Implement Awarded Pricing into SAP in Minutes With Supplyframe & Mendix

Electronics quoting has remained functionally the same for decades. It’s a process that is often manual, reliant on static spreadsheets, and even more painful when you transfer awarded quotes into an ERP platform. 

Today’s digital solutions allow for streamlined, efficient, and cost-effective quoting. Join us as we explore how Supplyframe and Mendix partner to transform every step of the quoting process. 

Why do Quoting and ERP Processes Need to Change? 

Today’s organizations are designing new products and constructing Requests for Quotations (RFQs) in an uncertain global environment. Disruption and risk are everywhere, and those who rely on siloed structures or static spreadsheets don’t have the right information or collaboration to make effective sourcing decisions.

As today’s products become more complex, demand becomes less certain, and supply continues to fluctuate, it’s clear that the current approach to quoting and ERP integration is not sustainable. Today’s industry leaders must embrace digital transformation to stay ahead of the competition. 

If we look past the RFQ process, even something as simple as transferring award pricing to an ERP solution like SAP is slow and error-prone. The dream scenario where MRP, ERP, and other systems seamlessly integrate is far from reality. 

Industry leaders pursuing Digital Transformation recognize that the existing quoting and ERP integration approach is unsustainable. The need for system linkages and integration has never been more apparent.

How to Transform Your Quoting Process Today 

To remain competitive in today’s global landscape, organizations must identify ways to enhance their quoting processes, allowing them to automate manual tasks and reduce the risk of human error. 

With Supplyframe DirectSource, manufacturers can initiate a request for quotation, and suppliers can respond within the same platform. By integrating external intelligence, Supplyframe provides real-time insights directly within the RFQ, including part availability, years to end of life, and historical pricing. 

These insights and historical pricing allow teams to approach pricing negotiations more effectively. This allows manufacturers to select suppliers and choose awarded pricing faster than ever, reducing the overall process from hours to minutes. 

Once the manufacturer has completed the RFQ process, the final step is to manually transfer the awarded pricing into SAP. This process is slow and prone to errors, but thanks to a new partnership between Supplyframe and Mendix, customers can transfer their awarded pricing into SAP in just a few steps. Let’s find out how it works. 

Bridging The Digital Gap Between Quoting and SAP 

Mendix, a Siemens business, is a low-code platform that addresses challenges surrounding enterprise software development by engaging the entire organization in capturing requirements, forming ideas, and incorporating value assessment throughout the entire lifecycle of the software portfolio. 

Over 4,000 organizations in 46 countries use the Mendix low-code platform. A global community of over 300,000 developers has also contributed to 950,000 applications on the Mendix marketplace and counting. 

The flexibility of the Mendix low-code platform made it a perfect choice for integration with Supplyframe’s RFQ capabilities. Our two organizations have successfully bridged the digital gap between awarded RFQs and modern ERP platforms like SAP by joining forces. 

The Supplyframe Mendix template empowers teams to seamlessly automate the process of transferring awarded RFQs from Supplyframe to SAP Purchasing Info Records. By using connectors that are available in the Mendix Marketplace, users can integrate SAP S4/HANA and Supplyframe, significantly accelerating the development process. 

The Mendix template allows multiple user roles, including a “requester” and an “approver.” The requester initiates the process by selecting from a list of awarded RFQs.

Once the requester provides the purchase organization and plant, the implementation begins with a consistency check between the source data and the data in SAP. Once everything has been verified, the approver user receives an overview of implementation requests. 

The approver has three actions to choose from, and since this template by Mendix is built with low code, it can be easily modified or adjusted to address specific needs.  The user can either accept the implementation, deny it, or request amendments at the line item level, such as the CPN or customer part number. Once approved, the updated purchasing info records will appear in SAP based on the data from the source system. 

This template, combined with Supplyframe DirectSource, allows teams to… 

• Initiate an RFQ within the Supplyframe platform
• Negotiate pricing based on external intelligence
• Choose suppliers and materials 
• Transfer awarded pricing into SAP 

All in a fraction of the time and without the risk of human error.

Ready to Get Started? 

Existing Supplyframe or Mendix customers can easily harness this exciting new use case to streamline their entire quoting process from end to end. Supplyframe users can obtain a Mendix platform license and the RFQ transfer app free from the Mendix marketplace. 

Mendix users interested in connecting their quote process to real-time intelligence and unique market insights can learn more about Supplyframe DirectSource here. 

Are you interested in learning more about the Supplyframe and Mendix partnership? Join us at Siemens Realize LIVE Americas and Europe to discover how you can transform your quote process!