Transforming Requisitioning Without Re-Training Users

CLIENT

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a private research university based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It offers professional degree programs to more than 20,000 students.

PROJECT

NSU replaced their existing Ariba ITK with SAP BTP Integration Suite to enhance procurement and supply chain processes, aiming to improve integration performance, scalability, reliability, data exchange, process automation, and accommodate high-volume tasks, while also ensuring support for future ISBN functionality integration.

RESULTS

Migrating from SAP Ariba ITK to SAP BTP Integration Suite with ConvergentIS offers benefits such as rapid implementation facilitated by the ConvergentIS Add-on, reduced risk due to regular security updates, improved performance from the cloud-based platform, and a seamless integration with Banner ERP.

Project Information

This solution replaced the existing Ariba ITK (Integration Toolkit) with the SAP BTP Integration Suite at Nova Southeastern University.

This integration upgrade enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization's procurement and supply chain processes by leveraging the advanced capabilities offered by SAP BTP Integration Suite (the recommended path forward by SAP). New ISBN functionality will continue to be integrated into Integration Suite and supported in the future.

The key objectives of the project are as follows:

Replace the on-premise Ariba ITK solution with the SAP BTP Integration Suite option to streamline procurement and supply chain integration.
Improve overall integration performance, scalability, and reliability.
Enable seamless data exchange between NSU’s various procurement systems, suppliers, and external systems.
Enhance process automation, reducing manual effort and increasing operational efficiency.
Accommodate high-volume integration tasks with specified daily message volumes and sizes.

The Challenge

The procurement and supply chain processes at NSU are critical to the institution's operations and rely on the integration between their ERP system and Ariba Buying and Invoicing. With the SAP Ariba ITK (Integration Toolkit) nearing end-of-life, NSU needed to find a replacement that met their current needs, aligned with SAP’s roadmap, and could be implemented quickly.

A seamless connection between their Banner ERP system and Ariba is essential because they depend on Ariba eForms to handle check requests efficiently. Any disruption in this process could result in delays in paying vendors and suppliers. Moreover, the integration transfers vital data such as cost center, accounting information, and vendor/supplier details into Ariba. Without this integration, their procurement process would be at risk of failure.

The Solution

The ConvergentIS Add-on for ITK Replacement on SAP BTP Integration Suite is a cloud-based framework designed for file-based integration with Ariba Downstream, Upstream, and Ariba Network.  The solution consists of the following components:

SAP BTP Integration Suite
SAP Cloud Connector
SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing

The Results

There are many benefits to migrating from SAP Ariba ITK to SAP BTP Integration Suite with ConvergentIS, including: 

Rapid Implementation - ConvergentIS Add-on for ITK Replacement accelerated the implementation and made the migration seamless.
Reduced risk: SAP Integration Suite is a supported platform with regular security updates and patches. This reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities and data breaches. 
Improved performance: SAP Integration Suite is a cloud-based platform that is designed for performance and scalability. This can lead to significant improvements in integration performance. 
Increased flexibility: SAP Integration Suite is a powerful integration platform that can be used to integrate a wide variety of systems and applications. This gives organizations more flexibility in how they integrate their systems and processes.

What's Next?

The ConvergentIS Add-on for ITK Replacement on SAP BTP Integration Suite was a huge win for the team at NSU. Their procurement and supply chain didn’t miss a beat, and, like their graduating class, have an edge moving forward. Go Sharks!

Attractive woman working in office on laptop

“The business didn’t even notice the change. It was seamless, like night and day compared to when we moved from on-premise to cloud with ITK. I hope all my projects go this smoothly.”

Ariel Levy IT Applications Systems Analyst - Office of Innovation and Information Technology at Nova Southeastern University

Why ConvergentIS?

Our team comes from a variety of different operational backgrounds, meaning we understand how people work. We recognize SAP S/4HANA as an out-of-the-box solution that has successfully solved business problems across several industries. But we realize some work processes are still challenging to learn with so many capabilities available in SAP.

Leveraging the SAP design methodology, we have co-innovated with organizations to build solutions that match the way they work. Since many teams face the same problems, we packaged them and made them available as an out-of-the-box application. This means your business still receives many of the benefits of a tailored application without the cost of a custom solution.

University Achieves SAP BTP Adoption with Seamless Integration