SAP Ariba Managed Support: Choosing the Right AMS Partner
SAP is a powerful tool for optimizing your business practices, but some companies spend millions to purchase and implement these solutions, without ever fully realizing their value. That’s just one area where application management services (AMS) can help you reap the maximum benefits from your expensive SAP Ariba solutions.
Why AMS for Ariba?
SAP Ariba is a powerful tool for optimizing your business practices, but some companies spend millions to purchase and implement these solutions, without ever fully realizing their value. That’s where an Ariba managed support partner can help.
Commonly known throughout the IT industry as Application Management Services, or AMS, it’s a popular option for companies that prefer to outsource their enterprise application management processes. Companies can easily delegate the responsibility of system monitoring, release management, system administration, and system support as well as minor enhancements.
Speaking specifically to the complexities of an Ariba system, the right AMS partner can be invaluable in helping with occasional tasks or the day-to-day administration of your company’s system.
Any company of any size can benefit from the right AMS partner, it’s not just for the Fortune 500 crowd. CCP Global has many small clients that are suppliers that have been asked by a customer to start transacting business through the Ariba Network. We help them create accounts, find and submit RFP’s, and a host of other small, but crucial tasks.
What the Best AMS Partners Have
Qualified Teams
An AMS service providers consulting team should be fully capable of hitting the ground running to immediately begin adding value.
Diverse Experience
As your SAP solutions expand, evolve and become more complex, your partner needs to be able to meet any task or challenge that arises to provide a one stop shop for AMS. That means a service partner that that focuses on ongoing learning for its consultants.
Certified Consultants
Becoming certified in any of the SAP modules requires hours of study and passing rigorous exams. You can be confident that consultants with SAP certifications have the deep expertise you want in a partner.
Creative Thinkers
AMS is not about just keeping the lights on and the motor running, it’s about adding value. Your AMS partner should think outside the box to find creative ways to optimize your SAP Ariba ROI. That may mean utilizing unused modules, monitoring and reviewing updates, and recommending additional modules that can optimize your program.
CCP Global AMS Success Stories
CCP Global has offered AMS services for more than 25 years, through our SAP Ariba Application Managed Support (AMS) program.
We were one of the first companies to create a program specifically targeted to Ariba solutions. Here are some of our success stories, from short term assistance to relationships that have lasted for years:
18 months: In 2010, prior to the merger of SAP and Ariba, CCP Global was contacted by a company after it was acquired by a larger company. The smaller company had Ariba, the larger firm had SAP. They heard about CCP Global’s AMS expertise through word of mouth and contacted us to maintain the Ariba system while the company transitioned to SAP. During that transition we handled all the administration, management, reporting and support for their Ariba system. Wojcik says this project was, “The purest example of what I would call system maintenance and management, because AMS can be a lot more involved, and this was AMS in its most basic form.”
7 years: This was CCP Global’s first AMS contract. In 2000, we won a competitive RFP to implement Ariba for a multinational pharmaceutical company. The first two years were dedicated to implementation and enhancements. After the system went live in 2002, the company asked us to stay on and help manage the system in these three areas:
- System maintenance, enhancements and upgrades.
- Training, change management and rolling out the system.
- Supplier enablement and supplier onboarding.
That last task was a huge one that took a dedicated team of five people that spent five years entirely focused on bringing on the suppliers, bringing on catalogs, and enabling the supplier to transact business successfully through Ariba.
10 years: CCP Global was brought in by the original, primary consulting firm hired by a global imaging solutions company to assist them with implementing Ariba. After the go-live, the primary consulting firm left the project because they didn’t provide Ariba services. They requested that CCP Global stay on, and for 10 years we had a presence there. We did all the maintenance, enhancements, support, and training, as well as assisting with worldwide rollout for their Ariba system. This was one of many instances in which CCP Global was hired because of their reputation for deep Ariba expertise.
17 years: After winning a competitive bid, CCP Global was hired in 2004 by a major media and entertainment corporation to handle their original implementation. Since then, we’ve had a dedicated SAP Ariba SME embedded to do operations, maintenance enhancements, upgrades and the worldwide rollouts, as well as implementing additional modules. We also helped them to transition from on site to on demand. Our current consultant’s main focus is supporting a worldwide rollout of the Ariba On Demand platform.
These client stories are the best illustration of the many ways in which Ariba Managed Support can benefit companies of all sizes, regardless of their needs. Whether you need a little or a lot, the right AMS partner can offer efficiency, cost savings, and the maximum return on your Ariba investment.
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