Get purchase requests approved with less manual work.

Read ServiceNow request, quote, quantity, delivery location, and cost center. Return missing fields to the requester.

1. 1.1Open the next ServiceNow request in the team’s Maintenance purchasing queue (ex: PR-48217). Read its catalog variables: Requested for, Delivery location, Needed by, Quantity, and Cost center.
2. 1.2Open the attached supplier quote and compare its item description with the request. Record the supplier reference and quoted unit of measure separately from quantity (ex: BX for boxes versus EA for individual units).
3. 1.3Check the requester’s delivery site against the selected company and purchasing organization. Ask the requester to complete any missing site or accounting information before preparing an Ariba requisition.
4. 1.4Save the intake record’s sys_id and request number in the working record. Use the stable source reference when checking for duplicate requisitions later.

Check SAP S/4HANA supplier status and accounting references. Stop if the supplier is blocked or a master-data change is needed.

1. 2.1Look up the supplier in SAP S/4HANA by its existing business-partner reference. Check purchasing and posting blocks for the company code and purchasing organization on this request.
2. 2.2Validate the selected cost center against its effective dates and controlling area (ex: MNT-210 for the maintenance team). Resolve the delivery site to the existing plant and ship-to address.
3. 2.3Find the applicable SAP Ariba contract using supplier, item, purchasing organization, and effective date. Compare its supplier reference with SAP S/4HANA; stop if similar names refer to different records.
4. 2.4Carry the verified supplier, company code, plant, and cost center into the intake record. Route any master-data correction to its owner instead of editing supplier or banking records.

Compare the SAP Ariba contract with quoted price, unit, and quantity; get documented clarification through Microsoft Outlook.

1. 3.1Open the applicable contract line in SAP Ariba and compare price, currency, unit of measure, and quantity breaks with the quote. Flag mismatches such as a contract price per EA and a supplier quote per BX.
2. 3.2Use Microsoft Outlook to ask the established supplier contact to clarify the discrepancy. For a BX-versus-EA mismatch, request the pack size and corrected unit; include the request and contract line references.
3. 3.3Retain the original quote and attach its corrected revision (ex: Q-771R). Confirm quantity, unit price, shipping, and applicable tax from the revised terms before updating the request.
4. 3.4Recalculate the total using the confirmed units and charges (ex: 12 EA × $400 = $4,800 before any additional charges). Record the correction without assuming a BX-to-EA pack size.

Search SAP Ariba for the source request and quote before preparing a requisition, attaching evidence and the existing approval route.

1. 4.1Search SAP Ariba for the request number, ServiceNow sys_id, and accepted quote reference, including requisitions still in approval. Resume an existing request if the source has already been used.
2. 4.2Prepare the requisition with the confirmed quantity, unit of measure, unit price, contracted supplier, and verified ship-to location. Attach the accepted quote revision and applicable contract reference.
3. 4.3Apply the validated cost-center assignment to each line and inspect the budget-check result for its accounting split. Keep the configured budget code and approval flow instead of changing cost centers to clear a warning.
4. 4.4Check the displayed total against the accepted quote and route the requisition through the configured approval flow. Write the generated requisition reference back to ServiceNow before waiting for a decision.

The authorized budget owner approves in SAP Ariba. The agent cannot approve its own request or split the purchase to avoid a threshold.

1. 5.1Open the requisition’s Approval Flow in SAP Ariba and check the budget owner against the cost-center approval mapping. Include any corrected units, the final total, and budget-check results in the review package.
2. 5.2The mapped budget owner reviews the result and uses Approve in SAP Ariba. A supplier email or a ServiceNow comment does not satisfy the requisition’s approval requirement.
3. 5.3Read back the approved revision and approval history before continuing. If quantity, price, or accounting changes, follow Ariba’s renewed approval requirements for that revision.
4. 5.4Keep the requested purchase together on its requisition. If budget is insufficient or the owner rejects it, return the stated reason to the requester without splitting the purchase.

Read the resulting SAP Ariba PO and transmission status before updating ServiceNow. Track supplier acknowledgment separately.

1. 6.1Follow the approved requisition to the purchase order generated by SAP Ariba (ex: PO-91042). Verify its supplier, line quantities, units, total, and delivery location against the approved revision.
2. 6.2Read the outbound order status and transmission timestamp. Track supplier acknowledgment separately; successful transmission alone does not mean the supplier has accepted the order.
3. 6.3Update the source ServiceNow request with the requisition and PO references. Set the team’s PO transmitted status only after successful transmission, and attach the approval and accepted quote revision.
4. 6.4Track acknowledgment against the generated PO and follow up with the supplier if it is overdue. A delayed acknowledgment does not justify creating another PO in SAP S/4HANA.