level, click Choose file button in the Attachments section of the posting
header.
a. Navigate to the required file and select it.
b. Click Upload.

Quote Automation adds the selected file to the RFQ posting.

4. To add attachments at the line-item level, click the attachment icon available available below the line-item
number.
a. On the Attachments for line item number dialog box, click Choose file to select the required file.
b. Click Add Attachment.
c. Click Done.

Quote Automation adds the selected file to the line-item.

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36 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
How to share postings by generating a link

1. You can click on the share icon on the top right corner of the posting, when you click on the link gets copied to
the clipboard and you can share the link with anyone.
2. All the postings should be restricted to be accessed by the URL without login, but we should make an exception
for the public postings.
3. When any user accesses the posting from without logging in to their Trading Partner Portal account, they will
see the supplier side view (lead's view) of the posting
1. One exception to this case is if you or any other user from your organization accesses the posting link in a
logged in session, they see the posting view of the posting.
2. The table below helps to understand the use cases better

Table 4: Non Logged in Use case

If the user clicks on

Visibility Sector the URL URL to Share Audience and view

Private Private sector Lead view should not be No Audience: Any User
visible
View: Logged in Page

Public Private sector Lead view should be No Audience: Any User

visible
View: Leads view

Private Public sector Lead view should not be No Audience: Any User
visible
View: Logged in Page

Public Public sector Lead view should be No Audience: Any User

visible
View: Leads view

Table 5: Logged in use case

If the user clicks on

Visibility Sector the URL URL to share Audience and View

Private Private sector Lead/Posting view Yes Supplier (Only invited

should be visible org ), View: Leads View

Buyer (Creator org),

View: Posting View

Public Private sector Lead/Posting view Yes Supplier (Any org),

should be visible View: Leads View

Buyer (Creator org),

View: Posting View

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SAP Business Network Discovery postings PUBLIC 37
 If the user clicks on
Visibility Sector the URL URL to share Audience and View

Private Public sector Lead/Posting view Yes Supplier (Only invited

should be visible Org), View: Leads View

Buyer (creator Org),

View: Posting View

Public Public sector Lead/Posting view Yes Supplier (Any org),

should be visible View: Leads View

Buyer (Creator org),

View: Leads View

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38 PUBLIC SAP Business Network Discovery postings
Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery

Your SAP Business Network Discovery postings are matched to suppliers based on the information they provide in
their company profile.

About SAP Business Network Discovery suppliers [page 39]

Interaction with suppliers on RFI [page 43]

Interaction with suppliers on RFQ: [page 44]

Finding Suppliers [page 52]

Rating suppliers [page 52]

Saving Suppliers [page 53]

Messaging suppliers [page 55]

Asking Suppliers a Question [page 56]

About SAP Business Network Discovery suppliers

SAP Business Network Discovery suppliers are matched to the postings you create based on the product and
service categories and ship-to or service locations they list in their company profile.

Suppliers receive a Daily Digest email notification containing postings that match their business capabilities,
ensuring that your buying needs are exposed to the companies that are best-suited to meet them.

When a supplier responds to your posting, view their company profile to evaluate if they are a company that you
want to do business with. In addition to the product and service categories they provide and ship-to or service
locations they serve, a supplier’s company profile will give you information about their size, annual revenue, and any
certifications they might hold. The supplier might highlight past successful projects or their best consultants and
representatives in the Showcases section of their company profile, and you can generally find a link to their website
for more information. Supplier ratings and any references they have received also appear on their company profile.

Fuzzy search capability

Buyers can search for suppliers using fuzzy search capability by checking the Enable fuzzy search checkbox on the
Sellers tab. By default, this checkbox is unchecked. With fuzzy search functionality, for example, you can type a
misspelled name and SAP Business Network Discovery will display results which are relevant to the words.

Fuzzy search capability in SAP Business Network Discovery provides relevant matches only when the maximum
edit distance is two characters. For example, if you want to search for KOMATSU, and you enter KENATSU as the
search term, the matched search result will show KOMATSU. However, if you enter KENFTSU as the search term,
the matched result will not show KOMATSU because the edit disctance is more than two characters.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 39
While using advanced search capabilities, fuzzy search capability does not generate matching results for vendor
IDs.

Contact suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery

Contact suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery to ask them questions or request clarification on their
responses.

You can click Contact Supplier on a supplier’s public profile page to send them a direct message. When contacting
suppliers, make sure you explain why you are contacting them, and what information you would like them to
include to ensure you receive an accurate and complete response. This safe and secure method of communication
conceals email addresses of inquirers.

Supplier responses

A supplier’s response to your SAP Business Network Discovery posting is the first step to fostering a new business
relationship.

SAP Business Network Discovery makes it easy to see when you have received new responses to your postings by
displaying an orange indicator next to the Postings tab. The number displayed in orange indicates the number of
new responses you have ready for review.

When you view response details, you have the option to award the supplier or let the supplier know that you are not
interested in their response.

On the View Supplier Bid Information page, SAP Business Network displays the currency conversion rate between
the buyer's currency and the currency in which supplier has bid. You can use the conversion rate to decide the
competitiveness of a bid before making a decision to award the business to a supplier. SAP Business Network
uses the currency conversion rate to display the values in your currency. For example, if your currency is in
Dollars and supplier has bid in Pounds, on the View Supplier Bid Information page, you can view the latest
currency conversion rate provided by SAP Business Network. SAP Business Network calculates the values in
Dollars according to the latest currency conversion rate and displays on the View Supplier Bid Information page.

 Note

By default, SAP Business Network displays the exchange rate daily using the data from a Bloomberg feed. The
exchange rates are gathered by Bloomberg from multiple pricing sources. However, if buyers specify a currency
exchange rate, it overrides the currency exchange rate provided by SAP Business Network.

Quote automation displays five digits after the decimal point while displaying the currency conversion rates in
suppliers' responses. This feature helps the buyers to specify the amount in purchase orders more accurately.
Quote automation also displays the reverse currency conversion rate.

 Example

1 USD = 0.85000 EUR

1 EUR = 1.15000 USD

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40 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
SAP Business Network On Demand Sourcing buyers can also choose to import the supplier into the Ariba Sourcing
supplier database. After reading a supplier’s response, you can:

• Save Seller: Save the supplier’s profile to your saved suppliers list.
• Export Response Details: Download a file containing the response details.
• Select Winner: Award the business to the supplier. In this context, awarding does not explicitly award the
business to the supplier. When you award the supplier, the supplier is shortlisted, and an email notification is
sent to the supplier.

As a courtesy, provide constructive feedback to all suppliers who take the time to respond to your postings.

Side-by-side comparison of bids for RFQs

Buyers can select bidders for an RFQ posting and compare the bids. You can choose which bids to compare
and specify the fields that you want to compare and analyse to make an informed decision before awarding the
business to a supplier. For example: you can compare bids on the basis of parameters such as payment terms,
taxes, or shipping cost.

On the Compare Supplier Bids page, buyers can:

• Export selected supplier responses to an Microsoft Excel file

• Compare bids based on RFQ totals
• Compare bids based on line-item totals
• Navigate to Split Award page

While comparing bids, for each selected supplier bid, quote automation displays total bid value and total cost for
each line-item. When you hover on the total applicable tax value for each supplier bid, quote automation displays all
the taxes that are included.

Viewing the list of uninterested suppliers for RFQs

Buyers can see the list of invited suppliers who have indicated lack of interest to bid on an RFQ. When buyers create
an RFQ event with a set of invited or approved suppliers, this feature helps buyers know the list of uninterested
suppliers and the reason why they are uninterested. For example, suppliers may not be interested to bid if they
cannot supply to the required location, or if the product category does not match.

Buyers can also configure a QuoteMessage flow rule that when enabled, sends a QuoteMessage cXML document
to the ERP system whenever an invited or approved supplier indicates that they are not interested in bidding. The
QuoteMessage cXML document also includes the reason why the supplier is uninterested.

On the RFQ posting details page, SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Not Interested Suppliers(s) link,
which you can click to view the list of suppliers who have rejected the invitations to bid.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 41
Suppliers can indicate their lack of interest in bidding on specific line items and specify the reasons for not bidding
on them. After a supplier indicates lack of interest in bidding on a line item, quote automation captures the reasons
provided by suppliers for not bidding on line items and sends the information in quote message cXML documents
to the ERP system. Quote automation uses the RejectionReason extrinsic in the ItemDetail section of a quote
message cXML document to store the reasons provided for lack of interest in a line item. For example:

 Sample Code

<QuoteItemIn rank="1" lineNumber="0001" quantity="4" type="award">

<ItemDetail>
<Extrinsic name="RejectionReason">Wrong Commodity</Extrinsic>
</ItemDetail>
</QuoteItemIn>

When a bid is rejected at the header level, the header section of a quote message cXML document contains the
RejectionReason extrinsic with the reason for lack of interest. For example:

 Sample Code

<QuoteMessageHeader>
<Extrinsic name="RejectionReason">Wrong ship-to or service location</Extrinsic>
</QuoteMessageHeader>

Questions about a supplier’s response

You can ask suppliers questions about their responses directly from their responses to your postings. SAP
Business Network Discovery sends the supplier an email notification that contains a copy of your question, and
your questions can be tracked on the Messages tab.

When the supplier responds to your question, you can reply to them from the Posting Response page or the
Messages tab.

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42 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Awarding supplier responses for RFQ postings
Buyers can either award the business to one supplier or split a business and award the business to multiple
suppliers.

When buyers split an award, for each line-item, quote automation highlights the supplier who quoted the lowest
unit price. If more than one supplier quotes the same lowest unit price and the same quantity for a line-item, quote
automation highlights all the supplier bids and buyers have to manually correct the bid to whom they want to
award the business. However, if more than one supplier quotes the same lowest unit price but the quantitities are
different, quote automation highlights the bid by the supplier who bid for the maximum quantity.

While awarding, buyers can add attachments to the bids. This helps buyers substantiate or document why a
particular supplier was awarded. The attached document can be helpful in auditing and compliance. However,
buyers can add only one attachment while awarding.

Interaction with suppliers on RFI

Reading supplier responses

Supplier response can be accessed via 5 ways on the posting:

• By clicking on view response, this lands you on to all the responses the posting has, whether it is read or
unread.
• By clicking on the total response number, this lands you on to all the responses the posting has, whether it is
read or unread.
• By clicking on the unread response number, this lands you on to all the responses the posting has, whether it is
read or unread.
• By clicking on the posting and opening it and clicking on the responses count.
• By clicking on view on the response email.

All the responses are marked read once you land on the relevant page of the responses, hence, to revisit the
response, please set the filter to all from unread and go through the responses.

When you click on the supplier response, every response is opened in an individual page

Shortlist one or multiple supplier for a RFI

When you like a supplier response or multiple supplier responses, you can add it to shortlist by:

• Selecting the response/responses and click on shortlist.

• Clicking on 3 dots menu on the side of each response and select shortlist.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 43
• Selecting shortlist on the individual response page.

You can shortlist a supplier when the posting is in opened or closed status.

Once a response has been added to a shortlist, it moves from all responses to shortlisted

Once a response has been added to shortlist, it can be moved back to response by clicking back to responses or it
can be not shortlisted by clicking on do not shortlist.

If a supplier response has been edited after it has been added to shortlist, the response automatically gets
removed from the shortlist and goes to unread.

On the decision day or before, you can finalize the supplier responses by confirming the shortlist.

Confirm shortlist button gets enabled only when the posting is in closed status and when there are responses in the
shortlisted tab.

Once you click confirm shortlist, all the unselected suppliers, which has been not added to shortlist or not
shortlisted, get automatically not shortlisted and shortlisted suppliers receive an email.

Not shortlist a supplier for a RFI

• In case you are not interested in a supplier response, you can move the supplier response to not shortlist.
• This action can be applied when the posting is in opened or closed status.
• This can be done for multiple response, by selecting all responses on one page or single response by clicking on
the action.
• Our system provides a pre-generated message for the not shortlisting, which can be modified as per your
preference.
• Once a response has been not shortlisted, it be accessed in the posting, under not shortlisted responses.
• The supplier will be able to view the posting as not shortlisted status and the message from the your side when
they open the posting.

Interaction with suppliers on RFQ:

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44 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Supplier ratings and references
Ratings and references are key pieces of information for you to use during your evaluation of a supplier.

Supplier ratings

You can rate suppliers on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent) based on the experience you had working with
them in your postings. You can rate suppliers from the posting they participated in, on the Ratings tab, or from the
Rate Seller email notification. Once a posting reaches its end date or is closed early, an email notification is sent to
you, from which you can rate each supplier that responded, without logging in to SAP Business Network Discovery.
If you give a supplier a rating of four or five stars, you are prompted to provide them with a reference.

Here are some important things to keep in mind about supplier ratings:

• You can only rate suppliers with which you have interacted.
• You can only rate a supplier once per posting, even if the supplier submits multiple responses to the same
posting.
• A supplier’s average rating appears publicly on SAP Business Network Discovery. Individual ratings ar e only
visible to the respective parties.
• Ratings are permanent. You cannot withdraw your rating after you submit it and suppliers cannot hide or
remove ratings. However, you can change previously submitted ratings at any time to reflect the resolution of
issues that may have led to a low rating. Abuse of the rating system and other issues should be reported to SAP
Ariba Customer Support.

Supplier references

References are used by suppliers to highlight and promote their company to potential buyers on SAP Business
Network Discovery. When a supplier requests you to provide a reference, SAP Business Network Discovery sends
an email to the primary contact of your account. Suppliers may also choose to include a brief message explaining
the reference request.

After you accept an invitation to become a reference, your comments appear in your supplier's profile and are
visible to all users. Your contact information is not included with your reference. However, potential buyers can
request your contact information from the supplier for independent verification. Suppliers can approve or decline
the request to view your contact information. When the supplier approves the request, your contact information is
made available to the requestor. Suppliers can choose to delete your reference at any time.

SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 45
How to invite suppliers using vendor IDs

Context

If an SAP Business Network supplier has multiple vendor IDs, buyers can identify the correct supplier through the
vendor IDs and invite for bidding on RFQ postings.

Procedure

1. In SAP Business Network Discovery, click the Postings tab.

2. Click the title of the posting for which you want to invite suppliers.
3. Click Bids tab.

The Bids tab appears

4. From the Invite More Suppliers drop-down list, click Invite by Vendor ID.

The Invite Vendors window appears.

5. Optionally, use the Search button to search for a supplier with a specific vendor ID.
6. Select the vendors to invite for bidding.
7. Click Invite.
8. Click Done.

SAP Business Network Discovery sends a notification to the invited suppliers to participate in the bidding. Also,
you can view the list of invited suppliers on the RFQ posting details. You can click the value displayed for Invited
Suppliers field to view the list of invited suppliers.

How to view the list of uninterested suppliers

Context

Buyers can view the list of uninterested suppliers either from the posting listings page or from the RFQ posting
details page

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46 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Procedure

1. Click the posting menu

2. Click the ID of the RFQ for which you want to invite suppliers.
3. Access the RFQ posting for which you want to see the list of not interested suppliers.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the posting details page

4. Click the View link available for Not Interested Suppliers(s) field.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Not Interested Supplier(s) window containing the list of
suppliers.

Configuring the QuoteMessage Flow Rule to Send Supplier

Bid Rejection Information

You can configure a quote automation rule to send QuoteMessage cXML documents to an ERP system whenever
suppliers reject invitations to bid.

Procedure

1. Choose Administration Configuration .

2. On the Configuration page, click Quote Automation.

The quote automation configuration page appears.

3. Click the Quote Automation Rules tab.

The Quote Automation Rules tab appears.

4. In the Configure Quote Message Flow section, check Send a Quote Message when suppliers reject bids.
5. Click Save.

How to compare bids

Context

Buyers can select bids and compare them to make an informed decision before awarding the business to a
supplier.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 47
Procedure

1. In SAP Business Network Discovery, click the Postings tab.

2. Click the title of the posting for which you want to compare bids.
3. Click Bids tab.

The Bids tab appears.

4. Select the bids which you want to compare.
5. Click Compare.

The Compare Supplier Bids page appears. By default, the Compare Supplier Bids page displays the following
commonly compared fields:
• Price
• Quantity
• Tax
• Lead Time
• Buyer part Id
6. To add additional fields to the template for comparison, click Select Fields to Compare.

The Select Fields to Compare window appears and displays the additional fields which you can select to
compare.

7. Select the required fields to compare.

8. Click Select.

The Compare Supplier Bids page refreshes and displays the additional fields which you have selected for
comparison. If the event is closed, SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Award button for each
supplier so that you can award the business to the preferred supplier.

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48 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
How to view the bid details in the supplier's bid currency

Context

Buyers can view the bid details in the supplier's bid currency.

Procedure

1. Click the posting menu.

2. Click the ID of the RFQ for which you want to view the supplier responses.
3. Click Bids tab.
4. Click View for the supplier whose bid you want to view.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the View Supplier Bid Information window.
5. Select View in supplier currency checkbox.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the supplier bid values in the supplier's bid currency.

How to view a supplier bid trend on an RFQ

Context

Buyers can view the trend of supplier bids on an RFQ posting.

Procedure

1. Click the Postings menu.

2. Click the ID of the RFQ posting for which you want to view the trend of supplier bids.
3. On the RFQ posting details page, click Trends tab.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Trends tab.

4. From the Supplier dropdown list, select the supplier whose bidding trend you want to view.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays a chart showing the trend of supplier bids.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 49
Previewing the list of invited suppliers

Context

Buyers can preview the list of invited suppliers and make changes to the list.

Procedure

1. Click the Postings menu.

2. Click the ID of the RFQ for which you want to invite suppliers.
3. Click Bids tab.

The Bids tab appears.

4. From the Invite More Suppliers dropdown list, click Invite Suppliers.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Invite Suppliers window.

5. To search for suppliers using vendor ID, select the Search as Vendor ID checkbox.
6. Select the suppliers whom you want to invite for bidding.
7. Click Add to invitation list.

SAP Business Network Discovery adds the selected suppliers and displays the confirmation message The
selected suppliers are added to the invitation list.
8. Click Preview Selection.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Preview Invitation List window.
9. To remove a supplier from the preview invitation list, click Remove from the list.
10. Click Done.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays the Invite Suppliers window.

11. Click Invite.

How to award supplier responses for an RFQ posting

Context

The buyer can either award the business to one supplier or split a business and award the business to multiple
suppliers.

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50 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Procedure

1. Click the Postings menu.

2. Click the ID of the RFQ posting for which you want to close the posting and award.

SAP Business Network Discovery shows the details of the RFQ posting.
3. Click Close and Award.

If the Auto Award feature is set in SAP Business Network, then SAP Business Network Discovery automatically
closes the RFQ posting and awards the business to the supplier who has bid the least on all the full quantities
of the line items. If the Auto Award feature is not set in Ariba Network, then SAP Business Network Discovery
closes the posting and enables the Award button beside each supplier in the Bids tab of the Details section.
4. Do one of the following:

• To award the complete business, click Award for the required supplier.
• To split the business, click Split Award. The SAP Business Network Discovery displays the line items and
the suppliers' bid for each line item. You can specify the quantity of the line items in percentage and
in numbers. Click either Award by Percentage or Award by Numbers text box, and enter the required
quantity or percentage for each line item.
5. Click Award.

SAP Business Network Discovery sends an email notification to winning seller and also all the sellers that
responded to your posting to inform them that you have selected a winner.

How to split award on the Compare Supplier Bids page

Context

Buyers can split the award of business on the Compare Supplier Bids page.

Procedure

1. Click the Postings menu.

2. Click the ID of the RFQ for which you want to compare bids and split the award.
3. Click Bids tab.

The Bids tab appears.

4. Select the bids which you want to compare.
5. Click Compare.

The Compare Supplier Bids page appears.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 51
6. Click Split Award.

SAP Business Network Discovery refreshes the Compare Supplier Bids page.
7. From the Sort For dropdown list, select the line item for which you want to sort. SAP Business Network
Discovery also includes custom money fields in the Sort For dropdown list.
8. From the Sort By dropdown list, select the money field which you want to sort.

The selected money field row in the selected line item is highlighted in green color.
9. Enter the required quantity in the Quantity field of the supplier to whom you want to award business.
10. If required, repeat Steps 7 to 9 for any other line items.
11. If you want to award to a single supplier, click Award to single supplier.
12. Click Award.

Finding Suppliers

Prerequisites

Please check the trading partner search for further details.

Rating suppliers

Procedure

1. On the I’m Buying tab, click Ratings.

SAP Business Network Discovery displays suppliers you can rate. To view suppliers you have already rated,
click Show Rated Suppliers.
2. Click the stars to rate the supplier on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent).

Results

The blue stars indicate the saved rating you gave to the supplier.

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52 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Saving Suppliers
Procedure

1. You can save an individual supplier from save button from individual supplier responses.
1. 1. This action will be available when the you click on the response and the individual response is opened on a
separate page.
2. This should be applicable across the lifecycle of the RFI, i.e. saving a supplier from the responses should
always be allowed whether a posting is opened, closed, shortlisted and terminated.
2. Once a user saves a supplier, the button text should change to 'Unsave Supplier'.
3. Any user who has saved a supplier, only that user can unsave it.
4. Any user even who has not created the posting should be able to save a supplier from response section.

About the Saved Suppliers Page on SAP Business Network

After you have bookmarked suppliers from SAP Business Network Discovery, you can review your list of saved
suppliers on SAP Business Network.

As a Trading Partner Portal buyer, you can review your list of saved suppliers on SAP Business Network. You can
access the list of saved suppliers by navigating to the upper right corner of the page, choose Account Settings,
and select Saved Suppliers.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 53
The Saved Suppliers page displays a table with the following fields:

Field Description

Company Name Displays the supplier name with a hyperlink to review supplier
details in the Company Profile page.

 Note
You can sort the company name in ascending and de-
scending order.

Company Location Displays the supplier's location.

ANID Displays the supplier's SAP Business Network ANID

(AN01000000001).

Transaction Relationships Displays the number of relationships the supplier is connected

with other buyers.

Transaction Relationship Status Displays your relationship with the supplier as Connected or
Not Connected.

Annual Revenue Displays the supplier's annual revenue.

 Note
Some private and nonprofit suppliers do not specify their
annual revenue for business reasons.

Actions Choose the  Actions icon to remove suppliers.

From the Saved Suppliers page, buyers can perform the following actions:

• Review saved suppliers by selecting Me (Admin) or All users from the Supplier Saved by dropdown menu.
• From the list of saved suppliers, you can choose the supplier's name hyperlink to review supplier details on the
Company Profile page.
• Review and delete saved list of suppliers for subusers.

 Note

Buyers assigned as subusers can only view and edit their own list of saved suppliers.

• Option to remove suppliers in two ways:

• Choose the  Actions icon and select Remove for each supplier.
• Select one or more suppliers and choose the Remove button available above the Saved Suppliers table.

Related Information

Reviewing and Removing Saved Suppliers on SAP Business Network [page 55]

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54 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
Reviewing and Removing Saved Suppliers on SAP Business
Network

Trading Partner Portal buyers can review bookmarked prospective suppliers for later consideration or evaluation on
the Saved Suppliers page.

Prerequisites

• You must have the Company Information permission.

• You have saved suppliers from SAP Business Network Discovery. To save suppliers, go to Saving Suppliers
[page 53].

Procedure

1. Navigate to the upper right corner of the page and choose Account Settings.
2. Select Saved Suppliers from the dropdown menu.

The Saved Suppliers page appears.

3. To review suppliers, select the supplier's name to review their company profile.

The supplier's Company Profile page appears.

4. Select the  back button from your browser to return to the Saved Suppliers page.
If you want to remove one or more suppliers:
5. Select the checkboxes for each supplier and choose Remove button available above the Saved Suppliers table.

Optionally, you can also remove suppliers by choosing the  Actions icon and selecting Remove for each
supplier.

 Note

Buyers assigned as subusers can only view and edit their own list of saved suppliers.

Your selected suppliers are removed from your list of saved suppliers.

Messaging suppliers
Prerequisites

You can visit the supplier profile and message the supplier, using contact button.

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Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery PUBLIC 55
Asking Suppliers a Question
Procedure (For posting created via sourcing)

1. While viewing a supplier’s response, click in the message field at the bottom of the page.
2. Enter your question.
3. Click Send.

Results

Your question appears in the Questions & Answers section of the posting response and the supplier is sent an email
notification alerting them of your question.

Procedure (For posting created via Discovery)

1. While viewing a supplier’s response, click on the message Icon in the middle of the page.
2. It opens up the posting detail.
3. Enter your question.
4. Click Send.

Results

Your question appears in the Questions & Answers section of the posting response and the supplier is sent an email
notification alerting them of your question.

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56 PUBLIC Suppliers on SAP Business Network Discovery
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SAP Business Network Discovery for Trading Partner Portal Buyers

Important Disclaimers and Legal Information PUBLIC 57
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