Availability of Dell Microsoft Software e-Catalog in Ariba
A new e-catalog is available in the SRM Ariba Shopping Cart platform for Dell Microsoft Software Ordering. The new e-catalog is only available for Microsoft products sold by Dell such as Visio and Project. All orders for Microsoft Products offered by Dell are transacted on the new dedicated e-catalog rather than the existing Dell e-catalog which houses hardware products only.
To transact a Microsoft software order with Dell, contact Chip Rahde, email [email protected] or Scott Laming, email [email protected] to write and provide a quote; the quote will be loaded to the new Dell Microsoft Software e-catalog automatically. The new e-catalog transacts pre-written quotes only; Microsoft products are not available for browsing and checkout directly on the e-catalog.
To arrive at the new e-catalog upon landing on the Ariba Network, select View All Suppliers from the left menu. Selecting Dell from the results page will display two e-catalogs: the traditional e-catalog for Dell hardware products and the new Dell Microsoft Software e-catalog. The resultant page for the latter provides the direct link for the new Dell Microsoft Software e-catalog. Contact [email protected] for internal or technical questions if needed regarding the new e-catalog.
Reminder: Use Quotes Tools on SRM Ariba e-Catalogs
Most of the SRM Ariba e-catalog suppliers provide quote functionality on their platforms. This allows suppliers to create and load larger or customized quotes, upon request, and place them onto their e-catalogs for convenient ordering. SRM Ariba Shoppers can pull quote line items from a supplier’s e-catalog to transfer all items to a Shopping Cart for ease and convenience allowing the Shopper to navigate onward to checkout. This replaces the need for Shoppers to manually enter Free Text Shopping Carts.
Remember, e-catalog orders generally move through automated workflows and PO creation which expedite order placement more quickly; Free Text orders require manual processing among multiple parties in the transaction stream. Orders for any Ariba Network supplier should be performed on the network regardless of whether they are for catalog standard products or customized supplier quotes.
While most quote-to-cart processes on the e-catalogs are intuitive, step-by-step help guides are available on the Purchasing Division’s Learning and Training Resources Page, Section B for each supplier. E-catalog suppliers that commonly use quotes are VWR, Office Resources Inc., Life Technologies, Dell, etc…
Forthcoming Changes in PaymentWorks and Vendor Master Data Access
As an effort to improve the efficiency of procurement transactions across the University, changes related to SAP vendor master data and PaymentWorks access are planned during the coming weeks. Planned for implementation later this spring and early summer, the PaymentWorks onboarding tab in myUK will transition from its current Open Access to that of Restricted similar to that of SRM Shopper, Goods Confirmer, etc. Specifically, access to the PaymentWorks tab to send onboarding invitations to new vendors will require completion of coursework in myUK Learning and assignment of a role. Employees currently using the PaymentWorks tab and sending new vendor onboarding invitations will be required to complete two planned courses in myUK Learning to retain the PaymentWorks tab. Those new to using the PaymentWorks tab after the transition, currently planned for cutover in May to July, would submit an approved SAP Access Request Form identical to the onboarding process for other myUK roles.
In addition, as part of the transition, all learning and reference materials on the Purchasing website related to searching SAP Vendor Master Data and PaymentWorks onboarding will be updated and modernized, providing a more substantial knowledge base for departments to use in their vendor search and onboarding activities.
Further information and progress on this initiative will be shared via our listserv and Purchasing website news in the coming weeks.
Enterprise Amazon Business Orders via myUK
As a reminder, please be sure to list comments on any Amazon Business order for items of a Restricted (soft-blocked) nature. The comments box is located on the checkout page. Acceptable comments could include or be similar to these examples:
Verified that item not on contract
Checked contract supplier(s) XXX and item out of stock
Vendor(s) XXX has item, but price is $X.XX compared to Amazon
Available from contract supplier XXX, but lead time does not meet need
Grant funded-exact item required not on contract
It is important to ensure that purchases remain compliant with other University contracts, especially those having exclusivity such as ODP Business Solutions and VWR. Providing the needed comments regarding purchase of soft-blocked items from Amazon will help substantiate processing and prevent approval delays.
Reminder: Remember to Log-in When Visiting the Purchasing Website
As a reminder, some portions of the Purchasing Division website are designed for and specific to the needs of University departments and not suitable for the public domain. Sign-in using your linkblue ID and password is required to access all available materials on the website. To do this, simply sign on at the top right of the page upon arrival and then navigate to the page or resource(s) needed. You can remain continuously signed in on the Purchasing website for easy access and convenience. There is no need to log off the website.
Reminder: Learning and Training Resources Page on the Purchasing Website
The Learning and Training Resource Page on the Purchasing Division website offers a number of help resources and materials related to technical aspects of most procurement transactions. The page consists of multiple sections, each dedicated to specific procurement transactions or roles such as SRM Ariba Shopper, Free Text Shopping Carts, Approvers, Goods Confirmers, SAP Requisitioner/Goods Receiver, Amazon Shopper, etc. More than 80 learning resources are available for departmental users for reference as they navigate procurement transactions. In addition, the Purchasing Division offers the following email support resources in the event that departmental users have questions or needs beyond the materials available on the Learning and Training Resources Page.
Reminder TIPS: PaymentWorks Approvals and SAP Vendor Master Data Searches
For staff sending and monitoring PaymentWorks invitations for new vendor onboarding, remember that the final step in the formal onboarding process will show as “Registration Approved” within your PaymentWorks dashboard. Once you see the status of “Registration Approved” in the PaymentWorks dashboard, vendor onboarding is complete, and you should find the vendor number within your SAP Vendor Master Data (SAP T-code XK03) within one-half business day. For various reasons, PaymentWorks may or may not reflect the SAP Vendor Number in its console status bar. “Registration Approved” is the final formal step; the SAP Vendor Number will be available soon from the master data for use on the appropriate procurement transaction.
As a reminder, when searching for a given vendor in the SAP Vendor Master Data, be sure to use only the UK Vendor Search tab within the SAP T-code XK03. Use of any other tab will return incorrect results. Vendors available from the UK Vendor Search tab are the currently active and available vendors for use on a procurement transaction.
