Frequently asked questions

SAP business network is a dynamic, digital marketplace where buyers and suppliers collaborate on procurement and supply chain transactions. It is an online platform to facilitate the relationship customer-supplier. It allows for quicker exchange of knowledge and information with trading partners while nurturing long-term relationships.

SAP Ariba is a leader in the spend management space and already has a broad supplier base. They have a proven easy-to-use tool that meets Umicore‘s needs for e-connected solutions. It also eliminates manual handling and ensures that our supplier information exchange is up-to-date and accurate.

Registration and adoption of the SAP Ariba network is required to transact with Umicore for all indirect suppliers. For questions or remarks related to the platform, please reach out to ariba.supplier.support@umicore.com.

• Being part of a large Ariba B2B community can offer new business opportunities within and outside of Umicore
• Enhanced supplier collaboration
• Communication through one platform
• Free-of-charge to participate in sourcing events over the SAP Ariba network
• Simplified sourcing process
• Easy transfer of data
• Increased accuracy by matching PO and invoice
• Increased visibility of invoicing status and goods-receipt
• Integrated SAP business network with ERP system, boosting automation for suppliers with high yearly PO volume
• Responds to increasing demand for participation in the SAP business network as demand grows from other Belgian customers

The start of interaction over the SAP business network begins with an invitation email. Either you will be contacted to participate in a sourcing event, complete a supplier questionnaire or certification or will be sent an interactive PO. You will then be asked to communicate and provide information related to the received document to Umicore via the SAP business network.

You can register for the SAP Ariba network via two different channels:

1. upon receipt of an Umicore invitation email
2. via the website - supplier.ariba.com 

For more on how to register with the SAP Ariba network, please contact SAP Ariba's supplier support. 

If you already have a SAP Ariba supplier account, use this account to interact with Umicore. There is no need to create a new account.

When receiving the invitation email for a sourcing event, certification or an interactive PO, you can log in with your existing account details for the first time to connect with Umicore. Umicore proposals, questionnaires and POs will automatically transfer to your existing SAP Ariba account.

Suppliers do not need to download anything. An internet connection and a web browser are the only requirements. If you are a supplier, go to supplier.ariba.com and click "supported browsers and plugins" at the bottom right of the page to access a list of currently supported browsers.

Umicore Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Finland and France^* buyers are using the SAP Ariba network for sourcing activities with their suppliers as well as for the submission of questionnaires and certifications. Additionally, Umicore Belgium, Germany and Denmark also use the SAP business network to transmit all POs to their indirect suppliers. It is expected that suppliers will send order confirmations and invoices over the SAP business network. 

_{* The other sites will switch to the SAP business network by 2024.}

Please download this manual to change your preferred language in the SAP Ariba user interface and for your email notifications.

When you log in to the SAP Ariba network, your account's ANID number appears under the account settings icon in the top right. It is also visible at the bottom of every page, to the right of your company's name.

A trading relationship invitation begins with an email sent by your customer and directed to either the ANID number of an existing account or a link to set up a new account. This email is an invitation to connect with your customer enabling you to start receiving orders and/or submitting invoices on the SAP Ariba network. Only the account administrator can use an existing account when establishing a trading relationship.

To accept the trading relationship request:

1. Click the link in the email that says click here to proceed.
   The invitation link then asks you to create new account or use existing account. Select the option which best reflects your situation.
2. Once logged in, click account settings icon > settings > customer relationships > see your customer under your current relationship
3. If necessary, select any pending trading relationships and click approve.

To view your trading relationships, follow these instructions:

• Click account settings icon > settings > customer relationships
• View your pending, current, and rejected relationships under each corresponding heading.

Via the below links you can register to re-watch the summits:

• English Summit
• Dutch Summit
• French Summit
• German Summit
• Polish Summit

Login to your SAP Ariba account on supplier.ariba.com and go to Settings > Network Settings > Electronic Order Routing. Under New Orders make sure that the routing method is set to Email and you have checked the box “Attach pdf version of the document”.

If you cannot locate the interactive email please search for the domain “@ansmtp.ariba.com” across your folders, including spam and junk folders.

Ask your IT department to whitelist the domain “@ansmtp.ariba.com” to ensure that you receive all SAP Ariba system generated messages and future notification.

Check your mailbox for messages from your IT department highlighting ‘on hold’ messages from the SAP Ariba domain name.

• For an incorrect quantity: on the SAP business network, go to “Create Order Confirmation”, select “Update Line Items”, enter Quantity and click on “Details” to change the pricing if necessary.
• For incorrect pricing: please reject your purchase order on the SAP business network and provide your updated pricing in the comment section or contact the purchasing agent on the PO.

Detailed instructions on how to create an invoice on the SAP business network are available on the Umicore Supplier Zone. If these instructions are insufficient, please consult the supplier information portal from SAP Ariba.

Invoices are rejected either:

• Automatically by your customer's invoicing rules
• Manually by your customer

The rejection happens when the invoice violates invoicing requirements established by your customer.

To review the reason for invoice rejection:

1. Click Outbox > Invoices in the upper-left of your home page.
2. Click the invoice number hyperlink.
3. The invoice rejection notes appear across the top of the detail and history tabs of the invoice.

If you understand the invoice rejection reason, you can edit and resubmit the invoice to your customer for payment. Contact your customer if you need clarification. Your customer has the most accurate information on how to correct your invoice.

The cXML document generated on the business network becomes the only official and legal document. A readable copy of this document is also available in PDF format. This PDF will be labeled with 'copy'. For each electronic order sent via the business network, the only valid document from a legal point of view is the electronic invoice via the business network in cXML format. Invoices received in other ways will be rejected (except during the transitional period).

Umicore allows invoices to be back-dated up to 7 days in exceptional cases. Invoice back-dated more than 7 days will be rejected. Keep this in mind at the end of the year to avoid invoicing in January for orders submitted in December.

If your invoice line items follow the reverse charge mechanism, please select 0% VAT and include "reverse charge mechanism" (verleggingsregeling) in the description field on why you are using 0% VAT.

There are no initial costs when enrolling in the SAP Ariba network. When creating a new SAP Ariba account, you will automatically create a free standard account. You have the possibility to upgrade your account to an enterprise account if preferred.

_{More information about the difference between a standard and enterprise account (and potential fees) can be found on the supplier support "Account creation and configuration" in our supplier zone.}

In this phase of the Umicore SAP Ariba program, it is sufficient for all suppliers to create a free standard account. No charges will be applied.

Umicore has set up multiple support channels, to assist suppliers with issues and questions when collaborating on the SAP Ariba platform:

• The SAP Ariba help center can support suppliers with account-related questions or technical issues. The help center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.​
• Content related questions can be addressed by the Umicore contact person.​
• All other questions should be directed to ariba.supplier.support@umicore.com.​

Yes. SAP Ariba has created a playlist of how-to videos for suppliers.

You can consult them via this link: How-to for SAP Ariba Network Suppliers

Umicore-specific information on the SAP Ariba Network can be found on our supplier zone. For additional information provided by SAP Ariba, please use the links below:

• Set up your SAP Ariba network account
• Respond to an RFP/RFI
• Find new customers
• Learn more about selling
• Learn more about fulfillment
• Learn about accounts and pricing

Instructions on how to navigate to the SAP Ariba help center and how you can use the knowledge database to resolve issues can be found in the supplier guideline "How to navigate in the SAP Ariba help center" in our Supplier Zone.

Yes. For more details on how to contact the SAP Ariba network support team, please consult the supplier guideline “Call the SAP Ariba help center” in our Supplier Zone.

This problem can have a few root causes:

• You are already logged into your existing account and clicked on the link in the email.
  IMPORTANT: the system considers this as a second login attempt. You must either click on the link and log in from there or log in to your account and then navigate to the SAP Ariba network dashboard.
• You already have an SAP Ariba site open in another window or tab. Close that other session and try logging in again.
• You received a certificate error in your browser during a previous attempt to connect to the SAP Ariba network via supplier.ariba.com. Clear your browser's cookie history. Close your browser and try logging in again.
• In case the above mentioned did not work, you can reach out to the SAP Ariba help center.

In case you have multiple ANIDs (Ariba network IDs) and you need a way to manage them, please watch this quick guide on what an ANID is and how to maintain multiple accounts.

To update your account, log in via supplier.ariba.com. By clicking on the icon on the top right corner displaying your initials, you can update the account information, company profile and account settings. More detailed information on how to configure your account according to your needs, can be found on the account administration webpage of SAP Ariba.