- SAP Managed Tags:
This blog details configurations on SAP Business Network accessible exclusively to SAP Customer Support or Services teams.
It’s tailored for delivery consultants seeking insight into these behind-the-scenes settings.
Key Configuration Principles
- Initial Setup
The provisioning team configures the buyer’s account based on the purchased license. - Account-Specific Configuration
Each buyer’s account has unique configurations for test, production, and sometimes development accounts." - Cut-Over Process
At go-live, configurations are manually migrated from test to production, one at a time.
Let’s start from entitlements. This is a set of options that is mostly set based on default values and most of them. Below table represents the breakdown of options:
Download PO Confirmations Download Ship Notices Download PO Statuses Download Notifications | First four options are used if your customer has a custom integration directly with Network and not through CIG. I’ll explore reasons for not using CIG in a future post. These entitlements ensure SAP Ariba Buying updates Purchase Orders with OC and ASN info. Disabling them accidentally can disrupt visibility for requesters and purchasing teams. |
Upload CSV Payment Proposals / Payment Batch | This feature is always enabled by default. Although rarely used, it’s harmless to keep active. |
Sign all Invoices with Esignature | This setting is often enabled by the provisioning team, but I’ve seen instances where it wasn’t. For European customers with invoicing in scope, enabling this is mandatory to ensure compliance. Without it, EU invoices lack the required e-signature tag in the cXML. |
Label both CXML and PDF invoice documents as ‘Tax Invoice’ for Australia and New Zealand | This setting applies only to Australia and New Zealand. For other countries, customers often request customizations to apply this label to PDF invoices. |
Download Supplier Data
| This legacy configuration is disabled by default. |
Send VendorID,SideID and SiteAuxID in outgoing documents | It may apply in non-SAP ERP setups with multiple backends for a customer using SAP Ariba Buying. |
Allow Multiple Private ID’s per Supplier | This is for legacy Invoice Conversion Service (ICS), which is no longer actively sold by SAP. It remains enabled by default and poses no risk. |
Add missing vendor records based on vendor compound keys in documents | This functionality is unused, and no documentation is available. |
Allow Supplier to enter service details for OC | This setting relates to Service POs and their order confirmations. Learn more: See more here: https://support.ariba.com/item/view/KB0407735 |
Copy accounting information from parent line in purchase order to child lines in Service Sheet | This applies only when accounting is included in the Purchase Order. |
Allow suppliers to create invoice directly from service Pos without a service sheet | This is used when customers bypass SES approval to allow suppliers to create service invoices immediately. For SAP Ariba Buying customers, refer to https://support.ariba.com/item/view/KB0405882 |
Allow Buyer to activate Supply Chain Collaboartion features | This setting depends on the licenses purchased by the customer from SAP. |
Allow suppliers to exclude withoholding tax from Gross Amount | This applies to Latin American countries using third-party integration platforms (e.g., EDICOM) or integrated suppliers sending invoices. Learn more: https://support.ariba.com/item/view/KB0395328 |
Enhanced order confirmation integration capabilities | This setting resolves multiple issues, including this common one: https://connectsupport.ariba.com/sites#item-view&/178098
|
Allow integration with SAP S/4HANA for central procurement
| Enabled when Central Procurement is in scope. |
Enforce Control Keys for All Suppliers | When enabled, control keys on purchase orders set tolerances for suppliers creating documents. If disabled, Default Transaction Rules apply, and without tolerance configuration, suppliers have no restrictions.
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Ignore DUNS credential when a matching supplier does not have a relationship with the buyer | see this for more info https://itsm.services.sap/ kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0396609
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Send shipping cost in invoice item, if order item has the shipping amount | This entitlement is rarely used and lacks documentation. It may relate to the total landed cost feature in SAP Ariba Buying, where shipping costs from the Purchase Order are copied to the invoice. |
Require Italian invoice to flow to SDI | For details on the Italian invoice flow, refer to: https://support.ariba.com/item/view/181173 |
Allow multiple buyer user admins and mass user creation | self explanotroy |
Enable document tracking on ship notices Enable BN4L integration for Ship notices
| Enabled when Business Network for Logistics solutions are in scope. |
In addition to entitlements, there are several other functions that may need to be enabled, including:
- This feature is typically enabled by default but may be missed during manual provisioning. Key functions include:
- Providing visibility for default transaction rules, such as 'Copy tax from PO to invoice.'
- Supporting payment request messages and functionality.
- Enabling integration with non-SAP ERP systems or non-CIG-based integrations.
Another important configuration:
and:
End point support option enables end point configuration to appear in the administration menu. Almost always is turned on by default for all customers using Guided Buying.
How does end point configuration works is explained in another blog post.
Enablement for pending queue is used in integration with non-SAP systems, when the customer decides to use integration with ‘getpending queue’ method.
Next we have:
This setting is required for ERP-initiated invoice functionality. Learn more::
Next one that is disabled by default:
This functionality, disabled by default, works as described. However, based on personal experience, enabling it for SAP backends can cause issues with processing attachments after invoice posting. This is not supported for API but only for Portal.
This critical functionality is usually configured by the SBN Services team, but it’s important to verify during deployment.
Turn on PDF Generation for organization
| This option enables the automatic generation of a human-readable copy of an invoice when it is archived. |
Generate an invoice copy as PDF attachment to the invoice | Allow for the invoice to generate an attachment, visible in the attachments section at the bottom of the invoice screen. If a relevant business rule is enabled, this attachment can also be passed to an SAP or ERP backend. Some customers prefer having this document in their ERP system.
In one case, a customer printed all auto-generated PDFs for physical storage to meet audit requirements, using the paper invoice as the legal document instead of the electronic (cXML) version. |
Generate an invoice copy as PDF attachment to the reconciled invoice | This functionality is applicable only to legacy Invoice Pro or Invoice Management customers. |
Enable FPA PDF generation for Italy | This functionality includes features specific to Italy for compliance purposes. |
Next setting worth knowing about:
The default attachment size is 10MB, but it can be increased to 100MB and often is by SAP Services Team as part of best practices configuration. This is particularly relevant for customers directly integrated with the Network.
Next functionality:
This feature, relevant for the few remaining 'ICS' customers, enables sending invoice PDFs that create INV-type documents in SAP Ariba Buying. Partially captured documents with some fields populated and others containing dummy values can also be sent.
Moving forward we have:
Enable this if Sourcing customers want to invite suppliers from the Discovery platform to their Sourcing events. Learn more:
Next in line is quote automation. This configuration is necessary to send RFQs from SAP to the Discovery platform.
Other features not covered in this blog post are related to SSO configuration that is possible on SAP Business Network for buyers. Also PDF templates configuration is not covered in this post. This means PO custom template but also Ship Notice, Handling Unit and Quality Inspection templates.
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