ACCIONA: Smoothing interactions and transactions with suppliers to enable more strategic value from procurement
Explore ACCIONA’s journey with SAP Business Network
In the midst of a large-scale digital transformation journey, when ACCIONA S.A. sought to modernize its procure-to-pay processes, it found the perfect fit with SAP Business Network for Procurement. Now smooth interactions and transactions for purchase orders, order confirmations, and invoices with suppliers herald a new era of strategic procurement operations.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Engineering, construction, and operations | Madrid, Spain | >44,000 employees |
suppliers onboarded, with 12,000 expected by the end of 2024.
transactions made, with 550,000 expected by the end of 2024.
invoices per year, with 235,000 expected by the end of 2024.
Application Manager, ACCIONA S.A.
Shaping an ambitious procurement transformation
ACCIONA S.A. is a multinational organization engaged in developing and managing sustainable infrastructure solutions, with a focus in renewable energy. The company provides for basic infrastructure, water, and energy needs through innovative solutions that generate a positive impact and represent a new way of doing business. Its business spans the value chain, from design and construction through to operation and maintenance. Its vision to make the planet a better place motivates ACCIONA’s employees to create sustainable solutions to major global challenges.
Aspiring to lead the transition toward a low-carbon economy, ACCIONA has a presence in more than 40 countries and is committed to contributing to the economic and social development of the communities in which it operates.
With sustainability as a key tenet of its business strategy, when the time came to modernize its procurement operations and enhance spend management processes, a major focus was strengthening relationships with suppliers. It was essential for ACCIONA to align suppliers with its bold environmental ambitions.
Application Manager, ACCIONA S.A.
Digitalizing procurement transaction flows, minimizing manual tasks
ACCIONA handles a significant number of procurement transactions, so reducing manual workloads in this area was a priority. This called for streamlining and standardizing these processes while enabling traceability internally and across its supplier network. Also on the agenda was the need to enhance its relationships with suppliers and get them aligned with its sustainability objectives.
Evaluating a number of modern solutions, ACCIONA was impressed by the comprehensive scope offered by SAP Business Network and the SAP Ariba Contracts solution to meet its needs and comply with Spain’s electronic invoicing legislation.
The company made the decision to deploy SAP Business Network for Procurement in Spain first, connecting five digital procurement processes with its instances of SAP S/4HANA and the SAP ERP application. The processes encompassed purchase order (PO), order confirmation, goods receipt, invoicing, and invoice status workflows.
With the solution in place, when a PO is created in the ERP, it automatically updates SAP Business Network for Procurement, where connected suppliers can view and collaborate on it immediately. Upon validation, an order confirmation flows directly from the supplier, which represents a legally binding document, significantly reducing the need for manual PO approval steps.
Next, when the goods receipt stage is actioned in the ERP, a notification is sent to SAP Business Network, where the supplier invoices are created against the goods receipt document, reducing the opportunity for billing handling errors. Lastly, invoice status information from ACCIONA’s ERP is updated in the procurement solution, giving suppliers transparency.
Application Manager, ACCIONA S.A.
Realizing strategic procurement capability to support corporate goals
Thanks to the implementation of SAP Business Network for Procurement integrated with two ERP applications, ACCIONA allows its buyers and suppliers to share information in the same space. This represents a significant breakthrough for the company in terms of the speed and efficiency of its procurement operations. This has substantially reduced the workload of the procurement team, with far fewer manual POs and contracts, resulting in fewer process errors and reduced cycle times.
Whereas previously ACCIONA’s procurement processes were manual and time-consuming, prone to handling errors, and lacking visibility, they’re now streamlined, digitalized, and transparent. The company’s procurement team has access to real-time insights into the supply chain, with transparency over purchase orders, order confirmations, goods receipts, and invoicing. By year’s end, the company expects to have 5,000 suppliers transacting on the network, accounting for approximately 110,000 POs and 130,000 invoices. In a year’s time, expectations are for 12,000 suppliers on the network, with the company transacting 170,000 POs and 235,000 invoices with them. The shift to machine-to-machine transactions frees the procurement team from an enormous manual workload, allowing the team to spend more time on creating strategic procurement value.
When it comes to supplier relationships and the realization of its machine-to-machine strategy, ACCIONA supported its suppliers to connect on SAP Business Network, providing a dedicated functional support team to guide the way.
Embedding sustainability throughout the procurement process
As ACCIONA continues its organization-wide procurement transformation, the company is pressing ahead with overhauling its custom-developed inhouse systems with SAP Ariba solutions to directly engage with suppliers who share its sustainability ethos and commitment. This includes implementing the SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution integrated with a third-party supplier risk tool as well as the SAP Ariba Sourcing and SAP Ariba Buying solutions. ACCIONA is planning to go live with this project in the summer of 2024.
Want to know more about ACCIONA?
Turning high-volume procurement into sustainable, successful outcomes (SAP Innovation Awards 2024 Entry Pitch Deck)