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After a convincing proof of concept: apsolut implements SAP Ariba Buying for Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall
CompanyBausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall
BranchFinancial services
ProductsHome purchase saving & construction financing
Number of employeesover 6,000
HeadquartersSchwäbisch Hall, Germany
Websitewww.schwaebisch-hall.de
With approximately 6.5 million customers, Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall is Germany’s largest building society. It is one of the leading providers of construction financing. Its mission is to build and to preserve homes. To that end, the team of more than 6,000 employees works closely with the cooperative banks.
To optimize purchasing, Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall opted for SAP Ariba Buying along with Guided Buying – and selected apsolut for the implementation. In the first tests with the most active users, it soon became apparent that the design of the Guided Buying interface offered clear benefits. According to feedback provided by test subjects, they were very pleased with the intuitive operation of the system. They even stressed how fun it was to work in Guided Buying. And any users who are still struggling a bit with the new software are being offered interactive demos and training videos.
The onboarding of the first catalogues went smoothly, too. Initially, more than ten catalogues were onboarded, including some that were not previously linked to the Ariba network. Transferring the great variety of forms, which were divided up according to merchandise groups, was made easier by the fact that Purchasing generally has the ability to create such forms by itself in SAP Ariba Buying. One challenge, on the other hand, was modelling the approval process at Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall, with its numerous permissions inherited by lower and lower decision-making levels. For this, the apsolut team was able to set up a workaround. That resulted in only a slight increase in the number of approval clicks needed; the additional effort is hardly noticeable in day-to-day business.
„We were able to roll out Ariba very quickly, because we established a pragmatic and open culture of cooperation with the apsolut team from the very beginning, and we were prepared to systematically align ourselves with the standard“,
says Sarah Eve Wiedemann-Geiß, who oversees purchasing and supplier management at Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall.
“I remember that problems were resolved within two days –, and our decisionmaking processes were as short as possible.”
The two partners are currently discussing which subsidiaries will now be chosen for the roll-out of SAP Ariba Buying.
A tool with modest training requirements: Guided Buying is a very intuitive user interface
Different types of learners: Some users learn by themselves and through intuition, while others get more out of interactive demos and videos. We are happy to discuss a training strategy with you!
Implemented tools
SAP Ariba Buying
SAP Ariba Guided Buying
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