IBM is transitioning to Buy@IBM, a new source-to-pay purchasing system for indirect goods and services, hosted by SAP Ariba. This is a phased rollout by IBM in the buying country, which will enable your company to transact electronically with IBM over the Ariba Network. In the future, purchase orders (POs), order confirmations, ship notices, and invoices, where not prohibited by local law, will be transmitted via the Ariba Network.

The new solution provides many new ways for you to transact with IBM, including sourcing events, real-time purchase orders, online catalogs (where applicable), and invoice automation, where not prohibited by local law. Additionally, this solution provides quicker fulfillment and reduces administrative expense.

Yes. joining the Ariba Network is required to continue doing business with IBM.

There are no fees to register. Additionally, any fees based on transactions conducted between your company and IBM using the Ariba Network are automatically covered by IBM. However, depending on how much you use your account to do business with your other customers, fees may apply. To learn more about potential fees with other customers, please visit SAP Ariba Subscriptions and Pricing.

A trading relationship request, or TRR, is an email sent directly from the Ariba Network on behalf of IBM, requiring your acceptance to transact with IBM over the Ariba Network.

Sender: ordersender-prod@ansmtp.ariba.com;

Subject: Action Requested: Accept trading relationship request from IBM Corporation for tansacting on the Ariba Network.

This is a mandatory action to accept the trading relationship between your company and IBM to successfully enable PO to Invoice transactions over the Ariba Network with IBM. Even if you already have an existing Ariba Network account, it is mandatory to accept the trading relationship. If you are not the right person to accept the TRR, you can simply forward the email notification to the correct contact so they can proceed to establish the relationship.

To proceed with establishing the trading relationship with IBM, please consider these options in order:

If you already have an Ariba Network account (ANID = ANxxxxxxxxxxx) from a prior registration as an IBM supplier to participate in sourcing events, please use the credentials of that existing account to log in and establish the trading relationship.

If you do not have an existing ANID account for IBM, however, you have a pre-existing account that you want to utilize to transact with IBM, please use the credentials of that account to log in and establish the trading relationship.

If you do not have an existing ANID account for IBM, or have a pre-existing account that you want to utilize to transact with IBM, or you are new to the Ariba Network, you'll need to register for a new Standard account to establish the trading relationship.

Standard account is the enablement option if we are sending your first PO through an interactive email directly to your email inbox. You will have to click "Process Order" which will allow you to accept the trading relationship with IBM and set up your account.

Standard account is a free option for your company to transact on the network. We would like you to be fully enabled to take advantage of all the benefits and functionalities of the Ariba Network. Upon logging into your account, please upgrade your account to an enterprise account through the "Upgrade from standard account" link at the top of the page. Through the "Learn more" link, you will be able to better understand the additional benefits of upgrading your account at no additional cost to your company. Standard account has limited functionality and does not provide user access to an account inbox, outbox, online catalog feature, or reporting. If you stay at a standard account, all future POs will continue to be sent directly to the recipient email inbox as opposed to the account inbox via an enterprise account.

For more information on how to configure a standard account, please review  2 - Account setup: Standard Account

An enterprise account is established by upgrading from a standard account or through the enablement methodology as we proceed in the country roll out process. In most cases, IBM will utilize this approach to enable suppliers by sending a trading relationship request (TRR) directly from the Ariba Network. Once you accept this TRR, you will automatically be enabled with an enterprise account.

An enterprise account provides the full set of functionalities of the Ariba Network including an account inbox, outbox, online catalog opportunity (if applicable) and reporting capabilities. When IBM sends POs through the Ariba Network, the POs will be sent directly to your account inbox rather than being emailed to a single recipient in your company. You will be able to set up notifications on your account so that numerous people will be notified automatically when a new PO has been received.

For more information on how to configure an Enterprise account, please review Account setup: Enterprise Account

We will configure numerous back-end systems with this Ariba Network account number so that your company can successfully transact with IBM. Given the significant re-work efforts required to change to a different account once it has been established and configured, we request that you continue to utilize this account for your ongoing transactions with us.

Purchase orders are not being migrated over to the Ariba Network, therefore all legacy POs will continue to be invoiced through Web Order and Invoice (WOI) until they are exhausted.

No. IBM will be sunsetting legacy processes such as WOI (Web Order and Invoice). At the time of the IBM buying country Go Live date, all new POs and invoicing for the new POs will only take place over the Ariba Network.

The phased roll-out is done in waves by IBM buying country locations, not the physical location of the supplier.

As a supplier, if you are are located in the U.S., but only supply IBM Canada, you would not be migrated in the U.S. roll-out which comes before the IBM Canada roll-out. Instead, you would be migrated at the time of the IBM Canada roll-out.

If you are located in the U.S., but supply both IBM U.S. and IBM Canada, given the U.S. is the earlier IBM buying country roll-out, you will be enabled onto the Ariba Network in that U.S. wave, but will only transact with IBM U.S. over the Ariba Network and any transactions with IBM Canada will remain unchanged. Once the buying country of IBM Canada roll-out occurs, you will already be enabled onto the Ariba Network, and at the time of Go Live, you'll also transact over the Ariba Network for IBM Canada as well.

Yes, as part of our Go Live communications, about 1 week prior to going live in the country roll-out, you will receive a link to access a functional training recording.

Please watch this video to learn how to add other users to your Ariba Network account. 

Please review these materials:

• IBM's procurement transformation notification letter: https://ibm.biz/BdZsU9
• IBM project notification letter: https://ibm.biz/BdZsUC
• Supplier summit recording: English, Français, Español
• Functional training demo: English, German, Chinese (中文)
  If you need technical assistance, please contact SAP Ariba support

You should have received an email from SAP Ariba with the invitation to register to the Ariba Network. If you need technical assistance, please contact SAP Ariba support.

There are 2 ways to access IBM sourcing events:

Click on the link in the invitation email. This will take you directly to the event.

Access the SAP Ariba supplier page and select your RFx events list. There you'll be able to pick which event you want to answer.

If you need technical assistance, please contact SAP Ariba Support.

Please reach out to your contact person in IBM Global Procurement, they will be able to resend the invitation to you.

Please review the related materials on the Supplier Guides section. 

You should receive notification of status updates for your invoice for fully enabled suppliers within your outbox and Ariba Network Dashboard, where you can display your submitted invoices and statuses. For more details on statuses please view the History tab.

For all ACH payments (EFTs), IBM will send a payment remittance back to the network. You can locate the payment remittance in your inbox. Additionally, you should see the invoice status update to paid status. For fully enabled suppliers, within your outbox and Ariba Network Dashboard, you can display your submitted invoices and statuses. For other payment types, remittance details will continue through normal business process as payments occur.

At this time, this information is not available. You can determine the payment due date by checking the terms of your order against your Invoice submission date. For example, if your Invoice was submitted on November 1st and PO payment terms are net 30 days your invoice will be due for payment on December 1st. Invoices will be scheduled using PO payment terms.

For fully enabled suppliers, within your outbox and Ariba Network Dashboard, you can view your submitted invoices and statuses. For more details on rejection reasons, please view the History tab. Review the rejection reason and, as required resubmit a corrected invoice.

Please work with your IBM purchasing representative to see if the order needs to be re-opened.

It’s possible that you have submitted the invoice by selecting the order point vendor number. If you are a PO flip supplier, please review your supplier profile under “Company Settings” → “Remittances” and correct the Remittance ID selection. After making the corrections, please resubmit your invoice using the updated Remittance ID. If you do not know the 10-digit Remittance ID to use, please please reach out to IBM Support or to the Ariba Customer Service Team.

It’s possible that you have submitted the invoice by selecting an incorrect Remittance ID. If you are a PO flip supplier, please review your supplier profile and under "Company Settings" → "Remittances" and correct the Remittance ID selection by entering the correct 10-digit ID. After making the corrections, please resubmit your invoice using the updated Remittance ID. If you need additional assistance, please reach out to  IBM Support.

This means the invoice was reposted by Accounts Payable due to an internal issue. No action is needed on your part. Please reach out to IBM Support if you would like to learn more.

This means that electronic invoices are not allowed for your supplier country and you must send paper invoices to IBM Accounts Payable. Please check the invoicing instructions on the purchase order for details or click here to read them online.

Please enter the applicable EU directive number, legal article number, or other text that explains the reason for zero VAT. Invoices lacking appropriate text cannot be accepted by IBM Accounts Payable.

You can enter this as default comment text that will appear on each invoice. In your Ariba Network account under "Company Settings", select "Electronic Invoice Routing". Enter the text in the box under "Enter default comment text that displays on all Invoices." and click "Save".

Please reach out to our IBM POP Support Team, to find out your correct "Remit to Vendor" ID. Then you will need to update the Remittance ID in your Ariba Network settings.
To do so, please select "Company Settings" and choose "Remittances" from the list.

On the "EFT/Check Remittance" section, select applicable address and choose "Edit"

Change the "Remittance ID" number in the white box next to your customer's name

Click "OK" and then "Save"

Please review the related materials on the Supplier guides section.

If you are submitting a cross border invoice where the supply of goods or services is from one EU country to another, it is subject a number of different VAT rules. The system can only allow 0% VAT. The invoice should be resubmitted and have 0% VAT applied to each line, using the appropriate "reason for 0 VAT" (Description field). Either of these will be successful:
Services exported to another country
Goods exported to another country.

If you are submitting a cross border invoice where the supply of goods or services is from EU one country to another, choose one of the following:

Services exported to another country

Goods exported to another country            

If you are submitting a domestic invoice, choose one of the following:

Goods or services exemption

Domestic reverse charge - electronic equipment

Domestic reverse charge - construction services

If you are submitting a cross border invoice where the supply of goods or services is from one country to another, they are subject to one of a number of different sets of VAT rules. The system can only allow 0% VAT. The invoice should be resubmitted and apply 0% VAT to each line, using the appropriate "reason for 0 VAT" - either of these will be successful in iERP.

The early payment program is part of IBM’s ongoing initiative to automate our invoicing processes. By making our invoice process more efficient, we are able to offer our suppliers earlier payments. The early payment program delivers faster invoice payment in exchange for an agreed upon discount deducted from the IBM invoice amount. This also may be referred to as discount management, accelerated payment offer or dynamic discounting.

Some of the benefits to participating in IBM’s early payments program include:

Accelerated cash flow: Participating suppliers can expect to accelerate turning receivables to cash.

Reduced days sales outstanding (DSO): By accelerating conversion of receivables to cash, participating suppliers will reduce DSO and free up working capital for other needs

Control over payment timing: Participating suppliers have the opportunity to request automatic early payment on all invoices upon full approval to pay, or ASAP payment on individual invoices as cash flow needs dictate.

If you are already participating in IBM’s e-Invoicing program and are transacting with us through the Ariba Network, you are ready to start taking advantage of early payment offers.

The discount is calculated by determining the number of days between when the payment is initiated and the ordinary net due date of the invoice. The system then applies a discount in accordance with the terms agreed upon. This discount may be a set percentage of the face value or a sliding scale discount, depending on the early payment offer that is accepted. For example, an accepted early payment offer with terms of 2% 10 net 30 would equate to a 2% discount as long as the invoice was initiated to be paid on or before the 10th day after the invoice was received.

If you opt to accept dynamic early payment offers, then by nature the early payment offer is dynamic and may change with the specific invoice opportunity. With this type of offer, you have the opportunity to review early payment offers for each invoice and must accept them before early payment is initiated.

IBM will in future offer standing early payment terms. If you accept a standing early payment offer, then it is fixed until such a time that you and IBM agree upon new terms. If you accept a standing term early payment with a sliding scale, the discount amount is prorated depending on the date of the payment. More information about standing early payment terms will be available under the Supplier guides section in the coming weeks.

Dynamic early payment terms are ad hoc offers initiated by IBM that apply to a specific invoice or group of invoices. If an offer of early payment is made, you will be notified through email and an alert on the Ariba Network. You may then review and accept the terms online within the Ariba Network account at which point the early payment is initiated. This review can be done manually or through automated acceptance rules defined in your Ariba Network account.

Standing early payment offers apply to all invoices that you submit that are approved to be paid within the parameters of the agreed upon terms. If you have agreed to a standing early payment term, early payment will be executed automatically and immediately upon an invoice being fully approved to pay without any further intervention by you or IBM. More information about standing early payment terms will be provided in the coming weeks.

Yes. If there are certain calendar dates and/or early payment terms that you would always like to accept or reject, the Ariba Network enables you to define those rules within your Ariba account. Once rules are defined, only those early payment offers falling outside of those parameters will need to be manually reviewed by you in order to take effect.

Nothing. If you do not review or choose not to take action on an early payment offer whether standing or dynamic, invoices will be paid according to each invoice’s net terms.

Yes. This is a great benefit for our suppliers of IBM’s e-Invoicing initiative. If you are registered and send your invoices to IBM through the Ariba Network, then your invoice status and settlement date are displayed within your account for your convenience. Additionally, you can use Ariba’s cash flow optimizer tool to identify and define which invoices will be paid when to meet specific cash flow needs you may have.

Yes. From time to time, IBM will make a dynamic early payment offer for a particular invoice or set of invoices to you which you can review and choose to accept or not based on your business needs at the moment.

Please visit this document for more information about the solution.
For inquiries relating to IBM’s early payment program or a specific early payment opportunity, please see our support options. 

This early payment program is subject to change, extension or withdrawal by IBM without notice and may not be available for all invoices nor suppliers.