Ariba Resource Library

Gartner Report: Significant Benefits Realized With Supply Chain Management in the Cloud

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gartner Report: Significant Benefits Realized With Supply Chain Management in the Cloud

Read a recently published Gartner report about the usage, concerns and benefits of cloud-based supply chain solutions.

Titled Significant Benefits Realized with Supply Chain Management in the Cloud, the report's findings include:

"Supply chain cloud computing results in significant benefits, such as IT cost reductions of 5% to 20%."
"Cloud computing offers a cost-efficient opportunity to conduct business with your trading partners while still maintaining your on-premises IT investment."
"The data security offered by the cloud provider is oftentimes better than anything the company could deliver, and issues on data ownership and recovery are getting worked out..."
"From an organizational structure perspective, the largest proponents of cloud computing solutions were the value-driven supply chain, center-led procurement and sourcing and shared-service centers."

View the report now to learn more about the insights found from Gartner's survey of 130 companies on supply chain management in the cloud.

How to Achieve 100% Paperless Process

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Paper invoices are the scourge of Accounts Payable, responsible for many invoice exceptions, supplier inquiry calls, and processing delays. Converting suppliers from paper to electronic invoicing is a proven best practice. Even when you do, however, you’ll still receive some portion of your invoices on paper, particularly from your low-volume or low-spend suppliers.

The good news is that you can effectively consolidate your processing of paper and electronic invoices into a single invoice stream to minimize paper’s negative effects.

Join us for a free web seminar to learn how you can:

Apply the same validation, process, and exception-based workflow for all of your invoice transactions
Get line-item level data extraction to achieve higher straight-through processing rates
Improve visibility and access to invoice images
Eliminate the high costs of scanning, OCR equipment, mailroom, and storage
Develop programs for converting more suppliers from paper to electronic invoicing

Speaker: Jeff Halper, Manager, Maxim Healthcare Services

Click the button to register now.

Realize 10 Percent More Savings from Your Procurement Process

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Watch this two-minute video to reveal three key strategies that many companies, including 15 of the 20 most profitable Fortune 100 companies, are employing to realize even more savings from their procurement process.

Gartner: Ariba Champions Better Commerce Through the Cloud at Live 2010

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Leading industry analysts from Gartner covered Ariba LIVE in May, and recently released research regarding Ariba's vision and the Ariba Commerce Cloud. Download the report now.

Their insights have implications for leaders and managers across the globe.

Specifically, "that consumer business clouds have become a way... of life and business commerce clouds are the next step because the benefits outweigh expectations in most supply chain categories."

Read Gartner's research now.

Contract Management in the Cloud

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The global downturn has fundamentally changed the way companies organize and do business. Given this shift, more and more companies are turning to technology through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery models due to the faster time to value with lower total cost of ownership and more-frequent innovation benefits than traditional installed software.

This paper focuses on this shift and its profound effect on contracting professionals. Download it today to learn more.

StartSourcing Demo

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Join Senior Solution Consultant, Adam Lustig, as he walks you through a guided tour of the Ariba StartSourcing solution. Listen to the compelling business case for eSourcing: meeting organizational savings demands; taking advantage of optimal timing for sourcing both new and existing categories; and leveraging existing resources to do more with less. Then enjoy a step-by-step demonstration of the software, including key technological capabilities, empowerment services, rapid deployment, and web-based tutorials.

StartContracts Demo

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Join Senior Solution Consultant, Adam Lustig, as he walks you through a guided tour of the Ariba StartContracts solution. As you review the benefits, the business case, and a step-by-step demonstration, you’ll see how taking the first step toward contract lifecycle management automation can accelerate and improve the process across your organization.

Saugatuck Technology Research: Shifting C-Level Business Priorities as the Recovery Takes Hold

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For the past five years, Saugatuck has annually surveyed senior business, finance and IT executives globally about their top business priorities in the coming year. The purpose of this research is to better understand the key investment drivers and evolving business objectives of C-Level executives (CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, CMOs) - and how these intersect and shape business/IT investment spending going forward.

Download your copy today.

Nike: Optimizing Working Capital Through AP Automation

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Optimizing cash flow is essential during both good times as well as economic downturns. It is necessary to have full visibility and control over payables in order to maintain or extend DPO, manage cash and maximize discount opportunities - all while maintaining strong relationships with suppliers. Not an easy task. But, companies like NIKE are finding innovative solutions to provide new and better ways to manage cash and improve control and visibility.

Take a look at this video to see how NIKE was able to:

- Establish and enforce best practice term policies
- Maintain and extend days payable outstanding (DPO)
- Maximize discount opportunities with improved spend segmentation
- Remove risk from your supply chain

Watch this video to learn how you can achieve your working capital objectives like NIKE.

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q3 2010

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past quarter, we’ve witnessed signs that point towards a gradual recovery in the economy. Inflationary pressures in the form of rising costs and increased supplier order books continue and market conditions are in the buyer’s favor in many categories. Yet, volatility still remains in some markets—from oil and gas to temporary labor.

Our feature article this quarter addresses how the somewhat-recent crisis associated with the weakening of the Euro has changed the rules of commerce. Be sure to check it out as it includes some useful insights and suggestions for dealing with currency fluctuations.

5-Top Tactics Behind 2-Digit Revenue Growth

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Struggling to determine which sales and marketing tactics are actually moving the eCommerce needle?

If so, join Kevin Govin, CEO at MarkMaster and discover how you can leverage eCommerce as a strategic vehicle to drive awareness and incremental revenue. Kevin will explain how his organization expanded their customer base 65% and achieved a 20% year over year growth for the past six years - even during the economic downturn.

Specifically, you will learn how you can:

Use eCommerce to increase sales and profits beyond your local market without the barriers of time or distance
Get a competitive advantage by becoming a trusted partner
Generate recurring transactional sales so your team is free to pursue new revenue opportunities

Bonus Offer:
All webcast attendees will receive a copy of MarketingSherpa report: 7 Lessons for Online Marketing.

Featured Speakers:
Kevin Govin,CEO, MarkMaster
Rob Brooks, Strategic Supplier Account Manager, Ariba

Mejorar la adopción del usuario y la conformidad de los contratos con su actual plataforma de compras

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Para que la compra electrónica funcione y tenga éxito, las empresas deben luchar contra una espada de doble filo: la adopción del usuario y el reto técnico de la habilitación de contenidos —pasar el contenido de un catálogo de calidad de los proveedores a un formato digital.

Verbesserung der Nutzerakzeptanz und Vertragscompliance mit Ihrer bestehenden Beschaffungsplattform

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Um im eProcurement erfolgreich zu sein, haben Unternehmen mit dem zweischneidigen Schwert der Nutzerakzeptanz und der technischen Herausforderung rund um die Integration von Inhalten zu kämpfen, denn sie müssen den Kataloginhalt der Lieferanten in ein digitales Format umwandeln.

Amélioration de l'adoption par les utilisateurs et de la conformité au contrat de votre plate-forme d'approvisionnement existante

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Pour garantir le succès de l'approvisionnement en ligne, les entreprises doivent trouver un compromis entre l'adoption par les utilisateurs et les difficultés techniques qu'implique la validation des contenus, notamment l'obtention auprès des fournisseurs de contenus de qualité pour les catalogues au format numérique.

Best Practices für das e-Katalogmanagement

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Im Mittelpunkt jedes Beschaffungssystems steht der Katalog. Selbst in einer nicht automatisierten Umgebung schaut der Einkäufer s ich die gedruckte Version des Katalogs an oder wendet sich an einen Kundendienstmitarbeiter, der am anderen Ende der Telefonleitung einen Katalog benutzt. Es leuchtet also ein, dass die beim Sourcing und beim Vertragsabschluss ausgehandelten Einsparungen nur dann umgesetzt werden können, wenn jeder den richtigen Katalog des bevorzugten Verkäufers mit den gleichen Preisen. In diesem Dokument werden die Vorteile und Best Practices zu diesem Thema erläutert:

Prozess-Compliance (Annahme des e-Katalog- und Beschaffungssystems
Preis-Compliance
Lieferanten-Compliance

Mejores prácticas en la gestión de catálogos electrónicos

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

En el corazón de todo sistema de compras, está un catálogo.Incluso en un entorno no automatizado, los solicitantes echan un vistazo a las copias en papel o consultan por teléfono a los vendedores del servicio de atención al cliente que utilizan un catálogo. Así pues, es lógico que si todo el mundo utiliza el catálogo correcto, del vendedor preferido y a los precios contratados, se conseguirán los ahorros negociados en las actividades de aprovisionamiento y contratación. Este documento analiza las ventajas y las mejores prácticas en torno a estos elementos clave:

Conformidad del proceso (adopción del catálogo electrónico y sistema de compras)
Conformidad de los precios
Conformidad de los proveedores

Meilleures pratiques de gestion des catalogues en ligne

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Au coeur de chaque système d'approvisionnement se trouve un catalogue. Même dans un environnement non automatisé, les demandeurs consultent une copie papier ou contactent un agent du service clientèle qui, lui, a accès à un catalogue. Par conséquent, en veillant à ce que chacun utilise le catalogue adéquat d'un prestataire préféré, aux prix négociés, vous pourrez sans doute garantir la réalisation des économies négociées dans le cadre des activités de sourcing et de conclusion de contrats. Dans le présent document, nous passerons en revue les avantages et les meilleures pratiques liés aux piliers suivants:

Conformité des processus (adoption du catalogue en ligne et du système d'approvisionnement)
Respect des prix
Conformité des fournisseurs

E-Invoicing: Strategies for PO and Non-PO Invoices

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Matching a purchase order to an invoice is a proven method for improving compliance; however, for many organizations, some portion of corporate spend may not involve POs. In these cases, consolidating PO and non-PO invoices for electronic processing can dramatically reduce errors, exceptions and processing costs.

In this free webinar, Sush Koka, research director at PayStream Advisors, and Don Holm, senior solutions consultant, Ariba Collaborative Finance Management Solutions, will discuss how you can transform your accounts payable operations by consolidating the electronic processing of PO and non-PO invoices.

Attend this webinar and learn how you can:

Compress the processing of valid PO and non-PO invoices from weeks or months to a few days
Drive first-time match rates of PO invoices close to 100%
Implement business rules and electronic workflow that eliminate virtually all non-PO invoice exceptions
Expand the capture of early payment discounts for all invoices

Attendees will also receive the latest report from PayStream Advisors, Electronic Invoice Management: Getting Rid of Paper from the Source

Speakesr:
Don Holm, Senior Solutions Consultant
Sush Koka, Research Director, PayStream Advisors

Contract Lifecycle Management Landscape: Why CLM Technologies Need to Be Part of Your

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Contract lifecycle management (CLM) technologies have great promise, but their full potential has yet to be realized by most companies. The enterprise buy side is the predominant buyer, and legal departments are beginning to recognize the need, but sell-side buyers are still trying to understand the revenue opportunity of CLM technologies. This Report will review the CLM technology functionality required by the selling organizations and provide an analysis of the enabling technology vendors and their CLM capabilities.

Top Four Ways to Build a Successful Supplier Management Initiative

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Coming out of the global economic crisis, a new business climate is taking shape that will permanently change the way organizations deal with buyer-seller relationships. Discover how best-in-class companies leverage collaborative supplier management as a means to mitigate supply chain risk and drive revenue growth and profitability. This session will focus on how to build a successful supplier management initiative leveraging world-class web-based technology and tools, as well as structured processes, expertise and a networked community.

Study: Accounts Payable Best Practices that Optimize Working Capital

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

APQC, the leading source for best practices and performance benchmarks, surveyed more than 350 senior finance executives, and conducted in-depth interviews with nine CFOs, to produce a financial management study that examines AP strategies for improving working capital performance.

Download this study to learn:

How accounts payable process improvement can strengthen cash flow forecasting
The value of technologies that reduce the amount of paper running through AP and AR processes
Strategies for strengthening your financial health and that of your suppliers
Why more corporate finance professionals are looking to optimize payment timing and early payment discounts

Top Four Ways to Build a Successful Supplier Management Initiative

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Xtreme Sourcing: AXA Group CPO Shares Top Success Secrets

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Join Heinz Schäffer, CPO of the multi-billion dollar AXA Group, as he reveals his journey of elevating AXA to the next level of Sourcing and Procurement success.

Heinz will share his vision and proven strategies for leveraging organizations and breaking down traditional barriers to:

Deliver millions in sourcing savings
Provide measurable efficiency improvements
Reduce supplier risk
Engage active Finance and AP support

Speakers:
Heinz Schäffer, CPO, AXA NORCEE
John Lark, Senior Solution Manager, Ariba

Top 5 Categories to Source Now – European Market

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

To drive more savings to your bottom line, which categories should your organization source now?

Because despite encouraging signs, there’s uncertainty about the economic recovery’s underlying strength. And people seem equally cautious about long-term demand.

Sure, market conditions still favor commodity buyers, for the most part. But ongoing, rapid changes mean you should be closely examining certain market dynamics before launching any contract renegotiation or sourcing initiative.

Download this webinar as Ariba’s global category management team discusses critical market information and spotlights the indirect categories that you should be sourcing today for maximum impact.

The AstraZeneca Exclusive – The Secret to Securing 94% Payment on Time and Still Optimising Working Capital

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You often hear stories about companies boosting working capital, but later you find that they are some of the worst payers in the industry! The lessons learnt from the days of the economic downturn was that multi-nationals have a responsibility to their suppliers – to help keep them in business. So the importance of the Payment on Time metric has seen a particular rise in the last 24 months.

Now Payment on Time is a reflection of how efficient your purchase to pay process is, and provides a meaningful assessment of the health of your process. In this truly excellent webinar, pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca will share with you how they have applied certain tools within their purchase to pay process to ensure that 94% of their transactions are paid on time. But these gains in Payment on Time have not come at the cost of optimising working capital and this 60-minute session will explain how AstraZeneca achieved both objectives.

Join us today to find out how AstraZeneca:

Improved their Payment on Time performance from 74% to 94%
Communicated change to the business to ensure process users followed rules and changed behaviour
Improved their working capital position in spite of their Payment on Time results
Achieved 60% touchless processing of invoices in the first phase of implementation
Significantly reduced their processing cost per invoice

If process efficiency in purchase to pay or optimising working capital are among your priorities this year, you'll want to attend this informative webinar.

Speakers:

James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

Global e-Invoicing

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic invoicing has emerged as a key initiative for finance organizations to be more efficient and address regional VAT/tax compliance regulations with cross-border trading partners. Review this presentation to learn from companies who have successfully built a global electronic invoicing initiative.

Presenters

Boris Böckem, C.P.M., Procurement – Business Development and Support, AXA
Christiaan Van Der Valk, CEO, TrustWeaver

The Business Commerce Journey

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Whether a company is responding to first-time customer request to collaborate electronically, or is already operating a fully integrated business commerce channel with its customers, all companies strive to increase the efficiency of managing their customer relationships. This presentation explains how suppliers can leverage technology-based solutions and processes to manage the entire commerce lifecycle and lower costs, while increasing the speed of the order-to-cash cycle.

Expanding and Optimizing Spend Under Management: Panel Discussion

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You’re live, now what? Leaders in business commerce often struggle with the transition from project-based activity to steady-state operations. In this download, a panel presents how their organizations are working to drive continued spend adoption through process-based enablement, category flight planning, team reorganization, and other important initiatives.

Presenters:

Bob Fair, Director Global Procurement Operations, McGraw-Hill
Nick Lucas, VP, Supply Chain Management, SunTrust

Ariba Best Practices Center

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You need the right tools – and the ability to use them – to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness through collaborative business commerce management. Ariba’s Best Practices Center is the repository of a decade’s worth of practitioner know-how, delivered via a portfolio of pre-defined managed projects. Equally important is access to product experts who can answer your technical questions. Review this presentation for information about the future of Ariba’s Premium Support and Best Practice Center.

Presenter:

Rick Collison, Director, Solutions Management, Ariba, Inc.

Using Communities to Learn, Share, and Collaborate: Panel Discussion

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Typically when a business conference ends, the great discussions and unanswered questions get lost in notepads, stacks of business cards, and the long to-do list that awaits your return to the office. But Ariba knows it’s important for colleagues to continue to connect, share, and learn long after they’ve parted. Ariba Exchange, Ariba University, and Ariba Connect enable you to do just that. Review this presentation, featuring HP, to learn how you and your colleagues can utilize these tools to become more collaborative and successful.

Presenters:

Justin Fogarty, Mgr., Online Communities, Ariba, Inc.
David Heller, Director, Technology & eSourcing, HP

Beyond the Hype: Cloud, SaaS, and the New Normal

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You’ve heard the buzz words. You’ve read the marketing hype. Now get the facts. IDC, a leading global advisor on IT and cloud research and strategy, cuts through the excitement to provide you with a fact-based look at cloud computing trends and help you better understand what they’re all about. This presentation provides the information you need to leverage the cloud; drive maximum efficiency and effectiveness in your commerce processes; and stay ahead of the competition.

Presenter:

Robert Mahawald, Research Vice President, IDC

Transforming Your Indirect Spend Programs and Processes

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Organizations need to continually drive savings to lower costs and remain competitive. And most indirect spend management programs and processes have room for substantial potential improvement. However, very few companies have the resources, technology, and expertise necessary to capture these savings and drive them to the bottom line. While BPO frequently addressed this issue in the past, it has its own challenges that prevent many from realizing expected value. Here, several companies present how they’re taking advantage of yesterday’s learning and today’s technology to design, deploy, and optimize an indirect spend management program.

Presenters:

Drew Browning, Indirect Commodity Manager, AGCO
Barbara Whittaker, former CPO, GM
Mauricio Sirgo, Group Leader of Indirect Procurement, H. J. Heinz Company

Successfully Managing Complex and Volatile Commodity/Supply Markets

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The classic signs of economic recovery are beginning to emerge. However, unemployment rates remain elevated, and the jobless recovery still offers opportunities for buyers to drive savings efforts. Where should buyers turn their attention in 2010 to cope with market volatility and continued uncertainty? In this presentation, Ariba category professionals provide strategies for managing increasingly complex and volatile commodity/supply markets, and specific tactics you can use to capitalize on current market conditions.

Presenter:

Patrick Furey, Senior Category Manager, Ariba, Inc.

The Reverse Auction’s 15th Anniversary: The Path Forward

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Since its invention by Ariba 15 years ago, the online reverse auction has become a standard operating buying process for many sourcing organizations. It has also generated debate, angst, and even, sometimes, regulation. On the occasion of this anniversary, a panel of industry professionals and auction veterans debated the impact of the reverse auction, its role in the New Normal, and the path forward for business commerce professionals.

Presenters:

Harikrishnan Shankaranarayanan, Vice President, Aegis
Larry Bender, Director of Contract Management, Diebold
Shannon Moore, eSourcing Manager, Home Depot
Gerald Clarke, B2B Enablement Project Manager, IBM

Where To From Here? Results from the 2010 Ariba Commerce Survey

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The global recession created a new state of normal in which supply volatility, capacity constraints, and global uncertainty are the rules. To survive and thrive, businesses need to reset the way they think about business commerce and the solutions used to drive it. They must do more with less. They must leverage offerings that enable them to dial up the resources they need as they need them to meet changing market conditions and business demands. And they must be more agile than ever before. During the spring of 2010, Ariba surveyed many of its customers and partners to understand their challenges in the New Normal, and which strategies were being put into place or planned. This presentation reviews the results of the survey and includes expert commentary from veteran industry-watchers.

Presenter:

Kris Colby, Senior Solutions Marketing Manager, Kris Colby, Ariba, Inc.

A How-To Guide to Real Value Enablement

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There is no shortage of potential initiatives, programs, or projects that can deliver value to an organization. The real question is how to build, sell internally, and deliver on a commerce program that ensures success. This download presents a customer that recently rolled out a major commerce initiative, sharing their methods for building and delivering a business case; gaining executive buy-in; and utilizing a combination of technology, community, and capabilities to deliver world-class results to their organization.

Presenters:

Drew Browning, Indirect Commodity Manager, AGCO
Dave Johnston, Director, Ariba Global Services, Ariba, Inc.

Key Indicators of a Successful Spend Management Program

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The results of most spend management programs range from moderate savings to home-run successes. This presentation can help you identify challenges and what to do about them. And you’ll learn about a framework for measuring your program’s success.

Presenter:

Rick Collison, Director, Solutions Management, Ariba, Inc.

Achieving World-Class Procure-to-Pay Status

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Whether you have already implemented a complete procure-to-pay solution or are considering enhancing your current processes, how well are you doing relative to your peers? Are you optimizing your returns on your current investments, or are you missing significant savings opportunities? This presentation explores what “world-class” means; how you rank against your peers; and how you can develop a strategy to enhance your processes and deliver substantial benefits.

Presenters:

Javier Gonzalez G., Dole Purchasing & Logistics, Dole
Stephen Remetz, Business System Analyst, GMAC
Bob Fair, Director of Global Procurement Operations, McGraw-Hill

Beyond Sourcing: Ensuring Your Negotiated Savings through Compliance

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sourcing is an important step in reducing costs, but without automated compliance, up to 50 percent of your potential savings can be leaked. This informative presentation explains how you can avoid this leakage and save money, as well as improve your purchasing efficiencies.

Presenters:

Ramona Mortiz, Purchasing, Facebook
Brian Wietharn, Partner & Spend Management Practice Leader, MarketSphere Consulting LLC

Maximize the Value of your SAP, Oracle, and other Procurement Systems

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You've invested a great deal in your existing SRM or procurement system. But you need more people to use it in order to get more spend flowing through the system and maximize your investment. This presentation covers how industry leaders have quickly implemented a unique application that allows them to increase user adoption and deliver contract compliance by providing quick and easy access to more-current and accurate catalogs.

Presenter:

Montgomery, PMP, Manager – Practices, Legal, and Supplier Sustainability, Lexmark International

Managing Your Contingent Labor, Consulting, and Print Spend

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Managing complex services spend is critical to maximizing control over your total spend. Many companies have as much as 80 percent of their indirect spend in services such as temp labor, 1099 contractors, and consultants. In this presentation, industry leaders explain how to get this spend under control while driving compliance with local labor regulations, increasing visibility into services spend across your organization, improving time-to-fill, reducing costs, and boosting revenue.

Presenters:

Mary Finaldi, eEnablement Manager, Strategic Procurement Operations, Deloitte
Scott Meiser, Director of eSourcing, Reed-Elsevier
Jennifer Roberts, Supply Systems Manager, Sunoco Products

Effective Collaboration in the New Normal

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Coming out of the global economic crisis, a new business climate is taking shape that is permanently changing the way organizations deal with buyer-seller relationships. This presentation covers how market-leading companies leverage collaborative supplier management as a means to mitigate supply chain risk and drive revenue growth and profitability. It describes how to build a successful supplier management initiative by leveraging leading web-based technology and tools, as well as structured processes, expertise, and a networked community.

Presenters:

Amanda Frith, VP – SCM, Compass Bank
Scott Meiser, Director of eSourcing, Reed-Elsevier
Jennifer Roberts, Supply Systems Manager, Sunoco Products

Five Practical Ideas to Maximize Revenues through Ariba

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In this presentation, the Ariba Network’s most innovative participating suppliers share their tips for leveraging the B2B channel to increase revenues and drive efficiency across their organizations. They explain how cutting-edge companies of all sizes are generating leads, increasing revenues, and improving sales growth and efficiency by utilizing online marketing and catalogs and sharing their commerce expertise with their customers. And they provide five practical ideas on how you—or your suppliers—can maximize revenue from the B2B channel.

Presenters:

Chip Graham, Director Marketing, EBSCO
Kevin Govin, Chief Executive Officer, MarkMaster

Working Capital 101

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

AP and Treasury professionals are becoming more essential to CFOs as they leverage payables automation to more effectively manage their cash flow; maintain or extend DPO; and maximize early payment discounts to move the needle on net income by one-to-four percent. This presentation reviews the basics of managing cash and working capital optimization. It looks at the impact Treasury and Payables can have, along with Ariba solutions and services – and our partner ecosystem – to help you achieve your business objectives. Plus, it features success stories from finance professionals who have optimized their savings opportunities.

Presenter:

Drew Hofler, Senior Manager, Financial Solutions, Ariba, Inc.

Working Capital 20:20 - Expert Panel

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Leading experts in the field of global finance explain how the financial crisis of 2008-09 created a new managerial practice at many large organizations. The presentation also shares new tools for improved cash control, risk mitigation, and working capital optimization.

Presenters:

Robert Barnes, Senior Advisor, AgFe
Mary Driscoll, Senior Research Fellow, APQC

Expanding and Optimizing Spend under Management: Panel Discussion

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You’re live, now what? Leaders in business commerce often struggle with the transition from project-based activity to steady-state operations. During this session, a panel of speakers will discuss how their organizations are working to drive continued spend adoption through process-based enablement, category flight planning, team reorganization, and other important initiatives. Join them to share your ideas and best practices for driving adoption that have led to increased spend under management.

Speakers:

Bob Fair, Director Global Procurement Operations, McGraw-Hill
Nick Lucas, VP, Supply Chain Management, SunTrust

Using Communities to Learn, Share, and Collaborate: Panel Discussion

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Typically when an event ends, the great discussions and unanswered questions get lost in notepads, stacks of business cards, and the long to-do list that awaits your return to the office. We want to empower our Ariba LIVE attendees to continue to connect, share and learn long after you’ve left Orlando. The Ariba Exchange, Ariba University and Ariba Connect will allow you to do just that. Join this interactive session, featuring HP, to learn how you and your colleagues can utilize these tools to become more collaborative and successful.

Speakers:

Justin Fogarty, Mgr., Online Communities, Ariba, Inc
David Heller, Director, Technology & eSourcing, HP

The Reverse Auction’s 15th Anniversary
The Path Forward

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Since its invention 15 years ago in Pittsburgh by Ariba, the online reverse auction has become a standard operating process for many sourcing organizations as a core component of their buying process. It has also generated debate, angst, and even sometimes regulation. On the occasion of this “crystal” anniversary, a panel of industry professionals and auction veterans will debate the impact of auctions, its role in the New Normal, and the path forward for business commerce professionals.

Speakers:

Harikrishnan Shankaranarayanan, Vice President, Aegis Limited
Larry Bender, Director of Contract Management, Diebold
Shannon Moore, eSourcing Manager, Home Depot
Gerald Clarke, B2B Enablement Project Manager, IBM

Maximize the Value of your SAP, Oracle and other eProcurement Systems

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

You’ve invested a great deal in your existing SRM or iProcure system. But you need more people to use it in order to get more spend flowing through the system and maximize your investment. Join us for this session to learn how industry leaders have quickly implemented a unique application that allows them to increase user adoption and deliver contract compliance by providing quick and easy access to more-current and accurate catalogs.

Speaker:

Matt Montgomery, PMP, Manager – Practices, Legal, and Supplier Sustainability, Lexmark International

Global e-Invoicing

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic invoicing has emerged as a key initiative for Finance organizations to be more efficient and address regional VAT/Tax compliance regulations with cross-border trading partners. Attend this session to learn from companies who have successfully built a global e-Invoicing initiative.

Speakers:

Boris Böckem, C.P.M., Procurement – Business Development and Support, AXA
Christiaan Van Der Valk, CEO, TrustWeaver

Managing Your Contingent Labor, Consulting and Print Spend

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Managing complex services spend is critical to maximizing control over your total spend. Many companies have as much as 80 percent of their indirect spend in services such as temp labor, 1099 contractors, and consultants. In this session, you will learn from industry leaders how to get this spend under control while driving compliance with local labor regulations, increasing visibility, into services spend across your organization, improving time to fill, reducing costs and boosting revenue.

Speakers:

Mary Finaldi, eEnablement Manager, Strategic Procurement Operations, Deloitte
Nolen, Procurement Solutions Manager, First American
Amina Anderson, Procure-to-Pay Manager, McGraw-Hill

Effective Collaboration in the New Normal

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Coming out of the global economic crisis, a new business climate is taking shape that will permanently change the way organizations deal with buyer-seller relationships. Attend this session and learn how best-in-class companies leverage collaborative supplier management as a means to mitigate supply chain risk and drive revenue growth and profitability. This session will focus on how to build a successful supplier management initiative leveraging world-class web-based technology and tools, as well as structured processes, expertise and a networked community.

Speakers:

Amanda Frith, VP – SCM, Compass Bank
Scott Meiser, Director of eSourcing, Reed-Elsevier
Jennifer Roberts, Supply Systems Manager, Sonoco Products

Five Practical Ideas to Maximize Revenues through Ariba

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Join this session to hear Ariba’s most innovative suppliers share their tips for leveraging the B2B channel to increase revenues and drive efficiency across their organizations. Come learn how cutting-edge companies of all sizes are generating leads, increasing revenues, and improving sales growth and efficiency by utilizing online marketing and catalogs and sharing their commerce expertise with their customers. Leave this session with five practical ideas on how you—or your suppliers—can maximize revenue from the B2B channel.

Speakers:

Chip Graham, Director Marketing, EBSCO
Kevin Govin, Chief Executive Officer, MarkMaster

Collaborative Finance Management: A Better Way to Manage Cash

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The economic downturn has caused corporate finance professionals to explore opportunities within accounts payable to optimize working capital without contributing to trading partner tension.

In the traditional approach, buyers focus only on maintaining or extending Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) and increasing cash returns from float. In return, suppliers often face a delay in receivables and cash flow pressure. As a result, valuable working capital gets tied up in the payables process.

Today, the business commerce network makes possible a collaborative approach to managing cash that serves the needs of buyers and their suppliers. Join us for a free webinar and learn how collaborative finance management can:

Optimize your cash use and deliver high-yield, risk-free returns on your payables without increasing supply chain risk.
Offer your suppliers visibility and control over their receivables and new liquidity options to better manage their cash flow
Enable dynamic discounting opportunities that don’t exist in the world of paper payables
Lay the foundation for a working capital transformation that can dramatically improve business performance

Mary Driscoll
Mary Driscoll is APQC’s practice leader for financial management. In this role, she is responsible for identifying and disseminating best practices and metrics used to improve the effectiveness of the office of the CFO. Driscoll has been researching and writing about the evolving role of the CFO—and the corporate finance function—for many years. She was a founding senior editor at CFO magazine and is the author of Cash Management—Corporate Strategies for Profit, published by John Wiley & Sons.

This is an IAPP qualifying continuing education activity.

Streamlining Contracting Policy and Process

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past 10+ years, procurement has provided tremendous rigor and attention to automating business processes—bringing to masses the spend management discipline. As procurement continued this transformation into the contracting realm, a similar approach followed, while relationships with legal and trading partners continued to be an afterthought.

On this joint IACCM/Ariba webinar, the next steps in contracting efficiency will be discussed. How can you streamline your contract management policy and process, and what role does automation play in this effort? Join us to learn from thought leaders providing practical use cases in making your contracting processes more effective and efficient.

Speakers:

Tim Cummins, President, IACCM
John Busch, Sr. Director of Contract Management, Health Care Services Corporation
Ken Miklos, Sr. Solutions Marketing Manager, Ariba

The Secrets to Customer Retention and Growing Revenue from Your Customer Base

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Do you have high customer attrition? Is your team cost-effectively driving the most value from your customer base? What is your strategy to find and retain more high-value customers?

According to Forrester, as budgets unfreeze in 2010, B2B marketers need to shift from their traditional marketing campaigns to activities that foster community interactions. Improving customer relationships is one key aspect to this shift—and eCommerce has a proven track record of success in this area

Join us for this Ariba sponsored webinar and learn how EBSCO leverages eCommerce to achieve a 99% customer retention rate while expanding accounts 30%, increasing revenue, and share of wallet. Specifically, you will learn how to:

1. Adopt eCommerce as strategy for improving customer retention
2. Leverage eCommerce to increase customer stickiness
3. Use eCommerce to find new, qualified business leads
4. Lower your cost of sales and marketing
5. Leverage eCommerce for your green initiatives

Sub-tier Sourcing Best Practices

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sub-tier Sourcing is an innovative approach to managing spend throughout the supply chain to reduce total cost of ownership. The approach offers great opportunity and many benefits when executed well, but the sourcing process is more rigorous. Ariba has been involved in sub-tier sourcing across multiple categories. To review our insights, as well as case studies, download this presentation now.

Supply&Demand Chain Executive Special Edition: Beyond the Cloud

Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As business leaders on both sides of commerce are on the hook to cut costs, increase revenue and mitigate risk, they're looking for the tools to help drive results. A new breed of cloud-based applications aims to simplify business commerce and drive new levels of productivity to help address the challenges of today's marketplace. This Special Edition of Supply&Demand Chain Executive explores the projected growth in worldwide IT Cloud services revenue, the business benefits of the Cloud, analysts' take on cloud-based solutions, and Ariba's push to lead the transformation.

Ariba Customer Success Story Book

Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

If there is one thing that we're most proud of, it's the role our solutions and services play in the success of our customers. Read more about why top organizations of every size, across industries and in every region around the globe use Ariba Solutions and Services to control costs and improve performance.

This book contains a collection of success stories from Ariba customers.

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain:
European Market

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Learn how to maximize operational savings by strategically integrating tax strategy and supply chain management. Ryan and Ariba, two industry leaders in the areas of tax and spend management, will jointly present a tax-advantaged supply chain strategy for improving efficiency and profitability. Join this valuable webinar and learn key tax strategies to consider throughout the planning and procurement stages of a supply chain. Get answers to critical issues, including:

Best practices in tax-optimized procurement structures and strategies
Where title or possession should transfer to improve tax management
Whether it is more advantageous to buy or lease, and if it is better to form a purchasing or leasing company
How transactional taxes (e.g., sales taxes and value-added taxes) can be avoided or deferred
The most cost-effective solution for supporting exemptions claimed
Available incentives, credits, or property tax abatements
How the timing of the transaction impacts tax treatment
How property taxes can be reduced by properly classifying hard and soft costs
How the new supply chain strategy considers the employment tax implications of re-positioning employee populations
How technology can improve the decision, accounting, and reporting processes

This valuable webinar features Ryan professionals who have partnered with Ariba to implement tax-advantaged spend management solutions that deliver greater operational savings and value, minimize tax liabilities, and mitigate tax risks.

Speaker:
Michael Camburn, Managing Director, Ryan Co.

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain: North
American Market

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Best practices in tax-optimized procurement structures and strategies
Where title or possession should transfer to improve tax management
Whether it is more advantageous to buy or lease, and if it is better to form a purchasing or leasing company
How transactional taxes (e.g., sales taxes and value-added taxes) can be avoided or deferred
The most cost-effective solution for supporting exemptions claimed
Available incentives, credits, or property tax abatements
How the timing of the transaction impacts tax treatment
How property taxes can be reduced by properly classifying hard and soft costs
How the new supply chain strategy considers the employment tax implications of re-positioning employee populations
How technology can improve the decision, accounting, and reporting processes

Speakers:
Doug DeRito, Principal, Ryan Co.
Stephen James, Principal, Ryan Co.

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q2 2010

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Success in today's business environment is all about agility and leveraging flexible solutions to collaborate more-efficiently and effectively with your trading partners. It's not just about what goes on within your four walls anymore.

In the New Normal, you need to leverage working capital management solutions to not only streamline and enhance your processes and improve cash flow, but to also ensure that your key partners have the necessary financing to sustain their operations.

Quand le mot « enchères » est-il devenu un terme à proscrire ?

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Les enchères semblent perdre les faveurs de certaines organisations achats, et plus particulierement dans le secteur public. Mais, selon Patrick Furey, Senior Manager du Category Management pour Ariba Inc, les professionnels ne doivent pas manquer ces importantes opportunités d'économies. Téléchargez cet article de SupplyChain Europe Magazine pour en apprendre davantage sur les enchères et savoir si celles-ci peuvent s'avérer bénéfiques pour vous.

Seit wann sind Auktionen Tabu?

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Auktionen scheinen im Einkauf ihren Zenit überschritten zu haben. Dies gilt vor allem für den öffentlichen Sektor. Patrick Furey, Senior Manager im Ariba Category Management ist der Meinung, Einkäufer verlieren durch diese Einstellung wesentliche Einsparpotenziale.

Laden Sie den Artikel aus dem SupplayChain Europe Magazin herunter. Sind Auktionen das richtige Mittel für sie? Lernen Sie hier mehr darüber.

Best Practices in eCatalog Management

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What You Need to Know about eCatalog Management

At the heart of every procurement system is a catalog. Even in an environment lacking automation, requisitioners consult a hard copy or customer service reps use a catalog at the other end of a phone line. So it stands to reason that getting everyone to use the correct catalog from a preferred vendor at the contracted price will ensure that negotiated savings from sourcing and contracting activities are actually realized. This paper will explore benefits and best practices...

When Did Auction Become a Bad Word?

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Auctions seem to be falling out of favour with some procurement organizations, especially in the public sector, but according to Patrick Furey, Senior Manager, Category Management for Ariba Inc, sourcing professionals might be missing out on a tremendous savings opportunity. Download this article featured in SupplyChain Europe Magazine to learn more about auctions and to find out if auctions are right for you.

Payable Automation Cost Saving Strategies

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Innovation in accounts payable is delivering new opportunities to lower operational costs, improve cash flow, and optimize working capital. In this free webinar, and Tom Bohn, CEO and executive director of IAPP and James Tucker, director of product marketing, Ariba Network and Financial Solutions, will explain strategies for transforming your accounts payable operations to achieve cost reductions of 70 percent or more.

Attend this session to learn how to:

- Leverage “smart invoicing” to dramatically lower invoice exceptions, blocked invoices, and invoice processing costs

- Maximize the capture of pre-negotiated discounts and expand discount opportunities to new categories of suppliers

- Promote global supplier participation

- Benchmark your results and track your performance

Increase User Adoption of your SAP SRM or Oracle iProcurement System

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Trouble getting users to adopt your eProcurement system? Watch this quick 3-minute for an overview on how you can leverage your existing ERP system and increase its value by driving compliance and delivering measurable ROI.

Best Practices in eCatalog Management

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Catalog management can be a hassle for many organizations, and there are challenges regardless of the type of eProcurement system currently employed.

Join Ariba and packaging giant RockTenn for an upcoming educational webinar to learn how to optimize SAP, Oracle, or any eProcurement system through improved eCatalog management.

During this webinar, we’ll provide you with information on the following topics:

RockTenn’s experiences and lessons learned
How many and which catalogs should be online
How to keep pricing current
Compliance/control
Supplier tools
Security and service
Cleansing and content enrichment
Guidance to suppliers for best content creation

Speakers:

Kay Ree Lee, Project Manager, RockTenn
Jarod Schrock, Senior Manager, Catalog Enablement Operations, Ariba
Dan Ashton, Senior Solutions Manager, Services and Procurement Content, Ariba

How to Achieve High Performance in Accounts Payable

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Accounts payable automation is driving a new wave of business performance breakthroughs for corporate finance. In this free web seminar, Henry Ijams, Managing Director of PayStream Advisors, will discuss his latest research on electronic payables, and explain how a business commerce network can transform accounts payable operations to improve productivity, lower costs and optimize working capital.

Attend this webinar and learn all you need to know about high performing A/P operations, including

Smart invoicing that connects to every size and type of supplier for 98 percent straight-through processing
Integrated electronic payment that lets you precisely time each payment, maintain or extend DPO, and achieve 100 percent on-time payment performance
Innovative working capital management tools that help you capture virtually all available early payment discounts, and create dynamic discounts on a sliding scale to lower the costs of good and services and increase your cash returns
Supplier enablement strategies that let you onboard suppliers quickly and ensure 100 percent retention rate

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear ho you can apply accounts payable best practices for sustainable business advantage.

This is an IAPP qualifying continuing education activity

Selecting the Right eProcurement Solution

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Selecting an eProcurement solution can be difficult, and a wrong decision can have immeasurable costs. There is no one organization best suited to this decision since Procurement, Finance, and IT all play key roles in the affected business processes.

This paper provides a specific framework and tools that any organization can use to minimize the decision time, optimize cross-functional buy-in, and maximize the likelihood of making the right eProcurement solution decision.

How Caterpillar is Driving a Successful Global Procure-to-Pay Process

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic invoicing is becoming an inevitable way of doing business today. Especially for those processing 50,000 to 5 million invoices per annum! So how do you best deploy e-invoicing, and what really are the secrets to success? In this webinar we will be examining the Caterpillar story and looking in detail at how they have rolled out their successful Invoice and Payment process across key territories globally. Join this 60 minute session and leave with a clearer understanding of:

How such a solution works with VAT and suppliers
How a solution like this can help you standardise and improve your process
How to ensure that e-invoicing supports your key countries
What you need to do to secure success within your own project

This webinar promises to be very insightful into what works, and what doesn't so make sure you secure your seat now!

Host: James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

eProcurement in the New Normal
with Sourcing Interests Group

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We are emerging from the recession, but business has forever changed. You’re being asked to do more with less, and the importance of controlling your spend is greater than ever. Today, you must discover ways to move more quickly than any time in the past. This is the “New Normal.”

Successful companies are already taking advantage of this landscape change, and there are clear trends among the leaders.

Join SIG and Ariba as they discuss the leadership trends, how eProcurement fits into a corporate strategy, as well as the steps you can take to maximize success today.

Speaker:
John Lark, Solution Manager, Ariba

Top 5 Categories to Source Now

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Signs of a sustained economic recovery are starting to appear across multiple categories and industries, and inflationary pressures are predicted to increase as we approach the summer months. There’s still time, however, to take action in the next few quarters while capacity abounds and unemployment rates remain elevated.

You won't want to miss this webinar, where you'll hear Ariba's global category managers provide data, insights and analysis on core direct and indirect categories—information you can use to drive cost savings in the upcoming months. You'll also have the opportunity to provide input about the future content of Ariba SupplyWatch, the quarterly publication that tracks market trends and identifies cost savings opportunities.

Speakers:

Mike Petro, Lead Category Manager, North America
Loriann Andersen, Category Manager, Indirect and Services
Nick Cherrone, Category Manager, Indirect and Services
Rachel Rutkoski, Senior Category Manager, Indirect and Services
Tom Arbogast, Category Manager, Direct Materials
Kimberly Davis, Senior Category Manager, Direct Materials

AMR Research: Reaching Sourcing Excellence, Part 3: Sourcing Skills Go Straight to the Bottom Line

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sourcing organizations not only identify the right sources but also make significant contributions to gross margin and expense reduction when the process is done correctly. Hiring the right sourcing professional is crucial to a company's supply chain success. Even more critical is the continuing education for current sourcing executive. This article reveals the urgent requirement for more education for sourcing professionals, identifies continued education programs, and provides a path to recoup those saving.

Ensuring a Smooth Migration to Ariba Spend Management 9r1

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 9r1 release of Ariba Spend Management ushers in a new era for Ariba customers who have long benefited from the leading spend management platform, either installed on-premise or hosted by Ariba.

Download this white paper to learn how to leverage the latest advancements in functionality and technology to capture more spend under management and to continue to reduce costs.

Sourcing Pipeline Building: Driving Effectiveness and Sustainability

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What are the five areas of focus that every procurement organization should consider when it comes to sourcing pipeline building for the remainder of 2010 and beyond?

Download this white paper to find out.

Working Capital 20/20 with NIKE

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Optimizing cash flow is essential during both good times as well as economic downturns. Organizations need full visibility and control over payables in order to maintain or extend DPO, manage cash and maximize discount opportunities – all while maintaining strong relationships with suppliers. This is no small task, but innovative solutions are providing new and better ways to manage cash and improve control and visibility:

Attend this webinar to learn how to achieve working capital 20/20 by:

Establishing and enforcing best practice term policies
Maintaining or extending days payable outstanding (DPO) with P-card and supply chain finance
Maximizing discount opportunities with improved spend segmentation and advanced discount programs
Removing risk from your supply chain with dynamic discounting and receivables financing

This is an IAPP qualifying continuing education activity.

Speakers
Drew Hofler, Senior Manager, Financial Solutions, Ariba, Inc.
Shannon Brown, Project Manager, Nike, Inc.

Procurement in the New Normal

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Who will emerge strongest from the Great Recession? Are there steps that can be taken now to ensure your company is among them? As you will read in this paper, there are three common characteristics that will define the corporate stars of the New Normal.

And, there are specific procurement strategies that should be employed to help ensure the successful development of those defining characteristics. Download now and learn what they are.

Assessing the CFO's View of Procurement

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The global recession has created a new alignment between the CFO and CPO. With goals and objectives now more closely aligned than ever before, the CFO’s view of Procurement has significantly improved over the last two years.

In fact, compared to 2007, a CFO in 2009 was 71 percent more likely to view the CPO as having a “very positive” impact on an organization’s competitiveness.

How and why has the CFO’s view of the CPO and the procurement function changed? And what should organizations do in order to strategically align the two functions to produce a best-in-class organization?

Join Ariba and the Aberdeen Group for this webinar and learn the following:

How to leverage process, organization, knowledge management, and performance-tracking capabilities to become a best-in-class Procurement organization
Action items the CFO can implement for optimal performance
Correct standards and measurements CFOs should use to measure the performance of Procurement
The Aberdeen Group’s steps to success for transforming your Procurement organization to become best-in-class

**All webinar registrants will receive a complimentary copy of The Aberdeen Group report, “The CFO's View of Procurement: Work in Progress.”

Speakers:
Jim Frankola, Executive Vice President, Strategy, Ariba
Andrew Bartolini, VP and Group Director, Global Supply Management Research, Aberdeen Group

Effective Procurement Engagement within Marketing Spend
with Sourcing Interests Group

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Marketing has long been untouched by Procurement, due to its reliance on creative relationships and de-emphasis on the price paid for services. With the economic downturn, ad agency consolidations, and new trends in the field such as social media and digital marketing, Procurement has an unprecedented opportunity to assist Marketing stakeholders now to strategically review relationship structures with partners and increase the value of each dollar spent. Today, measuring success and structuring marketing relationships is evolving away from traditional structures to more pay-for performance and value-driven approaches.

In this webinar, you will learn best practices around Procurement engagement with Marketing, the value Procurement can bring to marketing spend, as well as how one company is effectively leveraging these strategies today to create a true, mutually beneficial Procurement and Marketing partnership.

Speakers:
Susan Scott, Indirect Buyer, HJ Heinz Company
Lynn Rideout, Spend Management Services Manager, Ariba

Correcting Your Spend Vision with Visibility

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How much spend does your organization manage strategically? According to AMR Research, leading organizations actively manage 65 percent while laggards only three percent.

If your organization is on the upper end of the above metric, then you know that the rewards of bringing more spend under management are palpable—greater savings impacting the bottom line, a collaborative and value-driven organization, and improved supplier relationships. But in order to bring more spend under management, organizations must also be effective in making their sourcing pipeline-building efforts more sustainable over time.

Improved spend visibility can provide the corrective lens needed to view total aggregate spending data in order to realize savings opportunities and build sourcing pipeline, effectively eliminating the factors that contribute to unmanaged spend.

During this webinar, we'll provide you with the following:

A real-world practitioner's view of the challenges and benefits of a spend visibility program
Additional considerations in sourcing pipeline-building best practices
AMR Research recommendations to consider while investigating potential spend visibility applications

All webinar registrants will receive a complimentary copy of the AMR Research report, "Spend Visibility: Do You Have the Correct Lenses?"

The CFO's View of Procurement: Work in Progress

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past decade, the way the procurement function is managed has changed significantly within many enterprises. In Q4 2009, Aberdeen evaluated finance and procurement professionals to determine the view that finance leadership within the average enterprise now has of its procurement function. They looked at the relationship of the CFO and CPO through the eyes of the professionals who work for them.

Aberdeen was able to distinguish best-in-class enterprises by two key performance criteria, and report that these enterprises reflected an average of 73% more identified savings in their budgets and an average of 23.6% lower department operating costs.

Read this report to find out what those criteria are, and how your organization compares.

European CPOs: Capitalising on the Best Opportunities

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

According to a 2010 report by the Aberdeen Group, the pressing needs of today's economy have given the average CPO an extraordinary opportunity to make friends -- within the enterprise -- and influence spend. These tough times demand smart strategies. The Aberdeen report recommends four required actions for European CPOs and other procurement leaders who want to capitalise on the opportunities before them.

Now, the report's author, Andrew Bartolini, discusses these strategic actions in this recorded webinar. Watch and listen as he also reviews key CPO benchmarks and the procurement characteristics of best-in-class organizations.

(A copy of the report, European CPOs: Capitalising on the Best Opportunities, is also available in Ariba's resource library. Use the search function above.)

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q1 2010

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Glean critical insights and intelligence about a range of supply categories in this quarterly publication, as reported by leading experts from Ariba's Global Services Organization. Pay particular attention to the market buzz and trends that each shares within their respective categories.

Don’t miss the report's feature article about the Ariba Supplier Network (ASN). When buying, the ASN can help you to cut your costs. When selling, the ASN can enhance the effectiveness of your sales and marketing efforts. Find out how.

The New Normal in Payables Outsourcing

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Finance organizations realize the need for greater efficiencies, lower processing costs, and better visibility and control in their processes. Many look at outsourcing in order to benefit from greater economies of scale, advanced capabilities and technology, and domain expertise.

However, companies have been reluctant to outsource some financial processes like AP, with concerns about loss of control and lack of security and trust in a third party. Attend this webinar to learn the steps in successful AP outsourcing, including:

Aligning your goals and initiatives
Evaluating potential partners
Achieving best-in-class results

Join this free webinar and learn more about the challenges and benefits of Payables outsourcing.

Speaker
James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

This is an IAPP qualifying continuing education activity.

eInvoicing Adoption Benchmarking Report Q1 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

With analysis based on survey results and more than seven years of research findings, Paystream Advisors reports that a significant shift is beginning to shake the traditional corporate invoicing paradigm and typical 30-day terms. Download this white paper to learn about key trends and arm yourself with keen insights on:

Best practices followed by innovator companies
Adoption of various AP automation technologies
Awareness and usage of advanced financing tools
And more

Lessons Learned from the Recession: Strategic Sourcing

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Based on external research and discussions with Ariba's customers, there are 10 key lessons that every strategic sourcing organization should have learned from the Great Recession. Read about them here. You can identify any areas that may need improvement, and solidify your organization's capacity to succeed in the New Normal.

Using demand management to drive procurement excellence

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

54% of CPOs are using demand management to a greater extent to help cope with the economic downturn, while 77% expect a further increase in use in 2010.

The term 'demand management' is used in a number of different ways. In a supply-chain context it can mean either controlling the procurement of goods and services by an organization's employees or optimizing each part of the supply chain to better serve customer demands. A new executive research report from the Procurement Intelligence Unit (PIU), focusing on the former aspect as it applies to both indirect (non-production) and direct (production) spend, discovered that among a range of perceived benefits, pitfalls and successes, 54% of CPOs are using it to a greater extent since the economic downturn hit, while 77% expect a further increase in its use in 2010.

Three main 'demand levers' can be manipulated to achieve demand management's objectives: specifications, usage policy, and volume; this requires alignment and behavioral changes within the enterprise which must be overseen and encouraged by procurement, hence taking the procurement function beyond its traditional role of negotiating unit prices with suppliers.

Join us for this interactive webinar hosted by David Rae, editor, Procurement Leaders, Gerry Garcia, Managing Director, EMEA Spend Management Services, Ariba and Neil Deverill, former CPO, Anglo American, Philips and strategic advisor to the PIU who will outline this game-changing concept including:

What is demand management and what is procurement's role in maximizing the opportunity?
Adoption levels across leading organizations and key enablers for your organisation?
The opportunities and challenges it brings.

This webcast includes LIVE Q&A with the speakers

Speakers:
David Rae, Moderator, Procurement Leaders Magazine
Neil Deverill, Former CPO, Anglo American, Philips and strategic advisor to the PIU
Gerry Garcia, Managing Director, EMEA Spend Management Services, Ariba

Hackett Group 2010 Key Issues Study: Results and Analysis

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Christopher Sawchuk, procurement practice leader from Hackett Group, will lead the interactive discussion and unveil the eye-opening results.

What are the key issues facing Procurement organizations in 2010? What are the top concerns for your CPO and CFO? And how best can organizations address these issues and concerns in today's environment?

This interactive webinar will feature the results of Hackett Group's recent 2010 Key Issues study. Key topics that will be discussed include: enterprise plans for budgets/staffing; plans for globalizing processes - including Procurement processes; and Procurement and Finance re-alignment. The discussion will also highlight how to successfully create and measure realized savings in broader value streams such as supplier collaboration, risk, and innovation.

See how your procurement plans compare to that of your peers.
Hear Hackett Group's advice on measuring procurement value.
Understand how you can do more with less - agility being key - in this new state of normal.

Speakers:
Christopher S. Sawchuk, Procurement Practice Leader, Hackett Group
Hari Candadai, Director, Ariba Solutions Marketing

Improving User Adoption and Contract Compliance with Your Existing Procurement Platform

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Purchasing is one of the most basic processes in companies of all sizes. Yet, many organizations still haven't had much success with making supplier catalogs easily available and accessible. Find out how Ariba Procurement Content, a hosted catalog management solution managed by Ariba, provides a single content source for both goods and services, ensures contract compliance, and integrates with your existing ERP or procurement system.

Best Practices in Contingent Labor Acquisition

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From 1989 to 2009, the percentage of U.S. labor classified as contingent grew from 6% to more than 27%. Best practices have emerged, which can deliver significant cost savings, streamlined processes, reduced risk, and increased spend under management. Read this report to learn:

The business practices that distinguish top performers from the rest of the pack
How negotiated savings are typically lost, and what you can do to prevent it
The advantages that automated systems can bring to best-practice implementation
The 10 Steps to Best-in-Class performance results
And more

Preparing for the New State of Normal - A ProcureCon CPO Clinic

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In this ProcureCon CPO Clinic, hosted in Brussels by Ariba in November 2009, procurement leaders from more than a dozen global companies engaged in a lively and frank discussion about the challenges they are facing as they prepare for the new state of normal. Download this article now to learn the strategies and tools they are employing to:

Develop staff and skill sets within their procurement departments and across their organizations
Manage the evolution of procurement and its increasing importance to improving organizational flexibility
Measure and benchmark their procurement processes and performance to ensure results
And much more

Plus, see how your top three priorities for the coming year compare to each participant's.

OfficeMax Reveals How Smart E-Invoicing is Changing Results Fast

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Multinationals, drowning in as many as 100K to 5M paper invoices per year, are making the move to e-invoicing. But e-invoicing in Europe presents different challenges than e-invoicing in North America. In this recorded webinar, we showcase one global corporation that has efficiently and effectively accommodated its massive supplier database -- especially within the demanding territory of Europe -- with Ariba's Smart E-invoicing system.

Watch this 60-minute session now to better understand Smart E-invoicing and how you can emulate OfficeMax's success to:

Benefit all types of suppliers in your large supplier base
Drive out cost with every transaction
Significantly reduce exception handling
Leverage the investment made into your ERP

Speakers
Joni Anderson, Director of eCommerce Multichannel Business Relations, OfficeMax
James Tucker, Director of Product Marketing – Financial and Network Solutions, Ariba

In North America? Watch a North American webinar on Smart E-invoicing here.

Smart e-Invoicing: How Global Companies Achieve Touchless Invoicing

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

E-Invoicing is a top priority for global companies, especially those that process 100K to 5M invoices per year. But if you're concerned that e-invoicing may be too complex, or may even increase costs associated with handling bad invoices, watch this recorded webinar.

Learn how companies are using e-invoicing to eliminate exception handling and supplier inquiry costs. Discover how Smart e-Invoicing can enable you to:

Set up three levels of defense for eliminating invoice exception handling
Maximize electronic invoice volume
Comply with local e-invoicing tax and e-signature authorities
Eliminate exception handling and increase AP staff efficiency
Leverage the investments made in your existing ERP and AP systems

Speakers
Joni Anderson, Director of eCommerce Multichannel Business Relations, OfficeMax
James Tucker, Director of Product Marketing – Financial and Network Solutions, Ariba

In Europe? Additional challenges! Watch the European webinar here.

Why CLM Technologies Need To Be Part of Your Supply Chain

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Your company grapples with a high volume of contracts and the challenges inherent in contract lifecycle management (CLM). Risks abound: Missed contract renewal dates mean lost revenue. Underutilization of all contracted items can lead to automated price increases.

Technology exists that can achieve automatic execution of contract pricing, terms, and compliance, but its full potential has yet to be realized by most companies. Read this report from AMR Research as a first step in getting ahead of the curve. Take a close look at the capabilities of the software vendors that serve the CLM market, as AMR addresses the different kinds of trading partner contracts and summarizes for you their functionality and ability to solve your problems.

Spend Visibility: Do You Have the Correct Lenses?

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

According to AMR Research's report "Spend Visibility: Do You Have the Correct Lenses?", achieving cost reductions and working capital improvements are critical to the procurement group's success in 2010. Additionally, gaining a competitive advantage will require procurement and sourcing organizations to utilize spend visibility and analytics tools to find more cost savings opportunities.

Download this report to learn the tools you'll need in 2010 that can provide the corrective lenses that open procurement and sourcing's eyes to the possibilities of achieving success.

Lecons de la Crise: Risque Fournisseur

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Guide Pratique: Risque Fournisseur

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Les sociétés prêtes à lutter farouchement contre le risque dès aujourd'hui non seulement protégeront leurs activités contre toutes perturbations, mais elles gagneront également un avantage concurrentiel et réaliseront des économies substantielles au niveau de leurs charges d'exploitation. La question fondamentale, bien sûr, est de comprendre et gérer les risques. Et la vraie question est: Avez-vous un plan et les ressources adéquates mises en place?

Risikomanagement Survival Guide

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Massive Schwankungen bei Rohstoffpreisen, gefolgt von einer weltweiten Rezession, Kreditknappheit und einer Vielzahl von Insolvenzen, haben dazu geführt, dass ein effektives Risk Management zunehmend in den Mittelpunkt unternehmerischen Handelns gerückt ist. Denn wenn Unternehmen in einem solchen Spannungsfeld auf weitere Herausforderungen treffen, wie beispielsweise Produktrückrufe, Probleme bei der Lebensmittelsicherheit oder gar markenschädigende Nachrichten aufgrund von Produktions-und Qualitätsmängeln, sieht sich die Supply Chain auf einmal mit einem gewaltigen Risiko-Ansturm konfrontiert.

Diese Entwicklungen haben zur Folge, dass sich die Prioritäten beim Risk Management grundlegend verändert haben. Für Unternehmen ist Risk Management heute keine Option mehr für „irgendwann einmal", sondern sie brauchen jetzt sofort effektive Risk-Management-Lösungen.

Weltweit machen sich Unternehmen aktuell mehr Sorgen um Risiken und deren Auswirkungen auf die geschäftlichen Aktivitäten als je zuvor. Wie entstehen Risiken, wo treten sie auf und wie können Risiken effektiv gemanaged werden, sind dabei die zentralen Überlegungen der Unternehmen. Vor allem müssen sie sich die die Frage stellen, ob sie bereits über eine effektive Risk Managament-Strategie verfügen und die notwendigen Ressourcen zu deren Umsetzung haben.

European CPOs: Capitalising on the Best Opportunities

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

According to this 2010 report by the Aberdeen Group, the pressing needs of today's economy have given the average CPO an extraordinary opportunity to make friends -- within the enterprise -- and influence spend. These tough times demand smart strategies. Read this report to learn the four required actions that Aberdeen recommends for CPOs and other procurement leaders who want to capitalise on the opportunities before them.

Responsables européens du service des achats : tirer parti des meilleures opportunités

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

La tourmente économique qui a causé des dommages sans précédent aux marchés mondiaux au cours des 12 derniers mois a eu un bon côté pour de nombreux responsables européens du service des achats : 75 % d'entre eux pensent que la récession mondiale a amélioré l'image de leur fonction (et de leur service) au sein de l'entreprise. Dans la mesure où nombre des meilleures opportunités et des principales priorités d'une entreprise dans ce cycle économique ont dépendu des points forts et de l'expertise de son service des achats, cella n'a rien d'étonnant. Mais, alors que le marasme actuel s'amplifie et que l'économie ne parvient pas à se rétablir rapidement, la capacité du service des achats à atteindre encore les objectifs ambitieux de l'entreprise faiblira, à moins que les responsables du service des achats puissent maintenir l'attention de leur entreprise axée sur les meilleures opportunités disponibles. La cinquième édition annuelle du rapport d'Aberdeen sur l'agenda du responsable du service des achats (The CPO's Agenda: Smart Strategies for Tough Times [Agenda du responsable du service des achats : des stratégies astucieuses pour les temps difficiles] publié en avril 2009) examine les priorités, intentions et performances des responsables des achats et autres chefs des achats dans plus de 220 entreprises. Cette analyse du secteur cible les participants européens qui constituent 27 % de l'échantillon total de l'étude.

CPOs in Europa: Kapitalisierung der besten Ansatzpunkte

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In dem wirtschaftlichen Sturm, der in den vergangenen 12 Monaten in noch nie dagewesenem Ausmaß über die europäischen Märkte fegte, sehen viele europäische Verantwortliche im Beschaffungsbereich (CPOs) einen Silberstreifen am Horizont: 75% dieser Berufsgruppe sind der Meinung, dass die globale Rezession den Blick auf ihre Rolle (und ihre Abteilung) innerhalb der Unternehmen gestärkt hat. Dies ist nicht verwunderlich, wenn man bedenkt, dass viele der besten Ansatzpunkte von Unternehmen und deren wichtigste Prioritäten in diesem Geschäftszyklus auf den Stärken und Erfahrungen der Beschaffungsabteilung basieren. Ein Ende des momentanen Abschwungs ist jedoch noch nicht in Sicht und es kann auch nicht davon ausgegangen werden, dass die Wirtschaft sich kurzfristig erholen wird. Die Möglichkeit der Beschaffungsabteilungen, weiterhin die aggressiven Unternehmensziele zu erreichen, kann nur wirksam werden, wenn die CPOs ihre Unternehmen davon überzeugen können, die besten Ansatzpunkte wachsam zu verfolgen und auszuführen. Die bereits fünfte Ausgabe der jährlichen Veröffentlichung des CPO-Berichts (Die CPOAgenda: Clevere Strategien für schwierige Zeiten, veröffentlicht im April 2009) untersuchte die Prioritäten, Absichten, und Leistungen der CPOs und sonstiger Verantwortlicher im Beschaffungswesen in mehr als 220 Unternehmen. Der vorliegende Brancheneinblick konzentriert sich auf befragte Unternehmen in Europa, die 27% der gesamten Befragten darstellen.

Coping with the "New Normal" - How the Changed Economy is Shaping IT Practices

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This IDC study examines the changes affecting IT equipment, software and services management, and acquisition practices, including longer life cycles, rising interest in open source software, and services trends such as outsourcing. "Changes resulting from the recent economic turbulence are resulting in substantial changes to business and technology management models that will echo for several years, creating a "new normal" for IT budgets, capital availability, and technology adoption models," says Joseph Pucciarelli, program director, Technology Financial and Executive Strategies.

Consulting Services Procurement: Manage Better, Spend Less

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Initiating a consulting project in most organizations is usually highly decentralized, resulting in unmanaged spend. Join us for this webinar and learn how Procurement can partner with IT and other departments to provide a win/win for the organization.

Whether milestone, fixed-fee, time, materials, or a combination, WellPoint and industry experts will show you how to save money and keep your project on track.

Topics to be discussed:

IT consulting trends
Reducing project costs
Standardizing processes
Tips on writing effective consulting Statements of Work (SOWs)

Speakers:
Srini Varadarajan, Manager, Procurement Operations and Compliance, WellPoint
Endre Stogard, Category Manager, Ariba
Kevin Simurda, Manager, Global Spend Management Services, Ariba
Dan Ashton, Senior Manager, Procurement, Ariba

Procurement of Marketing Services: Doing More with Less

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Marketing is always asked to do more with less. And that’s why hearing best practices and getting helpful hints is so important for ongoing success.

Join us for this webinar as industry experts share tips to help you better manage your marketing budget, including print, promotional items, call center, direct mail, market research, and more.

Who should attend? Marketing, procurement and any professional responsible for marketing deliverables

Topics to be discussed

Successfully promoting your brand
Decreasing your costs
Speeding delivery
Increasing sales

Speakers:
Nick Cherrone, Category Manager, Ariba
Dan Ashton, Sr. Solutions Marketing Manager, Ariba

Leading Strategies In Cash Disbursements

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Peter S. Smith, Vice President
Citi Procure-to-Pay Product Manager
Citi Global Transaction Services

Controlling cash is top of mind for today's finance executives. Which is why it is essential to know the current trends in cash management, disbursements, and working capital.

Join thought leaders from Citibank and Ariba to hear how leading companies are driving costs down through:

ACH
Supplier Self-Service and Portals
Smart Validation
AP Staff Optimization
eInvoicing

You will leave this free webinar with an actionable plan to help better manage your cash and drive down costs.

Lessons Learned from the Recession: Contract Management

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The global downturn has had a profound effect on the manner in which companies do business with their trading partners. Given that contractual agreements are the basis for a majority of these customer and supplier agreements, nowhere has this impact been more evident than in the contract management function. More companies than ever before are turning to contract management—seeking a higher percentage of transactions covered by contracts, risk mitigation, lower costs, increased compliance and improved efficiency. Many independent analysts and contract management vendors echo this focus through a heightened interest in companies seeking to automate their contracting lifecycle.

Success in today's economy requires the acknowledgement of a "new normal" state of affairs. Those who embrace this concept will benefit and emerge as the next-wave market leaders. For these individuals and organizations, contract management will grow into competitive advantage. Those who do not will have a more difficult time rebounding when the economic climate turns for the better.

The Five Steps to Making a Difference in your Marketing Print Spend

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One silver lining in the current economic climate is that many categories previously often off the table for Spend Management have come in scope. One of the largest is Marketing Print. In this paper, we describe the five key techniques necessary to make successful change in your organization's marketing print spend.

Les 50 Meilleures Astuces du Spend Management

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Approches pratiques pour un Spend Management réussi

Certaines des tactiques les plus efficaces pour l'amélioration de la gestion des achats sont à portée de quiconque. Et elles peuvent être mises en place rapidement et à coût faible ou nul. Ce livre est une collection de conseils pratiques et de tactiques assemblée par des professionnels de la gestion comme vous que vous pouvez utiliser dès aujourd'hui pour améliorer vos opérations des achats.

Die 50 Besten Spend Management Tipps aller Zeiten!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sie müssen kein Superheld sein, um Spend Management Excellence zu erreichen. Manche der effektivsten Spend Management Taktiken sind so nahe liegend und können schnell und kostenlos genutzt werden. Dieses Buch ist voller Tipps, die sich in der Praxis bewährt haben, und von Spend Management Professionals - wie Sie es sind - bereits erfolgreich angewendet wurden.

Lessons Learned from the Recession: Supply Risk

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Article discussing the top 10 things organizations need to think about in the New Normal when developing their plan for combating risk in their supply chains.

Contract Management: Challenges and Strategies for Success in the New World

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Globalization and change within your supply base has increased the volume of business relationships you manage. While you're working hard on sourcing projects with current and potential suppliers, who's making sure the resulting relationships are contractually recorded and enforced?

Supply and Demand Chain Executive views contract management as a critical supply chain capability to ensure the savings negotiated through sourcing projects are fully realized and reach the bottom line.

This research-based white paper provides insight on the top challenges facing companies and the functionality they need for resolution, and deeper perspectives compliance and tunring contract management into a competitive advantage.

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q4 2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Auctions seem to be falling out of favor with some procurement organizations, getting blamed for everything from straining supplier/buyer relationships to driving companies into financial distress. But according to Ariba’s Patrick Furey, sourcing professionals shouldn’t believe the hype, because they might be missing out on a tremendous savings opportunity.

Operating in the New Normal: Procurement After the Recession

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The recession has redefined what it means to be a world-class spend management organization. According to The Hackett Group, leading organizations should be able to:

Use the downturn to deepen relationships with internal customers and suppliers
Measure performance of high-value activities
Introduce more variability into cost structure
Build a portfolio of more strategic services and capabilities through a well-crafted procurement service delivery model

Procure to Pay Benchmarking and Best Practices

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Are you able to measure your procure to pay performance? Do you benchmark against the latest industry standards for average and best-in-class?

Join us for this interactive discussion with Pierre Mitchell, Senior Business Advisory with The Hackett Group, who will discuss the latest benchmarks on the procure to pay process.

Learn about the best practices in benchmarking:

process automation,
working capital
supplier management

This is an IAPP qualifying continuing education activity.

Speakers:

Pierre Mitchell, Senior Business Advisory, The Hackett Group
James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

Procurement After the Recession: Are You Emerging Truly Stronger - or Just Leaner?
By Pierre Mitchell and Kurt Albertson, The Hackett Group

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Most procurement organizations indicate that, having used the recession to reduce costs as well increase their strength and agility, they expect to emerge leaner and stronger once the recovery comes. But their improvements, while good as far as they go, are just table stakes. Those that use the downturn to deepen their relationships with internal customers and suppliers; start measuring themselves on how well they perform high-value activities; introduce more variability into their cost structure; and build a portfolio of more strategic services and capabilities through a well-crafted procurement model can expect to emerge not just organizationally stronger, but also more agile and better able to help the organization through a stronger value proposition.

Read this report now to be prepared for this new state of normal. For organizations that have been able to not only trim down, but also increase their strength and agility, the recession has offered an opportunity to improve current and future performance.

Finding Suppliers with Ariba Network Discovery

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Maintaining a strong supply chain is crucial to business success. Yet the harsh realities of today's economy — combined with the difficulty and expense of finding qualified suppliers — make it harder than ever to achieve this goal.

Read this whitepaper to discover how Stage Stores, a US-based retailer with more than 700 retail stores across 38 states, used Ariba Network Discovery to find 10%-15% additional savings per sourcing event and read their 8 tips to maximize results.

Optimizing Spend Management Strategies to Successfully Address Marketing Print

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Category intelligence, procurement automation, strategic sourcing, eSourcing and others have all proven to be formidable techniques in driving value in spend management initiatives. Moving to the next level, however, requires combining these disciplines with the agility and information available from new networks to provide a comprehensive approach to category strategies. In this webinar, you will learn how to apply multiple, integrated techniques for success with one of the most complicated categories out there: Marketing Print.

Speakers:

Katie Boord, Sr. Manager, Spend Management Services, Ariba
Nick Cherrone, Category Manager, Spend Management Services, Ariba

Myths, Pitfalls and Realities of Services Procurement

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Before you launch into the world of services procurement applications, there are a number of potential pitfalls to consider and myths to dispel. This 30-minute webinar covers the realities and includes a comprehensive buyer’s checklist.

Speakers:

Dan Ashton, Solutions Manager, Ariba

Contingent Labor: Agility and Savings

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Learn how to respond quickly to workforce requirements and save up to 20 percent. In this webinar, you will hear:

Market leaders communicate their approaches for dealing with temps and contractors
Kelly Services share strategies for Total Workforce Management
An expert Ariba category manager provide insight into industry trends and best practices

Print Procurement: Quality and Savings

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Save up to 30 percent on your print spend. During this webinar, you will:

Learn directly from companies that are bringing more print spend under management while maintaining strict quality standards
Hear from an expert Ariba category manager that will provide insight into current industry trends and best practices

Supply Risk - Survival Guide

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Massive commodity price swings one year followed by a recession, credit crisis, and widespread bankruptcies the next have dramatically increased the focus on managing risk. Add into the mix product recalls, food safety issues, and PR disasters from far-off factories and you’ve got a “perfect storm” of risk in the supply chain. This uncertain environment has changed the priority for supply risk management from “We’ll get to it someday” to “We need an answer now”.

Today, organizations are more worried about risk than ever before. The fundamental issue, of course, is understanding and managing risk. And the real question is: Do you have a plan and the right resources in place?

Tyco International Receives 2009 Medal of Professional Excellence Award from Purchasing Magazine

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tyco International has given purchasing a seat at the table of every business unit, blending decentralized and center-led purchasing practices that actually boost earnings per share. For its achievements, the company wins the 2009 Purchasing Medal of Professional Excellence.

The process and systems have produced close to $2 billion dollars in savings since 2003—and that in a company where only the $3.5 billion indirect portion of the $13 billion total spend is centrally managed within purchasing.

Automation tools from Ariba helped to bring spending under control .Use of the e-sourcing tools has yielded savings of approximately 8-11% annually since the company started using them. Today, 160 systems feed data to the procurement systems.

Read this in-depth article to understand Tyco's processes and how the use of On Demand technology helped the company beat the Street's expectations.

AribaLIVE 2009 Rountable discussion

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A recent roundtable at Ariba LIVE in San Francisco discussed the challenges and opportunities faced by spend management organizations. The Theme? Never let a good crisis go to waste.

Risk: How to Anticipate and Mitigate

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Cost savings may be job number one today, but the current economic crisis portends an equally disturbing storm brewing on the horizon: heightened supply risk. Volatile commodity prices, credit shortages, consolidation and bankruptcies are combining so that companies - regardless of their size or the industries in which they operate - will face some form of supply disruption in the year ahead.

As outsourcing, consolidation and globalisation continue, supply risk is an increasingly significant source of overall business risk.

As part of our ongoing commitment to thought leadership, Ariba hosted a CPO debate in conjunction with CPO Agenda, the business review for procurement leaders, to explore how companies across industries can minimise the incidences of these risks and potentially negative impact on their business while positioning their companies to compete more strongly when economic conditions improve.

Supplier Nominated Savings: Accelerating Savings through Strategic Partnerships

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Supplier Nominated Savings can be a highly useful "arrow in the quiver" for spend management professionals. The keys to success are the application of a structured process, executive support, and clear communication with the supply base. Companies ranging from mid-sized manufacturers to Fortune 5 organizations have successfully used this approach to drive near-term savings. Given the pressures to identify savings in any manner possible (and as quickly as possible), spend managers owe it to their organizations to evaluate whether an initiative of this type is appropriate for them.

Supplier Enablement Best Practices

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Connecting with your suppliers is the key to successful automation initiatives. Join this webinar to learn from our enablement experts how to create a strategy for your eInvoicing and B2B collaboration initiative. Topics will include:

Segmenting suppliers by spend
Targeting the right suppliers
Onboarding tools and techniques

Participating in this free webinar will leave with an actionable plan to help you connect with your suppliers for successful B2B collaboration.

Speaker:

James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

Découvrez comment détecter et vous protéger contre le risque fournisseur

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Les économies de coûts peuvent bien être le travail le plus prisé aujourd’hui, mais la crise économique actuelle annonce une tempête tout aussi inquiétante, qui couve à l’horizon...

Tata Motors’ Nano: It’s real…so how did they do it?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last year, Tata Motors’ plan to produce a car for approximately 1 lakh (approx. 2,500 USD) was greeted with equal parts excitement, envy…and skepticism that they could deliver the shockingly inexpensive car. 14 months later, the Tata Nano has arrived. As you can see in the test drive video below, the car drives surprisingly well - always a concern since many joked that at that price it would have a top speed of 40mph or loose parts as it rolled down the street

5 Strategies to Dramatically Accelerate Procurement Performance in 2010

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Join Purchasing Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Paul Teague on September 23, 2009 from 2-3 pm US-EDT for an interactive WEBCAST and panel discussion focusing on the five most important procurement strategies for 2010. The discussion will focus on:

Intelligence: How top-performing procurement groups analyze, leverage—and act on—vast quantities of internal, market, and supplier information.
Automation: State-of-the-art tools environments for procurement—what they deliver in terms of savings and compliance—and why they’re entirely different from what anyone expected.
Performance: The new procurement-success metrics.
Risk: How the best procurement groups create comprehensive strategies for managing the big supply risks that accompany such tactics as supply-base optimization, low-cost country sourcing, and outsourcing.
Collaboration: The crucial necessity of expanding procurement’s focus far beyond its four walls; the techniques and tools to ensure success.

This WEBCAST will feature LIVE interaction between audience and panelists, so invite your colleagues and come prepared with questions and comments of your own!

Speakers:

Paul Teague, Editor-in-Chief, Purchasing Magazine
Jason Busch, Executive Editor, Spend Matters
Hari Candadai, Director, Ariba Solutions, Ariba
Lara Nichols, Senior Director of IT Sourcing and Asset Strategies, Tyco International

Ariba Named 2009 Global Supply Chain Execution Software & Services Excellence in Customer Value of the Year Award by Frost & Sullivan

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The recipient of the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Customer Value of the Year Award for Spend Management Solutions domain in the World Supply Chain Execution Software and Services space is Ariba, Inc. (Ariba®).

Ariba's strategic ability to deliver an end-to-end on-demand suite of spend management solutions that provides unmatched value-to-cost proposition and faster return on investment (ROI) makes it one of the most preferred spend management solution providers. The best-in-class integrated enterprise-level platform provided by Ariba enables its customers to source, contract, procure, pay, manage and analyze their spending as well as maintain congruous buyer-supplier relationships. End-users across diverse industry verticals continue to leverage the Ariba® Supplier NetworkTM, a thriving network of over 250,000 connected suppliers, to strategically source and experience costeffective business-to-business (B2B) collaboration, clearly outlining Ariba's domain expertise.

The Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Customer Value of the Year Award is conferred upon the company that has demonstrated excellence in customer values through its products and services that offer superior value to customers and aid them with increased profitability, and reduced life cycle costs.

Rückkehr zu Rentabilität

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Spend Management-Prioritäten
weisen den Weg zu zeitnahen
Einsparungen und langfristigem
Wachstum

Zusammenfassung
EINFÜHRUNG IN DIE UMFRAGE
Im Frühjahr 2009 hat Ariba Unternehmen danach befragt, welche Strategien und
Konzepte des Spend Managements sie in erster Linie zur Bewältigung der weltweiten
Wirtschaftskrise einsetzen. An der Umfrage haben über 225 Führungskräfte aus dem
Beschaffungs- und Finanzwesen und anderen Unternehmensbereichen teilgenommen,
die die verschiedensten Branchen, Unternehmensgrößen und Regionen repräsentierten.

Das Umfrageergebnis zeigt deutlich, dass die Unternehmen die Prioritäten des Spend
Managements zur Chefsache gemacht haben. Dabei stehen raschere Einsparungen
und die Einbeziehung weiterer Ausgaben in das Spend Management im Mittelpunkt. Bei
den Unternehmen wächst die Erkenntnis, dass sie Kosteneinsparungen und langfristige
Stabilität der Lieferkette gegeneinander abwägen müssen. Führende Spend
Management-Organisationen nutzen die gegenwärtige Wirtschaftskrise, um die
strategische Rolle des Spend Managements innerhalb des Unternehmens zu stärken
und sich die Finanzmittel und Ressourcen sowie die strategische Unterstützung zu
sichern, die für kurz- und langfristige Verbesserungen in diesem Bereich erforderlich sind.

Procurement Leaders: Seismic Developments

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Companies of all sizes must make themselves as lean as possible, with procurement playing a critical role. But, in order to be successful, procurement functions themselves must be similarly lean- they must have the best talent and operate at the cutting edge of the profession.

In a recent executive roundtable discussion led by Procurement Leaders, the theme procurement transformation - the path to building a world-class function - got right to the heart of the issues procurement leaders face today.

Download the full article to read details on the four salient points covered in the afternoon discussion: accelerating results, expanding coverage, risk management and value and innovation.

Global eInvoicing: Beyond VAT Tax

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic invoicing has emerged as a key initiative for Finance organizations as a way to be more efficient and address VAT compliance. However, by focusing only on traditional e-Invoicing, organizations are missing an even greater opportunity with strategic initiatives like:

Spend management
Working capital management
Procure-to-Pay
Contract compliance
Fraud elimination
Cost control

Join this free webinar with Nigel Montgomery, Research Director with AMR Research, to learn how to think beyond traditional e-Invoicing with plan a strategic solution for the changing marketplace.

Speaker:
Nigel Montgomery, Research Director, AMR Research
Host:
James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing - Financial Solutions and Network Solutions, Ariba, Inc.

AMR Research: Reaching Sourcing Excellence, Part 1:How To Keep 30 Cents of Every Dollar Spent

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

According to a recent AMR research study, forty-percent of sourcing organizations are giving away 30 cents for every dollar of spend because their business strategies are misaligned. Misaligned sourcing organizations believe technology is the primary tool to reduce costs. Download this report to uncover the great sourcing opportunity and how to capitalize on this opportunity and ultimately, how to get your money back.

Retour à la rentabilité

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Donner priorité à la gestion des dépenses pour générer des économies et une croissance durables Mai 2009

Au printemps 2009, Ariba a mené une enquête visant à définir les stratégies et les approches prioritaires des entreprises en matière de maîtrise es dépenses pour faire face à la récession économique mondiale. Plus de 225 cadres des services Achats, Finance et autres, représentant toute une palette de secteurs industriels, tailles d'entreprises et régions, ont ainsi été interrogés.

Il est ressorti très clairement de l'étude que les actions relatives à la maîtrise des dépenses sont hiérarchisées aux plus hauts niveaux. L'accent est mis sur l'accélération des économies de coûts et l'élargissement de la couverture des dépenses. Il est également admis, de plus en plus, que les entreprises doivent trouver le juste équilibre entre les économies de coûts et la stabilité à long terme de la chaîne d'approvisionnement. Les sociétés leaders dans le domaine de la maîtrise des dépenses capitalisent sur la crise économique actuelle pour renforcer le rôle stratégique des achats au sein de l'entreprise et s'assurer un budget, des ressources et un soutien propres à garantir des améliorations à court et long terme dans ce domaine.

Sustainable Procurement: A crucial lever to end the crisis?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A study was conducted during the early months of the global economic crisis, shining light on lessons and strategies that have critical application to the development of sustainable procurement (SP) programs now and well into the planning horizon.

Respondents ranked achieving SP as one of their top three priorities. Learn the strategies many employed to solve the difficulties associated with successful SP implementation: six operating principles that can help you structure your SP approach and achieve your goals.

This paper, sponsored by Ariba, is based on the HEC 2009 Sustainable Procurement Benchmark and interviews with a large number of procurement directors across Europe.

Les Achats Durables : un levier essentiel de la sortie de crise ?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Livre Blanc redigé par HEC et Ecovadis, sponsorisé par Ariba, décrivant l'etat des lieux des efforts et priorités en matière d'achat durable au sein des grandes organisations

Supplier-Nominated Savings: Ask and You Can Receive

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In challenging economic times, procurement organizations are being asked to generate incremental savings in any manner possible. Savvy spend management leaders know that sourcing projects are just one route to savings. There are actually multiple savings levers that can be applied to any supply base, ranging from strategic joint innovation initiatives to tactical, quick-hit cost reduction requests.

In this webinar, we will discuss best practices and success stories around implementing a supplier-nominated savings program. This program can be implemented to drive near-term savings and cash in on the current market conditions before they fade away.

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q3 2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Since the global recession is a topic that remains at the top of the minds of procurement and finance professionals, we decided to provide you with some tips for better interpreting the data that is cited regularly in Ariba SupplyWatch and in financial publications such as the Wall Street Journal.

In our feature article this quarter, we take a deeper look into the data published by ISM—reaching beyond the manufacturing (PMI) and non-manufacturing (NMI) indexes that we typically cover. You may not be aware, but in addition to validating current market trends, the ISM reports provide insight into what might be on the global economic horizon. We focus on some of the survey readings that comprise the broader indexes and let you know how to use those numbers to draw conclusions about market trends and the future state of the economy.

El retorno a la rentabilidad: Prioridades de la gestión del gasto para acelerar el ahorro e impulsar el crecimiento a largo plazo

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Esta primavera, Ariba ha realizado una encuesta para analizar cuales son las prioridades principales que las empresas de hoy día están empleando para optimizar la gestión del gasto ante la situación económica en recesión. Más de 255 profesionales de compras - representativos de varios sectores, roles, tamaños de empresa y regiones - participaron en este análisis. Este informe identifica los principales desafíos y prioridades que las empresas en general se enfrentan en la situación económica actualidad tan difícil.

Benchmarking and Payables Performance Measurement

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

"We can't improve what we can't measure." This simple phrase sums up the objective of this webinar - to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) leading finance professionals are adopting to:

Benchmark their organizations processes
Set new targets for success, and
Measure results against stated objectives

This free webinar will leave you with an actionable blueprint for measuring and managing payables performance across several dimensions including process efficiency, discount capture, working capital optimization, and vendor management.

Guest speaker:
James Tucker, Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions

Spend Management: A CEO's View

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Thomas W. Swidarski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Diebold, Incorporated

In his role as CEO of Diebold, Thomas Swidarksi launched the company's SmartBusiness 100 initiative, which aimed to cut $100 million from supply and operating costs. Having accomplished this feat in two years, he doubled down, setting his company on a course to trim another $100 million from its supply chain, global sourcing, and more efficient procurement practices. Watch this video and Hear how spend management has enabled Diebold's CEO to contribute bottom-line savings and top-line growth.

Remote Authentication for Ariba On Demand

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Achieving end-user satisfaction and increased security need not be contradictory goals. Remote Authentication options such as those offered by the Ariba Suite of On-Demand Solutions tackle the strong-authentication problem. End users no longer have to wrestle with multiple unique logons or content with forgotten passwords. All Ariba solutions have the ability to integrate with an existing Single Sign-On (SSO) solution to securely authenticate users once and then move from application to application transparently without requiring them to log in again.

Milk the Sacred Cow: Find Hidden Savings in Indirect Categories
with Sourcing Interests Group

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

You’ve seen through direct material price increases in the last few weeks, the categories themselves and strategies for approaching them change as market conditions shift. The big change right now is the time frame you have to take advantage of buyer’s market conditions for indirect spend categories. The clock is ticking…

Join us for this webinar as we discuss creating and managing a successful indirect spend management program, including sourcing unconventional categories such as legal services, marketing and travel. Also hear from Diebold regarding how they have developed an indirect spend program resulting in increased spend under management, comprehensive documented category strategies, and a formal supplier performance & risk management program.

Don’t miss the opportunity to drive more savings by tackling indirect categories that aren't traditionally managed through standard sourcing.

Speakers:

Wendy Davis, Manager, Indirect Procurement, Diebold
Carol Pilarski, Senior Manager, Spend Management Services, Ariba

Ariba Services Overview

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Presentation outlining the multiple technology and process consulting capabilities of the Ariba Services group across the entire Spend Management discipline.

Elevating the Role of the CPO

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Priorities and Approaches for increasing the influence and impact of the Indirect Purchasing function

Organizational Transformation - LIVE 2009

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

? Description: A structured and proven approach to transforming Indirect Purchasing from cost center into value-driver

Sourcing Capability Deployment

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A structured and proven approach for improving the Sourcing Capabilities in your spend management organization

Change Management - LIVE 2009

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Description: Approaches for creating, managing and embedding Spend Management changes in your organization

Leveraging Indirect Spend - Live 2009

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Three Pillars of Indirect Spend Management; Spend Access, Sourcing Execution, and Compliance Management

Ariba Spend Management Extensions - LIVE 2008

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Approaches for creating, managing and embedding Spend Management changes in your organization

Best Practices for Strategic Sourcing with or without an E

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Description: Presentation describing best-in-class techniques in strategic sourcing, both online and off

Top 5 Categories to Source Now - EMEA

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Summer 2009 session on taking advantage of compelling market conditions in various European commodity markets

Managing Risk in Ever-longer Supply Chains

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

User group presentation describing tactics for employing technology to manage risk in your Supply Chain

Supply Risk Overview

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Description of supply risk types and challenges, solutions to address, and Ariba's approach to broader supplier management.

Top 10 Ways to Green your Supply Chain

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Common-sense steps that your organization can take now to improve the Sustainability “footprint” of your supply chain

Best practices in Complex Services Procurement

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Getting the most value out of advances in Complex Services Procurement

Evaluating Two Bidder Markets

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Article that explains proven tactics in a particularly challenging sourcing environment: two-bidder markets

Base Localization

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Leveraging the “third leg” of the LCCS stool to drive value and reduce risk in your supply chain

After the Gold Rush - Process Improvements

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Whitepaper describing how Improvements in Sourcing Processes can drive value in a post- “low hanging fruit” world

Ariba Spend Management Services Overview

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ariba’s Spend Management Services group drive hard-dollar benefits for customers through three types of Services: Execution, Performance Improvement and Knowledge

Consulting Services for On-Demand Deployments

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ariba LIVE 2009 presentation outlining the systems consulting approaches relevant to an On-Demand world and how Ariba Services can accelerate adoption and results from technology investments

Driving Savings from Indirect Spend

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When the Going gets tough, the Tough look to Indirect spend to drive value for their organization. Building an Indirect Spend Management program

Transforming eSourcing from Outlier to SOP

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

User group presentation describing best-practice tactics to making eSourcing Standard Operating Procedure in your organization

Tackling Sourcing Sacred Cows

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

User group presentation describing proven approaches for getting “complex” spend involved in your eSourcing program

Retail CPG Best Practices – Live 2008

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Survey results from 2008 on Spend Management best practices in the Retail and CPG industries

Improving Compliance and Reducing Risk in Deployments

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

: Approaches for leveraging technology to drive compliance and risk management in your organization

On-Demand SI Support

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Using outside support to improve your results in Implementation, Change Management and Training

Electronic Signature Demo

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A brief recorded presentation to familiarize you with the details of Ariba's partnership with Docusign to provide state-of-the-art contract execution to Ariba's contract management customers.

Speaker:

Dan Reid, Sr Product Manager, Ariba Contract Management

Electronic Invoice Management: Your Passport to Paperfree Accounts Payable
by PayStream Advisors

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The idea of a paperless corporation has filled the heads of futurists ever since information technology began to make big strides in the 1970s. Many people looked ahead to the year 2000 and theorized that by then businesses would exchange information in a fully electronic manner. The evolution and wide acceptance of the Internet further validated this theory. However, this has not come to pass in the business-to-business (B2B) landscape, particularly in the accounts payable (AP) world. No one ever imaged that removing paper from the AP process would be more challenging than putting a man on the moon, but all is not lost. While most organizations can only dream about being 100 percent paperless, certain innovations in technology show that this dream can be achieved.

Rise of Protectionist Policies in the Face of the Global Recession

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The rise of trade protectionist policies and regulations such as the Buy American Clause are affecting businesses. Which categories will be affected? Which regions are at the greatest risk? Are there opportunities, especially in LCCS, that companies should consider? Hear these experts discuss the strategies you can employ and how you can find opportunities in this marketplace.

Moderator: Justin Fogarty, Managing editor of supplyexcellence.com

Ariba Experts:
Pat Furey, Senior Category Manager, North America
Deniz Kafali Ucuncu, Category Manager, Western and European
Haiying Xie, Senior, Category Manager, Asia

Transforming A/P Managers into Working Capital Heroes

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The harsh reality of today’s economic environment is magnifying the importance of working capital management to all businesses. This creates a perfect situation for Accounts Payable to become more strategic to the offices of the CFO and CIO.

Join us for an interactive discussion regarding how industry leaders are transforming A/P from a cost center to a profit center through process automation and advanced strategies that optimize working capital and minimize supply chain risk.

This webinar will provide insight on how to:

Control cash flow
Enforce existing contracts and pre-negotiated terms
Maximize discount capture
Optimize payment terms
Support supplier liquidity

Speakers

James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Financial Solutions and Network Solutions
Drew Hofler – Senior Manager Financial Solutions

AXA Goes 'Glocal': Introducing and Transforming Procurement

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

AXA is in the business of financial protection. As such, they face the challenge of an industry that is partially non-procurement compliant. Traditional approaches failed, and AXA introduced procurement to the organisation, completely transforming the old way of life and introducing more efficient and effective demand and spend.

During this webinar, attendees will learn more about AXA’s successful approaches including:

The procurement policy and principles that AXA put in place, including process examples
How AXA overcame the non-procurement mindset and history-based constraints
AXA’s five official ways of “buying” in the new procurement environment
The e-procurement platform and workflow that transformed AXA
How procurement awareness was created within the organisation

This webinar includes LIVE interactive polls and LIVE Q&A with the presenters.

Speakers:
Dr. Heinz Schaeffer, CPO NORCEE, AXA

Christian Turk, Director Implementation EMEA Professional Services, Ariba
David Rae (Moderator), Editor, Procurement Leaders Magazine

Next-Generation Spend Analysis: Beyond Commodity Classifications

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tasked with reaching ever-increasing savings goals with limited resources, more and more procurement organizations have turned to spend analysis programs as an important tool in order to move beyond the low-hanging fruit and manage more spend strategically. While often delivering their promised return, there has been a key shortcoming with traditional spend analysis solutions, however. Until now.

Read this white paper to learn how your organization can benefit from Ariba's innovative three-dimensional visibility approach, making Ariba Spend Visibility your one-stop information repository in strategic sourcing decision-making.

Top 5 Categories to Source Now: European Market

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Trade wars, protectionism, new tariffs…companies all over the globe are facing new and exaggerated challenges as they cope with the recessionary economy. What, then, are the categories that your organization should source now to drive savings to your bottom line? And how will market conditions affect your operations?

Join us as Ariba’s global category experts provide current pricing information on core direct and indirect categories that European organizations should source today.

Read more about trade wars on SupplyExcellence.com.

Speakers:
Michael Darlow, Category Manager Services, Travel
Jean Pierre Lauer, Category Manager Services, Office Supplies
Deniz Kafali Ucuncu, Category Manager, Electrical & Electronics, PCB
Jan Ulrych, Category Manager, Plastics & Raw Materials, Plastics Injection Molding
Tomas Oplatek, Category Manager Metals, CNC Machinings

**Participants who successfully complete this program will receive one hour of continuing education. It may be applied toward ISM CPSM recertification, C.P.M. recertification, and/or A.P.P. reaccreditation program requirements. Note: ISM does not endorse, certify or sponsor this program or its content.

What Should Procurement Executives Be Thinking About Now?

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Several pundits believe the economy is starting to turn around. In the final segment of our series, Geraint addresses four areas that executives should address to protect against future inflation.

Speakers:

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba

Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Supply Chain Risk Management in Turbulent Times
presented by Supply Chain Management Review

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of the most important jobs facing global companies today is how to manage risk in their supply chains. And the persons that are tasked to address this challenge are the company’s supply chain professionals.

This timely webcast will help supply chain professionals meet that challenge. Experts from Marsh Inc., a global leader in supply chain risk management research and consulting, will outline the major supply chain risks that companies face today. They will also offer specific recommendations on practical steps that supply chain people can take to minimize that risk. The end result: a smoother supply chain and a more profitable business.

The webcast will also include real-world case examples of companies that have successfully stepped up to the risk management challenge.

Speakers:

Gary Lynch, Risk Management Specialist at Marsh Inc.
Sean Murphy, Associate Editor, Supply Chain Group

The Return to Profitability: Spend Management priorities to accelerate savings and drive long-term growth

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This spring, Ariba conducted a survey to learn the most important spend management priorities that companies today are focused on to cope with the recession. More than 225 Procurement professionals—representing a variety of industries, roles, company sizes, and regions—participated in this research. This informative report identifies the key challenges and priorities that companies across the board face in today's tough economy.

5-Factors Driving Today's Finance and A/P Leader

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today’s finance leader faces unprecedented challenges navigating the current economic crisis, managing risk while complying with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory requirements, improving process and staff efficiency, benchmarking current processes against peers and industry segments, to name a few.

Additionally, today’s finance leader must also consider the impact operational automation has on its companies supply chain domestically and abroad.

Join this interactive webinar to discuss with an industry expert on these 5-Factors of success:

Risk & Fraud
Productivity & Efficiency
Global Impact
Supply Chain Impact
Benchmarking & Effectiveness

Speaker:

Henry Ijams, Managing Director, PayStream Advisors
James Tucker – Director of Product Marketing, Ariba Network & Financial Solutions, Ariba

Top 5 Categories to Source Now: North American Market

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Trade wars, protectionism, new tariffs...companies all over the globe are facing new and exaggerated challenges as they cope with the recessionary economy. What categories should your organization source now to drive savings to your bottom line? And how will market conditions affect your operations?

Join us as Ariba’s global commodity experts provide current pricing information on core direct and indirect categories that organizations should be sourcing today.

Read more about trade wars on SupplyExcellence.com.

Speakers:

Pat Furey, Senior Category Manager, Category Management
Nick Cherrone, Category Manager, Indirect / Services
Tom Arbogast, Category Manager, MRO and Metals
Endre Stogard, Category Manager, Indirect / Services
Kevin Graham, Sr. Category Manager, Metals
Rachel Rutkoski, Sr. Category Manager, Indirect / Services

**Participants who successfully complete this program will receive one hour of continuing education. It may be applied toward ISM CPSM recertification, C.P.M. recertification, and/or A.P.P. reaccreditation program requirements. Note: ISM does not endorse, certify or sponsor this program or its content.

Top Attributes of an Effective CPO

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In the fifth segment of a six podcast series, Geraint John disucsses the top attributes that make a successful CPO, based on his years of interviewing top procurement talent.

Speakers:

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba
Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Myths, Pitfalls and Realities around Services Procurement along with Buyers Guidance

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are tremendous opportunities for services procurement cost savings beyond just cutting services and running sourcing events. This white paper explores the common myths and pitfalls associated with services procurement - which is more than just temp labor- along with practical recommendations as well as a Buyer's Checklist.

Beyond Imaging: 5 Factors for Payables Automation Success

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Finance professionals are inundated with solutions promising to solve their paper invoice problem. Solutions like imaging, OCR, EDI, and ERS – have their value, but are you achieving your business objectives with these solutions? Take a look at your current processes and ask yourself:

Are you maximizing your full savings potential?
Are you still inundated with inbound inquiries from your vendors?
Will your current strategy get you to a true paperless A/P environment?
Is imaging/OCR really e-Invoicing

Attend this complimentary webinar to discuss these questions and explore the five factors of payables automation success. Join Invoice automation experts Tim Tulio, Global Manager Technology Enablement with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and James Tucker, director of Network and Financial Solutions at Ariba, to learn how to go beyond imaging and create a lower risk, lower cost, and higher impact A/P department with true e-Invoicing.

The CPO's Agenda: Smart Strategies for Tough Times
Aberdeen Group

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The global recession is taking no prisoners. Yet, as this business downturn continues, the Chief Procurement Officer's (CPO) agenda and the CEO's agenda have started to converge. In fact, two-thirds of this study's participants believe that the economic downturn has positively impacted the role of the CPO within the enterprise.

In this report, sponsored by Ariba, Aberdeen Group defines three key areas that Best-in-Class organizations should take action: supply risk management, sourcing and other cost containment initiatives and strategic planning.

Addressing Best-in-Class CPOs Skills and Talents

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this fourth segment of a six podcast series, Tim Minahan and Geraint John focus on the top skills and talents found in Best-in-Class procurement organizations, tackling such questions as: Are there enough CPOs available to address today's challenges? How can companies provide the necessary resources to CPOs, especially those who haven't experienced a recession?

Speakers:

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba
Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Ariba SupplyWatch Q2 2009

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This quarter’s issue again focuses heavily on the global recession with an emphasis on government actions and trade impacts. Because protectionism is one of the hottest topics to receive international media coverage recently, we decided to address its potential effects on procurement and sourcing professionals in our feature article. We sat down with Ariba’s category managers to get their take on the issues and how specific markets and regions are reacting.

Supply Risk - Job #1 in EMEA?

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this third segment of a six podcast series, Tim Minahan and Geraint John continue to address the current global economy - this segment focuses on Supply Risk. Geraint answers tough questions related to risk: When will it hit? Will previous tactics work or do companies need to do something different to mitigate risk in Europe? How are procurement and finance organizations helping suppliers with their cash flow problems?

Speakers:

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba
Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Six Ways for CPOs to Stay Strategic in Today's Economy

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this economy, can you have your cake and eat it, too? Or in the CPOs case, can you address short-term enterprise needs now, but still position your organization strategically for the future?

Join us as Ariba’s CMO, Tim Minahan, poses this all-important question to Aberdeen’s Andrew Bartolini, author of the new CPO Agenda Report, “Smart Strategies for Tough Times.” Hear the six top CPO strategies that can make an impact now, while still positioning your organization for the imminent recovery

Speakers

Andrew Bartolini, Vice President and Group Director, Global Supply Management Research, Aberdeen Group
Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba

Tailoring Contract Management for Your Organization

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Automating price compliance against your contracts is an important first step in managing procurement risk. But are you aware that poorly managed contracts are far too commonplace, leading to further (and expensive) procurement and financial risks?

Aberdeen Group research found that organizations implementing contract management solutions improve their spend compliance by up to 55 percent. They also found that contract management solutions minimize enterprise-wide risks when encompassing not only procurement, but also sales, real estate, HR, and intellectual property agreements.

Ariba's latest thought leadership white paper, Tailoring Contract Management for Your Organization, provides a checklist that will allow companies to assess their contract risks and health.

Electronic Signatures: The Missing Link in Contract Management Automation

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Electronic Signatures represent the final frontier in contract management automation with benefits including reduced costs, faster contracting cycle times, and improved visibility into executed agreements. In addition, electronic signatures represent the final step in making the contracting process completely paperless, further lowering costs and tying into green initiatives. Ariba has partnered with electronic signature leader DocuSign to design a low-touch, high-value solution. Download this white paper to learn more about the benefits of electronic signatures and how they can improve your contracting processes.

Procurement's Role in the Global Economy

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this second segment of a six podcast series, Tim Minahan and Geraint John continue to address the current global economy. This segment focuses on the procurement organization's role and the tactics companies are deploying to ensure survival.

Speakers:

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba
Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Predictions 2009: ePurchasing Market
by Forrester Research

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The ePurchasing market — software solutions for eProcurement, eSourcing, contract life-cycle management (CLM), automated spend analysis, accounts payable electronic invoice presentment and payment (AP-EIPP), services procurement, supplier performance management, and supplier network services — will grow at a modest rate of 3% in 2009 to $3.5 billion as the global recession and credit market conditions pull down demand for licensed software products in general. Read this report to find out Forrester's predictions on the individual software solutions revenues and growth rates for 2009 and their recommendations on navigating this market.

The Global Economy - Is Anyone Benefiting?

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In this first segment of a six podcast series, Tim Minahan and Geraint John discuss the current global economy, addressing the tough questions of Who's to blame? How are companies re-thinking their global sourcing strategies? Are companies moving supply closer to home? Which countries in the European region have been most affected by the economic crisis?

Speakers

Tim Minahan, CMO, Ariba
Geraint John, former editor-in-chief, CPO Agenda

Using the Downturn to Your Advantage

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Legislators and dealmakers are using the economy today to gain support for legislations and programs that might prove difficult under normal operating conditions. Procurement organizations can also take advantage of the downturn to push forward their own "legislative" agenda to improve their business performance, maximize savings and generate rapid ROI. In fact, now is not only a good time to push through cost savings agendas across divisions and regions, it is perhaps the best period in more than a lifetime to implement such critical initiatives. Download the Using the Downturn to Your Advantage white paper today and learn how you can start transforming Procurement into your competitive advantage NOW.

Spend Management: The Antidote to the Healthcare Crisis

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With healthcare costs spiraling out of control, the healthcare industry faces greater scrutiny than ever before. National healthcare performance reviews are heightening transparency of both the cost and quality of healthcare services, and tougher regulations are inevitable. Is there an antidote to these ills?

Download the new Ariba white paper, Spend Management: The Antidote to the Healthcare Crisis, to learn about the actions that healthcare organizations--from service providers to insurers to pharmaceutical companies--can take to find savings and drive them to the bottom line.

Branded Pharmaceuticals Embrace Spend Management

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

No longer are branded pharmaceutical companies immune to cost pressures faced by companies in other industries. To remain competitive, yet still profitable, pharmaceutical companies must make spend management a priority.

Download this whitepaper for tips on how pharmaceutical companies can launch and execute effective spend management strategies with the right combination of technology, commodity expertise and services that will enable them to manage the current challenges they face and prepare their businesses to compete in the future.

Sourcing APIs in Emerging Nations

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Outsourcing APIs to low-cost countries can be a great way to maintain your competitive advantage, but how do you integrate API sources into your supply chain without sacrificing quality? Download this whitepaper for tips on how to get started and common pitfalls to avoid.

Analyst Update: How to Generate Immediate Savings and Maximize Procurement ROI

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

During this insightful webinar, AMR analyst Mickey North Rizza will explore one of the most under-leveraged areas of business today: maximizing ROI through eProcurement. Those in the know are implementing eProcurement initiatives to capitalize on the current economy and save hundreds of millions of dollars. Are you?

Attend this webinar to learn how to analyze your Procurement ROI and deliver extraordinary savings to your bottom line now.

Speaker
Mickey North Rizza, Research Director, AMR Research
John Lark, Senior Product Marketing Manager , Ariba
Pam Kinney, Director, Procurement and Supply Chain, Republic Services

Contracting in a Down Economy

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Given the down economy and downward price trends in many commodities, procurement organizations are placing a renewed focus on strategic sourcing and saving more money. But, it is critical for organizations to also make sure that negotiated savings are hitting the bottom line. Learn how automating your contract process today can impact your bottom line quickly through improved contract visibility, more efficient contracting process standardization, and improved compliance.

Speakers:

Ken Miklos, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Ariba
Jason Busch, Editor, SpendMatters.com

Achieving World-Class Success - One Goal at a Time

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Need to increase spend under management and/or e-procurement volumes? Want to establish category groups, or expand your organization’s international focus? Creating a world-class global sourcing and spend management programme is a lofty goal, but starting a process to achieve immediate savings and yearly quantifiable tasks is not.

This webinar will feature Kongsberg, an internationally oriented knowledge-based technology corporation that is primarily focused on offshore, merchant marine and defense markets. This procurement group’s journey of re-structuring, fast implementation, and identification of new suppliers is one that many face. But their first-year achievement of increasing spend under management and measuring suppliers’ performance is far greater than most organizations can boast.

Speakers:
Vidar Wester, CPO, Kongsberg
Gerry Garcia, Managing Director, EMEA Spend Management Services, Ariba
David Rae, Editor (MODERATOR), Procurement Leaders

Survival Guide Series for Spend Management ( French )

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Survival in today's tumultuous economy is more difficult than ever. Rising costs, struggling economies, waning corporate profits and cash-strapped suppliers are just a few of the issues businesses world-wide are facing.

We're here to help. The Survival Guide Series consists of concise guides designed to tackle topics critical to spend management including improving process efficiencies, cost reduction, identifying savings opportunities, managing contracts, and more. Whatever your challenge, make sure you are prepared with The Survival Guide Series.

Comment adapter la gestion des contrats à votre organisation?

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Quel impact ont vos contrats fournisseurs sur le résultat de l'entreprise ? Les contrats ne se concrétisent-ils pas aussi vite que vous le souhaiteriez ? Les services juridiques sont ils sous la pression de l'augmentation des coûts ? Les départements financiers peinent-ils à maîtriser les risques ? Dans le difficile contexte économique actuel, voici des questions cruciales, dont la résolution peut faire la différence entre succès et simple survie.

Tips for Category Management

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ariba Category Chatter is a series of podcasts designed to give you expert commentary on critical issues affecting your operations. Each 20-minute episode analyzes category and market trends that are driving change and complicating the global economy.

Ed Bockman, Director, Spend Management Services, Ariba
Host: Jason Busch, SpendMatters.com

Tips for Managing Currency Fluctuations

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ariba Category Chatter is a series of podcasts designed to give you expert commentary on critical issues affecting your operations. Each 20-minute episode analyzes category and market trends that are driving change and complicating the global economy.

Pat Furey, Senior Category Manager, Category Management, Ariba
Host: Jason Busch, SpendMatters.com

Effective Supplier Performance Management: Maximize your Profitability and Minimize Risks

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Supply chains of midsize to large enterprises today have one glaring trait in common: uncertainty. This paper reviews the seven foundational principles of supplier performance management and details on what you can measure and manage. Through a toughtful and incremental approach toward supplier performance management, your supply chain executives gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly what your suppliers are doing, and to what end.

Risky Business: Managing Supply Risk in 2009

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Managing costs and achieving savings are two of the top priorities for companies of all sizes across all industries. But in today's economy, a bigger challenge is threatening businesses-successfully managing heightened supply risk. Volatile commodity prices, credit shortages, consolidation, and bankruptcies are all contributing to this increased daily business risk.

The good news? With the right set of tools and techniques, supply risk can be managed and overcome. Join our panel discussion as Ariba presents practical strategies that you can put into place to assess and manage supply risk.

Ariba Subscription Revenue Jumps 71%; SaaS Leadership Is Spend Management's Bailout Strategy

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

AMR Research notes in its annual supply management outlook that software as a service (SaaS) is supply management's economic bailout strategy. In terms of supply management, Ariba is poised to regain the top spot in 2009 in software as a service. Since 2006, it has led the SaaS market with the largest share (35% to 44%) while also enjoying the position of the No.1 best-of-breed player in terms of revenue. This research alert features a discussion with CFO Ahmed Rubaie.

Preparing for the Worst

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Supply chain managers are increasingly concerned about the financial impact on key customers and suppliers, and the deferred commitments and outstanding accounts that exist. In an effort to explore the assumptions that immediate actions are based on, Dr. Rob Handfield, professor at North Caroline State University, in conjunction with International Association of Commercial and Contract Management (IACCM), Supply Chain Resource Cooperative and CIPS completed a survey of supply chain executives, and identified some of the key patterns that are beginning to merge across industry, and the countermeasures being taken in response.

Preparing for the Worst

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hear Dr. Rob Handfield, professor at North Caroline State University and IACCM President Tim Cummins discuss the recent report, "Preparing for the Worst" to hear some of the key patterns that are beginning to merge across the supply chain industry in this economic crisis and the countermeasures being taken in response.

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q1 2009

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

If we were limited to offering just one suggestion for this upcoming quarter, it would be this: Buy Now.

In our numerous collective years of experience in procurement and manufacturing, we have never before seen prices turn so quickly in all industries and suppliers so anxious to fill capacity. Read more...

Aberdeen Report: Spend Analysis- Pulling Back the Cover on Savings

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With global enterprises facing the strongest recessionary headwinds in a lifetime, CPOs and other procurement leaders will be forced to do even more with even less over the next 12 to 18 months. While desperate times may call for desperate measures, a majority of procurement departments need only take a "back-to-basics" approach to uncover huge reserves of potential savings. This report's findings show that developing or enhancing a spend analysis program and closing process gaps to ensure tight linkage to the sourcing process are straightforward and a practical way to attain greater savings and deliver greater value in this period of uncertainty and strict budgets.

Achieving Best-in-Class AP in a Down Economy

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Best-in-class companies shine—even in a down economy—because they are able to maximize resources and keep costs low. But what exactly are the characteristics that best-in-class AP organizations possess?

To gain that insight, you first need to know the quantitative measures and benchmarks against which to compare your AP performance. Secondly, and more importantly, you need to know what it takes to achieve those performance levels in weeks, not years.

Join Ariba and the Hackett Group for this upcoming live webinar, and learn how other organizations have obtained best-in-class status. Take away tips and advice that you can use to optimize your AP organization in a short period of time to achieve similar results.

Manufacturing Virtual Town Hall

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in November for the fourth consecutive month, and the overall economy contracted for the second consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. With this news, manufacturing organizations across the globe are asking how they can adapt to the increasing complexity of the global economy while staying competitive and reducing operating and production costs. With all of the factors affecting the industry now, what should be a priority?

During this virtual town hall meeting, Ariba will assemble a panel of experts in the manufacturing industry to discuss how organizations are dealing with the downturn, what experts are predicting for the future, and other top-of-mind issues. Register now and submit your most important concerns and challenges for discussion.

Panelists:

Sidney Hill, Jr., Executive Editor, Manufacturing Business Technology
Naseem A. Malik, Director of Global Sourcing, Electrical Components, Terex
Mike Petro, Senior Category Manager, Direct Materials, Ariba
Moderated by Scott Blatnica, Director of Spend Management Services, Diversified Manufacturing, Ariba

Ariba Resource Library

Gartner Report: Significant Benefits Realized With Supply Chain Management in the Cloud

How to Achieve 100% Paperless Process

Realize 10 Percent More Savings from Your Procurement Process

Gartner: Ariba Champions Better Commerce Through the Cloud at Live 2010

Contract Management in the Cloud

StartSourcing Demo

StartContracts Demo

Saugatuck Technology Research: Shifting C-Level Business Priorities as the Recovery Takes Hold

Nike: Optimizing Working Capital Through AP Automation

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q3 2010

5-Top Tactics Behind 2-Digit Revenue Growth

Struggling to determine which sales and marketing tactics are actually moving the eCommerce needle?

Mejorar la adopción del usuario y la conformidad de los contratos con su actual plataforma de compras

Verbesserung der Nutzerakzeptanz und Vertragscompliance mit Ihrer bestehenden Beschaffungsplattform

Amélioration de l'adoption par les utilisateurs et de la conformité au contrat de votre plate-forme d'approvisionnement existante

Best Practices für das e-Katalogmanagement

Mejores prácticas en la gestión de catálogos electrónicos

Meilleures pratiques de gestion des catalogues en ligne

E-Invoicing: Strategies for PO and Non-PO Invoices

Contract Lifecycle Management Landscape: Why CLM Technologies Need to Be Part of Your

Top Four Ways to Build a Successful Supplier Management Initiative

Study: Accounts Payable Best Practices that Optimize Working Capital

Top Four Ways to Build a Successful Supplier Management Initiative

Xtreme Sourcing: AXA Group CPO Shares Top Success Secrets

Top 5 Categories to Source Now – European Market

The AstraZeneca Exclusive – The Secret to Securing 94% Payment on Time and Still Optimising Working Capital

Global e-Invoicing

The Business Commerce Journey

Expanding and Optimizing Spend Under Management: Panel Discussion

Ariba Best Practices Center

Using Communities to Learn, Share, and Collaborate: Panel Discussion

Beyond the Hype: Cloud, SaaS, and the New Normal

Transforming Your Indirect Spend Programs and Processes

Successfully Managing Complex and Volatile Commodity/Supply Markets

The Reverse Auction’s 15th Anniversary: The Path Forward

Where To From Here? Results from the 2010 Ariba Commerce Survey

A How-To Guide to Real Value Enablement

Key Indicators of a Successful Spend Management Program

Achieving World-Class Procure-to-Pay Status

Beyond Sourcing: Ensuring Your Negotiated Savings through Compliance

Maximize the Value of your SAP, Oracle, and other Procurement Systems

Managing Your Contingent Labor, Consulting, and Print Spend

Effective Collaboration in the New Normal

Five Practical Ideas to Maximize Revenues through Ariba

Working Capital 101

Working Capital 20:20 - Expert Panel

Expanding and Optimizing Spend under Management: Panel Discussion

Using Communities to Learn, Share, and Collaborate: Panel Discussion

The Reverse Auction’s 15th AnniversaryThe Path Forward

Maximize the Value of your SAP, Oracle and other eProcurement Systems

Global e-Invoicing

Managing Your Contingent Labor, Consulting and Print Spend

Effective Collaboration in the New Normal

Five Practical Ideas to Maximize Revenues through Ariba

Collaborative Finance Management: A Better Way to Manage Cash

Streamlining Contracting Policy and Process

The Secrets to Customer Retention and Growing Revenue from Your Customer Base

Sub-tier Sourcing Best Practices

Supply&Demand Chain Executive Special Edition: Beyond the Cloud

Ariba Customer Success Story Book

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain:European Market

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain: NorthAmerican Market

Ariba SupplyWatch: Q2 2010

Quand le mot « enchères » est-il devenu un terme à proscrire ?

Seit wann sind Auktionen Tabu?

Best Practices in eCatalog Management

When Did Auction Become a Bad Word?

Payable Automation Cost Saving Strategies

Increase User Adoption of your SAP SRM or Oracle iProcurement System

Best Practices in eCatalog Management

How to Achieve High Performance in Accounts Payable

Selecting the Right eProcurement Solution

How Caterpillar is Driving a Successful Global Procure-to-Pay Process

eProcurement in the New Normalwith Sourcing Interests Group

Top 5 Categories to Source Now

AMR Research: Reaching Sourcing Excellence, Part 3: Sourcing Skills Go Straight to the Bottom Line

Ensuring a Smooth Migration to Ariba Spend Management 9r1

Sourcing Pipeline Building: Driving Effectiveness and Sustainability

Working Capital 20/20 with NIKE

The Reverse Auction’s 15th Anniversary
The Path Forward

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain:
European Market

Driving Enhanced Value and Operational Savings through a Tax-Advantaged Supply Chain: North
American Market

eProcurement in the New Normal
with Sourcing Interests Group

Effective Procurement Engagement within Marketing Spend
with Sourcing Interests Group

Procurement After the Recession: Are You Emerging Truly Stronger - or Just Leaner?
By Pierre Mitchell and Kurt Albertson, The Hackett Group

Milk the Sacred Cow: Find Hidden Savings in Indirect Categories
with Sourcing Interests Group