Overview

AppZen’s Mastermind Platform provides for a robust, standards-based integration tool for invoice processing, including pre-defined connectors, APIs, and file-based integrations. Using AppZen Connect, we enable a standards-based API integration with SAP Ariba to securely connect with AppZen. 

The AppZen-to-SAP Ariba integration is a user-friendly process for a 2 way transaction integration for rapid onboarding. Out-of-the-box deployment will mean minimal IT work with security considered throughout the design of the integration process. 

High-level integration architecture

The AppZen SAP Ariba Connector can be used in the following ways depending on your system infrastructure and preference:

API-based integration:  AppZen can extract data using Ariba API’s to ingest data into AppZen’s integration framework. This approach uses Ariba’ REST API’s, to retrieve master data such as supplier master, payment terms, chart of accounts, entities, and more. It also retrieves supporting documents such as historical invoices and open POs for you to make operational decisions. 

Internal ToolKit (ITK)  integration: AppZen can extract data from the Ariba Integration ToolKit and ingest them to AppZen’s SFTP folder to process through an integration framework. This method utilizes a file-based approach that allows AppZen to extract all data objects that Autonomous AP requires to process an invoice, and will export data according to either a schedule. Appzen will provide templates for each object and push the CSV for outbound and pull the CSV for inbound.

BTP cockpit: As a third option Appzen can also extract data from Ariba via SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) using content published by SAP API Business Hub. The published content packages seamlessly install in SAP Integration Suite. The SAP published content is a series of  iFlows that create a bi-directional integration using SFTP and fileupload/filedownload API from Ariba.

Outbound from AppZen:  Alternatively, REST APIs can be used to perform these imports. AppZen can push all processed invoices to Ariba using SOAP API (cXML) to a SFTP folder and Ariba can import these files to create the invoice. 

Autonomous AP integration

In order for AppZen to process incoming PDF invoices, Autonomous AP requires the integration of the following objects: 

1. Vendor Master (Suppliers)
2. Chart of Accounts data (COA)
3. Payment Terms 
4. Purchase Orders (POs)
5. Business Entities
6. Config data – VAT codes, UOM codes
7. Historic invoice data with attachments

Process Flow

1. Client will provide remote access to the AppZen implementation team to install and configure the Ariba Accelerator. 
2. AppZen will begin to extract legacy data from the client.
3. Integration will begin from API’s, ITK, or BTP toolkit options.
4. The AppZen connector will configure functions with a modular approach, and each module will be tested in the Development environment.
5. Legacy data will be loaded to Autonomous AP for testing. 
6. The AppZen SAP Add-on will then be promoted to the SAP UAT environment for UAT testing between client SAP Ariba and AppZen Autonomous AP Sandbox.
7. On successful completion of UAT, AppZen SAP Add-on will be promoted to client production SAP Ariba and connected to AppZen Autonomous AP production account.