SAP Ariba is SAP SE's portfolio of cloud-based solutions for procurement and spend management. Ariba was acquired by SAP in 2012. The solutions cover the process from sourcing to payment (source-to-pay), including sourcing, contract management, supplier management, and buying and invoicing. Suppliers are connected through SAP Business Network (formerly Ariba Network).

How does SAP Ariba work?

Requesters order in SAP Ariba Buying through catalogs and a guided purchasing interface (guided buying). Purchase orders and invoices are exchanged with suppliers through SAP Business Network. Strategic procurement has its own solutions, such as SAP Ariba Sourcing and SAP Ariba Contracts. Which functions are available depends on edition, contract and release.

What is the Ariba Network (SAP Business Network)?

SAP Business Network is SAP's network through which buyers and suppliers exchange documents such as purchase orders and invoices. It was formerly called Ariba Network, and under the new name SAP has also brought together its networks for logistics and asset management. Suppliers use a free standard account or an enterprise account, for which fees apply above certain thresholds. SAP publishes the current terms.

What are the disadvantages of SAP Ariba?

Whether a characteristic of SAP Ariba is a disadvantage depends on your starting point. Three points are worth checking: operation as a cloud solution by SAP if you need an instance of your own, the breadth of the suite if you only need catalog-based procurement, and possible fees for your suppliers in SAP Business Network. Cloud operation and the breadth of the suite are advantages for other companies, for example in a pure SAP landscape or for network-based tendering. Those cases are covered in the entry "For whom is Ariba still the right choice?".

How much does SAP Ariba cost?

SAP Ariba is offered as a subscription, and the price follows from your contract with SAP. It generally depends on the solutions chosen and the extent of use. Implementation effort and possible fees paid by your suppliers in SAP Business Network come on top. This is a general description; your quote from SAP is what counts.

What alternatives to SAP Ariba are there?

Broadly, there are two groups. The first are broad source-to-pay suites in the cloud, such as Coupa and JAGGAER. Like SAP Ariba, they cover the path from sourcing to payment. The second are specialised solutions for part of the process, such as Ovenca for catalog-based indirect procurement. Ovenca runs as a separate instance on-premise or in a private cloud in Germany and connects to SAP and other ERP systems. Which group fits depends on whether you want to replace the whole suite or mainly rebuild catalog-based ordering. The table above compares the four vendors by costs, supplier fees, implementation time and hosting.

Which Ariba alternative suits corporate procurement?

For corporate groups, four points usually matter: several ERP systems and companies, where data is held, costs for suppliers and a predictable switch. If you run global, network-based sourcing, a suite such as SAP Ariba, Coupa or JAGGAER is the more likely fit. If you want to manage catalog-based indirect procurement across several companies and ERP systems, with a separate instance in Germany and no fees for suppliers, Ovenca is a suitable alternative. LANXESS uses Ovenca worldwide alongside SAP and has worked with Onveda since 2014.

How long does switching from SAP Ariba to Ovenca take?

Usually three to six months. Where your project falls in that range depends on the number of catalogs, suppliers, interfaces and sites. Ovenca and SAP Ariba can run in parallel during the switch, with departments or companies moving one after another.

What is the best alternative to SAP Ariba Sourcing?

That depends on your starting point. Ovenca covers catalog-based indirect procurement: Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, Vendor Portal and Admin Area with approvals. The software runs independently of the ERP as a separate instance on-premise or in a private cloud and is in use worldwide at LANXESS. LANXESS has worked with Onveda since 2014. For global, network-based tendering through the Ariba Network, SAP Ariba remains the more suitable choice. We make this assessment openly in the technical discussion.

How does Ovenca differ from SAP Ariba?

First, in architecture: Ovenca runs as a separate instance per customer, on-premise or in a private cloud, whereas SAP Ariba is generally operated as a multi-tenant cloud. Second, in its ERP relationship: Ovenca is not an SAP product and connects to SAP as well as to Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage, DATEV or in-house systems. Third, in scope: the four modules can be introduced individually. Fourth, for suppliers: they are connected directly and pay no network fees. The statements about SAP Ariba are kept general and may vary by edition, contract and release.

Can Ovenca run in parallel with SAP?

Yes. Ovenca connects to SAP ERP or S/4HANA through OCI punchout, cXML and API. Purchase orders, contracts and master data stay with the ERP as the system of record. Operation alongside SAP Ariba is also possible. The whitepaper describes this path as coexistence: Ovenca works as a catalog and supplier layer, and SAP Ariba stays in place for the processes that run well there.

What does switching from Ariba to Ovenca cost?

There is no flat figure. For Ovenca we agree an annual fee tailored to your project and fixed in advance, plus a one-off setup fee. Both depend on scope, not on order volume. You should also plan for parallel operation until your Ariba contract ends. The white paper contains a template for your own five-year calculation. A cost estimate for your case is available on request.

For whom is Ariba still the right choice?

SAP Ariba remains the better choice if you run global, network-based tendering through the Ariba Network, if you operate a pure SAP landscape with standard processes, or if important suppliers or customers contractually require SAP Ariba. With low costs of your own and satisfied suppliers, optimising within SAP Ariba usually achieves more than a switch. Ovenca is an ERP-independent alternative for catalog-based indirect procurement and not a replacement for every use case.

Does Ovenca support OCI, cXML, and punchout?

Yes. External supplier catalogs are connected by punchout via OCI or cXML. Protocol, call URL, parameters and field mapping are configured in Catalog Management. Catalogs can also be imported via CSV, Excel or BMEcat. The ERP is connected through OCI punchout and open interfaces (API).

Who provides support and ongoing development?

Onveda GmbH, based in Langenfeld, Germany, as the vendor of Ovenca. You work directly with the vendor.

The ERP-independent alternative to SAP Ariba

Ovenca is eProcurement software for indirect procurement with Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, Vendor Portal and Admin Area. It runs as a separate instance on-premise or in a private cloud and connects to SAP and other ERP systems.

This page sets out the differences to SAP Ariba factually and also names the cases in which SAP Ariba remains the better choice.

What does SAP Ariba cost?

Supplier connection: Directly through the Vendor Portal, by punchout (OCI, cXML) or by catalog import (CSV, Excel, BMEcat).
Costs for suppliers: No network fees.
Licence model: An annual fee agreed individually for your project and fixed in advance, plus a one-off setup fee. There are no fixed editions.
Vendor: Onveda GmbH, Langenfeld, Germany. You work directly with the vendor.

Why companies reassess SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba is widely used in SAP landscapes. A reassessment is usually triggered by an upcoming contract renewal, supplier feedback on network fees, several ERP systems after acquisitions, or requirements on where data is hosted. Ovenca follows a different architecture: a separate instance per customer, independent of the ERP, with suppliers connected directly through the Vendor Portal. LANXESS has worked with Onveda since 2014 and returned from SAP Ariba to Ovenca in 2026.

Ovenca Vendor Portal: catalog overview with approval status and history of catalog versions — Vendor Portal with demo data: suppliers upload catalogs themselves and procurement approves them. No supplier network is required for this.

SAP Ariba, Coupa, JAGGAER and Ovenca compared

What corporate groups and large mid-sized companies compare when choosing an Ariba alternative: costs, supplier fees, implementation time and hosting in Germany.

Comparison of Ovenca, SAP Ariba, Coupa and JAGGAER by costs, supplier fees, implementation time, operating model, hosting, ERP relationship, focus and vendor
Criterion	Ovenca	SAP Ariba	Coupa	JAGGAER
Costs	No price list. An annual fee agreed individually for your project and fixed in advance, plus a one-off setup fee.	No public price list. Subscription under your contract with SAP.	No public price list. Subscription under contract.	No general public price list. Subscription under contract.
Supplier fees	None.	Standard account free of charge. The Enterprise account incurs subscription and transaction fees above certain thresholds, depending on volume.	Supplier portal free of charge, optional add-ons are paid.	None. JAGGAER describes its supplier network as fee-free.
Implementation time	Usually three to six months, depending on catalogs, suppliers, interfaces and sites.	No general figure. For the mid-market package SAP Ariba Snap, SAP states from 12 weeks.	No general figure. For the Coupa Express package, Coupa states from six weeks (2018 datasheet).	No public figure from the vendor.
Operating model	Separate instance per customer, on-premise or private cloud.	Cloud solution (SaaS) operated by SAP.	Cloud solution (SaaS) on AWS, multi-tenant.	Cloud solution (SaaS); according to the vendor not an on-premise solution.
Hosting in Germany	Private cloud in a data center in Germany or in your own data center.	For SAP Ariba in Europe, SAP lists the Frankfurt data center.	EU region with AWS locations in Ireland and Germany.	For EU customers, processing in Germany or Ireland (AWS).
ERP relationship	ERP-independent. Connects to SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage, DATEV and in-house systems.	SAP product geared to S/4HANA. Other ERP systems can be connected.	ERP-independent.	ERP-independent, with connectors to SAP, Oracle, Workday, Infor and NetSuite, among others.
Focus	Catalog-based indirect procurement: Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, Vendor Portal and Admin Area, each available on its own.	Source-to-pay suite with the SAP Business Network supplier network.	Spend management platform from procurement to payment.	Source-to-pay suite including sourcing and supplier management.
Vendor	Onveda GmbH, Langenfeld (Germany).	SAP SE, Walldorf (Germany).	Coupa Software, San Mateo (USA), owned by Thoma Bravo since 2023.	JAGGAER, Durham (USA), owned by Vista Equity Partners since 2024.

As of October 2026, without guarantee. Information on SAP Ariba, Coupa and JAGGAER is taken from the vendors' public sources: product, security and fee pages, datasheets and SAP's data center list. The vendors' current contracts and terms are authoritative. All trademarks belong to their owners.

Ovenca and SAP Ariba compared

The statements about SAP Ariba are kept general and may vary by edition, contract and release. Check your own contract for your decision.

Comparison of Ovenca and SAP Ariba by architecture, operation, ERP relationship, scope, supplier connection, supplier costs, licence model and vendor
Criterion	Ovenca	SAP Ariba
Architecture	A separate, dedicated instance per customer.	Generally a multi-tenant cloud.
Operating location	On-premise in your own data centre or private cloud in a data centre in the EU (Germany). Hybrid operation is possible.	Operated by SAP. Data residency depends on the data centre chosen.
ERP relationship	ERP-independent. Connects to SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage, DATEV and in-house systems.	An SAP product, designed to work with S/4HANA.
Functional scope	Catalog-based indirect procurement with Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, Vendor Portal and Admin Area. The modules can be introduced individually.	A broad suite, including sourcing and the supplier network SAP Business Network (formerly Ariba Network).
Supplier connection	Directly through the Vendor Portal, by punchout (OCI, cXML) or by catalog import (CSV, Excel, BMEcat).	Through SAP Business Network.
Costs for suppliers	No network fees.	According to the supplier fee schedule published by SAP Ariba (2016 version), a transaction fee and an annual subscription above certain thresholds. SAP publishes the current terms.
Licence model	An annual fee agreed individually for your project and fixed in advance, plus a one-off setup fee. There are no fixed editions.	Subscription. Scope and price follow from your contract.
Vendor	Onveda GmbH, Langenfeld, Germany. You work directly with the vendor.	SAP SE.

Comparison for orientation, as of October 2026, without guarantee. SAP, SAP Ariba, SAP Business Network and S/4HANA are trademarks of SAP SE.

Four differences in architecture and operation

Ovenca is not a copy of SAP Ariba. It is built differently, and these four points shape the decision.

A separate instance instead of a multi-tenant cloud
Ovenca runs as a dedicated instance for your company. You determine where procurement and supplier data resides.
- On-premise in your own data centre
- Private cloud as a separate instance in the EU (Germany)
- Hybrid operation possible
- Data processing agreement under GDPR
Independent of the ERP
Ovenca connects to the ERP and is not part of an ERP suite. Purchase orders, contracts and master data stay with the ERP as the system of record.
- SAP (ECC, S/4HANA), Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage, DATEV
- In-house systems through open interfaces (API)
- OCI punchout and cXML
- SSO with SAML 2.0 and OIDC
Modules can be introduced individually
The four modules can be used individually or together, including alongside an existing SAP Ariba installation.
- Catalog Shop: search, shopping cart, free-text order
- Catalog Management: import, validate and approve catalogs
- Vendor Portal: suppliers maintain their own catalogs
- Admin Area: roles, visibility, approvals, reporting
Suppliers without network fees
Ovenca is software, not a supplier network. Suppliers are connected directly and pay no network fees for it.
- Access through the Vendor Portal
- Punchout into the supplier's shop via OCI or cXML
- Catalog import via CSV, Excel or BMEcat
- Freely configurable supplier questionnaires

What suppliers pay in the Ariba Network

The network fees do not appear on your invoice. They take effect through the supplier relationship, for example in price negotiations or as a hurdle for smaller suppliers. The structure follows the supplier fee schedule published by SAP Ariba in its 2016 version. The amounts of that version are in the whitepaper; SAP publishes the current terms.

Fee exemption: Below certain thresholds for document count and transaction volume, suppliers pay nothing.
Transaction fee: Above the thresholds, a percentage fee applies to the supplier's annual transaction volume, capped per customer relationship.
Subscription: In addition there is an annual fee, tiered by the number of documents exchanged.
With Ovenca: Suppliers pay no network fees. Access is through the Vendor Portal, by punchout or by catalog import.

Source: SAP Ariba, Ariba Network Supplier Fee Schedule, 2016 version. SAP adjusts the fee model and amounts and publishes the current terms for SAP Business Network. Check the current version before you rely on it. The source and the amounts of the 2016 version are in the whitepaper.

Three paths from SAP Ariba to Ovenca

A switch does not have to be a single cut-over project. The whitepaper describes three paths with their prerequisites and risks.

Path A: coexistence: Ovenca works as a catalog and supplier layer alongside SAP Ariba. Requesters order from the new catalog and the order is handed over to the ERP. SAP Ariba stays in place for the suppliers and processes that run well there.
Path B: replacement by area: Individual countries or categories move to Ovenca. SAP Ariba stays in place for the remaining areas.
Path C: full replacement: Ovenca replaces SAP Ariba in all countries and categories. Suppliers are connected in waves. The term and notice period of the Ariba contract determine the timeline.

The effort depends on your system landscape, the number of suppliers and your internal capacity. Punchout catalogs using the OCI and cXML standards can be switched over. Connections that rely on Ariba-specific services have to be rebuilt.

When Ovenca fits and when SAP Ariba remains the better choice

Ovenca is not a replacement for every use case. This assessment follows the criteria in the whitepaper.

Ovenca fits if

operation on-premise or in a dedicated private cloud instance is required
several ERP systems or systems from other vendors are in use
suppliers are to be connected directly and without network fees
the focus is on catalog-based indirect procurement with your own approval rules
modules are to be introduced step by step, including alongside SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba remains the better choice if

you run global, network-based tendering through the Ariba Network
you operate a pure SAP landscape with standard processes and want to source all procurement functions from SAP
important suppliers or customers contractually require SAP Ariba
your own costs are low and suppliers report no problems
your organisation cannot carry another change project at present

Whitepaper: from SAP Ariba to an ERP-independent procurement platform

A decision framework with six criteria, three migration paths, a playbook for switching suppliers over and a template for your own cost calculation. The paper also names the cases in which a switch does not make sense.

Pages: 10
File size: PDF, 248 KB
Language: German

Download PDF

What you can expect from Ovenca

Eight points for the assessment by procurement, IT and data protection.

LANXESS returned from SAP Ariba: The speciality chemicals group LANXESS (MDAX) has worked with Onveda since 2014. In 2019 LANXESS decided in favour of SAP Ariba, in 2025 to return. Since 2026 Ovenca has been rolled out there worldwide again.
Control over the data: The data resides in your own instance, on-premise or in a data centre in the EU (Germany). Roles and permissions, audit trail, SSO (SAML 2.0, OIDC), MFA (TOTP) and TLS encryption are part of the product.
Large catalogs: Ovenca handles catalogs with more than 5 million items in total. Search stays fast at that size. Catalogs are imported via CSV, Excel or BMEcat or connected by punchout.
Punchout level 2: Items from supplier shops are imported like catalog items and appear in search. The click leads straight to the product page in the supplier's shop, not to its start page. This makes suppliers findable in the procurement portal.
Little effort for procurement: Ovenca validates catalogs on submission. Suppliers see what is missing for each item and correct it themselves. Requesters find items through a fast search and order without queries. Procurement approves and steers instead of maintaining data.
SAP data in product search: At LANXESS, SAP contracts and material numbers are available directly in product search.
Approvals by your rules: Approvals can have several levels and can be routed by category.
Direct contact with the vendor: Ovenca is a product of Onveda GmbH, a software company from Langenfeld, Germany, founded in 2010. Contract, product development and your contact are with the vendor.

Frequently asked questions about the Ariba alternative

Assess Ovenca alongside SAP Ariba

In a demo you see Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, Vendor Portal and Admin Area applied to your use case. We say openly where Ovenca fits and where SAP Ariba remains the better choice.