
In a bid to meet up with the ever increasing expectations of today’s businesses which expect their business-to-business networks to provide connectivity, process efficiency and transparency to be able to trade seamlessly and access data insights to make well-informed procurement decisions. Yet in some geographies and industries, closed networks are preferred for their unique ability to achieve compliance with specific regulations. To expand the value they deliver to customers, SAP Ariba and Swisscom have partnered to connect the Ariba Network, the largest digital business-to-business network on the planet, and Conextrade, the leading Swiss procurement platform.
“We are opening the Ariba Network to well-established geographic and industry-specific networks that are preferred for their unique capabilities with regulations, protocols and formats,” said SeanThompson, senior vice president, Business Network and Ecosystem, SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass. “With this move, we are taking a leading step forward to create a network of networks that delivers even greater value to our customers.”
Conextrade is a preferred network for many Switzerland-based companies as it connects them to a digital platform to process their business transactions in compliance with local laws and in accordance with Swiss security standards. By connecting SAP Ariba’s global network with Conextrade, companies can continue to operate in their preferred platforms while bringing the entire procurement process, including the order-to-cash process internationally, into a unified system. What’s more, because the networks are connected, the data is also linked, which then drives more intelligent spend management experiences.
SAP is an Experience Company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise, it is the market leader in enterprise application software. SAP Ariba and its fellow SAP Fieldglass are both under the same parent umbrella, they focus on providing their clients with services that aids companies in connecting, getting business done and also spending better. The Ariba Network consists of buyers and suppliers from more than 4.4 million companies and 190 countries which then helps them in transforming how they manage all categories of spend with improved operational efficiency and compliance, increased agility and accelerated business outcomes.
By partnering with Swisscom, SAP Ariba enhances the connection between networks thereby enabling suppliers to reach new buyers while keeping procurement operations in an established and preferred, but now connected, system. At the same time, buyers gain access to new suppliers through the connection to Conextrade that expands the Ariba Network. By partnering with other networks like Conextrade, SAP Ariba is offering customers access to trade with companies on industry-specific business networks and in different geographies as well as additional integration capabilities and industry-specific protocols and formats.