GEP vs. SAP Ariba: E-Procurement Technology Evaluation and Head-to-Head Comparison

GEP and SAP Ariba could not have more different e-procurement DNA. GEP, as we like to say, is the Swiss Army knife of procurement, combining business process outsourcing (BPO), consulting, managed services, market intelligence and procurement technology under one roof. SAP Ariba is the opposite: it has a legacy as a purely enterprise software company that had two major pivots, first to SaaS and later to the combination of cloud applications tied to a networked business model and value proposition.

This begs the question: How the heck can GEP compete against SAP Ariba — including winning on SAP’s home turf — when its ambitions are less focused than that of its competitor? The comparison between GEP and SAP Aiba in Spend Matters Q1 2018 E-Procurement SolutionMap on a functional scoring basis must not be cut and dried. Or is it?

Join us in this unfiltered SolutionMap results analysis from our Q1 2018 dataset, supplemented by commentary from Spend Matters Founder Jason Busch. These recurring Head-to-Head columns share insights from each quarterly SolutionMap report for SolutionMap Insider Subscribers, providing unique comparative cuts of SolutionMap benchmark data, along with the trademark quips that have defined Spend Matters analysis since its inception.

So prepare for some real data and expect at least a modicum salty opinion as we pit GEP and SAP Ariba against each other in the Spend Matters evaluation ring. Not yet an Insider member? Here’s a preview: In the majority of e-procurement categories — which overall span catalog management, shopping/requisitioning, ordering, receiving, supplier network, configurability, technology (overall), general services and an overall summary e-procurement average — SAP Ariba disarms the GEP Swiss Army knife. But in at least one area, GEP takes the prize — which might be the secret to how it wins its share of customer battles.

The Q1 2018 E-Procurement SolutionMap benchmark is now based on an underlying dataset featuring 19 separate providers, including nearly all of the must-shortlist invoice-to-pay technology providers procurement organizations can expect to consider in a typical selection process (as well as those they should consider but might overlook). Whether you’re in the market for a new invoice-to-pay product or just want to know if you made the right decision for your organization, our SolutionMap analysis and benchmark data can tell you the answer. Curious to learn more? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.