Converting to Guided Sourcing: How hard can it be?

How hard can it be?

“How hard can it be?” This phrase, often uttered with youthful zeal and optimism, captures the refreshing attitude of those unburdened by past failures, ready to tackle challenges head-on and sometimes achieve great things. However, this same attitude can be problematic when the intricacies and risks of a project are not fully comprehended, leading to less-than-ideal outcomes.

Guided Sourcing was designed to enable “self-deployment,” allowing customers to convert their systems on their own, avoiding the usual costs and time associated with hiring a consulting firm.

While customers can, and have, successfully converted from Classic to Guided Sourcing on their own, it typically requires experienced users to navigate the detailed instructions and resolve emerging issues.

guided sourcing expert helping client with SAP Ariba Guided Sourcing system

How hard is it to ride a bike?

Riding a bike is not that hard. However, learning it can involve bumps and bruises. Having someone steady the bike and provide tips can make a substantial difference and avoid pain.

Converting to Guided Sourcing is not that hard, however it can be challenging, frustrating, and in some cases has resulted in Customers shelving their Ariba Sourcing or moving to another solution. Both outcomes are unfortunate and expensive decisions.

Our seasoned consultants have helped numerous customers who faced various challenges during their conversion. Some common challenges we have seen include:

  • Performing steps out of order, leading to a sourcing realm not functioning properly & costly downtime.
  • Confusion in integrating Event templates into the Full Sourcing Project templates.
  • Properly setting up the Full Sourcing Project template to accommodate both Classic and Guided Sourcing when a customer wants to support both in sight of change management goals.
  • Understanding the purpose and use of Ad-Hoc events.
  • Learning to use the Smart Import functionality effectively, which is a tool that when set up correctly, can save significant time and enhance Guided Sourcing adoption.
  • Configuring events to maximize the benefits of Intelligent Supplier Recommendations.
  • Grasping how Intelligent Content Recommendations work.
  • Searching for and identifying Suppliers, which can be a frustrating task.

These challenges can be resolved through configuration adjustments, change management, training, and reference guides.

Once Guided Sourcing is properly implemented and your Buyers adapt to it, you can expect to enjoy its numerous benefits and stay poised for future innovations from SAP Ariba.

We hope this article has shed light on the value of Guided Sourcing. Our experts at CCP Global have successfully guided numerous companies through the conversion process, some in under two weeks.

For further assistance, reach out to us at info@ccpglobal.com to set up an informative meeting with one of our Guided Sourcing experts.