SAP Ariba – Mandatory Transition to Guided Sourcing in 2025

As technology advances and customer needs evolve, SAP continues to innovate to improve our products. This year, customers using the classic sourcing UX in SAP Ariba Sourcing will be transitioned to the newer Guided Sourcing capability, the latest and most advanced UX. As a result, support for the classic UX in SAP Ariba Sourcing will no longer be available by the end of Q1 2025.

Guided Sourcing was launched in 2021. However, the choice to use it has remained optional while SAP continued to focus on increased usability and features. Today, Guided Sourcing supports the complex scenarios available in the classic UX along with innovative new capabilities that deliver even greater value for users – including single-screen event creation, powerful search capabilities, contextual help, AI-powered analytics and supplier recommendations, smart Excel data upload/line-item creation, cross-product integrations, direct access to advanced partner applications, and more. The automatic shift to Guided Sourcing will enable every customer to benefit from these and other enhancements moving forward.

To minimize disruption to businesses, SAP plans to automatically transition users to Guided Sourcing. They will support a seamless transition to this enhanced experience and will notify customers before any updates occur. The goal is to complete this process by the end of 2024. Customers can expect to receive further communications, offering details, and additional information to guide them through the upcoming changes.

What should customers do to prepare?

To maintain uninterrupted access to your SAP Ariba Sourcing solution, customers need to complete the following actions before the end of their transition period:

• Update templates.
  For existing full project templates:
  • Create a copy of full project templates.
  • Edit the copied template. Go to “Advanced Options” and configure insight tiles for the template.
• Quick project templates will be migrated automatically.
• Enable users for Guided Sourcing.
  The Configuring Users for Guided Sourcing documentation provides detailed instructions on how to enable users to take advantage of guided sourcing.

Can customers view the Guided Sourcing UX before the transition?

To ensure a smooth changeover, it is recommended customers explore Guided Sourcing in advance of their transition deadline by using the Show Options to Switch to Guided Sourcing feature. The option to switch back to the classic UX will be offered until the end of the transition period. However, the classic UX will no longer be available after the final transition date.

What Guided Sourcing information is available?

To streamline the transition process for users, SAP has created a wide range of training and support materials, including answers to frequently asked questions, which customers can access on the Guided Sourcing Capability for SAP Ariba Sourcing resources page.

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