Airfrance - SAP Ariba/SLP Integration with SAP MDG 

Introduction

In today’s dynamic business landscape, companies are continuously looking for ways to improve efficiency and streamline their business processes. We at Alluvion had the privilege of assisting our customer with a project to integrate SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance (SLP) with SAP Master Data Governance (MDG) for our client Airfrance-KLM. Our focus mainly consisted of the MDG part of the project. First, let us briefly describe what both topics entail.

SAP Ariba SLP

SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance is a cloud-based solution to manage suppliers. The solution provides tools for supplier registration, self-service profile management, risk and compliance assessment, performance evaluation, and other supplier-related activities. The purpose of SAP Ariba SLP consists of optimizing supplier management processes, reducing risk, and driving operational efficiency in supplier relationship management. The tools can be accessed via the Ariba Dashboard.

SAP MDG-Supplier

SAP MDG-S is an out-of-the-box solution to centrally govern, maintain, and distribute your supplier master data. Creation and modification of suppliers can be done through change requests that are approved based on an approval workflow running behind. In addition, multiple cleansing scenarios are foreseen to make or keep your data clean (SAP MDG Consolidation and Mass Processing). During the project, both MDG features are involved, MDG Central Governance as well as MDG Consolidation and Mass Processing. MDG Central Governance can be used via NetWeaver Business Client or Fiori, the Consolidation and Mass Processing module only via the SAP Fiori Launchpad.

Process overview

Let us now describe what the most common process steps to be performed from beginning to end look like.

1. In Ariba SLP, supplier data is entered through questionnaires.
2. The creation or update in Ariba SLP triggers a synchronization to SAP MDG.
3. The supplier is sent to SAP MDG via web services.
4. Now the system checks if the supplier was already synchronized or not based on the key mapping. The key mapping takes care of identifying key fields and links the business objects of the two systems to each other. In this scenario, it links the Business Partner with supplier data in MDG to the supplier in SAP Ariba SLP.
5. Now we have two scenarios:
   1. Initial synchronization
   2. Already synchronized

Initial synchronization

If the supplier arrives for the first time into the system, we start an SAP MDG Consolidation process. During this process, possible duplicates are checked based on matching rules. By default, there are existing matching rules defined like address, name, and identification numbers but they can be extended with for example tax numbers, and D&B numbers, … Based on the matching results, if there is a duplicate, data will be merged, or if not, a new supplier will be created.

If there is a duplicate and we need to merge data, it is important to define, which data has the highest priority, and which data should be taken if you have for example multiple bank data: the bank data already existing on the MDG system, or the bank data coming from Ariba SLP? Therefore we defined Best Record calculation rules. 

A responsible user needs to continue the process, make some changes, and finish it. After activation of the consolidation process, a dedicated MDG Change Request will be created. 

Already synchronized

In case the supplier is synchronized already, a dedicated MDG Change Request will be created directly without the involvement of the Consolidation module. 

• A 3-step change request needs to be approved. After the activation of this change request, the supplier will be replicated back to Ariba SLP.
• Now the supplier is activated in both systems and can be used in further business processes.