Getting on the Same Page: A Discussion on Catalog Strategies

#AribaLIVE
Getting on the Same Page: A Discussion
on Catalogue Strategies
Alexander Graff, Head of Product Management, Schweitzer
Fachinformationen
Daan Gooskens, E-Procurement Manager for Manutan in the BeNeLux
Byron Wilkinson, E-Business Development Consultant, Computacenter
(UK) Ltd
Christian Traud, Business Services Director, Computacenter (UK) Ltd
© 2014 Ariba – an SAP company. All rights reserved.
@ariba

Catalog Options on Ariba
• No catalog
Non-catalog purchase orders
• Hosted catalog
Catalog Interchange Format (CIF)
• PunchOut catalog
cXML integration to your e-commerce site
2 © 2014 Ariba – an SAP company. All rights reserved.

GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE: A DISCUSSION
ON CATALOGUE STRATEGIES
Alexander Graff, Head of Product Management, Schweitzer
© 2014 Ariba – an SAP company. All rights reserved.3

What We Do
Provide companies with catalogue, process and content to
implement the best way to buy and use all external knowledge
(professional information)

Facts and Figures about Schweitzer
• Founded in 1868 (pre e-procurement era)
• Since 1972, owned by the C.H. Beck publishers
• 24+ sites in Germany
• 1 site in the US
• Volume 184 million Euro
• 500 staff

What We Deliver to Our Customers
Find. Get. Use. … and kill the iceberg

Buyers and Sellers:
What Do They Want?
• And e-Procurement
software providers
seem to do too
• Mostly level 1
• Excepted small
suppliers with no
webshop/very
few products
Sellers prefer
PunchOut
Buyers prefer
static catalogues

Why Sellers Love PunchOut
• Larger catalogues (up to 20.000.000 items)
• Higher update frequency
• Timeliness of updates
• Maintenance effort and cost (1 vs. many)
• Data licensing
• Additional features (i.e., cross reference, stock…)
• ―Search Intelligence‖

Why Sellers Love PunchOut (Secret!)
• Want users to first choose the supplier…
• …and then the item
• Do not want to be compared or transparent
(to much)
• Want to guide the users
• Want users/customer to get used to them
(retention)

Why Buyers Love to Own
the Catalogue
• Stay in control
• Do not want to care about availability
• Reduce user training
• Avoid IT security issues
• Want a uniform search
• Enable ―Demand management‖

Why Buyers Love to Own… (Secret!)
• Want to compare items among different sources
• Dream of the ―best price‖ cherry picking machine
• Want to gain catalogue intelligence (true)
• Do not trust the suppliers (well…)
• Users should get used to the system —
not the supplier
• Want to interchange suppliers easily

Another Secret:
The ―Long Tail‖ Is a Myth!
• Old mindset: core portfolio + long tail (-process)
• Truth: users do not care (everything they need is core)
• Once having used the ―joker‖, they never return
• Reducing ―core‖ catalogues means giving away control (not gaining it)
• Users need not 10 pencils, but 1 and to FIND it
• Buyers don‘t need many suppliers, but: many items

So? Can They Be Friends?
• Supplier/Commodity specific searches ARE better
• User guidance is a plus (Google-like search looks
neat, but is not)
• Sellers and Buyers want coverage (= many items)
• Procurement doesn‘t know their users (and the supplier
does not either)
• Depends on the size of the catalogue
Both want the best “search-results”

Update frequency
• Less maintenance = faster updates
• Reduced supplier cost = better suppliers/pricing
• Amazon has set the benchmark for user Catalogue
experience = users more advanced

Intelligence and control
• You can only evaluate what you see, so coverage is
a must
• Focus on spend data, rather than catalogue data (this
you get)
• You can still exchange suppliers
• Cherry picking does not work
(never did, never will)

And the Winner Is… Everyone…
• Look at the commodity/product
- specifics
• Ask your supplier, and maybe ask
a second one
• Ask your users and choose nothing
but the best for them…
• Never estimate you know better
than your users
• Remember its 2014 and people
know ―online shopping‖ by now
• Add content, add content, add
content…
• Define your catalogue strategy
• Ask your customers, ask your
e-Procurement partner, your
competition
• Ask your end-users and choose
nothing but the best for them…
• Never estimate you know better
than your users
• Use state-of-the-art and beyond
webshops as your benchmark
• Provide 100% of your content

One More Way to Go:
Level 2 PunchOut
It’s an almost perfect compromise (but is one).
So you need to be clear on strategy first
Go to the supplier
webshop right away
• User starts with ARIBA buyer
• Sees the results and ―links to
PunchOut/webshop‖ for
Updated prices, stock levels
additional information
More items (can continue
from there)

GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE: A
DISCUSSION ON CATALOGUE STRATEGIES
Daan Gooskens, E-Procurement Manager for Manutan in the BeNeLux

Agenda
• Introduction
Daan
Manutan
E-Solutions
• Catalogue Strategy
Struggle
Solutions
Results

Introduction

Me
• Past in E-Procurement & ERP
• E-Procurement Manager @ Manutan
P2P automation
– Catalogue
– Order
– Invoice
―Develop & improve e-procurement relationships with Manutan customers to
help them minimize the ‗fuzz‘ surrounding the procurement process.‖

Manutan – Ambition
Enterprising for a better world
We believe that by putting people and the
environment first, our company can play a
role in helping move society forward.
By setting high standards, including
responsibility and love, we want to
introduce ethics into our business lives.

Manutan – Presence

Manutan – Offer
…more than 40,000 products for office, warehouse, workshop and outdoor premises

Manutan – P2P Services
After a while….
―Being part of the networked economy is a prerequisite for a
sustainable business model.‖
In the beginning…
―Go with the flow, follow customer needs‖
Today & Tomorrow….
―Added value is not (only) in our products, but in our relationship.
For medium-sized and large companies E-Business relationships
are a crucial part of our customer relation.‖

Evolution of Catalogue Approach

The Challenge – ‗Hosted‘ Catalogues
10 Customers
9 Catalogue formats
Sub-optimal
Content presentation
• Limited space for images, descriptions
• Searchability (classification,
sysnonym, additional descriptions)
• No assortment oriented presentation
No realtime info
Assortment, price, availability
Labor intensive
New publishing strategy
Batch  Continuous

The Solution – PunchOut / Roundtrip
Always up-to-date
Assortment, price, availability
No manual content
management
Optimal
Content presentation
• User interface
• Functionality
• Product information

Customer Quotes
“Finally we can buy
Christmas trees @
Christmas”
“I didn’t know setting up a punchout
connection was this easy”
“Great search features.
I can finally get rid of the
paper catalogue.”

Threats Tackled
Same lack of
standardization as in
Catalogue files?
Adapted cXML & OCI.
Turns out to be all we need in
our market.
End-user/requester
adaption (different GUI)
1. Intuitive webshop
2. People gain experience in private life
 The time is right
End-user/requester
adaption (different GUI)
Additional communication when
switching to punchout.
Communication / rollout plan.
Full assortment control
(items & prices)
Trust.
Customer specific Catalogue content. 
Reporting. 

Lessons Learned
• Localized webshops & pan-European projects
• High level of standardization, >90% = plug&play
• Communication is key: Seller-Buyer-Requester

The Results
Hosted Punchout
Initial setup
Yearly maintenance
% Eproc transactions
Contract compliance
2d 2h
2011
2014
New connections
>2d -*
+15%
+20%
2/3 1/3
1/4 3/4
1/10 9/10

daan.gooskens@manutan.nl

GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE:
A DISCUSSION ON CATALOGUE STRATEGIES
Byron Wilkinson, Consultant E-Business, Computacenter (UK)
Christian Traud, Business Services Director E-Business, Computacenter (DE)
39 © 2014 Ariba – an SAP company. All rights reserved.

Computacenter
…delivers IT services and solutions that enable our customers to achieve their goals
Germany
Aachen, Berlin, Bielefeld, Bonn, Cologne, Erfurt,
Essen, Frankfurt, Greven, Hamburg, Hanover,
Heilbronn, Kassel, Kerpen, Kiel, Leipzig,
Ludwigshafen, Munich, Nuremberg, Oberhausen,
Ratingen, Rostock, Saarbrucken, Schwerte,
Stuttgart, Wolfsburg
France
Antony, Bordeaux, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon,
Nantes, Nice, Orléans, Paris, Rennes, Rouen,
Toulouse
Benelux
Luxemburg, Zaventem
Switzerland
Dietikon
• Revenue £ 2.91 billion
• Employees 12.300
• Profit before tax
£ 71,3 million
UK
Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Hatfield, London,
Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading
WhatwedoOurmarketOurPartners
• Medium - large private sector companies
• Public sector
• Technology Solutions & Systems integration
• Multi-year outsourcing service arrangements
• Supply of hardware and software technologies
UK
Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Hatfield, London,
Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading

Milton Keynes, UK
Barcelona, Spain
Cape Town, South Africa
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Erfurt & Berlin, Germany
Sheffield, UK
Hatfield, UK
Nottingham, UK
Paris, France
Timisoara,
Romania
Dallas, US
Mexico City,
Mexico
Germany – Erfurt, Berlin
• 529 Staff / 482 Agents / Current
Capacity 530 (expansion up to 725)
• 24 hour German, English, Polish
South Africa - Cape Town
Capacity 400
• 24 hour coverage in English
UK - Milton Keynes, Hatfield,
Nottingham, Sheffield
Capacity 581
• 24 hour coverage in English
Int’l Service Centre -
Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur
Capacity 716
• 24 hour Multilingual coverage
France - Paris (Roissy)
Capacity 70
• 16 hour coverage in French English,
Spanish and Italian
Computacenter Group Service Desk

E-Business Solutions Are Inextricably
Linked with Our Company Strategy
“Ultimately the Catalogue strategy is about making
it easy to do business with us in an efficient and
effective way for all of our customers.”
Effectively this is the base for every E-Business solution
Adrian Priest
Group Inside Sales
Director

Spreadsheets and Shopping Carts —
the Usage of Catalogues Evolved
• Various kinds and formats
• Former catalogs didn‘t always help selling
• Regular maintenance was time consuming
• Maturity of technology brought new options
• Reactive handling of queries was inefficient
• Growth required efficient sales cycle
We are now using catalogues as an opportunity

A Catalogue Represents Your Company
on the Customer Side
• The more information the better
• Fulfill expectations towards content/structure
• Support the right industry standards
• Flexibility to meet special requirements
• Educate customers on usage
• Never discuss the Catalogue as a single topic
A Catalogue is the first step towards efficiency

Integrated Catalogues Are a Key Element for
Unlocking e2e eProc Efficiency
submitted via
Internet/opt.
Marketplaces
① Basket
provision
② Workflow approval
③ PO sent to CC
④ Order Acknowledgement/Rejection
⑤ Advanced Shipment Notification
⑥ Invoice
NonSTD1
2034681 = NonSTD1
2034681 = NonSTD1
2034681 = NonSTD1
NonSTD1Additional Custom
Mapping Required
NonSTD1 = 2034681
Customer ERP/
Middleware

Integrated Catalogues Are a Key Element for
Unlocking e2e eProc Efficiency
submitted via
Internet/opt.
Marketplaces
① Basket
provision
② Workflow approval
③ PO sent to CC
④ Order Acknowledgement/Rejection
⑤ Advanced Shipment Notification
⑥ Invoice
2034681
2034681
2034681
2034681
2034681
2034681
Customer ERP/
Middleware

Classifications: UNSPSC, eCl@ss,... or customer specific
Our Strategy Is Founded on a Solid Mix of
Standardization and Flexibility
PunchOut
Catalogue
BMEcat
1.2
CSV PDF
Our true favourite is Connect, as it delivers the most
comprehensive information and is always up to date

Did We Succeed with that Approach?
“We were very impressed with the Connect site that you demo’d to
us and think this will be a great addition to our offering”
About 60% of our customers already have E-Business solutions
with us
We are electronically processing about 500,000 orders per year
Centralized expertise and a capable tool to provide custom
catalogues
Yes! But we are still aiming for more...

What Have Been Our Lessons Learned
• Two main layers (creation & categorization)
• Use industry standards and repeatable solutions where
you can
• The consumer sector is the benchmark for us
• Trust is the basis for success
• Don‘t solely discuss the provision of the catalog
...then you will get on the same page with your customers

Questions

Getting on the Same Page: A Discussion on Catalog Strategies

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