SAP Ariba integration: CIF catalogue and PunchOut for suppliers
Your customer orders through SAP Ariba and asks for an electronic catalogue? With Primus you deliver your range as a validated CIF catalogue or as a cXML PunchOut – with customer-specific prices and no programming of your own.
- Target system
- SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network
- Methods
- Static catalogue, cXML PunchOut, cXML OrderRequest
- Formats
- Ariba CIF, cXML, BMEcat
- Primus solution
- Primus Catalog, Primus PunchOut, Primus Connect
Your customer buys through SAP Ariba? This is how your range gets there.
Corporations and large mid-sized companies run their indirect purchasing through SAP Ariba. For suppliers this means: only what exists as a catalogue in the customer system gets ordered. A supplier without a catalogue is left with free-text orders – or is replaced by one who can deliver it.
The requirement usually arrives as a brief instruction from purchasing: “Please provide a CIF catalogue” or “We need a PunchOut”. Behind it are format rules, classifications and checks that the first upload often fails. Pro3Con handles this translation between your product data and SAP Ariba.
- From your item list: Excel, CSV or an ERP export is enough to start from.
- Validated before upload: Mandatory fields, units of measure and classification are checked before the customer sees the catalogue.
- One catalogue per customer: Range, prices and framework agreement individually for each Ariba customer.
- One master catalogue, many platforms: The same data also serves Coupa, Unite Mercateo or Onventis.
- Updates without rebuilding: Price changes and new items go through as a new catalogue version.
Three routes into SAP Ariba
Catalogue, PunchOut and ordering are separate integration steps in SAP Ariba. Your customer decides which of them you need.
Static catalogue (CIF)
Your items are uploaded to SAP Business Network as a file and approved by the customer. Primus Catalog generates the Ariba CIF format from your item list.
cXML PunchOut
The buyer moves from Ariba into your catalogue or webshop and brings the cart back via cXML. In production today with Primus PunchOut and Primus Connect.
Electronic orders
Orders reach you through SAP Business Network, by email, in the portal or as a cXML OrderRequest. We assess the transfer into your ERP as part of the project.
What does SAP Ariba require from suppliers?
Supplier and buyer are connected through SAP Business Network, formerly Ariba Network. Every supplier holds an account there and is identified by a network ID (ANID). Catalogues and orders run through this account and, depending on the customer, order confirmations and invoices as well.
A static catalogue passes several stations: you upload the file, the network checks structure and mandatory fields, and the catalogue is then published to the customer. There the rules of the buyer apply in addition, such as permitted commodity groups or price limits. Only after approval by purchasing are your items visible to requesters.
If one of these checks fails, the catalogue comes back with a list of errors. The causes repeat themselves: missing or invalid UNSPSC codes, units of measure that do not match the code Ariba expects, duplicate item numbers or special characters in the wrong character encoding.
The CIF catalogue: the catalogue format of SAP Ariba
CIF stands for Catalog Interchange Format. A CIF file is a text file with a header that defines, among other things, version, currency, classification system and load mode, and a data section with one line per item.
The fields per item include supplier ID, item number, manufacturer part number, description, classification code, price, unit of measure, lead time and manufacturer name; CIF 3.0 adds short name, image and validity period, among others. Besides CIF the network also accepts cXML catalogues and – depending on what the customer specifies – BMEcat.
This is the file Primus Catalog generates: your columns are mapped to the CIF fields, classification and units of measure are converted, the result is validated and provided as a finished file.
- Format
- Ariba CIF 3.0
- Classification
- UNSPSC, customer rules via mapping
- Units of measure
- UN/CEFACT codes, e.g. EA or C62
- Load mode
- Full or incremental
- Supplier identifier
- Network ID (ANID) or D-U-N-S
- Source
- Excel, CSV, BMEcat, ERP or PIM export
Static catalogue or PunchOut: which fits your range?
Both methods lead to the same goal, an order placed from within SAP Ariba. They differ in where the product data lives.
| Aspect | Static catalogue (CIF) | cXML PunchOut |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the data? | In the customer system | With you, retrieved in real time |
| Product search | Directly in SAP Ariba | In your catalogue or shop |
| Price changes | New catalogue version, approval by the customer | Effective immediately |
| Suited to | Manageable, stable ranges | Large ranges, configuration, availability |
| Effort for the customer | Review and approval per version | One-off setup |
| Primus solution | Primus Catalog | Primus PunchOut, Primus Connect |
In practice some customers ask for both: a static catalogue for the core range with fixed framework prices and a PunchOut for everything else. As both routes build on the same master catalogue in Primus, you maintain your data only once.
Ariba PunchOut: cXML, Level 1 and Level 2
SAP Ariba uses cXML for PunchOut – the standard was originally developed by Ariba itself. The buyer starts in Ariba, the system sends a PunchOutSetupRequest to your catalogue, and the finished cart returns to the requisition as a PunchOutOrderMessage. OCI, the standard of the classic SAP systems, plays no part in Ariba.
Level 1 is the usual case: your catalogue appears in Ariba as a single entry through which the buyer enters your range. Level 2 additionally makes individual items or product groups findable in the Ariba search; for this an index catalogue is uploaded whose entries point straight to the matching place in the PunchOut.
A Level 1 PunchOut needs no more than the credentials from your network account and a test with the customer. If your customer requires Level 2, we clarify together which index catalogue is expected and how it is derived from your master catalogue.
Primus Catalog: your Ariba catalogue from the item list
With Primus Catalog you upload your item list, map the columns once and receive a validated catalogue in Ariba CIF format. The mapping is saved, so the next price round is a matter of minutes.
For PunchOut, Primus PunchOut generates a cXML-capable shop from the same catalogue. If you already run a webshop, Primus Connect connects it to Ariba as a PunchOut front end.
- Export as Ariba CIF, plus BMEcat 1.2 and 2005 for other platforms
- Classification mapping, for instance from ECLASS or your own product groups to UNSPSC
- Validation of mandatory fields and units of measure before upload
- Customer-specific ranges and prices for each Ariba customer
What we need to know before we start
Most delays are not caused by technology but by missing specifications from the customer. With the information listed here, the effort for your Ariba integration can be estimated in a single conversation.
If you already have a rejected catalogue or an error list from the network, bring it along – it shows fastest where the problem lies.
- Does the customer require a static catalogue, a PunchOut or both?
- Which format and classification does the customer specify?
- In what form is your product data available today?
- Are there customer-specific prices or a restricted range?
- Is there already an account on SAP Business Network?
- Should orders be transferred into your ERP automatically?
Four steps to your Ariba catalogue
1Clarify specifications
We record which method, format and classification your customer requires.
2Map the data
Your item list is mapped to the fields of the target format; classification and units of measure are converted.
3Validate and test
Primus validates the catalogue. A test follows in the test account of the network or together with the customer.
4Publish and maintain
Once the customer has approved it, the catalogue is live. Changes go through as a new version using the same mapping.
They work with Primus
Manufacturers and distributors delivering their product data to their customers’ procurement systems with Primus.
Frequently asked questions about SAP Ariba integration
Nothing here that matches? Write to us – you will get a technical answer, not a template.
Which catalogue format does SAP Ariba require?
The native format of SAP Ariba is CIF (Catalog Interchange Format). cXML catalogues and, depending on what the customer specifies, BMEcat are accepted as well. Which format applies is stated in the supplier guidelines of your customer. Primus Catalog generates Ariba CIF and BMEcat from the same item list.
Can I create an Ariba catalogue from Excel?
Yes. You upload your Excel or CSV file to Primus Catalog and map the columns to the catalogue fields. The software converts classification and units of measure, validates the result and provides the finished CIF file.
Does Primus PunchOut support SAP Ariba?
Yes. Primus PunchOut supports cXML PunchOut and with it the method SAP Ariba uses. Whether your customer additionally requires an index catalogue for Level 2 is clarified in the project.
Does SAP Ariba support OCI?
PunchOut in SAP Ariba is based on cXML. OCI is the standard of the classic SAP purchasing systems such as SAP SRM or SAP ERP. Primus PunchOut serves both standards from the same catalogue.
Do I need an account on SAP Business Network?
Yes. Catalogues and orders run through your supplier account on SAP Business Network. As a rule your customer invites you to it. Which account type suits your volume is something to clarify with SAP or your customer.
Why was my Ariba catalogue rejected?
The most common causes are missing or invalid UNSPSC codes, unrecognised units of measure, duplicate item numbers, missing mandatory fields and violations of buyer rules such as blocked commodity groups. Primus Catalog checks these points before upload.
Can I connect my existing webshop to SAP Ariba?
Yes. Primus Connect connects your existing shop as a PunchOut front end: the buyer shops in your shop and the cart goes back to Ariba via cXML.
How many errors does your catalogue have?
Upload a BMEcat file. The validator checks it against the DTD and our quality rules and shows every error with its location. Free, no sign-up.