Ovenca - eProcurement Plattform for Digital Procurement

LANXESS case study: eProcurement alongside SAP, in use worldwide

The speciality chemicals group LANXESS has worked with Onveda since 2014 and uses Ovenca worldwide for catalog-based purchasing. SAP contracts and material numbers appear directly in product search.

This case study covers the starting position, the target picture, the architecture, the implementation and the outcome. The statements on the outcome come from the project lead in procurement at LANXESS AG.

Case study as PDF

Key facts

Modules in use
Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, supplier management, approval processes, SAP integration, reporting, administration
Integration
SAP contracts and material numbers in product search

Case study as PDF

The version to pass on within the selection committee, in German.

PDF, 4 pages, 148 KB

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As of October 2026.

Starting position

LANXESS already had an eProcurement system in place. As the purchasing processes across the group grew more complex, its rigid structure and limited configuration options became an obstacle.

The requirements for supplier administration, approval processes and integration with the ERP had increased. The existing system could not meet them economically.

Target picture: what LANXESS was looking for

These were the requirements LANXESS set for the new system.

Flexibility
Software that adapts to company-specific requirements instead of forcing processes into a rigid system.
SAP integration
Contracts and material numbers from SAP were to be available directly in product search.
Approvals and suppliers
Multi-level approval processes and central supplier administration.
Search
Search and filter functions to the company's own specifications, including free-text search.
Permissions
Fine-grained user permissions and controlled administration of catalog content.
Transparency
Meaningful reports and analyses.
Economics
A solution geared to the economic optimisation of procurement.

Architecture: Ovenca alongside SAP

At LANXESS, contracts and material numbers are maintained in SAP. Ovenca integrates them into product search, so requesters find contract items directly in the catalog.

Ovencain use worldwide

  • Requesters worldwide

    Catalog and product search

    Search across the approved catalogs, with SAP contracts and material numbers in the results.

  • Procurement

    Suppliers and approvals

    Central supplier administration and multi-level approval processes.

  • Administration

    Administration level

    Release and availability of content, user permissions, reports.

Contracts and material numbers into product search

SAP at LANXESS

Contracts and material numbers

Integration and architecture of the platform in detail

Implementation in four steps

The solution was tailored to the requirements of LANXESS.

  1. Requirements analysis and design

    The functional requirements for SAP integration, approval processes and search logic are defined.

  2. Development and configuration

    Modules and the SAP connection are implemented to these requirements.

  3. Testing and rollout

    Validation in the production environment and worldwide deployment.

  4. Worldwide rollout 2015

    The system goes into production worldwide.

Outcome

The following statements come from the project lead in procurement at LANXESS AG. We do not publish figures for this project.

Costs
From the start, costs were reduced sustainably.
Automation
Integrating SAP contracts and material numbers into product search increased the automation of the purchase-to-pay processes as intended.
Transparency
Meaningful reports provide the transparency LANXESS wanted. Release and availability of content and user permissions are controlled on the administration level.
Requirements
All requirements were implemented to the satisfaction of LANXESS.
Use
The solution is in use worldwide.

From 2014 to today

LANXESS decided in favour of SAP Ariba in 2019 and returned to Onveda in 2025. The system was not switched off during that time.

  1. 2014

    Start of development

    Onveda develops the catalog system for LANXESS.

  2. 2015

    Worldwide rollout

    The system goes into production worldwide.

  3. 2019

    Decision for SAP Ariba

    LANXESS decides in favour of SAP Ariba.

  4. 2021

    Move to SAP Ariba

    The move begins. The Onveda system is scaled down but stays in operation.

  5. 2025

    Return

    LANXESS wants to work with Onveda again. Development resumes.

  6. 2026

    Renewed worldwide rollout

    The platform is rolled out worldwide again.

The customer quote in full

“The redevelopment of the catalog system still proves to be the optimal decision for us a year and a half after it went live. The advantages of the individual solution over the standardised approaches of other vendors lie above all in its flexible structure. Every single requirement was implemented to our satisfaction. By integrating SAP contracts and material numbers into product search, we were able to increase the automation of our purchase-to-pay processes as intended. On the clearly structured administration level we control the release and availability of content, manage user permissions and obtain the transparency we want through meaningful reports. The eProcurement solution developed by Onveda was tailored 100% to us and is now in use worldwide. From the start, costs were reduced sustainably.”

Project lead in procurement, LANXESS AG (translated from German)

Ovenca is a product of Onveda GmbH, which is why the quote refers to the solution developed by Onveda.

Questions about the LANXESS reference

Since 2014. The system was rolled out worldwide in 2015. In 2019 LANXESS decided in favour of SAP Ariba, and the move began in 2021. In 2025 LANXESS came back to Onveda, and the renewed worldwide rollout followed in 2026.

SAP contracts and material numbers are integrated into Ovenca's product search. Requesters therefore find contract items directly in the catalog. According to the project lead in procurement, this increased the automation of the purchase-to-pay processes as intended.

In use are Catalog Shop, Catalog Management, supplier management, approval processes, SAP integration, reporting and administration.

We do not publish figures for this project. The project lead in procurement states that costs were reduced sustainably from the start. The ROI calculator provides an estimate based on your own baseline values.

Yes. Ovenca runs alongside SAP and other ERP systems, including Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage and DATEV. The connection uses OCI punchout, cXML or API. Which data is taken from the ERP into product search is defined per project.

Related pages

Next step

In a demo you see product search, catalog approval and administration in the product. The following pages are available for your assessment beforehand.