SAP SRM replacement for indirect procurement next to SAP ERP and S/4HANA
Standard maintenance for SAP SRM 7.0 ends on 31 December 2027. Ovenca takes over self-service procurement, catalogs, approvals and supplier maintenance. SAP ERP or S/4HANA remains the system of record for purchase orders, contracts and master data.
This page covers the starting situation, the decisions ahead, the target architecture, the migration approach and the function coverage of an SRM replacement.
- until 31 Dec 2027
- Standard maintenance
- 2028 to 2030
- Extended Maintenance
- from 2031
- Customer Specific Maintenance
Starting situation: the maintenance timeline for SAP SRM 7.0
SAP has defined three maintenance stages for SAP SRM 7.0. They determine by when a successor should be in production.
until 31 Dec 2027
Standard maintenance
SAP SRM 7.0 is maintained as standard. Standard maintenance ends on 31 December 2027.
2028 to 2030
Extended Maintenance
Optional and subject to a surcharge. The extension is limited to three years and brings no functional development.
from 2031
Customer Specific Maintenance
Customer-specific maintenance only. There is no longer a product roadmap for SAP SRM.
What this means for planning
A replacement comprises an assessment, catalog transfer, supplier transition and ERP integration. Organisations that decide before standard maintenance ends can switch over unit by unit and decommission SAP SRM in an orderly way.
SAP SRM vs. SAP MM: the difference
SAP SRM and SAP MM are often confused, but they serve different purposes. The distinction matters for succession planning because MM stays and SRM goes.
- SAP MM (Materials Management)
- The procurement and inventory module within SAP ERP and S/4HANA. It manages material masters, purchase orders, goods receipts and invoice verification, primarily for direct, materials-related purchasing.
- SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
- The separate solution on top of MM for strategic and indirect procurement: self-service procurement, catalog and punchout scenarios, tenders and supplier integration.
The gap after the end of maintenance
When SRM maintenance ends, MM or S/4HANA procurement takes over part of these tasks in many SAP landscapes, although not in the form of the self-service catalog that SRM users know. A specialised platform such as Ovenca covers this gap in indirect procurement and connects to SAP MM or S/4HANA through OCI punchout, cXML and API.
What has to be decided before the replacement
Replacing SAP SRM is more than a product selection. Five decisions determine the target architecture and the approach.
Functional scope
Which SRM functions are actually in use: self-service procurement, catalogs, punchout, supplier integration, tenders. Every function in use needs a target system.
ERP strategy
SAP ECC stays for now, S/4HANA is already decided, or several ERP systems run in parallel. This determines whether the procurement platform is tied to the ERP schedule.
Operating model
On-premise in your own data centre, private cloud, or hybrid operation. The decision affects data residency, the access concept and responsibilities within IT.
Catalogs and suppliers
Which catalogs and punchout connections are carried over, and which suppliers will maintain their content themselves.
Cutover
Cutover on a fixed date, or parallel operation with a unit-by-unit replacement.
Three ways out of SAP SRM compared
| Criterion | S/4HANA procurement | Specialised platform (Ovenca) | Parallel operation with step-by-step replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approach | Indirect procurement moves into S/4HANA or adjacent SAP procurement solutions. | Indirect procurement runs on an ERP-independent platform next to the ERP. | SAP SRM stays in production for now while units or sites switch one after another. |
| ERP strategy | SAP-only course, S/4HANA is decided. | Several ERP systems, or deliberately ERP-independent. | The ERP decision is still open. |
| Operating model | Depends on the chosen S/4HANA model. | On-premise or private cloud, hybrid possible. | The existing system stays, the new platform as chosen. |
| Strengths | One SAP landscape with one data model, existing SAP skills, close integration with finance and logistics. | No obligation to move to S/4HANA, modules can be introduced individually, catalog and supplier processes as standard. | No fixed-date risk, experience from pilot units feeds into the rollout. |
| To consider | Tied to the S/4HANA roadmap. The self-service catalog and punchout processes are rebuilt. | An additional platform to operate. Interfaces to the ERP have to be defined, and process governance stays with the company. | A transition phase with two systems. Responsibilities have to be clearly separated, and some master data may be maintained twice. |
| Fits better if | all procurement functions are to come from the SAP stack. | catalogs, approvals and supplier maintenance are to stay independent of the ERP schedule. | many sites or legal entities are affected. |
The paths are not mutually exclusive. Ovenca can be combined with S/4HANA and introduced in parallel operation with SAP SRM.
SAP SRM successors compared: S/4HANA, SAP Ariba, Coupa and Ovenca
SAP names SAP S/4HANA with Central Procurement and SAP Ariba as successors to SAP SRM. There are also ERP-independent platforms such as Coupa or Ovenca. The table compares what matters for replacing SRM.
| Criterion | Ovenca | SAP S/4HANA (procurement) | SAP Ariba | Coupa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S/4HANA required? | No. Connects to SAP ECC, S/4HANA and other ERP systems. | Yes. Central Procurement runs on S/4HANA. SAP ERP 6.0 from EHP 6 can be used as a connected system. | No. SAP Ariba Buying can also be connected to SAP ERP 6.0 via SAP Integration Suite. | No. Connects to SAP ERP, S/4HANA and S/4HANA Cloud via an SAP Integration Suite adapter. |
| Catalogs and punchout | Catalogs via CSV, Excel or BMEcat, punchout via OCI and cXML, including Level 2. | Internal catalogs and external catalogs via OCI. The SRM-MDM catalog is not part of S/4HANA. | Catalogs and punchout. cXML, the widely used punchout standard, comes from Ariba. | Hosted catalogs and punchout. |
| Supplier fees | None. | When connected via SAP Business Network: standard account free, Enterprise account subject to fees above certain thresholds. | Standard account free, Enterprise account with subscription and transaction fees above certain thresholds, depending on volume. | Supplier portal free of charge, optional add-ons are paid. |
| Operation and hosting | Separate instance per customer, on-premise or private cloud in Germany. | On-premise, private cloud (RISE with SAP) or public cloud. | Cloud solution (SaaS). For Europe, SAP lists the Frankfurt data center. | Cloud solution (SaaS) on AWS, EU region with locations in Ireland and Germany. |
| Parallel operation with SAP SRM | Yes. Departments or sites move one after another, both systems hand over to the same ERP. | SAP SRM on its own server can be integrated with S/4HANA. SRM as an add-on in the ERP is not supported under S/4HANA. | No general statement from SAP. | No public statement from the vendor. |
| Implementation time | Usually three to six months. | No general figure from SAP. | 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). |
| 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. Licence or subscription under contract with SAP. | No public price list. Subscription under contract with SAP. | No public price list. Subscription under contract. |
| Vendor | Onveda GmbH, Langenfeld (Germany). | SAP SE, Walldorf (Germany). | SAP SE, Walldorf (Germany). | Coupa Software, San Mateo (USA), owned by Thoma Bravo since 2023. |
As of October 2026, without guarantee. Information on SAP S/4HANA, SAP Ariba and Coupa is taken from the vendors' public sources: SAP Help Portal and Feature Scope Description, SAP maintenance strategy, SAP Learning, fee and product pages, datasheets and security documents. The vendors' current contracts and terms are authoritative. All trademarks belong to their owners.
Target architecture: Ovenca replaces SAP SRM, SAP stays the system of record
Ovenca takes the place of SAP SRM as the platform for indirect procurement. SAP ERP or S/4HANA remains the system of record. Users, catalogs and suppliers change systems, while the posting logic in the ERP stays unchanged.
- SAP SRM 7.0: Self-service procurementmoves toOvenca: Catalog Shop
- SAP SRM 7.0: Catalogs and punchoutmoves toOvenca: Catalog Management
- SAP SRM 7.0: Supplier integrationmoves toOvenca: Vendor Portal
- SAP SRM 7.0: Roles, approvals, reportingmoves toOvenca: Admin Area
- SAP SRM 7.0: Tendersmoves toNot in Ovenca: S/4HANA or a sourcing solution
Integration layer
OCI punchout, cXML, API
- Purchase requisitions and purchase orders
- Contracts, material numbers, master data
SAP ERP or S/4HANAremains the system of record
- Moves to Ovenca
- Catalog search and shopping cart, free-text orders, approvals, catalog maintenance and the maintenance of supplier catalogs in the Vendor Portal.
- Stays in the SAP system
- Purchase orders, contracts, material numbers and master data, as well as goods receipt and invoice verification in SAP MM.
- Connection
- OCI punchout, cXML and API. Purchase requisitions and purchase orders go to the ERP. Contracts and material numbers are available in product search.
- Operation
- On-premise in your own data centre, or private cloud as a separate instance in a data centre in the EU. Hybrid is possible.
Approach: coexistence and migration in five phases
SAP SRM and Ovenca run side by side during the transition. How long each phase takes depends on catalogs, suppliers, interfaces and sites, and is defined in the assessment.
Assessment
The SRM functions in use, catalogs, punchout connections, suppliers, approval processes and ERP interfaces are recorded.
ResultInventory and scope of the replacement
Target architecture
Modules, operating model and interfaces to the ERP are defined, along with the role and approval concept.
ResultIntegration and operating concept
Catalog and supplier transition
Existing catalogs are imported via CSV, Excel or BMEcat and validated. Punchout catalogs are connected to Ovenca. Suppliers receive access to the Vendor Portal.
ResultValidated catalogs and connected suppliers in Ovenca
Parallel operation
Selected units or sites order through Ovenca, the others continue to use SAP SRM. Both systems hand over to the same ERP.
ResultProductive pilot with clearly separated responsibilities
Rollout
Further legal entities, sites and countries switch step by step. Once all units have switched, SAP SRM is decommissioned.
ResultOvenca as the platform for indirect procurement
Which system is in production in which phase
Scroll the table sideways
| System | Phase 1Assessment | Phase 2Target architecture | Phase 3Catalog and supplier transition | Phase 4Parallel operation | Phase 5Rollout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAP SRM 7.0 | in production | in production | in production | in production for units not yet switched | being decommissioned |
| Ovenca | not yet in use | design | setup and data transfer | in production in pilot units | in production in all units |
| SAP ERP or S/4HANA | system of record throughout for purchase orders, contracts and master data | ||||
Function coverage: SAP SRM and Ovenca
Ovenca covers operational, catalog-based procurement. Tenders and contract management are not part of the product. They stay in the SAP system or sit in a sourcing solution.
| Functional area in SAP SRM | Coverage | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service procurement from catalogs | In Ovenca | Catalog Shop with fast cross-catalog search even with several million items, free-text orders with catalog suggestions and SmartForms. |
| Maintenance of catalog content | In Ovenca | Catalog Management: import via CSV, Excel and BMEcat, validation and approval. Catalogs with more than 5 million items in total. |
| Punchout catalogs | In Ovenca | OCI punchout and cXML, configured in Catalog Management. With punchout level 2, the supplier's items appear in search and the jump leads straight to the product page. |
| Supplier integration | In Ovenca | Vendor Portal: suppliers maintain their catalogs themselves and correct errors after automatic validation; procurement receives validated catalogs for approval. Supplier questionnaires are freely configurable. Suppliers pay no network fees. |
| Approvals | In Ovenca | Multi-level approvals. Routing by category is possible. |
| Roles, permissions and traceability | In Ovenca | Admin Area with roles and permissions, audit trail and reporting. SSO via SAML 2.0 and OIDC. |
| Order transfer to SAP | In Ovenca | Purchase requisitions and purchase orders go to SAP ERP or S/4HANA. At LANXESS, SAP contracts and material numbers are available in product search. |
| Contracts and contract management | Stays in the ERP | Contracts stay with the ERP as the system of record and are used in Ovenca for product search. |
| Goods receipt and invoice verification | Stays in the ERP | Stay in SAP MM. |
| Tenders | Not in Ovenca | Not part of Ovenca. S/4HANA or a specialised sourcing solution is the better fit. |
Feature matrix SAP SRM 7.0 and Ovenca
Working document that rates individual SRM functions. Some ratings are now out of date: approval routing by category and freely configurable supplier questionnaires are possible in the product and are not yet reflected in the matrix.
Download the feature matrix- As of
- April 2026
- Format
- PDF, 17 pages
- File size
- 80 KB
- Language
- German
Reference: LANXESS, working together since 2014, in use next to SAP
LANXESS AG uses Ovenca worldwide for catalog-based purchasing. SAP contracts and material numbers are available directly in product search.
“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.”
- Company
- LANXESS AG, Cologne, speciality chemicals, MDAX
- Size
- approx. 11,800 employees in 32 countries
- Use
- worldwide; first rollout 2015, renewed rollout 2026
- Integration
- SAP contracts and material numbers in search
Next step: evaluate Ovenca for your SRM replacement
An evaluation starts with your system landscape and ends with an integration and operating concept, from which the cost framework follows.
Technical discussion of your system landscape
SRM usage, SAP landscape, catalogs and suppliers. Afterwards it is clear whether Ovenca fits your starting situation.
Product demo based on your SRM scenarios
Catalog search, approvals, Vendor Portal and Admin Area, shown with your use cases.
Integration and operating concept
Interfaces to SAP, operating model and roles. This results in your cost framework.
Material for your evaluation
Architecture
OCI punchout, cXML, API and the connection to SAP and other ERP systems.
Operation
On-premise and private cloud, roles and permissions, audit trail, SSO and MFA.
Comparison
How Ovenca is used next to S/4HANA.
Comparison
Ovenca as an alternative to SAP Ariba
A factual comparison, including the cases where Ariba is the better fit.
Costs
Cost drivers and licence model. Pricing is individual.
Calculator
Work through the business case with your own assumptions.
Frequently asked questions about the end of SAP SRM maintenance
Standard maintenance for SAP SRM 7.0 ends on 31 December 2027. From 2028 to the end of 2030, SAP offers Extended Maintenance at a surcharge. From 2031, only Customer Specific Maintenance remains, with no functional development.
SAP names two routes: procurement in SAP S/4HANA, with SAP S/4HANA Central Procurement for several ERP systems, and SAP Ariba. Central Procurement requires S/4HANA as the central system; SAP ERP 6.0 can be used as a connected system. There are also ERP-independent platforms such as Coupa or Ovenca. Ovenca runs alongside SAP ECC or S/4HANA and does not require a move to S/4HANA.
For indirect procurement there are four routes: procurement in SAP S/4HANA, SAP Ariba, broad source-to-pay suites such as Coupa or JAGGAER, and specialised platforms for catalog-based procurement such as Ovenca. What decides is your ERP strategy, where data is held, taking over catalogs and punchout connections, and whether you want to keep SAP SRM running in parallel during the switch. The table above compares the routes.
Yes. With Ovenca, departments or sites move one after another, SAP SRM keeps running until the switch, and both systems hand over to the same ERP. If you are moving to S/4HANA, check how SAP SRM is deployed: according to SAP, SRM on its own server can be integrated with S/4HANA, while SRM as an add-on in the ERP is not supported under S/4HANA.
No. Ovenca is ERP-independent and can be connected to SAP ECC, S/4HANA, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, Infor, Sage, DATEV and in-house systems. Whether and when you modernise your ERP is a decision you take independently of the procurement platform.
Usually three to six months. Where your project falls in that range depends on the number of catalogs, suppliers, interfaces and sites. The schedule is defined in the assessment and in the integration and operating concept. The transition takes place in phases, and SAP SRM and Ovenca can run in parallel during that time.
Yes. Existing catalog data is imported via CSV, Excel or BMEcat and validated before approval. Suppliers receive access to the Vendor Portal and maintain their catalogs there themselves.
Ovenca supports punchout via OCI and cXML. Existing punchout catalogs are reconfigured in Ovenca as part of the integration and are then available to users in the Catalog Shop.
That is your decision. Ovenca runs on-premise in your data centre or as a private cloud in a separate instance in a data centre in the EU. Hybrid operation is possible.
Ovenca is a product of Onveda GmbH and is developed continuously. LANXESS AG has worked with Onveda since 2014 and rolled the platform out worldwide again in 2026. The scope and terms of support are agreed in the contract.
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: companies, users, catalogs and items, modules, integrations and operating model. The price does not depend on order volume, and your suppliers pay no fees. You receive the cost estimate with the integration and operating concept.
SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) is an on-premise procurement solution from SAP and part of SAP Business Suite 7. It adds self-service procurement with shopping cart and catalogs, punchout scenarios, tenders and supplier integration to materials management in SAP ERP. Standard maintenance for SAP SRM 7.0 ends on 31 December 2027.
SAP MM (Materials Management) is the procurement and inventory module within SAP ERP and S/4HANA. It manages material masters, purchase orders, goods receipts and invoice verification. SAP SRM is a separate solution in front of MM for self-service procurement, catalogs, punchout, tenders and supplier integration. For succession planning this means: the MM functions continue in S/4HANA, while SAP SRM has no successor of the same name there.
SAP maintains SAP SRM 7.0 under standard maintenance until 31 December 2027. The optional Extended Maintenance until the end of 2030 and the Customer Specific Maintenance that follows bring no functional development. As successors, SAP names solutions based on S/4HANA as well as cloud solutions such as SAP Ariba.
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