Functional expansion in SAP Ariba through the intelligent use of APIs

SAP Ariba APIs help companies expand their SAP Ariba processes to meet specific customer requirements by linking SAP Ariba to ERP systems and systems from third-party providers via secure interfaces. A distinction is made between open and non-open APIs, which are defined by the customer or defined by SAP Ariba.

One example of an open API is the Approval API, which allows approval of purchase requisitions by app. The document data is passed on securely via a defined interface to an external system, for example to an SAP Fiori app, and returned after approval.

Other useful open APIs:

• Custom Forms Export: enables the export of data collected by an individual form developed on the platform.
• Flow Extension: you can use this open API to retrieve, check, and update document data at runtime for the SAP Ariba network. Additional documents such as certificates or drawings can be added.

The non-open APIs include the Validation & Enrichment API . It offers the possibility of changing document data during the ordering process, as well as checking and supplementing requirements from the existing system. This makes it possible, among other things, to carry out account assignment in ERP and to integrate customer information from third-party systems into the procurement process. In addition, data from the SAP Ariba purchase requisition can be checked in external systems (e.g. SAP S/4HANA ) and, if necessary, returned with error messages.

Other useful non-open APIs:

• Real Time Budget Check (GA): web service interface for budget control against the ERP system
• Third Party Tax Integration (LA): real-time interface for tax computation

If you would like to know how SAP Ariba APIs can help your company make SAP Ariba the tool that best suits your individual needs and best represents your processes, please click on our contact form.