Direct procurement software
What is SAP Ariba Direct Materials Sourcing for Automotive and Industrial Manufacturing in SAP S/4HANA?
It is direct procurement software that helps solve industry-specific source-to-contract problems by streamlining the process and integrating it with engineering, supply chain, and payables workflows.
Place procurement at the centre of the product lifecycle and integrate it with design and supply chain flows through:
NPDI planning and design collaboration to accelerate time to market
Comprehensive contract management, including index-based pricing, periodic renegotiation, and AI-powered contract intelligence
A centre-led procurement operating model
Structured, workflow-driven, cross-functional collaboration
Key benefits
Accelerate time to market
Bring profitable, innovative, and sustainable products to market with speed and precision through effective procurement planning and design collaboration.
Prevent value leakage from negotiated contracts
Operationalise the complex terms and pricing conditions of procurement contracts and long-term agreements without the cost of system and data integration.
Reduce cost and better manage price volatility
Simplify demand aggregation, price renegotiation, and commodity-pricing management to reduce cost and risk in product launches and ongoing procurement.
Key features
Procurement project planning for product launches
BOM part lists input from ERP/PLM systems
Demand consolidation across the portfolio and product lifecycle
Multi-level project planning and stakeholder collaboration for tooling investments
Intelligent parts bundling with seamless transition from planning to execution
Seamless digital thread unifies process end-to-end
One digital thread runs through the design-to-contract process, seamlessly integrating with extended supply chain processes
Address a full range of direct procurement scenarios, including forward sourcing, demand-driven sourcing, strategic sourcing, and contract renewal/renegotiation
Advanced collaboration
Collaborate with suppliers through SAP Integrated Product Development (SAP IPD) integration
Seamless integration with ERP/MRP for demand and forecast collaboration, supported by SAP Business Network
Flexible RFQ collaboration through SAP Business Network or company-specific supplier portals
End-to-end sourcing and contracting support
Create and execute sourcing projects for materials that are part of material masters
Engage in multiple rounds of negotiation, evaluate and compare supplier bids, and award business
Benefit from company-wide procurement policies through configurable workflows and approved supplier lists
Accelerated price renegotiation
Select multiple items across multiple contracts to renegotiate price
Simulate the impact of price changes on overall saving
Engage in multiple rounds of negotiation with suppliers, award the final negotiated price, and update the central contract(s) automatically based on the approval process
Commodity index-based pricing
Obtain commodity content inputs from suppliers in the sourcing process
Operationalise index-based commodity pricing, without complex custom builds
Simulate and calculate pricing efficiently by accessing market data through integration and system-triggered lookups to commodity indexes
Try the SAP Ariba Procurement Planning add-on
Advanced procurement product management for your product launches
Track thousands of sourcing activities for complex projects in automotive and industrial manufacturing.
Accelerate time to market
Boost procurement efficiency
Simplify procurement project management
Ensure all BOM components are sourced
Portfolio recognition and awards
SAP Ariba solutions are recognised for their multi-faceted industry leadership based on verified user reviews, ratings, and in-depth customer insights.
Technical and security information
Discover how our cloud solutions fuel your spend strategy with SAP Business Technology Platform and protect your enterprise with built-in security.
Visibility
Unlock spend data with solutions that deliver total spend visibility, aid in planning and forecasting, and connect critical data from SAP and third-party sources.
Extensibility
Customise and extend the value of spend management solutions by eliminating inefficiencies, building new apps, enhancing existing apps, and providing personalised experiences.
Integration
Centralise data, remove silos, and create a connected enterprise with integration solutions from SAP, streaming your source-to-pay process with pre-built connections.
See what analysts are saying about SAP
IDC Names SAP a Leader in SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Direct Spend
Read the IDC MarketScape report to see why IDC named SAP a Leader for direct sourcing in automotive and industrial manufacturing, citing our ability to simplify collaboration across procurement, logistics, and R&D.
SAP Named a Leader in Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Source-to-Pay Suites
Find out why SAP has been recognised as a Leader for our ability to execute and completeness of vision in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Source-to-Pay Suites.