CODELCO (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile) - SAP Innovation Awards 2026
Finalist in the Procurement Visionary category: Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, automated RFQs to ensure operational continuity and drive efficiency at scale. The solution integrated SAP Ariba and SAP BTP, providing real-time visibility, reducing cycle times, and increasing productivity while maintaining compliance and transparency. Entry 26058 Download the DocumentInnovation Story
PUBLIC
Tail-spend Auto-RFQ for the
Spot market
Codelco
Mining
Procurement Visionary
PUBLIC
Tail-spend Auto-RFQ for the
Spot market
Codelco
Mining
Procurement Visionary
Automating Request for Quotations
(RFQs) to Ensure Operational Continu-
ity and Drive Efficiency at Scale
Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, faced a critical challenge: managing nearly 200 daily spot
tenders across multiple divisions to secure essential stock, in an environment where operational continuity
cannot fail. These processes demanded precision, agility, and real-time visibility, while handling thousands
of ongoing transactions and hundreds of suppliers under extremely tight response times. At the same time,
the company needed to replace its SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) —reaching end-of-life—
and migrate to SAP Ariba without disrupting operations. The stakes were high: failure could compromise
production, regulatory compliance, and global competitiveness. This transformation was not just about
technology—it was about safeguarding resilience, strengthening transparency, and enabling a new era of
efficiency and sustainability in procurement.
2© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC
(RFQs) to Ensure Operational Continu-
ity and Drive Efficiency at Scale
Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, faced a critical challenge: managing nearly 200 daily spot
tenders across multiple divisions to secure essential stock, in an environment where operational continuity
cannot fail. These processes demanded precision, agility, and real-time visibility, while handling thousands
of ongoing transactions and hundreds of suppliers under extremely tight response times. At the same time,
the company needed to replace its SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) —reaching end-of-life—
and migrate to SAP Ariba without disrupting operations. The stakes were high: failure could compromise
production, regulatory compliance, and global competitiveness. This transformation was not just about
technology—it was about safeguarding resilience, strengthening transparency, and enabling a new era of
efficiency and sustainability in procurement.
2© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHALLENGE SOLUTION OUTCOME
Tail-spend Auto-RFQ for the Spot market
❑ High Volatility: Managing approximately 200 daily tenders
in the spot market with critical response times.
❑ Technological Obsolescence: Urgent need to replace SAP
SRM with SAP Ariba without interrupting operations.
❑ Operational Complexity: Thousands of simultaneous
processes requiring public traceability and strict regulatory
compliance.
Comprehensive Automation: Implementation of an Auto-RFQ
system integrated with SAP Ariba.
Sourcing Control Tower: Custom development in SAP BTP
for complete visibility of the purchasing cycle.
Native Integration: Seamless connection from MRP Live in
SAP S/4HANA to the publication of events in SAP Ariba.
❑ Proven Scalability: Increase from approximately 71,000 to
approximately 79,000 positions managed annually.
❑ Process Efficiency: Increased position-to-RFQ ratio (from
1.52 to 1.66).
❑ Time Reduction: The purchase cycle decreased from peaks
of 32 days to a range of 26-29 days.
200 Daily spot
purchases 100% Full process
visibility 10% Reduction in the
cycle
1,66
Positions/RFQ Ratio
26-29 Days
Current buying cycle
CHALLENGE SOLUTION OUTCOME
Tail-spend Auto-RFQ for the Spot market
❑ High Volatility: Managing approximately 200 daily tenders
in the spot market with critical response times.
❑ Technological Obsolescence: Urgent need to replace SAP
SRM with SAP Ariba without interrupting operations.
❑ Operational Complexity: Thousands of simultaneous
processes requiring public traceability and strict regulatory
compliance.
Comprehensive Automation: Implementation of an Auto-RFQ
system integrated with SAP Ariba.
Sourcing Control Tower: Custom development in SAP BTP
for complete visibility of the purchasing cycle.
Native Integration: Seamless connection from MRP Live in
SAP S/4HANA to the publication of events in SAP Ariba.
❑ Proven Scalability: Increase from approximately 71,000 to
approximately 79,000 positions managed annually.
❑ Process Efficiency: Increased position-to-RFQ ratio (from
1.52 to 1.66).
❑ Time Reduction: The purchase cycle decreased from peaks
of 32 days to a range of 26-29 days.
200 Daily spot
purchases 100% Full process
visibility 10% Reduction in the
cycle
1,66
Positions/RFQ Ratio
26-29 Days
Current buying cycle
Project details
PROJECT OBJECTIVES USE CASE
DEPLOYMENT COUNTRY DEPLOYMENT DATE NUMBER OF END USERS TRANSACTION VOLUME
• Ensure operational continuity during the migration from SAP SRM (end-of-
life in 2024) to SAP Ariba, without interruptions in the purchasing process.
• Automate the management of nearly 200 daily spot tenders, reducing cycle
times and increasing efficiency.
• Consolidate positions by category and site to optimize process volume and
improve public traceability.
• Comply with regulatory requirements and strengthen business resilience,
driving efficiency, sustainability, and global competitiveness.
• Integrate SAP S/4HANA with SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing through a custom
development on SAP BTP (Sourcing Control Tower) to guarantee real-time
visibility and agility in decision-making.
Codelco leveraged SAP technology to transform its critical spot purchasing
process.
The solution combined SAP Ariba, SAP S/4HANA, and a custom development
on SAP BTP to automate Requests for Quotation (RFQs), consolidate line
items, and standardize evaluation criteria. The workflow connects MRP Live
with SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing, enabling automatic event publication and
the management of thousands of tenders with full traceability.
Innovation: Ensuring operational continuity through a seamless document
cutover between SAP SRM and SAP Ariba systems, creating a new Spot
Purchasing process from the Go-Live stage. The deployment strategy
consisted of gradually enabling each work center (10 in total), with a one week
interval between each rollout.
From that point onward, all new Purchase Requisitions (PRs) were migrated
to the new operating model (PR – RFQ – SCT (SAP BTP) – SAP Ariba).This
approach reduced cycle times and increased productivity in a high-pressure
environment.
This project redefines efficiency in tactical materials purchasing for the mining
industry.
Chile February 2025 150+ users (procurement and
operations teams)
• 78.813 line items for bidding (2025)
• 4.400 – 5.000 monthly orders
• 350 average invited suppliers
• Competitiveness Index: 87%.
4© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC
PROJECT OBJECTIVES USE CASE
DEPLOYMENT COUNTRY DEPLOYMENT DATE NUMBER OF END USERS TRANSACTION VOLUME
• Ensure operational continuity during the migration from SAP SRM (end-of-
life in 2024) to SAP Ariba, without interruptions in the purchasing process.
• Automate the management of nearly 200 daily spot tenders, reducing cycle
times and increasing efficiency.
• Consolidate positions by category and site to optimize process volume and
improve public traceability.
• Comply with regulatory requirements and strengthen business resilience,
driving efficiency, sustainability, and global competitiveness.
• Integrate SAP S/4HANA with SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing through a custom
development on SAP BTP (Sourcing Control Tower) to guarantee real-time
visibility and agility in decision-making.
Codelco leveraged SAP technology to transform its critical spot purchasing
process.
The solution combined SAP Ariba, SAP S/4HANA, and a custom development
on SAP BTP to automate Requests for Quotation (RFQs), consolidate line
items, and standardize evaluation criteria. The workflow connects MRP Live
with SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing, enabling automatic event publication and
the management of thousands of tenders with full traceability.
Innovation: Ensuring operational continuity through a seamless document
cutover between SAP SRM and SAP Ariba systems, creating a new Spot
Purchasing process from the Go-Live stage. The deployment strategy
consisted of gradually enabling each work center (10 in total), with a one week
interval between each rollout.
From that point onward, all new Purchase Requisitions (PRs) were migrated
to the new operating model (PR – RFQ – SCT (SAP BTP) – SAP Ariba).This
approach reduced cycle times and increased productivity in a high-pressure
environment.
This project redefines efficiency in tactical materials purchasing for the mining
industry.
Chile February 2025 150+ users (procurement and
operations teams)
• 78.813 line items for bidding (2025)
• 4.400 – 5.000 monthly orders
• 350 average invited suppliers
• Competitiveness Index: 87%.
4© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC
Innovations
INNOVATIVE USE OF SAP TECHNOLOGY
WHY SAP
Codelco leveraged SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to integrate
Sourcing Control Tower, a custom-built integration layer designed by Kyyte.
This innovation connects MRP Live in SAP S/4HANA with SAP Ariba Guided
Sourcing, automating the end-to-end RFQ process—from requirement
generation to event publication.
The solution provides real-time visibility, advanced analytics, and the ability to
orchestrate thousands of spot tenders, ensuring agility and compliance. In
addition, it enables each supplier to clearly view the specific parts and
components to be quoted, accelerating processes and fostering greater
competitiveness. This capability was particularly recognized and valued by the
supplier market following the go-live.
Codelco chose SAP for its proven reliability in mission-critical operations and
its ability to integrate advanced procurement solutions with ERP systems. As a
long-standing SAP customer, Codelco trusted SAP’s ecosystem to deliver
scalability, security, and innovation aligned with global best practices.
This integration through SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
and SAP Ariba transformed how we manage the tail spend, bringing
automation, visibility, and speed to a process.
Andrea Rojas, Supply Excellence Manager, Codelco
The true innovation was not just technology, but the ability to integrate
SAP platforms through SAP BTP to orchestrate complex processes in a
high pressure environment, ensuring efficiency, sustainability, and
global competitiveness while maintaining operational continuity during a
critical migration
Patricio Aguirre Stephens, Director of Data and Back Office Supply, Codelco
The Automatic RFQ delivers efficiency and speed, freeing time through
opportunity cost, minimizing human error, and ensuring full traceability
and auditability. Its simplicity makes the process easy to operate while
automation handles the workload, enabling users to focus on
higher-value tasks and achieve faster, more reliable sourcing outcomes.
Ester Sanhueza, Spot Procurement Lead, Codelco
5© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC
INNOVATIVE USE OF SAP TECHNOLOGY
WHY SAP
Codelco leveraged SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to integrate
Sourcing Control Tower, a custom-built integration layer designed by Kyyte.
This innovation connects MRP Live in SAP S/4HANA with SAP Ariba Guided
Sourcing, automating the end-to-end RFQ process—from requirement
generation to event publication.
The solution provides real-time visibility, advanced analytics, and the ability to
orchestrate thousands of spot tenders, ensuring agility and compliance. In
addition, it enables each supplier to clearly view the specific parts and
components to be quoted, accelerating processes and fostering greater
competitiveness. This capability was particularly recognized and valued by the
supplier market following the go-live.
Codelco chose SAP for its proven reliability in mission-critical operations and
its ability to integrate advanced procurement solutions with ERP systems. As a
long-standing SAP customer, Codelco trusted SAP’s ecosystem to deliver
scalability, security, and innovation aligned with global best practices.
This integration through SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
and SAP Ariba transformed how we manage the tail spend, bringing
automation, visibility, and speed to a process.
Andrea Rojas, Supply Excellence Manager, Codelco
The true innovation was not just technology, but the ability to integrate
SAP platforms through SAP BTP to orchestrate complex processes in a
high pressure environment, ensuring efficiency, sustainability, and
global competitiveness while maintaining operational continuity during a
critical migration
Patricio Aguirre Stephens, Director of Data and Back Office Supply, Codelco
The Automatic RFQ delivers efficiency and speed, freeing time through
opportunity cost, minimizing human error, and ensuring full traceability
and auditability. Its simplicity makes the process easy to operate while
automation handles the workload, enabling users to focus on
higher-value tasks and achieve faster, more reliable sourcing outcomes.
Ester Sanhueza, Spot Procurement Lead, Codelco
5© 2026 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved | PUBLIC