Ariba Tops List of Supply Chain Finance Providers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

For the eighth straight year, Ariba, an SAP Company, has been ranked among the World's Best Supply Chain Finance Providers. The company today announced that it has been named Best E-Procurement Solution by Global Finance Magazine as part of an annual survey published in the July/August issue.

“There's no shortage of banks willing to extend financing to strategic suppliers, based on the creditworthiness of their large buyers,” said Joseph Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance. “But the real need for financing is in emerging and frontier markets, where small and medium-size enterprises and distributors still have problems gaining access to working capital at affordable rates. The 2014 Best Supply Chain Finance Awards recognize those providers that are delivering solutions that fill this gap.”

Ariba was selected as Best eProcurement Solution by a group of industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts on the basis of its market share and global coverage, product innovation, customer service, technology, execution skills and client-specific implementations.

“Innovation and business growth are driven by the free flow of cash. But within many companies, cash is tied up in receivables and payables and essentially stuck,” said Ariba Manage Cash Solution Marketing Director Drew Hofler. “Ariba's solutions are designed to help companies get their cash moving and working to their advantage and we are pleased to again be recognized by Global Finance for the strength of our solutions and the value they deliver.”

Ariba offers a comprehensive range of cloud-based solutions that enable companies to optimize their working capital management and strengthen their financial supply chain. Delivered via the Ariba^® Network, the solutions leverage the intelligence and connectivity of the Ariba Network to fuel a more collaborative procure-to-pay process that delivers unprecedented business outcomes.

Better Cash Management

Take Ariba Discount Professional^™. In the face of renewed market volatility and economic uncertainty, companies are tightening their grip on cash to hedge against financial risk. But with little prospect of earning a return on parked capital, many buyer organizations are increasingly seeing their supply chains as a more viable opportunity for investment. And suppliers are seeing large, cash-rich customers as a better source of faster cash for their receivables.

With Ariba Discount Professional, buyers can accelerate payments for approved invoices to key suppliers in return for discounts, earning an immediate return on their cash. And sellers can gain increased visibility into future cash flows, certainty in payment timing and the ability to use cash sooner to fund daily business needs.

Faster, More Efficient Payments

Then there is AribaPay™. Despite advances in technology, the biggest portion of payments between businesses in the US are still made using checks. And worldwide, payments between businesses lack important information underlying payments. For buyers, that means lots of paper and inefficiencies that cost them billions each year. For sellers, it means little visibility into when they will actually be paid, making it difficult to effectively manage cash.

AribaPay solves these problems by eliminating paper transactions, providing better visibility into cash flow and producing rich remittance information that improves reconciliation processes for buyers and sellers alike.

To learn more about Ariba's solutions for managing cash and the value they can deliver, visit www.ariba.com

About Ariba, an SAP Company

Ariba is the world's business commerce network. Ariba combines industry-leading cloud-based applications with the world's largest web-based trading community to help companies discover and collaborate with a global network of partners. Using the Ariba^® Network, businesses of all sizes can connect to their trading partners anywhere, at any time from any application or device to buy, sell and manage their cash more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around the world use the Ariba Network to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance the results that they deliver. Join them at: www.ariba.com

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 261,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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