Starting a catalog project for enterprise account suppliers
This short presentation introduces the main steps in the creation and publication of an electronic catalog for enterprise account suppliers to a buyer customer on SAP Business Network Download the DocumentPublic
Catalog Enablement for
Enterprise Account Suppliers
Working with SAP Teams to load catalogs to
SAP Business Network
Catalog Enablement for
Enterprise Account Suppliers
Working with SAP Teams to load catalogs to
SAP Business Network
2© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. PUBLIC
A customer who has purchased an SAP Ariba Procurement solution has decided to embark on a
transformational journey, resulting in organizational changes to their procurement processes.
As part of this transformation, buyers will request their suppliers to register on SAP Business
Network and establish a trading relationship to be able to transact with them. This includes the
ability to have suppliers create, manage, and maintain a catalog via their SAP Business Network
account.
Your buyer might request a catalog from you, or you as the supplier can inform your customer that
you are interested in providing them with a catalog via SAP Business Network.
Customer Catalog Request
A customer who has purchased an SAP Ariba Procurement solution has decided to embark on a
transformational journey, resulting in organizational changes to their procurement processes.
As part of this transformation, buyers will request their suppliers to register on SAP Business
Network and establish a trading relationship to be able to transact with them. This includes the
ability to have suppliers create, manage, and maintain a catalog via their SAP Business Network
account.
Your buyer might request a catalog from you, or you as the supplier can inform your customer that
you are interested in providing them with a catalog via SAP Business Network.
Customer Catalog Request
3© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. PUBLIC
Prior to the start of a catalog project, buyers should inform their suppliers of the requested catalog,
and ensure that the following topics have been discussed and aligned on:
Customer Catalog Alignment
▪ Catalog Type – CIF or PunchOut ▪ Catalog Content – Items and Prices ▪ Catalog Project Timelines
▪ Commodity Code Considerations ▪ Unit of Measure Considerations ▪ Customer Specific Requirements
▪ Ongoing Catalog Maintenance and
Updates
▪ Changes To Current Business
Processes
▪ Confirm Enterprise Suppliers’
Catalog Resources To Work With
SAP Teams
Prior to the start of a catalog project, buyers should inform their suppliers of the requested catalog,
and ensure that the following topics have been discussed and aligned on:
Customer Catalog Alignment
▪ Catalog Type – CIF or PunchOut ▪ Catalog Content – Items and Prices ▪ Catalog Project Timelines
▪ Commodity Code Considerations ▪ Unit of Measure Considerations ▪ Customer Specific Requirements
▪ Ongoing Catalog Maintenance and
Updates
▪ Changes To Current Business
Processes
▪ Confirm Enterprise Suppliers’
Catalog Resources To Work With
SAP Teams
4© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. PUBLIC
Catalog Project Flow – Enterprise Account
Prerequisites Start
Your customer will align with you
on the catalog details: Catalog
Type, Content Items, Prices,
Commodity Codes, Business
Processes, and Maintenance.
You will need to register and
establish a trading relationship
with your customer. Make sure
you share your catalog contact
person with your customer.
You will be provided with all the
necessary training materials. If
you are confident, you may go
ahead and start creating the file.
Contact your customer or the
SAP Catalog Specialist for
additional training and support.
Upload the catalog to your test
account and correct any errors
on the Network. Your customer
or an SAP Catalog Specialist can
help with troubleshooting.
Your customer will be able to
review and test the catalog,
providing any feedback on
changes. Upload a new version if
changes are needed.
When the catalog is working and
approved for use, you will be
asked to configure and load the
same catalog file to your
production account.
Upload the approved catalog to
your production account on SAP
Business Network.
Your customer will activate the
catalog for their business users
to purchase from.
You will receive 2 weeks of
hypercare from the SAP Catalog
Specialist for support (if
applicable). After this, the project
is considered completed.
You will need to ensure the
catalog remains up to
date. Should you face any
functional errors, please contact
SAP Support by creating a case.
Note: Suppliers on a Standard Account may also publish catalogs for their customer. However this is a self-service feature.
Catalog Project Flow – Enterprise Account
Prerequisites Start
Your customer will align with you
on the catalog details: Catalog
Type, Content Items, Prices,
Commodity Codes, Business
Processes, and Maintenance.
You will need to register and
establish a trading relationship
with your customer. Make sure
you share your catalog contact
person with your customer.
You will be provided with all the
necessary training materials. If
you are confident, you may go
ahead and start creating the file.
Contact your customer or the
SAP Catalog Specialist for
additional training and support.
Upload the catalog to your test
account and correct any errors
on the Network. Your customer
or an SAP Catalog Specialist can
help with troubleshooting.
Your customer will be able to
review and test the catalog,
providing any feedback on
changes. Upload a new version if
changes are needed.
When the catalog is working and
approved for use, you will be
asked to configure and load the
same catalog file to your
production account.
Upload the approved catalog to
your production account on SAP
Business Network.
Your customer will activate the
catalog for their business users
to purchase from.
You will receive 2 weeks of
hypercare from the SAP Catalog
Specialist for support (if
applicable). After this, the project
is considered completed.
You will need to ensure the
catalog remains up to
date. Should you face any
functional errors, please contact
SAP Support by creating a case.
Note: Suppliers on a Standard Account may also publish catalogs for their customer. However this is a self-service feature.
5© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. PUBLIC
Enterprise account suppliers identified by their buyer to provide a catalog via SAP Business
Network, may be supported SAP teams to ensure the catalog is loaded into the system and
available for buyers to order from.
An SAP Catalog Specialist will initiate contact with the supplier via email, providing all relevant
customer-specific documents such as catalog templates, catalog creation guides, commodity
codes, unit of measure lists, and links to training videos.
SAP’s First Contact
Enterprise account suppliers identified by their buyer to provide a catalog via SAP Business
Network, may be supported SAP teams to ensure the catalog is loaded into the system and
available for buyers to order from.
An SAP Catalog Specialist will initiate contact with the supplier via email, providing all relevant
customer-specific documents such as catalog templates, catalog creation guides, commodity
codes, unit of measure lists, and links to training videos.
SAP’s First Contact
6© 2024 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved. PUBLIC
To ensure the smooth running of your catalog project, we recommend the following:
▪ Staff the project with the correct resources that will be responsible for seeing it to completion.
▪ Reply to the SAP Catalog Specialists’ initial email to inform them you have received the documents and to
confirm if you would like 1-to-1 training, or if you will populate the template on your own.
▪ Review the customer-specific training materials and guides, as this may be different from previous Catalog
Projects you have been involved in.
▪ Inform the SAP Catalog Specialist when you have uploaded a catalog, are receiving errors or are unsure
how to proceed.
▪ Communicate with your SAP Catalog Specialists, they provide weekly updates to buyers about the catalog
project progress.
▪ Adhere to project timelines, or provide an alternative date to SAP Catalog Specialist if you are not able to
meet the requested milestones.
Enterprise Suppliers’ Responsibilities
To ensure the smooth running of your catalog project, we recommend the following:
▪ Staff the project with the correct resources that will be responsible for seeing it to completion.
▪ Reply to the SAP Catalog Specialists’ initial email to inform them you have received the documents and to
confirm if you would like 1-to-1 training, or if you will populate the template on your own.
▪ Review the customer-specific training materials and guides, as this may be different from previous Catalog
Projects you have been involved in.
▪ Inform the SAP Catalog Specialist when you have uploaded a catalog, are receiving errors or are unsure
how to proceed.
▪ Communicate with your SAP Catalog Specialists, they provide weekly updates to buyers about the catalog
project progress.
▪ Adhere to project timelines, or provide an alternative date to SAP Catalog Specialist if you are not able to
meet the requested milestones.
Enterprise Suppliers’ Responsibilities